Disclaimer: I will never own PJO or the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan, who probably isn't willing to share, sadly.
Fourteen: Nico PoV
The Iris Message definitely lifted a weight off my chest. Now, at least, camp knew about Percy and Annabeth. I'd held off telling them because I was afraid that telling camp would make it all the more real. Not that it mattered. This was my reality, whether I liked it or not.
It's hard to wake up when the nightmare is real.
I paced around the deck, Greece was far below us, green and brown and rocky. And I knew now why I couldn't seem to find anything under the House of Hades. That was the name given to it by demigods, and not to many demigods surf the web and update Wikipedia, if you catch my drift. But I knew where it was now. I could sense it, the connection to the Underworld was strong, and I had a good nose for sniffing out stuff that reeked of the dead.
I closed my eyes as we sailed over Greece, lower and lower. We'd narrowed it down to the political region of Greece actually called Epirus, and decided it would be a bad idea to just land the ship in the middle of a mortal city and take a trip to the banks of the Acheron River from there. Not exactly the covert entrance and exited we wanted.
"Stop!" I yelled to Leo. The Argo II ceased to sail and Leo looked at me like I was crazy.
"Dude, I don't know about you, but I don't exactly see anything," he pointed out. I rolled my eyes.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Just because you don't see something doesn't mean its not there, Repair Boy," I retorted, getting irritated.
"I can feel it, too," Hazel cut it, her voice soft. She looked solemn, her black hair pulled back in a ponytail and her gold eyes calm. I hadn't said anything, but I was afraid of what would happen if she got too close to the Doors. Would she disappear and get sucked back down into the Underworld? I wasn't too eager to find out.
I drummed my fingers on the hilt of my sword, deciding not to answer.
"So how does that whole feeling thing work, exactly?" Piper asked curiously as the rest of the five gathered their things, strapping weapons to their belts and tucking baggies of ambrosia in their pockets. "Do you just know?"
"I guess so. It's not really a scientific thing. It's just like when you Aphrodite kids know when two people like each other. It's like a sixth sense," I explained.
"Sounds a lot more useful than sensing love, if you ask me," Piper muttered, glancing briefly in Katropis, her eyes widening at the last second and the knife clattered out of her hand and onto the deck. She swayed, her eyes fluttering closed.
"Wait a second!" Jason cried, rushing forward to catch her. Her body was limp and her eyes closed. Katropis's magic visions had horrible timing, if you ask me.
We all stood and watched, waiting for her to wake up again. Hopefully the message wouldn't be too cryptic. We didn't exactly have time to be wondering about omens and weird visions.
"I wonder why it does that," Frank remarked thoughtfully.
"Dunno. It's just some Beauty Queen magic thing," Leo replied cheerfully, shrugging as he tapped controls, instructing the ship to hover above the clouds until we returned.
"It probably has something to do with the Greek mythology behind it. I mean, it was Helen of Troy's ceremonial dagger, thousands of years ago," I suggested coolly. My nerves were on edge. I could feel the coldness, even from here, the distinct aura of death, and beneath it, the thick evil stink that wafted up from Tartarus. It was right below us.
The Necromanteion.
We threw the golden ladder down over the side of the ship, waiting for Piper to wake up so we could disembark.
Piper's body shuddered and she opened her eyes, the kaleidoscope of colors swirling. She sat up slowly, Jason's hand placed on her back. She smiled at her boyfriend briefly before the look dissolved.
"Something's going to happen. Someone's going to die. I—I can't even remember who it is," she said, rubbing her temples frantically. "And the Doors, they're huge. And Porphyrion was there, just like Nico said."
I nodded, my face grim. Even with the renewed energy I was feeling from being so close to the Underworld, I knew that Porphyrion would be more than a problem. It's not everyday that you face a twenty foot tall giant with talons for feet, green hair and a tendency towards violence. Not to mention that he's the son of Gaea and as powerful as Zeus.
With that happy thought in mind, we descended the ladder, one by one, each of us finally touching the ground for the first time in days. We were surrounded by coniferous forest, and I knew now that I needed to break the truth to them. They needed to understand what was going to need to be done once we got inside the temple and got near enough to the Doors.
"Guys, I need to tell you something, even though you probably already knew it. The Doors have a double seal, and they need to be closed from both sides," I told them. "Which means—"
"That someone has to close them from the other side, locking them into Tartarus," Jason finished, his head in his hands. We stood in silence, swallowing the news. Piper's vision made sense now. One of us was going to die.
I closed my eyes, trying to sense the souls of my mother and Bianca in the Fields of Asphodel. It calmed me. It was just like how some kids had a blanket or a nightlight when they went to sleep. I had the spirits of my family for when I went and faced probably death.
But something wasn't right. Their energy was too faint, almost as if one of them didn't exist. Panic rose up inside me. What could happen to cause a soul to be moved from the Fields of Asphodel?
"This happened, stupid."
I stood, completely still, entirely convinced that I had to be hallucinating. That was the one voice I'd never thought I'd hear again. And I could feel her aura—her life aura, which was something I hadn't felt in years, and something that I hadn't expected to feel again, ever.
This has to be a trick, I thought to myself. It was impossible. It defied the laws of nature, just like Daedalus.
But I couldn't stop myself from turning around to face Bianca di Angelo.
She stood there, dressed in her Hunter silver cargo pants, parka and combat boots, her hair braided, quiver slung over her shoulder and bow in hand. Just like she had two years ago before setting out of the quest across the country that got her killed.
She held out her arms, smiling slightly.
I walked into them, hugging her. I was as tall as her now, and we were the same age. I didn't even think of asking questions. Her arms were warm and she held me close.
"It's so good to see you and be able to hug you," she murmured.
"Ummm, sorry to interrupt the reunion, but who is she, exactly?" Jason asked, cocking an eyebrow suspiciously.
"Well, whoever she is, she is definitely attractive," Leo remarked, wolf whistling appreciatively. I glared at him.
"Guys, this is Bianca," I introduced. "My sister."
"Wait, but Hazel's your sister," Frank pointed out, clearly confused.
"Yeah. But this is my sister I had before. We had—have—the same last name and the same mortal mom. She'd a Hades kid," I explained, not wanting to breach the subject of Bianca's death. I was afraid if I said it, it would be some sort of taboo and she would die right then and there all over again. Only this time, I'd be able to see it happen.
"Nice to meet you all," Bianca said, smiling. "And, by the way, I'm a Huntress, so no dating, even though I'm only here temporarily."
I looked away. Hazel was staring at Bianca like she knew that this was all wrong and that Bianca shouldn't be here.
"You're a Huntress, like Thalia? Then haven't we met before?" Piper asked. "Last winter, we ran into you guys while we were on a quest, near Chicago. It was were Jason and Thalia met again."
Bianca cleared her throat and pursed her lips. "Yeah, well, I haven't been a Huntress for awhile, you see. I died two years ago, on a quest to save Artemis."
It was probably much like an atomic bomb by emotional standards, considering that they had just met her, had never heard about her, and especially since she was here, looking very much alive and well.
"Um… How does that work, exactly?" Frank inquired, shifting uncomfortably.
"Easy. I came back from the dead through the Doors. I'm just here to help you guys, since I had the opportunity. I don't plan on staying, since I don't exactly come back from the dead often," Bianca explained lightly.
"Oh, okay then. Then, uh, I guess we can get going. We have a world to save and a pair of Doors to close," Piper announced brightly, the tone of her voice cheering us all up. We began our walk towards the Necromanteion, quietly making our way through the pine trees.
The Necromanteion was old, very old. It the crumbling remains of a stone building, and a tourist attraction that was buzzing with activity, much to my distaste. Most of it was underground, and I didn't want mortals getting in the way. More often than never, living in a somewhat hidden world caused a lot of complications.
I filled Bianca in on the quest and the prophecy as we walked. She made a worried face when I mentioned Percy and Annabeth, but she was confident that we'd see them soon. "They're going to make it, Nico," she assured me in her elder sisterly way. I would never admit it, but I felt comforted by her presence.
"Guys, why don't we just pretend to be tourists," Piper suggested. "There's no point in trying to sneak in when I can just convince the tour guide to ditch us and we can get inside for free."
"Good point, Beauty Queen," Leo agreed and without warning, he walked out into the open, smiling like he wasn't some random kid in oil stained jeans and a bright orange tee shirt. He glanced back with a what? expression on his face and motioned for us to follow suit. I rolled my eyes and stepped out from behind the trees, following him towards the ruins.
"Watch and learn," Piper said, grinning sweetly before walking towards the entrance that was guarded by two Greek tour guides in uniform. She chattered pleasantly, probably suggesting they take an early lunch break while she and her friends toured the site. They nodded enthusiastically and walked off. Piper turned around, smiling.
"Viola, entrance for free," she said, stepping back to present the entrance to tunnels.
"Ladies first," Leo announced, stepping back in mock politeness. Bianca rolled her eyes.
"Please. Boys only say that when they're scared," she told him smartly before descending into the darkness below. I went second, followed by Hazel and the rest.
"Logically speaking, the Doors should be located in a place prohibited to tourists," Jason said. "So we shouldn't be looking anywhere too public or mainstream with signs."
"Come on," I said. "I can feel them."
I led them down a stretch of underground hallway dimly lit by torches placed there for display. I could sense the entrance to the Underworld getting closer. We took a few turns, and the signs disappeared and the torches became less frequent. A few, Warning, Unexplored Section signs were posted as we walked past, but I ignored them. Mortals could be so ignorant sometimes. Ignoring something that was staring them straight in the face.
"This is it," I breathed as I rounded a final corner before coming face to face with a dead end tunnel. "You've got to be joking," I muttered, kicking the wall angrily. I could sense the entrance on the other side like it was a living, breathing thing. It was there. The only problem was that there was a huge rock in between.
"Lovely. Sometimes the simplest things cause the biggest obstructions," Bianca remarked, sighing.
"Yeah, no kidding, Ghost Girl," Leo replied, tapping the rock with his hammer. "This thing is huge, and would take a whole army to move."
"Not when you have me," Hazel said, walking past me and placing her hand on the boulder. She closed her eyes, her fist clenching and sweat beading on her forehead. Cracks spread from where she was touching the rock, outward until it met the tunnel, and it crumbled, collapsing into a pile of dust and pebbles.
"Hazel!" Frank yelled as she stumbled forward, barely avoiding face planting onto the ground. She blinked sleepily, like it was one in the morning instead of one in the afternoon. I pulled my little bag of ambrosia out of my pocket and opened it, breaking off a piece and dropping it into her mouth. She opened her eyes and yawned.
"Yummy," she said, smiling. "Tastes like a candy bar."
"Yeah, a candy bar that can cause you to spontaneously combust if you eat too much," Leo said sarcastically as we walked through the opening. It was a massive cavern, just like the one from my dream where I'd spoken to Bianca. It mounted far above our heads, the black stone dark and forbidding. I pressed a finger to my lips and gave the others pointed looks before walking forward. If it was possible, I wanted to sneak past the giant king standing guard to avoid getting killed.
But of course, the Fates just had it in for me, and a pebble skittered across my path, the sound resounding throughout the cavern, echoing off the walls. Crap, I thought, cursing silently in Ancient Greek. We paused. Nothing.
We kept moving, creeping slowly forwards. The cavern was long, like some sort of underground corridor, leading ultimately to the Doors, which would make it difficult to get by unnoticed. As if the odds weren't bad enough.
The tall iron gates loomed into my vision, still wide open, the darkness of Tartarus still existent just beyond them. I hoped Percy and Annabeth had good timing. I said a quick prayer to my Dad. If he had to pick one of my prayers to answer, I would definitely prefer this one.
We walked closer and closer, and I knew we were tempting fate. Porphyrion would appear any minute and pummel us simply by stepping on us with his size one hundred feet. Not exactly my ideal way to go down, but beggars can't be choosers, as the saying goes.
I was formulating a plan in my head, trying to think of what Percy would do in this situation. He'd faced Atlas, Kronos, Hyperion, Polybotes and Alcyoneus, among others. I glanced over at Jason, who had the same hard, determined look he always wore before fighting. It had to be a Roman thing, I decided. I wondered if he was thinking along the same lines as I was. He'd defeated Krios, after all.
"He's coming," Bianca whispered. I didn't have time to speculate as to how she knew, though, because my brain was going a million miles per hour. Battle strategy wasn't my thing.
But then I guess that the Fates maybe did like me after all.
Because stepping out of the darkness, hand in hand and one of them slightly limping, were two of my favorite people in the world. And one of them just happened to be a daughter of Athena and a master battle strategist.
Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase.
Of course, my good luck didn't last long. It never does.
The steps of someone that had to be at least the size of an Olympian, if not bigger, could be heard from somewhere else inside the cavern. They were getting louder, and quicker. A laugh met my ears as the biggest monster I'd ever seen loomed into sight, smiling sadistically. He swung his massive sword to and fro like some sort of parade baton.
Porphyrion, bane of Zeus. He cackled, throwing his head, the weapons caught in his green hair clinking together, before turning to look at us, pity in his eyes.
"Ahh, so you've finally decided to join the party, heroes?"
Good? It was a long chapter, so if you don't like the length, I apologize. I just had a lot to write, and I love Nico's perspective so much! Anyways, Bianca was my little surprise, she will play an important role in the next two chapters. I know, only two more chapters until the end, and one of them might be an epilogue! I feel so accomplished! Please review, constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreciated! Thanks so much for reading!
-NotsoSugarQueen