This chapter is one of the longest I've ever written. Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions! Warning: You may want to get a tissue box. Also, there were a lot of memories I wanted to fit in, but not all of them had much to do with Nico's flaw, so I had to leave them out, unfortunately (before all you Nico fangirls start screaming at me...).
You guys are AMAZHANG! A bunch of reviews, a ton of follows, nearly as many favorites... WOO!
Catarina Persephone, fandomsforever2003, Minerva Arhedes, demigodforlife: Thanks for reviewing, they really inspire me! For some of you guys: you too!
CrazyBlueOwl: I know, right? Are the gods fighting again or something? And as for Albania... well, you'll see ;)
Rosycat: Haha, thanks! I really wasn't planning for the bit with Hera to be so... I don't know what you would call it. Inspiring, I guess? But it just came out that way and I ended up liking it, so, yeah. And comparing it with Rick's work is like the hugest compliment for a fangirl you can ever give. Thank you. Just. Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go stick my tongue out at his books (in a place of honor on my desk).
awesomeninja09: Thanks! I didn't mean for it to be so deep, but... ah, well. And EXCUSE ME? I'm obviously the HOTHOTHOT times a million HEAD!
Dorian Havilliard: We might need a huge meeting room... I mean, if we're gonna fit in all of Camp Jupiter and CHB in for the club... yum! Blue cookies!
SuzuBells: It's not very high, but at least my speed is pretty consistent! Merry (late) Christmas to you too! And you never know what Hera might do... *wink* You will never know how many times I misspelled Akhlys writing this chapter- was that a spoiler? Oh well...
KiyiyaTheHowlingWolf: Thanks for the suggestion and the compliment. You'll see that I actually used it. I wish that stuff never happens either... I did a bit of research (a bit) on the time period/people's thoughts, and... just... no.
Luna: I almost forgot about Bryce! Thanks for reminding me... I did use some of your suggestions. And I do that too!/ Thanks for the reviews XD
Guest #1: It was pretty extreme, but I just wanted to emphasize how losing his flaw changed how he acts. Thanks! (His brain does work in weird ways, though... XD)
Guest #2: Thanks! You're awesome! I don't live in those areas either... the weather has been so weird lately. Usually it's really cold where I live by now, but nooope...
DrWhy: Keep up the awesome reader-ship-ness (What did I just type...)!
greekgeekgirlbro: We've already got someone to make to pins and blue cookies for the club! (Dorian Havilliard) And thanks!
inblindingdarkness: (I love your username, by the way.) You'll find out ;)
RoseBadwolf1000: I wonder too... (facepalm as I realize I'm the author) Yeah, Nico has quite a lot of stuff... And that reminded me, I barely remember the sword of Hades story at all. Time to go find it online and read it... it's not exactly a 'limit', per say, but just a general... okay, fine. It is basically a limit, but I can make things into a single memory :) Like, sometimes in the books, there are memories they're watching (vague visions or whatever), and I can put that into a memory as the memories are being watched in the books... I'm confusing myself. HAPPY NEW YEAR! (It's horrible. My state usually has decent winters, but now... bleh.)
Anyone else: Thanks for reviewing, and if you had something I should reply to: [insert reply here]
Percy
After the flash faded, Percy found himself in an unfamiliar setting. It was some sort of street— but not the kind he was used to, being from modern New York. People in old-fashioned clothing bustled back and forth, speaking rapidly in a language Percy vaguely recognized as Italian. So this is Nico's childhood or something? A newspaper fluttered by, and Percy caught sight of the year—1939, or possibly sometime in the early 1940s? Percy had never paid much attention to history, but wasn't that the beginning of World War II?
It also happened to be a couple years before Nico's family traveled to America. Nico must have been… what, six or seven? Eight at most? Somewhere around that range, anyway. But Percy had thought that Nico couldn't remember his childhood in Italy. Glancing around, he saw several other confused demigods/flaws.
Grudge was clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles were white. Beads of perspiration ran down along his hairline. "Damn you, Hera—" he went on to say several unflattering things to the goddess, who had already disappeared (luckily for her). "I thought that this was just a dream or something…"
Piper threw him a puzzled look. "I thought that you couldn't remember most of your life before the Lotus Hotel?" Percy nodded.
"I can't. This must have been in my subconscious… I remember this now… holy shit…" Hazel looked simultaneously concerned for her half-brother and also scandalized at all the colorful language he was using. Percy didn't remember Nico swearing nearly that much; but this wasn't Nico. It was Grudge.
A sudden commotion brought Percy's attention back to the memory. A little boy with chocolate brown eyes and messy, windblown dark hair had cried out, pointing at a trio of men across the street. Nico..? A woman—his mother?—hushed him, her eyes growing wide at the sight. Percy almost didn't turn to see the men better, but he had to. He had a feeling in his gut that this was important. Grudge… grudges… something in the son of Hades' forgotten childhood… why did Hera think this memory was important? Nico didn't even remember it, for Poseidon's sake! But it had to be important enough for the queen of the gods to take notice of it at all.
One tall man was wearing some kind of uniform, and he shouted something at the other two men, who Percy could now see more clearly. Their fingers were intertwined, but as he watched, they stepped away from each other. One of them yelled something that sounded like Madonna (what?), and Grudge winced. The tall, uniformed man shouted back harshly—something about Pork and what sounded like Test the gazelle! Based on Grudge's reaction, though, he guessed that those were quite some colorful swears. The uniformed man pointed at the two men, spitting on their shoes.
"How—those homophobic bastards!" Piper exclaimed, sputtering out the words at the tall man. "How could they—"
"Wait… they're… together?" Guilt put together the pieces, realization dawning on her. "And that other man doesn't..?" Call Percy dense, but he still didn't understand what was going on. So, those men were a couple. And the other didn't like that. And… what did that have to do with Nic—oh!
Past Nico whimpered, hiding behind his mother. Piper gave an outraged squeak as the tall man forcefully shoved the couple inside a dark building, and the other people on the street went back to what they were doing before, averting their gazes. But Percy's eyes were on past Nico, whose eyes were now haunted. He followed the boy's gaze. There was an open window in the building. He saw fists whirling, and heard muffled cries, along with unsuccessful attempts to fight back. Fear's jaw was set, and she and Piper began to mutter angrily. Funnily enough, Percy didn't feel any anger. It was like everything was happening to a stranger. Well, it was, but still… even Duty was furious, and Nico was Greek!
Flash. Percy's stomach lurched only as he saw himself, and Dr. Thorn, the manticore who'd been at Nico and B-Bianca's school. Past Nico's eyes were wide, muttering something about attack power and hit points. Grudge scowled at his younger self, but softened when he saw Bianca—alive.
Past Percy was agilely dodging rapid volleys of missiles form the monster's tail, and suddenly ducked, pressing a button on his wristwatch while rolling out of the way. At the time, Percy had been occupied by, you know, trying to stay alive. But now, watching the memory from Nico's perspective… the huge shield made by Tyson spiraled out, emblazoned with heroic images. Past Nico's jaw hung open, and his head swiveled back and forth from the monster to Percy like he was watching a tennis match or something. Past Percy grimaced, and the wind blew his messy black hair back. Percy couldn't miss seeing past Nico stare—almost excitedly—at his own past self. If he'd been paying more attention… if Nico hadn't been from the 30s… if he wasn't a son of Hades… if I'd treated him better… no! It wasn't my fault he's the way he is! Suddenly, Percy despised himself for even thinking that. But he couldn't find it within himself to care.
Percy felt weird watching himself, especially since he now knew that Nico had had… uh, feelings for him. But that was nothing compared to what Grudge must've been feeling. Stop it! It's not my fault! Actually, it sort of was his fault. No… for once, Hera seemed to be right. His loyalty was leaving him as a completely different person. That wasn't good (or was it?).
"That was when I developed my crush," Grudge said quietly. His expression was unreadable, as he stared at his past self staring at past Percy.
Loyalty trained his eyes on the ground, but Percy didn't. He stared straight at Grudge, and the flaw looked back. The silent standoff was broken only by a golden flash—actually, not exactly a flash. More like a fading-out of the scene.
And then they were in Camp Half-Blood. Nico looked older and less carefree; he was speaking to past Percy… Holy Hades, no!
"Bianca…" past Percy swallowed visibly.
The Hazels paled, and the Annabeths' eyes widened in understanding. Jason awkwardly patted Grudge on the shoulder, while the Leos furrowed their brows.
Percy couldn't watch this memory. He couldn't. He'd replayed that scene enough times in his own mind—him telling Nico, Nico exploding, Nico running away. Hera… she'd put these two scenes together. Nico's crush on Percy, the "hero"—and his turmoil when the "hero" couldn't protect his sister. Sure enough, as he watched detachedly, past Nico sprinted away.
The flash was welcome, but once again, Percy recognized the place—this scene took place a few moments after the first part of the one before. But this time, past Nico and Bianca were the focus—not Percy, which was a huge relief. Some of the flaws, and even the demigods themselves, were already shooting dirty looks at Percy. It wasn't like he deserved that—did he? Suddenly, he knew how Leo felt when Percy had exploded at him after he'd fired on Camp Jupiter. The different was that it hadn't been Leo's fault. This was Percy's fault. He made a mental note to apologize to Leo. But he promptly forgot.
A faint silver glow surrounded Bianca, and Annabeth frowned. "This is after she joined the Hunters?" Grudge jerkily nodded in assent, focused with laser-like intensity on the unfolding scene.
"—but I don't understand!" past Nico said, a flurry of emotions in those simple words. "We only just found out about all this stuff! You haven't even seen Camp Whatever-it's-called yet!" Percy agreed. Though it had happened years ago, he still remembered Bianca pledging her loyalty to Artemis—essentially abandoning her little brother only a little bit after even finding out about the gods and monsters and everything.
But watching this conversation… Bianca had had her reasons for leaving him. After all, little Nico had been pretty annoying… a pang of conscience stopped this line of thinking. Losing loyalty… it was even causing Percy's entire personality to change! He just had to survive through these memories, and everything would be okay. If he could do it without strangling himself first, that was. The others looked like they had some problems, too. All the flaws looked as they should—Hera had said they wouldn't be affected. The demigods, on the other hand… suffice to say that they didn't appear to feel much better than Percy.
"Nico, I'm not leaving you—"
"Yes you are!"
Bianca looked fed up, and gestured at little Nico's Mythomagic figurines. "Wouldn't you want to be immortal?"
"Not if it meant losing you!"
Complete silence greeted the statement. Grudge's head was ducked, his shaggy hair covering much of his face. Percy got the feeling that that was on purpose. Guilt looked stricken, and Insecurity's breath hitched. In fact, as Percy looked around, most of the others had a strong reaction. Not if it meant losing you… that could apply to pretty much anything. Fear pressed herself against Jason, whose hands were shaking. Inferiority's eyes shone with unshed tears (though he began to fiddle with some bolts), while Annabeth shivered violently. "Not if it meant losing you," past Nico repeated quietly. Percy put his arm around his girlfriend, and found that his arm was trembling. Not if it meant losing you.
So many people lost… Bianca, Beckendorf, Silena. Ethan, Luke… the list went on and on. Bianca—Percy should've persuaded her to stay at camp. Beckendorf—Percy should've been the one to take the risk. Silena—he should've noticed what was wrong… Ethan—he should've convinced him to join the gods' side. Luke—if Percy had done things differently… No. No. He couldn't think like that.
Bianca was at a loss. "You—you'll have fun at camp, Neeks… we can always—"
"What happened to sticking together?" past Nico interrupted, looking up at his older sister. A flash, and the siblings were gone.
And now Nico was much older. He had paled, and wore all-black clothing. He twisted his skull ring on a finger, his dark hair in his eyes as he walked to his cabin in Camp Half-Blood. Whispers accompanied him on his way.
"Son of Hades… he could, like, kill you if you annoy him!" True, but not gossip-worthy.
"I heard he once killed someone—a group of mortals!" Uh, no.
"I heard he only saved us in the war because Percy Jackson bribed him!" First off, not true and not cool—and since when do I bribe people?! Since when is Nico even bribe-able? How the Hades did these rumors even start? Past Nico's posture stiffened as they mentioned Percy, which Percy knew he should feel bad about. But he just didn't. And wasn't that just great? Note the sarcasm… or maybe he wasn't being sarcastic at all. Percy couldn't even tell anymore, so he gave up trying.
As past Nico neared the Hades cabin, two figures approached in the distance—past Percy and Annabeth. (How many of these am I in?) The couple walked hand-in-hand, occasionally laughing or teasing each other with smiles. Past Nico walked by them, scowling as usual. He ignored everyone else and went to his cabin, slamming the heavy door shut. But before it closed fully, Percy saw Nico collapse on the ground, his face buried in his arms, his stoic demeanor all but gone. "I'll never belong."
He lay there, muttering self-deprecating things. But the only one Percy could make out was "I'll never belong." The door swung shut. I'll never belong… that was what Nico thought. And there, in that dark, bleak cabin, there was no one there to tell him otherwise.
The flash distracted Percy from his none-too-cheerful thoughts. Now the memory-watchers were… oh gods. It was… Tartarus. But not the Tartarus Percy and Annabeth had seen—it was the true horror of the pit, in all of its terrifying glory. If the watered-down version of it was indescribable, then this was unimaginable. He could see the heartbeat of Tartarus pumping the ground. He could hear the thumps and hisses of the monsters who dwelled in the darkness. He could smell the acidity in the air, and could almost reach out and touch bits of Tartarus. He could even taste the blood and putridness. Sure, none of that made sense.
Tartarus didn't make sense. The pit was just… bad enough the first time, with a dulled version. Worse—much worse—this time, with the full reality of it, even in a memory. Percy couldn't even begin to imagine how Nico had survived it alone. This is what Nico had to go through… Annabeth clutched tightly onto Percy, and him, her. From the corner of his eye, he saw the others (who'd only ever seen the watered-down Tartarus in a memory) practically fainting from the terrifying sights. And past Nico walked through the desolate wasteland in rags, but very much alive.
"Why the Hades should I help them?" he yelled into the darkness after disintegrating a pair of dimwitted monsters. "Screw them…" Even Leo couldn't make a dumb joke out of that. Only Tartarus can silence the no-filter-no-Inferiority-Leo… "Damn you, Percy." And the son of Hades continued on his journey, until he encountered Akhlys, anyway. Percy shuddered at the sight of the misery goddess.
"Ooh… you. I like you—so much pain and misery in fourteen short years… but then again, that's not even your true age, is it? Pulled out of time… and your sister—the only one who accepted you—dead, to boot."
Past Nico stiffened as the goddess ambled around him, eyeing him hungrily as if he were a piece of tasty meat. "You know nothing about me."
"Oh?" Misery smiled wolfishly, which wasn't a good look. "All that sorry and pain—I know enough. There's little more that I can do to you, anyway! Perfect…" Gaea's forces rushed the son of Hades, overpowering him by sheer force of numbers as his expression crumpled. And then the gold flash came.
Percy saw Reyna, Coach Hedge, and another demigod—and unfamiliar, sleazy-looking guy—locked in the middle of a huge mass of skeletal warriors. Past Nico stood behind the barricade, glaring furiously at the demigod. Percy suddenly realized who it was—Bryce Lawrence, the son of Orcus who'd tried to kill Coach Hedge and Nico, and take Reyna captive on their quest to return the Athena Parthenos. And he was threatening the trio.
The air suddenly became freezing—below freezing. Even the Leos shivered. Waves of darkness crashed and broke in midair. Pain… anger… loss… Nico's emotions expelled, and Percy saw more of Nico's life than he'd ever seen before. There was Zeus blasting his mother to bits. There was Percy failing him. There was him being ostracized by practically everyone. There was him fighting against an invisible opponent. There was his journey through Tartarus. His pain was Percy's pain. His anger was Percy's. His loss was Percy's. And standing over Bryce Lawrence, Nico dispelled him into a mere ghost. An emotionless, chattering, mindless spirit—a shell of his former self.
Percy thought he understood why that memory was chosen—Nico's grudges… they could literally ghostify a living being. His emotions could get the better of him. That was what could happen if you got on the wrong side of him.
After that, the new scene was a definite relief. (But of course, thinking that probably jinxed it.) The demigods now stood in the ruins of an ancient Roman town, overgrown with grass. Past Nico and Jason stood by a broken column. No one else was there, but past Nico trembled. After that last memory… what could possibly scare the deadly son of Hades? Jason's and Nico's swords were both drawn, facing in different directions.
Grudge cursed, breaking the silence, and Duty glared at the ruins like they'd personally caused the rise of Gaea. Jason and Loyalty's eyes were wide. All the girls looked worried, and even the Franks and Leos seemed like they were beginning to understand. Percy didn't. Or maybe he was just trying to pretend to himself that he didn't, because he did know what this was.
Cupid.
Cupid's voice boomed out among the ruins, and Grudge cringed. The invisible god taunted past Nico, and past Jason called to Nico, asking what Cupid even wanted from him. Percy knew.
Tell him, Nico di Angelo. Tell him you're a coward, afraid of yourself and your feelings. Tell him the real reason you ran from Camp Half-Blood, and why you are always alone. The ground split open, with skeletons pouring out of the earth, seemingly endlessly. Waves of shadow enveloped Percy, even as Cupid taunted Nico again—much as a predator would tease their prey. Fear… hatred… shame… anger… he felt everything in that wave of darkness. Love… resentment… misery… sadness… loneliness… love. Love.
Images flickered on the inside of his eyes and Percy saw himself again—fighting for Nico, promising Nico, failing Nico—he couldn't even breathe. All that pain, terror, horror—the inner anguish… dozens of images shimmered in front of the demigods, all from Nico's point of view. The darkness—if even possible—increased, and Percy realized that Grudge was contributing his own not-so-little cloud of gloom.
Past Nico's army struggled with the invisible Cupid, but Cupid kept fighting back. Percy forgot to breathe as Cupid, Jason, and Nico shouted. He couldn't hear them. His friends were speaking, but he ignored them. Cupid… Nico…
The darkness faded slightly. "I—I wasn't in love with Annabeth." It would have been easier if he had.
"You were jealous of her… it makes total sense." Past Jason said quietly.
The darkness retreated completely, along with the dead warriors. Past Nico's voice was like broken glass. "I hated myself—I hated Percy Jackson." As soon as the words left his mouth, Cupid became visible. He wasn't a cute, chubby, diapered baby at all. He was made of lean muscle—handsome, but harsh and angular. The arrows he carried were nothing like the ones on Valentine's Day cards. They were lethal weapons of war. He was a soldier, a warrior. He was love.
Percy wanted to care about all this. He really, truly did.
Hera was right and wrong. He really was losing his flaw. But after watching the memories, his loyalty still wasn't back. Or if it was, it was hidden inside some of the kelp he had for brains. He wanted to yell at it—Hurry up and get back! I need to care about this stuff!
But without Loyalty, he just didn't.
Muwahahaha! But the story isn't over yet, since obviously the flaws and demigods aren't joined again...
Update will be on... hmm... Sunday-Tuesday next week? Don't expect Sunday... HAPPY EARLY NEW YEAR! And if you're reading this on New Year's... then... well, HAPPY LATE READING OF THE UPDATE!
Any guesses as to how they'll get back together again (I sound like a person whose OTP broke up...)? "They", meaning the demigods and their flaws. I have an idea, but I'm curious to what you guys think. (ooh gods 4k words...)
See you next year!