Groaning, Bianca got to her feet, forcing her eyes open. Her prison was covered in a fine layer of soot and ash, and the smell of smoke still hung in the air like a thick thundercloud. She wasn't restrained, unlike the others, but she might as well have been for how hard it was to move. Her clothes were riddled with holes and scorch marks, stiff against her skin that had turned an ugly shade of red from the fire. The tips of her braid were singed, and whenever she touched her hair, little pieces would crumble off into the ash pile at the floor.
Sighing, she redid her braid to the best of her ability while lacing up her combat boots. Luckily, Bianca still had a small, silver dagger hidden in the heel of her right boot that hadn't been confiscated from her, but her bow that appeared on her body at will somehow was taken from her. She still didn't understand why she was brought back; she had been reborn. From what she guessed, her body was physically sixteen now, the age she should've been had she never died.
Bianca shrugged her shoulders, standing at attention as she peered out of the glass. To her left was an empty container with a blue-green light filtering above it; to her right was another container, but this one held someone that was currently enduring their worst nightmare as the lights had been cut off with black fog billowing around the inside. Opposite her was the final container with gray light illuminating it, and she could make out the sight of spiders and cobwebs and a girl cowering against the sides.
Just then the blue-green light flared violently as that container's prisoner appeared. He was taller than everyone Bianca had seen so far-about six-feet tall. His hair was raven black with unruly, wavy locks that for some reason made Bianca suspicious of the newcomer. Once he finally opened his eyes as he looked around, she was surprised to see their piercing sea green color. She had only ever met one person with those eyes-Percy Jackson. But what was he doing here? Last Bianca knew of him, he and Nico along with some of their friends had been running through the Labyrinth.
His eyes widened comically when he caught a sight of her, and she just meekly waved, giving him what she hoped to be a small smile. Honestly, it most likely came out as a grimace. Bianca saw the worry in Percy's eyes as he mouthed: Are you okay? She shrugged in response. It felt weird talking to him now. She remembered Percy as the scrawny thirteen-year-old boy that had rescued her and Nico from Dr. Thorne, not as this incredibly muscular and intimidating adult. She might've blushed, but in this form she was still a Hunter-she still had to maintain her vow. Or did she? She was still confused, and no one seemed to be giving her any answers.
The lady that Bianca had seen walking around before-the same lady that had kidnapped her and shoved her into this prison-appeared in front of Percy's container with grace as her dress train flowed behind her almost like a wedding gown. It took Bianca a moment to realize that the lady was indeed wearing a wedding gown.
The gown was white, but more like a vanilla kind of white instead of pure white. Bianca appreciated the fact that it was modest with lacy sleeves that covered her shoulders and stopped right past the elbow. The neckline was in the shape of a sweetheart design, not plunging to reveal cleavage. At the bottom the dress took on a princess shape, being a full skirt that still hung semi-limply around her legs with the train being at least two feet long with white lace and trimmings along the edges. Around her torso the fabric was cinched, making it look like a sash using the same material as the main part of the dress. Little snowflakes had been stitched into the bodice with beads, and some of them were blue.
Right, Bianca thought, that poem must still be around. Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.
Her hair was all pulled over one shoulder in a beautiful fishtail braid that had diamonds every so often in a waterfall motion. With the dark brown color of her hair, everything stood out profusely against the pale or bright colors of her makeup and jewelry. Her lips were a blood red with light pink blush and matching eyeshadow. In her hand was a bouquet of red roses and purple tulips all held together with a white bow-but the stems were being crushed in her tight grip. It was a wonder the stems hadn't snapped altogether.
Bianca flinched as the lady began to scream at Percy, throwing her hands in the air in a violent motion as her hair started to become undone. She must've been so angry at Percy, because all of a sudden Bianca could hear what she was saying from her usually sound-proof prison. Also, all of their fears stopped at once, melting back into the Mist they had come from.
"You imbecile!" she screamed, punching the glass so hard it cracked under her punch. "You ruined everything!"
Percy smirked. "Well, your master hasn't kill you yet, Leto, so you must still be of value to him."
"P-Percy?" the girl opposite Bianca asked. "Is it really you?"
"Annabeth," Percy gasped out with a breath, pressing himself against the glass in the nearest possible position to her. "It's me. I'm okay, don't worry about me."
"I-I saw you every night," Annabeth sobbed. "Drowning and screaming…and I would call out your name…but you never heard me."
"Shh, Wise Girl. I'm here and that's all that matters." He turned to look across the room before wincing. "I'm sorry, Will. I never planned for it to-"
The other boy-Will-raised his hand to stop Percy's rant. He was shorter than Percy, and looked like his complete opposite. A lanky build, blonde mop of hair, and striking blue eyes that were the same color as the sky looked back at the other boy.
"Don't worry about it," Will said, giving a pained smile as he rubbed his wrists where he had been chained. "I'm just glad you could comfort him."
"And you're okay with this?"
"As long as Nico's happy, I don't care."
"What about Nico?" Bianca asked. All three sets of eyes looked at her, probably forgetting that she was there at all. She shrunk in on herself from the attention for a few seconds before standing confidently again. She was a Hunter, and they held themselves with confidence. "What happened to my brother?" she demanded again.
"Brother?" Annabeth and Will asked at the same time.
"Annabeth, Will," Percy said. "Meet Bianca di Angelo, Nico's older, biological sister."
After staying in Alaska for the past week, Nico had nearly forgotten what a decent bed felt like. The Labyrinth exit had deposited them in the middle of Florida in a city called Orlando, at least that's what the signs said the city was called. How they ran from Washington to Florida in a few hours made no sense to Nico, but whatever, the Labyrinth has its own rules.
Currently they were in a small hotel called Best Western on International Drive, most likely the busiest street the city had to offer. Nico had never personally been to Florida ever, but some of the demigods that only came for the summer that lived in Florida are always saying how you haven't had a childhood if you didn't go to the Disneyworld in Orlando. Apparently, Nico never had a childhood.
He pulled the window to his room open just a crack, relishing in the cold winter breeze that rushed into his room. He had never thought as Florida of being cold, but from the maps in the lobby he had seen, Orlando was in the northern part of the state-the part of the state that actually had a winter.
Nico looked outside, surprised by the quantity of cars and people that were still out and about on the street heading to some of the nearby restaurants and clubs and attractions. Gift shops lined the road with flashing neon lights, enticing customers to go buy useless junk that would probably end up as a paperweight with sentimental value in a few weeks. While the place might not have been as busy and full of people as New York, there was still an appreciable amount for midnight.
They had gotten a room for the night with two queen-sized beds in the back room with a kitchenette in the hallway, a bathroom right in front of it, and in the main room was a dining table, a pull-out couch, a cushion-y chair, and a flat screen TV. In the bedroom there was another TV, too.
"Well, I don't know about you two," Piper said, "but I'm taking a shower." She grabbed a towel off the bed and head off into the bathroom. A few seconds later the sound of running water could be heard.
"How are you doing?" Jason asked him, taking the chair from the desk as he sat next to Nico.
Nico sighed, shutting the window and drawing the blinds closed. "I don't know," he replied, turning his own chair around to face the older boy. "He's still out there-and I know he's not dead-but I can't help but think something bad happened to him."
He felt Jason throw an arm across his shoulders, pulling him into a side hug. "Percy's strong, Nico; he'll be fine."
"But you don't know that."
"I have to hope." Jason retracted his arm and looked at the closed blinds, almost like he was trying to look past the fabric to see the busy street down below. "Sometimes," he said softly, "hope is all you have to go off of."
"That I know, Jason," Nico said, giving him a half-smile. "As long as Hestia guards Elpis, we can hope for the better."
Piper then walked into the room in her green tank and black sweats with a white towel wrapped around her hair. She pulled a seat up next to the two of them. "I was thinking-"
"That's dangerous," Jason interrupted, earning a glare from his girlfriend in return.
"I was thinking," Piper restarted, "about something Jason told me back in LA. And I've been having these dreams where…" She shuddered at whatever she was remembering before starting up again. "Where this huge army launched an attack against Olympus, and they won. I saw each of our parents getting chopped to bits with Kronos' scythe, but instead of Kronos wielding the scythe it was…it was…"
"You don't need to do this to yourself," Nico told her. "If it's this bad, wait a little before telling us."
"No, I need to tell you guys this, because I don't know how much time we have left. I do remember hearing something about the winter solstice, though."
Jason swore in Latin. "The winter solstice is the darkest day of the year, where evil magic can stir and reawaken much easier than on any other day of the year."
"And it's the only day my father's allowed on Olympus for the annual meeting," Nico added bitterly.
"Anyways, the person killing our parents, the person leading the army, well, it was Percy," Piper finished. "I have no idea why or what happened, but there was something in his eyes, almost like a ring of pure gold around his pupil that seemed to expand and cover his iris as he slashed at everything in his path."
"Kronos," Nico hissed, abruptly standing up from his chair, causing it to fall on the floor with a crash. He grabbed a pillow from the head of the bed before repeatedly punching it until he composed himself. "I swear to the gods if he did something to Percy, I will end him."
"Whoa, slow down there, Nico," Jason said. "While you are incredibly powerful, he's still a Titan, who may or may not be more powerful this time."
"Thanks for the information, Piper. I'm taking a shower then going to bed." Nico grabbed another towel and went into the bathroom, shucking off his clothes before stepping into the shower, which had all the pressure of a leaky faucet. At least with all the streams working, it was more like a waterfall than a shower.
He washed his hair quickly, using the complementary shampoo the hotel left before washing his body and rinsing off. Nico dried himself off before deciding to sleep with only his shirt on, sleeping without pants. It didn't bother him anyway; he had gotten one of the beds to himself.
His head hit the pillow, and within seconds, Nico slipped into the realm of Morpheus.
Nico almost sighed in relief when he found himself in the chamber that held his friends captive. He saw Leto in the middle of the floor, screaming her head off, cursing the gods in Ancient Greek, and sobbing with makeup smearing her face.
Percy was there, and he ran over to the tube that held him, immediately sliding to his knees. He's alive! Nico thought to himself as a single tear of joy traced down his cheek. Percy smiled down at him.
"Told you I'd find you," Percy said cheekily, smiling as happiness shimmered in his green eyes.
"You freaking bastard!" Nico yelled. "Why do you keep doing this to yourself?"
He had the audacity to shrug, and Nico wanted to rip his head off just as much as he wanted to kiss him for still being alive.
"Just a pawn for the Fates, Death Angel. Now, if you could get us out of here,"-Percy gestured around the room-"we would be ever so grateful. Plus, you have someone waiting for you. Two someone's actually," he finished with a chuckle.
Nico got up, slashing his Stygian iron sword against the glass, cutting it like butter. With Leto not paying attention and holding the magical barriers up, Nico could finally free his friends. He got Percy out first, and they shared a quick hug before Percy pulled out Riptide to help him free the others. Nico fought back tears when he freed Will and Bianca-they looked gods awful.
Will's wrists and ankles were rubbed raw from the chains that had been holding him, and there was now a haunted look in his sky blue eyes that hadn't been there before. Bianca looked like she had just escaped from a burning building with her skin a tender pinkish color, burned clothes and hair, and ash covering her from head-to-toe. But both were smiling like nothing bad had happened and held him in a tight embrace as his strength failed him, and he began to brokenly sob. It had hurt him too much to see three people he loved-and one of his good friends-be subject to their worst nightmares over and over again in a vicious cycle.
"My little warrior," Bianca said softly, running her hand through Nico's messy hair. He hugged her tighter, afraid that if he'd let go she'd disappear again. He should've tried harder to convince her not to join the Hunters. "I love you, Nico."
"I missed you," he said through his sobs. "I'm sorry, Bianca."
"It's not your fault, mio soldato. I chose to join Artemis, just as I chose to sacrifice myself for my friends. You still have the statue, right?"
Nico wiped his eyes before reaching inside his jacket. He pulled out the little statue of Hades his sister had died for. "I never go anywhere without it."
Bianca smiled before forcing his hand closed over the statue with her own hand. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, stepping aside for Will to talk with him. Nico almost started crying again when Will embraced him in a tighter hug than Bianca had done. He kept whispering that he was okay, and that he loved him, even in death.
"Will...I-I should've said something to Apollo, or maybe if I had gone along-"
"And do what?" Will asked incredulously. "Get yourself killed? Cecil only barely survived, and that was because Lou Ellen decided to cast a protection spell over him after Annabeth and I had already began attacking Python. There was no saving the three of us, Nico."
"But I could've shadow traveled you guys out of there! I could've saved everyone's lives!" Nico exclaimed.
"It was our time, Nico," Will said gently, caressing the side of Nico's face. "The Fate's cut our string, Thanatos took our souls, we crossed the Styx into the Underworld, but there was a reason we're here now and not alive with you guys."
"It's so unfair!"
"Hey, don't say that. I'll get to you see you someday in Elysium, okay? It better not be in the next few decades, but I'll be waiting. Plus, you have the second best guy in the world as your boyfriend right now, enjoy him." Will looked over Nico's shoulders, looking at Percy. "You all warned me not to break Nico's heart, and I especially remember yours and Jason's threat, Jackson. Now it's my turn: Break his heart, and I will come back from Elysium, slap you upside the head so hard you go into a coma for a few months, and we will have words when you enter the Underworld."
Percy held up his hands in surrender. "I understand. Trust me, Nico would probably send me to Elysium faster than you can say: Oops."
Annabeth snorted in laughter, covering her mouth with her hand afterwards as she blushed at the sound that had escaped. Everyone laughed, making her blush a little harder. She had an arm around Percy's waist, but it looked more like in a friendly manner than as a girlfriend.
"I'm just happy you moved on," Annabeth said with a small smile, leaning her head onto Percy's shoulder. "But we should do something about this psycho lady. I don't feel like going back with the spiders anytime soon." She shuddered at the thought, and Percy pulled her tighter, almost like a security blanket.
"We'll get you back to Elysium, I promise," Percy said. "But I have one question. Bianca, what are we going to do with you?"
Bianca knit her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Well, are you alive or dead, for starters? Second, weren't you reborn? What would happen to your current body, or did they die since you were taken hostage?"
"I-I have honestly no idea how to answer your questions, Percy, and that scares me."
"She's alive," Nico said. "She has a soul that I can sense. As for her reborn self," Nico shrugged, "I don't know. We'll figure that out as we go."
They had gotten so caught up in talking with each other that they completely forgot about the slightly insane Titaness that was still in their midst, who was still hysterical and not in the right state of mind. Nico only remembered that Leto was still there when Percy's sentence was cut off by him screaming as the tip of a Celestial bronze sword appeared through his chest.
"Percy!" Annabeth screamed, holding him as he collapsed onto his side while Bianca and Nico leapt into action, engaging Leto in a deadly dance.
He heard Will get to work on trying to save him, but Nico already felt him starting to slip away. No! he thought, not again! He fought harder, pressing the Titaness as hard and as fierce as he could while Bianca was by his side, holding a dagger the length of her palm as they tag-teamed on her.
Nico got in multiple hits, shredding the wedding dress she had been wearing into nothing more than white strips of cloth. Ichor and blood splattered the wooden floor they fought on, each from wounds they had sustained. Nico grit his teeth every time he lifted his sword arm, because Leto had scored an ugly slash on his shoulder blade, cutting into his skin. He found comfort in the fact that right across her chest, where the sweetheart neckline of the dress was, ichor was pouring over her bust and onto her dress from when Bianca threw her knife. From what he could gather, the cut was deep, but not deep enough to do any lasting damage to Leto.
He and Bianca finally managed to corner Leto, throwing her into one of her own prison cells. He shadow traveled the chains that had held Will captive over to their position, and he chained the Titaness before wrapping the tube with the excess chains as an extra precaution. Percy was most likely dying, because they hadn't been careful; he wasn't going to let that happen again.
"You brought this upon yourself, son of Hades!" Leto screeched. "I warned you a soul would fall!"
"Shut up!" Nico shouted back, tying one more knot with the chains around the tube before running over to Percy.
"I'm fine," Percy said through gritted teeth, trying to sit up.
"Stop moving!" Will reprimanded him. "I'm trying to stop the blood flow, not make it come out faster!"
Nico gripped Percy's free hand, the one Annabeth wasn't clutching onto like a lifeline (or would it be a death-line since she was dead?). He pressed his lips against Percy's calloused knuckles, surprised how warm they were even though he was dying.
"You said you wouldn't leave me," Nico said in a broken voice.
"And I…" Percy coughed, spitting up blood on his chin. "I keep…my promises. I…keep…them." His breathing became ragged, scaring Nico even more. He was surprised that the blow hadn't immediately killed Percy, but…he didn't think it would be so soon.
"Yes, you do. You're a dork, my dork." Nico fought to keep his voice from quavering. He wouldn't let the last thing his boyfriend see of him be him crying.
Will desperately tried singing a hymn to Apollo, and though Percy glowed with the yellow light of the sun, blood continued to pour through the white strands of cloth Will had used as a bandage.
Nico got an idea, but he was going to need Will and Annabeth's help to pull this off.
"How good are your singing voices?" he asked.
"Decent," Annabeth said. "Nothing like Percy, though."
"You know the answer to that," Will said, taking a break from the hymn, before starting up again.
"Bianca, apply pressure to the wound," Nico told her before turning back to the others. "We're going to pull an Orpheus while he's still alive, and I know just the song. 'You Are My Sunshine' by Elizabeth Mitchell."
Will looked a little pained at Nico's choice of song but just nodded his head, continuing to tighten the bandages around Percy's wounds.
Then they began: "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away.
"The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms. When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken, and I hung my head and cried.
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away. Please don't take my sunshine away," they finished softly.
Between the three of them, they generated enough light to illuminate the small circle in the space inside of the glass prisons. Bianca was still pressing tightly against the red-soaked bandages, tying on more strips of cloth to increase the pressure as they sang.
Will concentrated all of their light into the palms of his hands, cupping them right above Percy's chest before letting the light disperse, rushing back into the wound. By this point, Percy had already passed out from the blood loss, but he was still alive-barely. Nico felt a tightness in his chest from how much strength this was draining for him. But he would give up all his strength if it would save Percy. He felt really bad for Will, though, because healing drained him as badly as shadow traveling did for him. The light only partially knitted up the wound, though, and blood still seeped through, but not as much. Bianca changed the bandages much faster than any of them ever could with fresh wedding dress strips, tying another tight not.
"This should stanch the blood flow for another few minutes before I need to change them again," Bianca said, wiping her bloodied hands on her jeans, smearing the liquid. "Now, why would that lady stab Percy?"
"To kill him," Annabeth said bluntly.
Bianca shook her head. "Not what I meant. I mean, why him? We were all oblivious to the incoming attack, and she targeted Percy. There must be some reason."
Nico drew a blank at first, until the last conversation he had with Piper came back in his memory: "The person leading the army, well, it was Percy." He muttered a curse in Italian, giving Percy's hand a gentle squeeze before looking up. "Let me see the sword he got impaled with," Nico asked, holding his hand out for the hilt.
Annabeth reached over, grabbing the celestial bronze sword that was now covered in Percy's blood. There was something off from the blade, and though he didn't know how metals worked like Hazel did, he knew that this wasn't the typical Celestial bronze weapon demigods and immortals carried-it was enchanted. He touched the blessed metal, flinching away at the sheer power that emanated from the blade.
He blanched as he recognized the enchantment from the time the Hecate cabin had pranked the Ares cabin. Nico chucked the sword as far away from them as possible, but he conceded that he was slightly tempted to pierce Leto's heart with the magic to have a taste of her own medicine, so to say.
"Ugh," Nico grumbled. "Things are never going to go his way, are they?"
"What do you mean?" Will asked.
"There was something in the sword," Annabeth said. "I felt that much, but I can't remember what it was."
"Soul Switch magic," Nico told them solemnly, biting his lip as he did so. Why couldn't anything be simple for him? They were all pawns, but this was pushing it too far.
They all gasped-save for Bianca, who looked absolutely mystified. Annabeth started to cry, holding Percy's hand up to her cheek as tears slipped down her face. Will paled, but ignored the information, deciding to save his life first and ask questions later.
"What is Soul Switch magic?" Bianca asked.
"It changes you," Nico said gravely. "Makes you your complete opposite. And the only way to reverse the effects is to get a second dose. We can't use the sword, because it already used up its dosage. Unless we can procure another dose…I don't want to think about it."
"Percy…he's incredibly strong and powerful," Annabeth said quietly. "If this turns him against Olympus, well, I wouldn't want to be the person fighting against him. Tartarus unlocked something within him, and he's so in touch with Poseidon's domains now that it's absolutely terrifying to watch him fight."
"If he's as strong as you say he is," Bianca said, "we must restrain him. Not now, but while he is sleeping. Are any of you in the mortal world with him?" No one replied to her question. "I see. Well, this technically is my consciousness, so I will make sure that I get to him while he's sleeping. Hopefully, his real body didn't sustain this kind of damage."
"I can only pray to the gods that he'll pull through," Will muttered.
Nico just shut his eyes, wishing that he could be anywhere but here right now.
Percy once again saw Thanatos in his vision, scrolling through something on his black iPad, looking up only after he sat up, rubbing his chest in pain. Resentment seemed to stir inside him looking at the god, but he tried to quell it down. He wasn't sure he could hide the emotion off his face, though, worrying him.
Scowling, he asked, "What do you want now, Thanatos?"
The god of death gave him a dry laugh, and his iPad vanished in a poof of black smoke. His eyes were hidden by sunglasses, but his pale lips quirked at the corners, almost like a malevolent grin. "Twice in two weeks," he said. "I'm truly surprised that you're still fighting."
"Well, I'm a fighter; I don't die easily, Thanatos."
Thanatos's black wings ruffled in annoyance, and his grin transformed into a growl. "Do not push me, demigod. As much respect as my boss and the other Olympians have for you, you have yet to earn my respect."
"Even after I helped free you from Alaska?" Percy asked sarcastically, lifting his hand up to his chest in mock hurt. "Wow, I see where I stand."
"Frank Zhang freed me, if my memory serves me correctly, not you."
"But I gave Frank-You know what? Forget it, Thanatos. Now, if you're going to take my soul, do it. I don't care."
"You would leave your boyfriend?" Thanatos asked with true curiosity in his voice. "Why?"
Percy struggled to his feet, but he shrugged. "It's not like it was my intention to be run through by an insane Titaness; but if it's my time to pass into the Underworld, then I'll go. Everyone dies eventually, my time just came now instead of later…but I fully accept that."
"You're brave indeed, Perseus. Alas, I haven't come to claim your soul. You have been hit with Soul Switch magic, and I believe you know this."
He shuddered, resentment boiling in him once more. It became harder to quell the anger. "Please don't bring it up," Percy pleaded. "It makes the unwanted anger worse, and I really don't want to attack you."
Thanatos nodded in agreement, observing Percy with his coal black eyes. "The daughter of my lord has come back, though I am not sure how. I will tell her how to receive a second dosage of the magic to return you to normal, but don't be surprised if you wake up heavily restrained."
"Do me a favor, will you?" Percy asked.
"I do not do favors, demigod," Thanatos warned him sharply.
"Well, this could change the fate of Olympus if you don't do this for me." Percy sucked in a deep breath, positive that his plan was insane-it might even kill him if he stuck to ii for too long. "Tell my father to disown me, to revoke all of my powers that he has given me."
The god of death looked shocked by the request, but kept all comments to himself-except for, "How long do you think you'll survive the disownment?"
"A week, maybe two if I'm lucky. It'll be worse, since I'm a child of the sea, but this is the only possible solution. I mean, unless you want my captors to continue forcing me into unconsciousness, so I don't slaughter them all. Thanatos, please. I'm trying to prevent more casualties by doing this."
Thanatos nodded his head. "I'll agree to your terms, but you must do something for me in return."
"Which is?" Percy asked.
"I have two daughters that live in Texas, but their mother," Thanatos cut his sentence off. "Whatever the case may be, she is incapable of taking care of our children anymore. I would like for you to bring them to Camp Half-Blood to be properly trained."
"Of course, my lord," Percy said, bowing with difficulty to the god. "I just need the city and their names, and that should be enough to locate them."
"My eldest is ten; her name is Layla. Her sister is seven and goes by the nickname Nyx, but in reality her name is Nightingale. Nyx is vicious if you call her by her birth name; a mortal now is terrified of the night now, because of her," Thanatos said with ease, almost like he was proud that his daughter might've maimed someone. "They live in the city of Houston, near a burned down warehouse."
"That is all I need to know," Percy said cordially. "I promise I'll get them to camp. Don't forget about my message!"
Thanatos actually gave a low chuckle, sending all of Percy's nerves on edge, like he was about to be struck down with a blast of godly energy. "You may still be able to earn my respect, Perseus. Until we meet again, but this time I do hope you're not on the verge of Me."
"That goes for both of us. Goodbye, Thanatos."
Percy watched as the god of death spread his wings their full wingspan-about ten feet-and he shot off in the opposite direction of Percy's soul. He looked down at his chest again, his shirt still stained with blood.
The wound didn't hurt at all, but he stayed still, hopefully giving the others an easier time to heal him. At least he wasn't dying, he thought to himself, settling comfortably back into his own body for the night.
Blinding light jolted Percy awake, and had it not been for the chains on his wrists and ankles, he would've strangled the person who had flashed the light in his eyes. Blinking the spots from his vision away, he bared his teeth at the person that tried to touch him.
"It's a good thing we got him in those chains," a female voice that he recognized commented. Her voice was sweet and full of innocence, and Percy hated it. She was obviously an enemy of his, waiting to torment him like the Olympians had done to him before.
"Get me out of here," Percy hissed through gritted teeth, yanking the chains so hard they cut into his skin. Blood dripped down his wrists, but it didn't even phase him. "Release me!"
The form of a girl around his age dressed in all silver with black boots came into focus in his vision. Bianca di Angelo. She had always blamed Percy for her death, and now she had him right where she wanted.
"I can't do that," she said sweetly. "You would kill me."
"Of course I would, you traitorous skank!" He trembled with rage. "All you Hunters ever do is brag about how men are inferior to women, treating us like the dirt beneath your feet! And you're just like them!"
Bianca recoiled like she got slapped, a look of hurt flashing over her features. "How could you say that, Percy? I was your friend. I died for you, so that you could complete the quest!"
"You just wanted the glory, girl!"
"Why I should just-!" Bianca drew her bow, aiming it at Percy's forehead, but another girl walked into the room.
She held herself up with the same level of confidence Bianca did, dressed in gold armor and a purple cape hanging off her back. Her dark brown hair was in a single braid down her back, revealing her face, showing the complexion of regality and harsh beauty. Two metal dogs, one made of silver and the other of gold, stood at attention by her side, snarling at Percy. He snarled back with the same ferocity of a caged wolf, and the dogs whimpered, sitting on their haunches, lowering their heads.
"I believe that is enough, Bianca," the girl said coldly. "Go check on your grandfather. I still do not trust Saturn, even though it appears he is benevolent."
Bianca scowled at being told what to do, but she agreed, stomping out of the building like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. Percy suppressed a grin for annoying the Huntress.
"You have a death wish, Percy," Reyna-that was her name, he remembered-said, petting both of her dogs heads before motioning for them to leave.
"And so do you, Praetor," he threatened, "for being this close to me. Within seconds I could crush your windpipe, leaving you for the dead."
"Unlike you, I'm not restrained, Percy, so don't even try it." Reyna fiddled with a silver ring around her finger. If he had learned anything about magical items, it was how to recognize when one was in disguise. He remembered that her ring could transform into a dangerously sharp sword, and while he normally could've faced her, he was still in chains.
"Anyways," she continued, "I have a special visitor for you." She turned to face the exit. Cupping a hand to her mouth, Reyna shouted, "Bring him in!"
Percy instantly recognized the man as Poseidon, and all he saw was red. He felt anger and hatred seeping into all his bones, making him want to do nothing more but hurt his father so badly that he would be past the point of salvation, forcing him to fade into the Void. Poseidon had neglected him as a child, letting him suffer at the hands of Smelly Gabe, forcing a six-year-old to already get used to being a warrior and learning how to hide pain.
"Why is he here?" Percy asked viciously, chagrin filling his voice along with pure loathing. "This man has done nothing but hurt me. All he's going to do is hurt me again!"
Poseidon's green eyes shone with unshed tears, holding a great amount of sadness, which Percy couldn't comprehend. He hated Percy, shoving him into a life of pain and torture no one should ever receive ever since the day he was born.
"Thanatos told me your plan, Percy," Poseidon said, his voice breaking.
"My name is Perseus! You are not my friend, so don't you dare to use my nickname!" Percy roared.
"I'm so sorry," Poseidon choked out. "Know that I'm doing this, because you asked me to. That's how much I love you."
"Stop lying to me!" He strained against the chains once more, but for whatever reason, he found himself unable to use his demigod abilities over water. Something was wrong, and Percy had a feeling it was all going to go downhill from here.
"I, Poseidon, God of the Seas, Father of Horses, Earth-Shaker, Moderator, and any other titles I may have disown Perseus Jackson as my son, revoking him of all powers he may have inherited from me."
Poseidon held his hands out, green light swirling within his palms as the same color light started streaming out of Percy and into Poseidon's hands. The pain was excruciating, almost like a piece of his soul was being yanked out of him. Percy screamed, sounding like someone who had just watched their best friend be murdered in front of their eyes, then had gotten kidnapped and tortured for days on end.
Percy felt all of his energy drain out of him, and once again, he slumped back into the black of unconsciousness.
"What are we going to do with him?" Frank asked, gesturing his head at the collapsed body of Percy at the floor. His brown eyes glimmered with concern, but his face was in a set, grim expression. He hadn't been here to witness Evil Percy, but he had heard the story from Reyna and the other girl, Bianca.
To make matters even worse, Hazel soon walked into the fifth cohort barracks, and she was choking back her sobs when she saw her cousin in a heap. It was also pretty awkward with Bianca having to introduce herself as Nico's full-blooded sister, which Hazel didn't take too kindly to.
Poseidon bit his lips, the only thing preventing him from showing any emotions. The three Romans in the room and the one Huntress were all freely conversing over Percy's situation, and although the disownment had been Percy's idea, he couldn't help but feel guilty. In a way, he had sealed Percy's fate if they couldn't reverse the effects of the magic.
Then there was the problem with Kronos to deal with too. Reyna had made sure that he was never without guard, but for the most part this alter-personality of the Titan lord seemed to be benign and gentle, wholly unlike the beast he usually is.
"You must keep him chained up," Bianca said sternly, checking that her hunting knives were by her side. "Even without his powers, he is quite strong. I do not want to be on the opposite end of his sword."
"That goes without saying," Reyna added. "But I don't think we should leave him here-the others will be concerned." Her calculating eyes looked up at her fellow Praetor. "Frank, do you think you could keep him?"
"Me?" Frank asked, baffled.
"He is not a pet, Praetor Ramirez-Arellano," Poseidon reminded her with a tone as if daring her to continue to refer to Percy that way.
"Yeah. You could keep him in your Praetor's apartment," Hazel suggested, linking hands with the tall Asian boy. She gave him a warm smile, and it looked like all his defenses crumbled.
"That's fine," Frank said, once again observing the chains holding Percy down. "But I'm going to need help keeping him restrained once we get there. I can change into a horse and pull a wagon if you need me to."
Bianca pursed her lips. Her silver clothes were muted slightly in the sunlight, but she still looked deadly. "You can change form? And just how far is this apartment of yours that you would need to tow him like luggage?"
"Would you rather me to transport you there?" Poseidon asked kindly.
Hazel and Reyna bowed in his direction. Hazel answered for the both of them apparently. "Jason and Piper sent us an Iris-message about your, uh-how did they put it?-'condition' with us mentioning Roman names. Considering we're in a completely Roman area, I would rather you not do that."
"You're more stable in your Greek form, Lord Poseidon," Reyna added. "It was hard enough watching the other gods fighting with themselves; I would rather not show that to the younger recruits of the legion as that might frighten them."
He sighed, knowing that they wouldn't let him raise a finger until he was off Camp Jupiter's property. Honestly, had the original Romans gave him the proper sacrifices, then he would've been fine. But no, they learned to fear the sea. Their loss.
"Fine," Poseidon conceded. "The only thing is that I am in charge of making sure he is secured properly. Then, I must have a conversation with whoever will be spending the most time with my son."
"Whatever for?" Bianca asked. "If the chains hold him down, then shouldn't that be enough? Of course, we'd still treat him like a human being, letting him eat and use the bathroom and other essentials, but there's obviously something else bugging you, Uncle P."
Poseidon stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Might as well just tell you all. First of all, do any of you know what happens when a demigod is disowned by their parent? Not their grandparent or great-grandparent, but their actual godly parent."
"So this only affects demigods, not legacies?" Hazel asked, her gold eyes shining with concern.
"That's right, my dear. Anyways, depending on that demigod's parent, the effects can range from nonexistent to extremely severe. Me, being one of the more powerful gods, can inflict great harm on any of my children that I disown." Poseidon's gaze turned to Percy, and he lingered on the battered body of his son for a few seconds before resuming. "Percy's one of the most powerful demigods that has ever existed-one of the most powerful that I've ever sired-meaning that his deterioration won't be pretty to watch as it progresses."
"And the symptoms?" Reyna asked. "Just how bad does this get?"
"First it will start with headaches and vertigo, maybe some blurry vision occasionally. Then it progresses some more, and then starts the random nosebleeds, chills and aches, and maybe the occasional fever-almost like the flu. It gets worse as body systems start shutting down. For example, his heart may stop beating for a few moments before restarting, and the same goes for the nervous, respiratory, endocrine, excretory, digestive, and all other systems within him."
"This just keeps getting better and better," Bianca muttered to herself under her breath, but the concern was clear as day on her face.
"Tell me that's the end," Hazel begged. "Please, Uncle."
Poseidon shut his eyes, shaking his head solemnly before he did so. He loved Percy with all his heart, and the final stage of disownment…it never ended any other way. Other gods would try to adopt the demigod in hopes of prolonging their lives, but all it did was cause them more suffering. The final result rang 100% true in all cases.
"The body can't sustain that kind of strain," Poseidon said gravely. "I give him a rough estimate of two weeks before the last stage starts."
Bianca frowned, and she approached Percy placing a palm on his forehead, almost like she was trying to take his temperature. Her frown turned into a scowl, making Poseidon shocked at the resemblance of her expression to how Nico usually looked.
Nico, Poseidon thought, This is going to kill him.
"The first stage, it's already started," Bianca told them quietly, her fair skin turning a few shades paler. "He's burning with a fever."
"Lord Poseidon," Frank said, his voice flooding with urgency. "What is the final stage?"
Poseidon knew that they all suspected the same thing, but they were just waiting for him to confirm their worst suspicions.
"Death."
Cold, freezing sleet cut Nico to the core. His clothes were soaked, and his socks were sloshing around through his water-clogged boots. Tree brambles and thorns cut into his skin, scratching his arms and face. The sheets came pouring down, black clouds covering the entirety of the sky.
Last thing Nico knew, they were somewhere in Virginia, where the forest seemed to be unnaturally thick and pointy-leaved plants grew. Poseidon was obviously in a bad mood, because the wind kept blowing the pine needles up in the air; and the rain kept plastering his shaggy black hair onto his face. At least they weren't near hurricane season, Nico thought to himself, but then again, if the water was warm enough a hurricane could form at any time as long as there were the right conditions.
Nico cursed himself for having such a thought, barely catching himself in time from barreling into the flooded Potomac River. The river had flooded its banks, licking up the green hillside that separated Virginia from Washington D.C. Wait, how did he know that this was the Potomac and not the James River, or even Chesapeake Bay?
He found a part of the forest where the trees thinned out, and looked at the flooded riverbank. Debris such as pieces of cars and garbage floated downstream along with branches and huge tree trunks as well. The water was a muddy brown color from the silt that kept getting stirred up from the banks, and Nico couldn't make out the bottom. He had to prevent himself from gagging when he saw a couple of salmon jump into what appeared to be a deer carcass drifting in the water.
He lifted his gaze above the actual river-which was pretty easy-and tried to make out any landmarks on the other side. Nico could make out the shapes of skyscraper buildings, but they were a blur, too far away to correctly identify them. Now, he could've shadow traveled, but he had gotten the three of them from Orlando, Florida to Portsmouth, Virginia. The jump had already severely drained him, but of course with his luck they just happened to appear in front of a horde of hellhounds mounted by a mixture of Cyclopes and ogres. Jason and Piper knew they were outnumbered and had to drag Nico's deadweight body into the forest to keep them from killing him.
And they were still running from the monsters now. Occasionally, Nico would hear a roar or footsteps that were way too close for comfort, and then they would have to keep running, dragging their aching feet one agonizing step after the other to stay in front of the legion of monsters.
"That's Washington D.C.," Piper said, crouching next to Nico while squinting into the distance. "I can see the Washington Monument."
"Really?" Jason asked. "All I can see is a blurry vision."
"Clean those glasses of yours, then. It will do you no good if you can't see."
Nico kept quiet about not being able to make out the monument. He sneered at the river, knowing that they would have to cross it to outrun the monsters. He pushed his rain-plastered hair out of his face, letting him see a little bit better.
"I know my way around D.C.," Nico told them, adjusting his sword that he had decided to strap to his back. "But we need to get across this river. Can you carry two people with the winds, Jason?"
Jason snorted, fruitlessly drying his glasses when he knew they were going to get soaked again anyways. "Both of you are lightweights; I'll be fine. Hop on."
Piper jumped on Jason's back piggy-back style, while Nico held onto Jason like he was giving him a man hug. He grimaced as his feet left the ground, hating the idea of being in Zeus' domain even for a moment. He had killed his mother, after all; he wouldn't hesitate to smite Nico.
Halfway across the river, a leash of water lashed from the polluted stream, encircling Jason's ankle, pulling the three of them down. From Nico's perspective, he saw three girls around the age of fourteen giggling with sadistic smiles on their faces, moving their hands from where they were to the river.
The three girls looked all alike with dark black hair that looked almost blue, like the depths of the ocean-or a river in this case. Each had lily pad green eyes, even going so far to have a white lotus flower around their pupil. Their skin was blue, but it was a murky blue, reflecting the damaged state of their river, which was their life force.
The Potomac's naiads, he thought angrily, shooting the three girls a sign understood with no words necessary. They scowled at him, moving their hands faster, forcing them to descend at the same pace.
"My leg!" Jason said, thrashing his free and ensnared legs around. "The water's got me!"
"It's the naiads," Nico said venomously. "For some reason, they're trying to drown us."
"I've had enough experiences with evil water beings!" Piper complained. Drawing her dagger, she pressed a kiss onto Jason's temple before climbing onto his shoulders. "Meet me on the other bank." She then proceeded to backflip off of her boyfriend, entering the muddy waters in a perfect dive that would've put Michael Phelps to shame.
Nico looked at Piper in awe, and he could guess that Jason wore the same expression.
"Don't use any lightning," Nico told him as a tip. "You might electrocute Piper."
"Well, then what am I supposed to do? Let these naiads drown me?" Jason asked sarcastically.
"I've heard that you used an air spirit to breathe underwater. We're in the middle of a hurricane, if you haven't noticed. There must be some air spirits nearby."
"Thanks for the tip, Nico, but go! I'm not bringing you down with me."
"You don't need to tell me twice." Nico melted into Jason's shadow, disappearing off the son of Jupiter.
The second his feet were on solid ground, Nico drew his sword, placing the tip right on the neck of one of the naiads. He could see her tense under the cold metal, but she didn't move, her blue skin merely rippling at the contact.
She melted into a puddle before reforming facing his direction with the blade touching where her collarbone would've been. She serenely smiled, pushing the sword away gently, but there was a great amount of force behind the motion.
"Hades spawn," she said. "Now, what are you doing so close to our master's domain, huh?"
"Poseidon and I are on good terms," Nico said through gritted teeth, miffed that she wasn't afraid of the Stygian iron.
She laughed, doubling over, her light green dress shimmering with a faint light in the pouring rain and darkened sky. "Y-you think I would w-work for him? Ha! As if! No, my master is truly visionary. He even went so far to possess a normally kind Titaness to capture demigods such as yourself to turn them for our cause."
"Leto?" Nico asked. "He possessed Leto?"
"Yup!"
One of her sisters slapped her on the arm, saying, "Shut up, Nyla! You're as bad as Echo!"
The one he had been talking to, Nyla, gasped as if she had been slapped. "I am not, Nyssa! You are!"
"Oh, it is on!"
"Shut it, the both of you!" the third sister said. "Our cavalry is on its way, and both of you are failing our objective."
"Sorry Napelline," both Nyla and Nyssa said, lowering their heads.
"You know what?" Napelline said. "Nyla, Nyssa, split up. One of you get the girl, the other gets him. Our master will reward us greatly if we kill these three!"
"Yay!" the three of them cheered.
Napelline and Nyssa gave each other a knowing smile before diving into the river, leaving Nyla behind with Nico. He scowled, leveling his sword again. Nyla gave him another irritating serene smile, calmly pulling out a rapier that gleamed steel on one side and was sapphire blue on the other side.
It was one of the thicker rapiers that Nico had seen, but it was no less deadly then the ones used in sparring back at camp. It was also a light blade, razor sharp, specially made for stabbing, so he would have to be careful. Nyla's rapier was just under four feet long with silver bands around the hilt, which would make it difficult to disarm her, but not impossible.
Nyla struck, and Nico just only caught the blow-one which would've killed him instantly. Nico breathed in shallowly for three heartbeats before thrusting forward, but Nyla just dodges his attack, which seemed to be so snail-like compared to her viper strikes.
He used the shadows from the trees and floor to his advantage, but he was too drained to even try summoning zombies to help him. All he would have after he completely exhausted himself would be his skills that were already being heavily pushed to the limit.
Nico feinted an overhead blow to the head, which Nyla fell for, giving him time to drop the blade lower and slashing at her chest. He managed to draw a medium side gash from her collarbone to her breast, but Nyla recovered quickly, kicking him in the stomach, sending him stumbling a few paces back. He snarled, but kept his cool, knowing that if he lost his temper he might as well be signing his death certificate.
The fight continued, and that's all he was focused on. They were evenly matched, only scoring light cuts on each other every once and a while. Nico had a few cuts on his arm and one on his side, but nothing that a little ambrosia couldn't heal. His combatant fared the same injuries, except she had a bleeding-do naiads bleed?-on her cheek, which he had done to her while she tried to sweep his feet out from underneath him.
He was so caught up in the fight, he completely forgot about Jason and Piper until he heard Piper scream from help before being abruptly cut off. Nico turned for a split second to check out the damage before he had to duck and roll, narrowly avoiding being impaled through the leg.
As he slashed again, Nyla smirked. Bringing her free hand up to her mouth, she taxicab whistled, deafening Nico for a few seconds while thundering footsteps approached.
It was the hellhounds and ogres and Cyclopes that they had been running from.
"The cavalry has arrived!" Nyla cheered sadistically. "Now, it's your turn to die!"