Thalia Grace (Middle of the Ocean)
Thalia could still feel the deathly burn of Nico's kiss. It felt great.
She and Nico had been flying above the ocean for quite a long time. The sun had already begun to rise again. The ocean was calm and quiet. Just like Nico. He had begun to fall asleep in her arms as she flew them above the ocean. They had no goal really, it was more of a in the moment thing.
All they cared about was that moment. It was calm, the ocean was sparkling pretty, the sun was shining, and the best part...they were together. It was as if all the pain and harshness of life was gone. No gods, no hunters, no monsters, just them and the beautiful setting.
Nico had fully fallen asleep in her arms by now. Score. He relaxed his head into her shoulder, his arms around her back. He looked strangely angelic. Maybe that's why he got his name, Di Angelo. He didn't look tense, angry, sad, or like a boy who was madly infatuated with her. He looked like a normal teenager...himself. Just like her.
As they flew above the waters, Thalia was tempted to fall asleep as well. She began to close her eyes. She heard a loud earthly rumble and she immediately snapped her eyes open. She was 'welcomed' to the sight of a big blue fist made of water. It opened up to grab them.
"N...NICO! Wake up! We got a problem!" Thalia cried out, shaking Nico awake. "Wh...what? OH Shi-poopi!" The giant blue fist encased them like a giant hand. Through the clear transparent water of the fist, she could see that they were being pulled into the ocean.
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They began to scream as they were dragged under, with their voices being distorted into nonsense by the surrounding water barrier. After a few moments she felt like she was about to pass out. Her lungs were giving up and her ears were popping from the sudden change of depth.
Suddenly the water fist subsided and they landed standing up. They both kept screaming, despite them not falling anymore, which was pretty stupid. Dejavu she thought. Thalia looked around to see that they were inside of some kind of building. Their clothes were dry despite being pulled by a fist made of water, and they were still able to breath.
Across from them was a long blue carpet that led to a blue throne with a man in a hawaiian t-shirt, shorts, sea-green eyes, and a beard. Seriously, what's up with all this blue? It's not even the cool looking blue like her eyes either. There were some people who were lined up around the carpet holding tridents. If she looked closely, these 'people' had large seahorse tails for the lower half of their bodies.
The idea finally clicked to her. This was the underwater palace of Poseidon, and the people around the carpet were Icthyocentaurs; half human, half fish bodied beings. And the man on the throne was Poseidon himself. Nico was about to draw his sword. Thalia put her hand on top of his. "Don't bother, neither of us are in condition to fight." She whispered.
"What do we do then? I don't think he's here to help us." he replied. "It's not like everyone in the world is out to kill us." She said trying to assure him. Nico didn't seem assured. He looked at her with an expression that said, riiiiight... "Let's just see what he wants first. He seems cool, considering he's Percy's dad."
Nico seemed shaken up at the mention of Percy. Thalia couldn't read why. "Son of Hades." Poseidon started. Nico bowed down, almost as if he were at his mercy. Poseidon turned to Thalia. "Erhm...Son of Zeus was it?" Thalia didn't understand how girls had to wear feminine outfits without black just to be considered a girl.
Thalia frowned. "I'm a girl. so yeah..." she bowed along with Nico.
"OHhhhhh. That explains a lot, considering that you two were way too close together to be just two boys." he chuckled. "Speaking of two boys...Do you know anything about that... son of Hades?" He let loose another mocking laugh, almost as if he were insinuating something. Nico seemed to know what he was talking about, considering that he looked shocked, as if something were haunting him. Rather ironic considering he's a Hades child. What was Poseidon talking about though? "Please...don't... not again..." Nico begged.
"Nico... what's he talking about? How do you two know each other? Did something happen?" Thalia began to panic. If something was going to hurt Nico again, she wouldn't be able to bare the sight. Poseidon laughed again. "It doesn't matter now, considering that you've got her. A girl. I suppose you chose the right...what was it called? Side?" He chided. "Percy told me all about how you had a-"
"Leave him alone!" Thalia snapped. All the Icthyocentaurs trained their weapons at her. She didn't realize that she was beginning to spark. She calmed herself down, and went back to pretending to bow. "No...Percy...he... how could he? Just...just no...no..." Nico whimpered. Thalia could tell there was pain and betrayal in his voice.
"I had a little reunion party with him after the war. I asked him all about how his adventure had been, and well... he said it casually. Not really realizing what he'd revealed about you... He always was as clueless as a clam. Haha... anyways...back to the important matter..." He gestured his hands at the ugly-blue colored fish warriors, and they all re sheathed their weapons.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"I've been given an Iris message about your whole situation. Hera says that there would be an imbalance of power if you two were to be together. And personally...I agree with her." He said gravely.
"HERA?! You're going to take her word?" Thalia shouted.
"Hera is NOT a person with good intents. She almost killed Thalia once." Nico finally said.
"Look, I agree with you personally, she's not really the...wisest person to listen to. And I'm sorry that this has to happen, but we really CANNOT risk another potential source of chaos..."
"What do you even mean? Do you even know what you're talking about? What's the big deal anyway? Neither of us are a child of yours so what's your problem?" Thalia shouted. "What risks?" Nico asked.
"I don't think you're understanding the risks there are behind all of this," Poseidon started. "A child of Hades gets together with a child of Zeus. Hades and Zeus would be okay due to their children being balanced. If the couple decided to overthrow Zeus, the Zeus' kid would object. If the couple decided to overthrow Hades, Hades' kid would object. However...where does that leave the third god of the big three? The powers wouldn't be balanced; the couple could easily team up with Zeus and Hades, then overthrow me...the god that was left out of the power balance." He snorted. "And they always say that HADES is the one left out?"
"That's ridiculous! Do you really think that some teenagers would want-?" Thalia put her hand over Nico's mouth. "Don't bother. He's already become corrupted in the head. There's no talking him out. He's against us as well." Thalia said, dejectedly. Nico nodded his head sadly.
"I'm sorry, but this is not only for my own sake, but for the world's sake..." Poseidon said, almost sympathetically. "Aphros! Bythros! Take them to the chambers...lock them up well." Two other fish men walked towards them and grabbed them by the arms. Through the expressions on their faces, she could see that they were hesitant. Almost as if they agreed that all of this was wrong.
Nico glared at Poseidon as they were escorted away from the throne. "And here I was thinking that you were the most sane of the three. You dare to call yourself Percy's father?" He gave one more look that even haunted Thalia. All the warriors flinched. "YOU...Are NOT related to Percy. He cares about others, he's a hero. You...well, you're not even worthy to be his father."
Poseidon didn't seem phased, in fact he may have even been smirking under his beard. "Yes...yes... you seem to know alot about Percy. Don't you?" He chided. Nico's expression immediately turned sad, like he was ashamed of himself. "We must hurry and rid of them as soon as possible. Put them in separate chambers. Go on."
The two mermen pulled at them once last time, and for once...Neither of them resisted. They were powerless to do anything, and that just tore Thalia apart inside. They had truly lost this time. No gods. No hunters. No one on their side.
Thalia looked at Nico for what was possible the last time they would ever see each other again. They were both beginning to tear up.
She whispered to him, with anguish in her voice. "We'll make it through this...together. I promise. We'll be okay...like always..." Nico wiped his tears away, and sniffed, trying to hide his feelings.
She looked at him one last time and forced a smile as the doors of the palace shut behind her and her escort.
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Credit Song: In the Pines- Janel Drewis.
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Author's Note: In case you're wondering why I chose a song that was so different from the others, was because I was trying to choose a song that gave you a sense of defeat. Kind of like the ending in episode 2, season 2 of the walking dead game. Again, I personally think it matches the mood of how I ended this chapter.