"Ok Nico, we have 2 shards of Kronos' scythe, let's think where the other four can be!"- said the daughter of Hecate.
"Actually I think we can use a break!"- said the son of Hades, confusing Lou.
"What?! Why?"- wondered the witch.
"Because Reyna over here has obtained free access to everything in a horror theme park and she's been gathering up the courage to ask you if you'd like to go with her!"- said the Italian.
"Nico!"- the Latina glared at him.
"Is this true?"- Lou asked.
"Yes!"- Reyna admitted it.
"Well, why didn't you?"- replied the daughter of Hecate obliviously.
"Because she's not asking you as a friend!"- Nico interrupted making Reyna clench her fist.
"Oh!"- Lou exclaimed in realization.
"So what do you say?"- asked the daughter of Bellona, still not very confident.
"Sure!"- replied the witch.
"Alright then let's go get ready?"- Reyna said in relief.
"Should we really be leaving Nico alone?"- Lou pointed out.
"Don't worry! I won't be alone! I have plans of my own!"- smirked the Ghost King as Percy appeared behind him.
As soon as the door closed Nico turned to face his boyfriend.
"My ghostly sea prince, would you like for us to have our own little date?"- the son of Hades fooled around.
"Sure my Ghost King, but how will we pull that off?"- Percy wondered.
"How about I teach you Liscio?"- asked the Italian.
"What?!"- the raven haired asked confused.
"An Italian dance that inspired the waltz!"- Nico said, turning some music on. Surprisingly it was quite upbeat and relaxing. The younger boy grabbed Percy by the waist and began spinning him. Let's say that Nico's poor feet got stepped on so many times that night. The dance was both classic like the waltz and lively and passionate like the tango. At one moment they found themselves only an inch away from each other's lips. Nico took the initiative and gave his boyfriend a long, passionate kiss.
"Neeks, are you happy?"- asked the son of Poseidon, interrupting their moment.
"Yes! I am!"- replied the Italian, realizing how true it was. He then pushed Percy onto the bed, using his powers to make the older boy's clothes go back to the 'other side' before shedding his own. Nico's swift dance moves had obviously had an effect on his libido, seeing as his shaft refused to go down. Said shaft was son seated upon by the Italian's warm ass.
"Let's see what a ghostly orgasm feels like!"- joked the son of Hades and began going up and down on his boyfriend's length. He made sure to hit hit prostate with each and every thrust. The movement made them both moan and hiss. After thinking he had lost Percy the Ghost King wished they could stay locked in their current position forever. His ass constricted tightly around the raven haired not wanting to ever be separated again. Percy himself was rocking his hips into the muscle ring trying to go deeper inside. Their bodies seemed perfectly synchronized and the experience was making both boys see stars in front of their eyes. Nico's thrusts became harder as they were both near. They reached their orgasms at the same time. Nico came all over the other boy's abs while Percy's orgasm was something entirely different. It was as if his aura was propelled through the Italian's body causing a feeling of infinite joy in the younger boy's soul and sending electrifying chills down his spine.
"Wow! That was intense!"- commented the chocolate haired demigod, positioning himself next to the sea prince. They both panted for air.
"Neeks, I love you! Never forget that!- said the green eyed boy in between pants.
"I love you too, Perce! Damn why is Zeus such a crybaby?!"- replied the olive skinned demigod.
"It can be worse! Look at Hebe! She's treated as barely there!"- pointed out the son of Poseidon.
"Oh my Gods! Perce do you think that maybe that made her a perfect shard guarding?"- Nico said, eureka written all over his face.
"But Nico, she's in Zeus' realm! If he senses you there..."- Percy pointed out, concerned.
"I know, I am trying to think of a way around that! And I think it's right in front of me."- replied the son of Hades with a smirk.
...
It was strange being able to roam freely in the home of the person that killed him and fun. Nico had decided that Percy should get the shard from Hebe since Zeus couldn't sens him as a ghost. He could also become invisible and was intangible at will which came in handy. It got him the chance to explore Olympus at night. Shame it had to be ruled by a psycho, otherwise the place was awesome. It reminded the sea prince of a luxurious Mediterranean villa with fountains, marble statues, columns, exotic flowers and fancy decor. Percy could only wish that the walls could talk and tell him stories about what has been going on there throughout the centuries. He soon located the chamber of the goddess of youth.
There was a golden door which opened up to a large room that looked like a tropical bathroom. Out of the large stone bathtub filled with milk and essential oils a woman with enchanting beauty rose. She had a slim, petite but curvaceous frame which combined with her waist-length hair and soft, oval face made it possible to put even Aphrodite to shame. Opening her eyes she stood in shock as she noticed the hero of Olympus.
"I though my father killed you!"- she said in both surprise and relief, grabbing a robe.
"Well I"m dating the son of death!"- he joked.
"Well, I'm glad he didn't ruin another life!"- she commented, trying to keep her spite buried inside her head.
"You are not like your parents, are you?"- replied the son of Poseidon.
"I'm the goddess of forgiveness, you know! Among other thing considered unimportant!"- she said, pissed.
"...which is why you accepted to guard the shard of Kronos' sword"- the demigod concluded.
"How do you... oh! I will give you the shard but If I'm not worshiped properly once my father is defeated the what he did to you would feel like a picnic."- the goddess said with a smirk, giving him her earring.
"Now I see the family resemblance!"- Percy pointed out.
"What can I say, everybody has a dark side!"- she said returning to the tub.
Chapter Management
Chapter22
The next morning Reyna and Lou once again entered Nico's cabin.
"Well, well, I wasn't sure you two were gonna make it today! How was the date?"- said the son of Hades smugly.
"Oh you know, the usual: rode the creepy roller coaster, had some blood juice, visited the haunted house, had sex, watched a creepy clown show and a magician's act..."- replied the witch trying to skip a certain part of that sentence.
"You two had sex?!"- the Italian blurted out.
"In a coffin, at the haunted house"- Reyna said, wishing for the earth to open and swallow her.
"You had sex?! On your first date?!"- Percy asked in surprise, popping out of nowhere.
"Do I need to remind you how we got together?!"- The Ghost King glared at him.
"Yeah but I knew I'd rock your world!"- smirked the raven haired boy confidently.
"You sure I wasn't faking it?"- Nico raised an eyebrow.
"Do not go there!"- the son of Poseidon warned.
"Guys! Scythe shards!"- Reyna yelled, sending everyone back into reality.
"Oh right! Well Percy and I actually got the third one from Hebe, so now Poseidon, Demeter and Hestia are left."- said the olive skinned demigod.
"Well Demeter should be the easiest! She has 9 children out of which 7 are quite known. The other two are the mystery goddess Despoine and one source mentions a daughter with Oceanus named Dmia"- replied the daughter of Hecate.
"Well that's convenient! Despoine, the number one mystery and a goddess that no-one's even heard of!"- complained the son of Poseidon.
"Wait! What if Despoine is the Poseidon representative?!"- wondered the chocolate haired boy.
"That would make sense!"- the Latina commented.
"Still, we are nowhere close to even getting in touch with them, much less figuring out what they want!"- Lou sighed.
"Wait a minute!"- the Roman demigoddess exclaimed, getting Annabeth's laptop. Searching through the blonde's stuff for 'Dmia', unsurprisingly she got something.
"OK guys, according to this, the Hesychius of Alexandria mentions that Dmia is a daughter of Oceanus and Demeter and there is a synonym: Ἁλία"- the daughter of Bellona informed them.
"Ἁλία?! That's ancient Greek for Halia which in the unlatinized form of Halie, the mother of Rhode by my father!"- Percy realized.
"There could be a connection! What's her deal Perce?"- asked the witch.
"She was a sea nymph who lived on Rhodes and the mother of Rhode and six sons by Poseidon. Shortly after Aphrodite's birth, the goddess was traveling the oceans. When Halia's young sons arrogantly refused to let Aphrodite land upon their shore, the goddess cursed them with insanity. In their madness, they raped Halia. As punishment, dad banished them in the island's sea-caverns. Halia later threw herself into the sea."- the son of Poseidon explained.
"There's something wrong about that story! What would throwing oneself into the sea possibly do to a sea nymph?!"- Nico immediately responded.
"I guess we're going to Rhodes!"- said the green eyed demigod.
"What do you mean we?!"- asked the Ghost King.
"Neeks, I can appear wherever you are and this is a lover of my father we're talking about and I'm not giving you a choice!"- replied the sea prince, making his boyfriend sigh.
...
Limni beach, one of the most secluded places on Rhodes, it was an absolute pearl. Its rocky terrain gave a sense of wilderness, its abundance of gracious olive trees made the atmosphere serene and tranquil, the sound of the sea waves crashing against the sandy shore, accompanied by the song of the seagulls was music to one's ears and the sparkling, crystal clear, turquoise waters were a sight one's eyes could linger on fr ages. But neither Percy nor Nico could focus on that because the sea prince was having a panic attack.
"Percy, relax! I'm here! We are together! This place is causing your memories of Marin island for resurface isn't it?!"- sighed the son of Hades, getting a nod from his broken lover.
"Perce, you don't have to endure anything like that anymore. As a ghost biological needs are above you, unless you don't want them to be, you have me and you can go to 'the other side' when things get too much. You won't suffer anymore!"- the Italian pointed out.
"Oh my god!"- a female voice was heard. Then an elegant woman with long, sandy brown hair decorated with sea shells, soft blue eyes and a warm honey skin tone, wearing a bohemian, white lace dress ran to them. She touched Percy's head and began humming. All of a sudden the sea prince felt a lot better. It was if she was sending the energy of the ocean to his soul, effectively soothing him.
"It's been a long time since a son of Poseidon has visited this place!"- she commented.
"You're her, Halia?"- Nico suspected.
"I am!"- she replied.
"And you're also known as Dmia, the daughter of Demeter and Oceanus, aren't you?"- Percy asked.
"Finally someone's made that connection. I mean my name is right there in the hesychius for Gods' sake!"- the exlaimed.
"And you're guarding one of the shards of Kronos' scythe!"- the dark eyed boy added.
"Now it's getting interesting!"- Dmia smirked.
"Look Lady I'm Percy Jackson, savior of Olympus and this is Nico di Angelo, the Ghost King and we really need that shard so name your price!"- said the son of Poseidon.
"If you knew my full story you would have already known it! Why do you think my sons are forced to remain in the caves?"- the woman asked.
"Because they raped you!"- Nico pointed out.
"Perseus do you think your father would do that to his own children especially considering that they weren't themselves?"- Dmia asked.
"No, he wouldn't!"- the ghostly demigod realized.
"So why do you think he did it?"- she asked, intriguing the two boys. After taking a few minutes to think Nico's eyes widened in shock.
"It hasn't worn off, has it?! After all this time they're still under Aphrodite's influence!"- he said.
"Exactly! I need her girdle to lift the curse!"- the nymph informed them.
...
Reyna and Lou were inches away from each other, about to push their lips together and then:
"I hate to interrupt but I must!"- said the son of Hades.
"Dammit Nico! What is it?!"- the daughter of Hecate asked annoyed.
"We need to steal a crazy goddess' girdle!"- said the Ghost King.
"Dammit, why couldn't it have been another easy one?!"- the Latina complained.
"Do we have a plan?"- asked the witch.
"It depends! How are you with remote empathy spells and emotion amplification spells?"- Nico grinned.
...
"Well there you go Nico, you're now empathetically linked to Aphrodite. Now what do you need me to do?"- Lou asked.
"I need you to make my emotions regarding Percy dying resurface and amplify them to the point where it renders me unconscious. And then you'll need to keep me like that for as long as possible."- explained the olive skinned demigos.
"Smart! That way Aphrodite will also faint and Percy will have time to get the girdle, give it to Halia to lift the curse and return it!"-Latina commented.
"That's the plan anyway! No Percy go!"- said the younger boy. The sea prince immediately teleported to the love goddess' palace and became invisible. It was fun to spy on a goddess who had been meddling in his love life for gods know how long. She just say in her huge, ornate floral print armchair sophisticatedly drinking tea while wearing a stylish, red and black, Parisian dress, unaware of the trip to the realm of Hypnos she was about to take. Then all of a sudden bringing her palms to her temples she began screaming. She slowly got out of the armchair only to fall to her knees. Agony was written all over her face. Her screams sounded so desperate the ghostly demigod almost felt sorry for her before reminding himself who her boyfriend was. The goddess was now crawling on the floor trying to get to someone who could help her but she knew it was a long shot. Tears ruined her make-up and the pain was so excruciating she had the urge to rip her beautiful hair off. Before long she was lying unconscious on the floor. Taking a moment to think about what Nico must have gone through, Percy began searching Aphrodite's closet.
...
"Thank you so much Perseus! The curse is lifted, now I can ask Poseidon to release our children. Here's the shard!"- she said giving him a metallic sea shell from her hair. Satisfied the boy returned to Aphrodite's chateau leaving the girdle where he had found it. He was about to leave when he heard a familiar voice:
"Babe, where are you?!"- it had to be Ares. Percy quickly needed to come up with a plan. He though about what Nico would do in such a situation and then seeing the love goddess' immobile body just lying like that on the floor gave him a smirk-worthy idea. He left the shard on the table and then entered Aphrodite's body.
"Up here babe!"- he said, loud enough for Ares to hear him. In a fraction of a second the god of war was in front of him. Percy starred in shock as the god had nothing on but a black thong.
"Yup! Speechless, just like I thought!"- Ares said arrogantly before getting closer to Aphrodite(Percy). He grabbed the sexy, feminine body an raised it onto the table kissing who he thought was his girlfriend. Thank the Gods Percy was able to full him with a warm passionate kiss while imagining it was Nico. He used the goddess' hands to reach a vase and whacked Ares' head with it. The god collapsed onto the ground as Percy exited Aphrodite who fell on top of her boyfriend. Thankfully the vase was so hard it hadn't broken. The sea prince grabbed the shard and teleported back to Nico's cabin.
Chapter23
It was yet another day. Another day that Percy, Nico, Lou and Reyna spent locked in the Hades cabin playing detectives. At least there were only 2 more shards left, but it didn't look promising. The representatives of Poseidon and Hestia were the only ones left and considering the fact that Hestia was a virgin and Despoine was the most mysterious being out there they were really gonna need to put their heads together. Reyna was already checking Annabeth's notes.
"OK, guys here's what we have: We all know how she was born, some sources say that like Arion she too was born in horse form. She was raised by the titan or kourete Anytos. Annabeth believes he was a titan and that Poseidon appointed him to raise Despoina to protect her from Demeter who after being raped became vengeful until cleansing herself which is why he was also considered a kourete as they protected baby Zeus from Kronos and helped Angelos who was running from her mother Hera. Anyway according to Annabeth Despoina is connected to three realms: the earth through Demeter, the sea through Poseidon which is indicated by a tritonide statue at her sanctuary, her connection to the Underworld remains unknown although it might have something to do with the fact that in Crete she was known as the lady of the labyrinth. She might also have a connection with Galatheia, the goddess of calm seas due to the tritonide state as they were servants of said goddess and the fact that she has a veil which is what Galatheia used to capture the wind. She also has a scepter, a box filled with secret stuff and her sacred animal is the doe. Later the title Despoina was given to the virgin Mary when Christianity was introduced."- the daughter of Bellona went through the notes.
"Too much useless info, except maybe the labyrinth thing. That may be a good place to start."- Nico commented.
...
Nico was once again roaming the labyrinth, the place he hadn't seen in years. It looked drastically different from the last time he had seen it. When he had been a child it had looked marvelous and disturbing at the same time. The strong, millennia old walls of the maze had stood tall, admirable yet at the same time dreadful. It had been as if all the divine energy behind the mysterious construct could be felt along with the sorrow of all its victims. But this time it looked as if it was falling apart, forgotten by time. The walls were cracked and broken in many places, the old bricks reeked of mold and the corridors were inhabited by rats. Yet there was still something about it! Something that made the Ghost King look beyond its exterior and recognize it for the infamous prison it was. There was still divine energy within it. It was her, it had to be! She was keeping the place alive. Then the son of Hades heard something. Closing his eyes to fully activate his other senses he made his way towards the sound staying close to the walls. What stood in front of him made his hair stand on ends.
It was absolutely horrifying, huge, strong and ugly! It was a zombie horse. It had only a few hairs of its mane, the skin was ripped of it's face revealing rotten flesh and bone, its ribs were also visible as well as it's hind leg bones, it reeked like a corpse and it was slowly being devoured by worms that were mostly gathered in its eye sockets.
Sniffing heavily, the large creature ferociously neighed at the demigod, raising its front legs. In response Nico tried using his powers to make it perish however he discovered that it did little to slow down the beast. Trembling on the inside, he grabbed the hand of his sword but then Percy appeared at his side.
"It's a zombie horse! Let's try using our powers together and by together I mean really together!"- he suggested smirking. Realizing what the sea prince meant the Italian nodded and allowed Percy to enter his body.
The dark eyed boy once again used his powers to try to get some control over the stallion while Percy tried to talk to him.
"It's OK boy! Calm down! We mean no harm!"- he said gently. The creature seemed to be taking in his words and lowered his hooves.
"Good boy! Can you take us to your mistress please?"- Percy asked as he left his boyfriend's body. Once again the stallion responded to his words and led the way through the crumbling maze.
He took them to a room that looked out of place in the run-down labyrinth. It had beautiful, white as pearl walls, decorated with mosaic paintings, sapphire floors and a giant, gold fountain in the middle. Out of the waters of the fountain rose a young woman. She wore a long, pale blue, one shouldered dress which complemented her quartz skin and metallic green eyes and was a nice contrast to her raven hair, decorated with small braids at the roots. She stood elegantly, her oval shaped face raised high, holding an antique box in her hands.
"My brother and the step-son of my sister, what can I do for you?!"- she asked.
"We know you're the guardian of one of the shards of Kronos' scythe and we need and are ready to do anything you ask!"- replied the son of Hades.
"In that case, you're out of luck! What I need is one of my secrets and I only reveal them to those who know my name so unless you can find it out you're at a dead end."- she said, submerging under the water.
"I guess we know what we're doing tonight!"- commented the son of Poseidon.
...
"Ugh, this is impossible! We don't even have a clue!"- complained the daughter of Hecate.
"Well we know it's Greek!"- pointed out the Latina.
"And it has to be common!"- said the chocolate haired demigod.
"How'd you figure?"- wondered Percy.
"Because something has to be keeping her from fading like a name that's commonly used, besides the best place to hide something is in plain sight!"- explained the son of Hades.
"Even if we get a list of popular Greek female names, it's gonna be huge! We need to somehow narrow it down!"- Reyna said, glaring at the Italian.
"Why are you...?! Oh no! No! No! No!"- Nico said, realizing what she was thinking of, but Reyna kept her glare until he surrendered. Grabbing a drachma he IMed his father.
"Nice of you to call!"- snaked the king of the Underworld.
"Sorry dad, I've been busy! Speaking of which, I know it's not the right season but do you know a way to reach Persephone? It's urgent!"- asked the demigod.
"We'll I suppose I can pull some strings, but you can't go around keeping secrets from me!"- replied the lord of the dead.
"Fine, I'll explain everything in a couple of days!"- decided the Italian.
"Alright then, get ready!"- Hades said and shadow traveled him to the goddess' room at Olympus.
"What the...?! What are you doing here?"- Persephone asked confused. She looked significantly different than at fall and winter. Her slick, brown hair was now red and wavy and her chestnut eyes were bright olive green.
"Look Persephone..."- Nico began.
"Kore! That's my name in this form!"- she interrupted defensively.
"Fine, Kore, I'll be out of your hair as soon as you give me a clue to Despoine's true name!"- said the demigod.
"You need my sister's name, huh?! This must be important! Fine, one of my mother's demigod daughters carries a variant of it! You can go away now!"- Kore smirked.
...
Despoine had once again emerged from the fountain. She was rather surprised at Nico's fast return. Reyna was there as well, she had insisted.
"Back so soon?! Alright, I'm listening! Say my name!"- she said calmly.
"Aikaterine! Meaning: 'one of the two', the other one probably being Persephone, 'pure/virginal' - once again similar to Kore and probably why Despoine was given to the virgin Mary, and according to Graeco-Egyptians "my consecration of your name" - all pointing to you! Other forms include: Katherine, Katerina, Catrina, Katya, Katie like you demigod half-sister..."
"Well, consider me impressed! Alright, moving on: You asked what I needed! I need for this labyrinth to be renovated!"- said the goddess.
"Alright! I swear upon the waters of the Styx to gather the worthiest children of Athena and Hephaestus and have them fix this place!"- Reyna replied.
"Very well, daughter of Enyo..."- Aikaterine began.
"Bellona!"- the Latina corrected her.
"Don't push your luck, dear! I'm as nice as I want to be! Anyway, here's the shard!"- replied the woman and took a piece of metal out of her box.
Chapter24
Chapter Managemen
"This is impossible! Hestia has no children!"- huffed the son of Hades as he tried to figure out the guardian of the final shard.
"Let's think! Think of guardians of the home and fire gods!"- suggested Lou.
"There aren't many! It's Vesta, Vulcan, the Lares, Cacus and Caca!"- said the Latina as the Roman names came to her.
"Wait! The last two, I've never heard of them!"- Nico said, intrigued.
"Cacus was a fire breathing giant, son of Hephaestus, slain by Hercules and Caca was either his sister or wife. They were both Roman fire deities."- Reyna explained.
"Wife, I hope! That would make her a candidate for a daughter of Hestia!"- replied the Ghost King.
"Except that Hestia's a virgin!"- the daughter of Hecate pointed out.
"Athena is too! If Caca is Hestia's daughter she could have been born unconventionally."- Nico responded.
"It's still a long shot either way, but it's all we've got!"- concluded the daughter of Bellona.
"So what now?- asked Lou.
"We go to Rome!"- decided Nico.
...
The three demigods were at the temple of Vesta or more precisely its ruins. It was easy to tell that it had once been a grand piece of work of architecture but now all that was left of it was the hearth, possibly the most important part.
"Well guys, we are in Rome, surrounded by giant rocks. Now what?"- asked the witch. Her question was answered once Reyna made her way to the hearth and screamed in agony. Lou and Nico immediately ran towards her. By the time they made it she was on the ground, shaking and wailing painfully as her body made sudden uncontrollable and borderline impossible movements. One minute she was doing the one handed tree pose and another she was in a di mario's knot. Her arms and legs were cracking and she had tears coming out of her eyes. Considering that neither Nico nor Lou had ever seen the daughter of Bellona cry saying it was concerning is an understatement. The Italian tried to use his powers to put her to sleep and the witch herself was casting sedation spells but it was if Reyna was immune to them and the seizure was getting worse by the second.
"What the hell is happening?!"- Lou panicked.
"I don't... Look!"- Nico yelled as the Latina's eyes turned pure white. She gasped and then froze. For a few moments she remained motionless, frightening her friends. Then her irises returned and her body went limp as she began breathing deeply, indicating the end of the seizure. She slowly lifted herself up.
"Rey, what happened?"- they asked.
" It was horrible. It felt as it every bone in my body was being broken to a million pieces as lava circulated through my system and then I had one head-splitting vision. Guys the goddess Caca was born out of Vesta's sacred fire and abducted by the giant Cacus. She is the original damsel in distress and I think she needs a knight in shining armor.
"Or to take a page out of Persephone's book!"- joked the Italian.
"How do we find her?"- Lou asked.
"I was hoping you could tell me that! All I know is that Cacus lived on the Aventine Hill"- replied the Roman demigodess.
"I may be able to come up with something. Let's go!"- decided Lou.
...
They made it to Aventine hill which like most things nowadays was covered with buildings, making the demigods' search harder. Thankfully the daughter of Hecate knew what to do. She cast a spell to see the place as it had once been. The disadvantage of this idea was that her friends had to make sure that she didn't bump into a wall or something.
"Guys there it is!"- said the witch.
"Um Lou, you're pointing to the river!"- Nico informed her.
"The water level must have been elevated over the centuries"- the Latina suspected.
"Need some help?"- asked the sea prince appearing behind them.
"Percy! As much as it's great seeing you pop up your powers can no longer affect the physical realm since you're not physical!"- said the son of Hades.
"There is a way around that!"- smirked the green eyed boy and jumped into his boyfriend's body. Coming close to the river bank he made the water level descend revealing the cavern before disappearing once again. Nico then shadow traveled Lou and Reyna inside the cave. It went upwards into the hill, meaning most of it remained high and dry even with the raised water level. As they began walking deeper and deeper into the cavern it started getting hotter and stuffier and then there was light coming towards them! Only it wasn't light, it was fire! Nico immediately grabbed the girls and shadow traveled them at the bank. They watched as the ray of fire left though the cave opening.
"Any ideas?"- asked Lou.
"Maybe! Can you create an astral projection potion?"- asked the olive skinned boy.
"I'll need to gather a few ingredients but yeah. Why?"- she asked.
"Reyna was given the vision maybe she could directly project to Caca and ask her if there is any way we can enter the cave."- explained the son of Hades.
...
Nico's idea had worked. The daughter of Bellona was now standing in front of a tall, slender, regal, pale woman with long, black curly hair, orange eyes and long, plum colored robes.
"A godling?! I haven't seen one of those since I was given this!"- said the woman, pointing at the shard which she wore as a necklace.
"I'm Reyna, daughter of Bellona! My friends an I are hereto rescue you in exchange for the shard! Now tell me is there any other way in?"- The Latina got straight to the point.
"Well there was another opening at the other end of the hill but it's sealed off!"- replied the goddess.
"No problem!"- smirked the Latina.
...
A couple of slashes of Nico's sword against the earth and voila, the entrance was reopened! Considering not even a monster would be able to survive being trapped underground or ages they made it to Caca's chamber relatively easily.
"You did it!"- the goddess cheered in surprise.
"Yeah, now let's get you out of here!"- the Latina replied but before anyone could react a ray of fire melted the handle on the door leading to the back entrance. In front of them was the fire breathing giant whose flame had lit up everything making it impossible for Nico to shadow travel them away. Regardless, the son of Hades shot Cacus with an orb of darkness which proved to be effective in hurting him.
"Reyna, no offense but your abilities are the least effective against his fire so take Caca and run! Lou and I will keep him distracted!"- ordered the Italian. Nodding, Reyna grabbed the goddess and headed to the main entrance. Cacus fired another ray at them but this time Lou was prepared and created a forcefield, allowing her girlfriend and Caca to escape. Unfortunately, she couldn't hold her barrier up forever and soon she felt it weakening. Thankfully Nico was able to sense some corpses in the earth and made them charge at the giant. While Cacus was preoccupied breaking the zombies' broken bones Nico and the witch ran away. Lou safely made it out but Nico tripped. Turning around he discovered that Cacus had caught up with him and was about to fry him. He closed his eyes as the giant opened his mouth and prepared to be with Percy. But then he heard the sound of fire being extinguished. Opening his eyes he saw a bunch of fish spitting water at Cacus from the river. He grabbed his slashed at the roof of the cavern a he got out, trapping Cacus inside. As he reunited with Lou and Reyna, Percy appeared.
"Sorry it took so long! When I was lowering the water levels I summoned some archer fish since I knew you what you were up against but they needed to swim to here from India."- explained the son of Poseidon.
"I am gonna kiss you go hard when you come back!"- said the Italian before receiving the final shard.
...
With all 6 parts of Kronos' weapon on the table the son of Hades began to work. Surprisingly it was really straightforward. He concentrated on his abilities and in front of his stood the titan.
Chapter25
"I refuse to take orders from a baby godling!"- Kronos yelled sternly. In response Nico just moved one of the shards away from the others, causing the titan's soul to become hazy. Distant screams could be heard before the demigod decided to put it back.
"Alright fine! What do you want?"- asked the lord of time, looking as if he had spent a billion years in Tartarus. Frightened was a strange look on Kronos. He looked like an entirely different person, like a scared kitten instead of the tyrant everyone knew him as. Nico couldn't even begin to imagine the force that would take to break the Titan so badly.
"Like I said I am willing to reconstruct your scythe to inhabit your soul so that you don't have to go through unimaginable hell every second for the rest of all eternity if you tell me how to kill Zeus."- replied the son of Hades.
"You want to know my son's weakness?! Not that hard!"- the titan said, insultingly.
"You realize this is the same son who has defeated you twice, right?"- replied the Italian, unimpressed.
"Fair enough! He has two weaknesses: one that Porphyrion mentioned to your friend and the other one is creation itself."- Kronos said.
"You gotta be kidding me! "- commented the chocolate haired boy.
"What? Were you expecting a straight-forward answer? You know that never happens!"- snarked the titan.
"Fine, a deal's a deal!"- said the Ghost King, using his powers to forever bind the titan's soul to the shards which had turned into one big chunk of metal during the process. He would later give t so his father to throw it into Tartarus.
...
Luke, Reyna, Lou, Ethan, Percy, Kawkab and Hades were all gathered up in Nico's cabin. The Italian had invited them to come and help him figure out what Kronos had told him.
"Alright so we know that Porphyrion told Jason he knew exactly how to kill Zeus as he made his spear glow purple. We need to figure out what he was actually doing so then maybe we can recreate it. Then there is also his second weakness which is creation, whatever that means."- Nico said.
"Creation could mean Chaos!"- Lou pointed out.
"Well Chaos will for sure obliterate Zeus but if that's what Kronos meant then I hope we can figure out how Porphyrion made his spear glow. Otherwise we'd have to find a way to manipulate the essence of the oldest entity in the history of time!"- replied the Italian.
"Actually, there might be a way! Chaos is just a huge mass of dense mist capable of creation and destruction. Maybe if we combine the Mmst with its opposite-the death mist we can recreate that!"- Kawkab said, his eyes glowing of exhilaration.
"But how will we control it and how will we even get the death mist from Akhlys?!"- asked the Ghost King.
"Well the death mist does appear as clouding in the eyes of the dying!"- the son of Hecate pointed out.
"Are you suggesting we kill someone?!"- the chocolate haired demigod yelled out.
"Or be there at the exact moment someone's dying! As for controlling it leave that to me."- replied the Arab.
"I suppose I can pull some strings and tell you exactly when someone dies"- said Hades.
"OK, how about we at least try to figure out the less crazy option?!"- huffed the Italian.
"On it!"- replied the Latina, typing on Annabeth's laptop.
"Did you find anything?"- Nico asked, curiously.
"Annabeth has been comparing the glowing effect to the plasma state of matter!"- she said.
"Um, can someone translate that into buffoon-ish?"- Lou wondered.
"The plasma state is a the fourth state of matter. It's created when magnetic and/or electrical energy ionizes the gas around it causing usually a purplish glow!"- explained the son of Nemesis. Everyone looked at him in astonishment.
"Um, E?"- Luke mumbled, confused.
"What?! I went to a Japanese school before coming to camp! I've learned this in the fourth grade!"- Ethan said.
"Alright well since I doubt electricity would kill Zeus I'm guessing it's magnetic energy"- the olive skinned boy theorized.
"Lou and I can do some alchemy on your sword and transform it into a powerful magnet! But with both plans you would have only one shot! So which do we use?"- Kawkab responded, making Nico smirk after thinking for a minute.
...
Even with the knowledge of Zeus' weaknesses, defeating him was far from easy. There were way too many factors that were out of the Ghost King's control. For one, Zeus would sense him the moment he entered Olympus. Then there was the fact that Zeus was a powerful god while Nico was mortal, he needed to defend himself against the sky king's powers. And finally there were the god's allies who for some unknown reason didn't consider him a total douche. But Nico was determined to be the one who stops the tyrant's reign of terror and free all those who he's wronged. For that he needed to come up with a plan that even Apate herself would fall for. It had to be ingenious, deceiving and unexpected. So as Nyx spread her obscure, indigo-colored veil on the night sky the son of Hades decided it was the perfect moment to make his move.
He did the unthinkable! He shadow traveled directly to the king of Olympus even though he knew that he was at a huge disadvantage in the god's own realm. Immediately upon seeing the surprised tyrant, he channeled all his rage and threw an orb of darkness at him sending him several feet away.
"Big mistake!"- spat the god.
"Bring it, asshole!"- smirked the Italian disappearing into the shadow realm. Before Zeus could comprehend what was happening the son of Hades appeared from behind and once again made him fly before vanishing into darkness. The god didn't even have enough time to get up as the floor began cracking open. It was an earthquake in the clouds.
Summoning the mighty forces of the wind, Zeus propelled himself into the air. Thankfully, Nico knew that that would happen sooner or later so his next move didn't involve him coming out of the shadow realm. Instead he used the darkest of clouds near Olympus to launch a ray of dark energy towards the tyrant, vaporizing his flesh and sending him to the ruptured floor.
"I will destroy you for that!"- Zeus yelled, clenching his fists as the ichor boiled in his veins. He created a barrier of blinding lightning around himself, making it impossible for a shadow to appear in his proximity.
At one tiny corner of the chamber a portal to the shadow realm opened and out of it the spirits of all those who've died unjustly by Zeus' hand emerged. That took a while. They headed straight for the god, passing his electric forcefield and went into his mind, overloading it with turbulent emotions of rage and despair and the memories associated with them. It did a number on the tyrant. It was as if he was having the strongest, most painful seizure in the world, accompanied by the piecing screams of the spirits, sending him into unbelievable agony.
In the meantime Nico had come out of the shadows and was at the moment walking towards the distracted god, his sword glowing purple as the way he had aways envisioned a nebula. But as he got close someone grabbed him from behind and disarmed him. Looking upwards, the Italian saw the angry face of the goddess of wisdom. By then the spirits were gone as they couldn't be absent from the Underworld for long periods of time.
"Any last words, demon spawn, before you join your lover?!"- the king of Olympus asked as he got ready to fire a thunderbolt at his nephew.
Nico was grinning on the inside! He had been counting on this. Considering all that's happened to Annabeth 'because of him', he would have been surprised if Athena hadn't captured him. Opening his mouth he blew out purple smoke, sedating the goddess. He then used her unconscious body as a shield against Zeus. But it was more than just a shield as the sky god soon discovered. He was rendered immobile, as if something else was controlling his body. Many thoughts and feelings went through his head but none of them were his. He then realized what was going on. If he could talk he would have screamed.
Nico got a thermos out off his belt where Lou and Kawkab's recreated Chaos was stored. Opening it he send a blast of unbelievably destructive energy at the paralyzed god, obliterating him from reality. It was over, he won! No-one would ever suffer because of Zeus again!
As the mist cleared where the tyrant's body had been was a fly that soon transformed into a pale, petite, ebony haired woman.
Chapter26
There was a big change on Olympus! With Zeus gone another member of the Big Three had to take over the title King of the Gods. Seeing as it was Nico who took down the former king and the fact that Hades was older made him the more appropriate candidate so the Underworld was now the royal realm of the gods with the sky being currently ruled by Apollo.
Another big thing was that Metis, the titaness of prudence was back. As a reward for setting her free she had told Nico that the answer he's looking for lies where the heart of his lover belongs. That had to be the big blue. The ocean was where Percy felt at home, it brought out the primal in him so it would make perfect sense that it held the answer to his fate. The problem was that there was no way for Nico to go into his uncle's realm without both his father and the sea king finding out. He had to tell his father.
"Dad, I need to tell you something!"- said the Italian, entering the death god's throne room.
"Does it have something to do with Perseus?"- Hades asked with a look that would scare the most ferocious beasts of the wilderness.
"How did you know?"- replied the Ghost King in surprise.
"What do you think I am, a moron?! Thanatos couldn't find his soul and you didn't worry even the slightest bit!"- said the ruler of the Underworld with an unimpressed expression.
"So what would happen if I told you that I may have accidentally created an entire new dimension of the afterlife just to host his soul?- the demigod responded nervously.
"I would ask you why you were telling telling me that!"- said the god slyly.
"Well I may have a lead on bringing him back."- admitted the Italian.
"Again why are you telling me this?"- Hades asked suspiciously.
"It involves me having to go into lord Poseidon's realm."- Nico explained.
"Alright I will summon my brother and we'll discuss it."- decided the lord of the dead.
"But... Wait did you actually agree?! Why?!"- asked the demigod doubtfully.
"Because of you I'm king of the gods so now I'm returning the favor."- Hades explained.
...
The King of the sea was rather surprised to be invited to the palace of the Underworld. He knocked on the giant door and waited, unable to stop his mind from hoping he would somehow run into Percy. He was in the dark, creepy, spine-chilling realm of the dead. His thoughts were interrupted by the door opening.
"Welcome lord Poseidon, come in! My father is waiting in the salon."- said Nico, leading the sea god to the living room.
"Welcome brother!"- the lord of the dead greeted him from his spot on the ornate, brown leather armchair.
"Hades, what is the meaning of this? Why have you summoned me?"- Poseidon demanded answers impatiently.
"And straight to the point: brother, Nico has something to tell or rather show you!"- Hades replied. The Italian thought back to the moment of Percy's death, reawakening the unbearable pain he felt in his heart that dreadful, grim moment. Once again the son of Poseidon materialized at his side.
"Percy?!"- Poseidon exclaimed in shock.
"Hey, dad!"- responded the green eyed demigod as he was pulled into a bone-crushingly tight hug.
"How?"- the sea god wondered.
"When Percy died the pain of his death made my powers go bananas and create a whole new dimension of the afterlife just to be inhabited by Percy's soul. Whenever I remind my self of the grief of his passing the veil between that dimension and the world of the living is lowered, allowing him to cross over. There is hope now! Lady Metis told me that the answer to giving Percy the ability of permanent physical foothold lies in the ocean which is why you're here lord Poseidon."- explained the Ghost King.
"What exactly is it you need?"- asked the king of the sea.
"The ability to breathe, orient myself underwater and swim like a torpedo and a suggestion on where to start with my quest."- said the chocolate haired boy. The trident appeared in the green eyed god's hand, glowing a bright turquoise. Next thing Nico knew, there was a turquoise trident tattoo on his neck.
"As for where to start, you might wanna ask Proteus for a prophecy!"- said Poseidon.
...
Nico had no words for what he had just seen. The underwater world was absolutely enchanting. There were with in more colors than Nico thought possible, clams, conchs, seahorses, dolphins, octopuses, starfish ect. The son of Hades could totally Understand why Percy loved it so much. Sadly, he had no time to waste on admiring the beauty of the sea because he had to get to Lemnos where Proteus lived.
Swimming his way there, Nico had the most bizarre feeling. He felt watched. Knowing by then not to underestimate his instincts he made a sudden turn and caught the stalker red-FINNED. It was a baby leopard shark.
"You've chosen the wrong meal to stalk, pipsqueak!"- threatened the Ghost King summoning the shadows from the depths of the ocean.
"It really is you! The rumors are true! I can't believe my hero, the mighty Ghost King is in front of me!"- said the shark in awe.
"What? Hero? What?"- replied the Italian confused.
"Yeah, the son of Hades who was a part of both the second Titan and the Second giant war, that's you, right?"- the shark asked.
"Yeah that's me! Wait, don't you wanna eat me?"- Nico asked.
"Silly, leopard sharks don't eat humans! Now what is a hero like you doing here?"- asked the shark.
"I'm on a quest so now if you'll excuse me!"- said the son of Hades.
"Can I come?!"- the shark asked eagerly.
"No way, it's too dangerous!"- warned the demigod.
"But I know the ocean way better than you!"- argued the shark.
"Point taken! You have a name?!"- responded the olive skinned boy.
"Dente!"- said the shark.
"Seriously, tooth in Italian! Nice to meet you! You can call me Nico! Come on let's go to Lemnos."- said the demigod.
Chapter Management
Chapter27
Dente turned out to be the perfect guide. He led Nico straight to Lemnos in just a couple of hours. Had the son of Hades been all on his own, it would have probably taken him days if not weeks to find his way through the cold waters of the Atlantic ocean. On the downside the Italian had to deal with an annoying shark hatchling that basically had a crush on him.
"Thanks Dente! Now if only I could find Proteus quickly!"- said the Ghost King, emerging at the surface of the water.
"He's close, I can smell him!"- pointed out the shark, enthusiastically.
"Smell him?"- asked the demigod confused.
"Yeah, he usually takes the form of a seal"- Dente replied.
"Good to know!"- said Nico before noticing that the god had approached them.
"I've been expecting you!"- he said.
"Lord Proteus I am here..."- Nico began.
"I know why you're here so enough chit-chat and onto the prophecy"- said the god a his eye became pure white.
"In the murky depths of the ocean roams the lipless one,
he who hold the answer you seek.
The conch of Cypris, hidden at the primordial waters of it's owner's source's counterpart,
he desires as a price."
In the blink of an eye Proteus had swam miles way.
"Great! Another riddle!"- complained the Ghost King.
"Can I try?! I've been solving riddles since I was only a few days old so I can be more like my heroes!"- said the shark with puppy eyes.
"Be my guest!"- Nico responded.
"The lipless one is probably Akheilos, my ancestor since that's what his name means. And he wants the conch of Lady Aphrodite since Cypris means 'of Cyprus' so that he could shift back to his human form. She did curse him just because he claimed to be more beautiful than her you know! And the owner's source's counterpart would mean Aphrodite's mother's(Thalassa's) counterpart which is Hydros the primordial god of fresh water. He would probably be in lake Trichonida since it's the biggest lake in Greece and it's between 2 mountains because mountains are also primordials, children of Gaea who was Hydros' lover."- Dente theorized, baffling the demigod.
...
Nico had shadow traveled himself and Dente to the waters of the lake. Being in freshwater was definitely different. Everything was muddy, green and brown which made it quite difficult to see. Thankfully the love goddess' conch shined like a star among the muddy waters. It was the most beautiful thing the Italian had ever seen. It was a bright orange-pink color and spiraled endlessly around itself. It's surface was so glossy that it reflected every single ray of light cast upon the lake.
"It can't be that easy!"- commented the son of Hades. As if that triggered it, a giant serpent appeared out of the murky waters.
Sighting the Italian tried to blast it with some dark rays but the creature was very swift and used the muddy waters as camouflage. Nico hadn't even noticed how close it had gotten to him until it was too late. The serpent's powerful jaws were about to devour the Ghost King. Once again closing his eyes Nico though about one thing-being with Percy again. When nothing happened he opened them again to see Dente biting the monster's scalp. The son of Hades noticed that the serpent was acting very defensively and retreating. Refusing to be out-shadowed by a monster the Ghost King used the murkiness o his advantage and shadow traveled behind the serpent. Grabbing his sword, he stabbed the creature's skull, effectively dusting it. Having the conch, Nico shadow traveled them back to the ocean.
"Now we go to your progenitor!"- said the demigod.
"Yeah, you might not be able to handle being in his presence!"- replied the shark, hesitantly.
"I have to! Now let's go!"- responded the Italian, determinedly.
...
Dente hadn't been joking. Turns out Acheilus was what scientists call a megalodon and it took a bit of convincing for him not to eat Nico.
"Look Acheilus, we can use this shell to turn you into your human form or at least make you shift when you want! All you have to do is tell me how to bring my boyfriend back!"- Nico practically begged.
"To do that you must become of the sea like me! You're boyfriend is and you're the one holding him to the living world so it you become of the sea he will be that must stronger and would be able to permanently exist on this plane. But there is a price. During my transformation the conch will turn you into a shark and make you of the sea. You have a choice to make!"- explained he giant shark in a rough voice making Nico's heart clench as he heard what he must give in order to revive Percy.
Chapter Management
Chapter28
The sea prince was back in the mortal realm. It felt so good to be able to feel the air going though his lungs, to truly interact with people, even to get hit. Every sight, every sound, every smell, every taste and touch seemed so vibrant it was unbelievable. The downside of coming back: dizziness, headaches, feeling nauseous.
Anyway the son of Poseidon opened his eyes. He had been in and out of consciousness during the entire process so he was disoriented and confused as Hades. After everything stopped spinning he discovered that he was in his room in the palace of Atlantis.
"Nico!"- he yelled frantically, unable to find his lover. After a few wails the door opened and a shark came through.
"I'm..."- he began but was quickly interrupted.
"Dente! I know, I've been watching over you and Nico during the whole quest. Now where is he?!"- the green eyed demigod impatiently demanded.
"Well, in order to bring you back he had to..."- Dente was once again interrupted by Percy.
"Become a shark. I know, where is he?!"- asked the raven haired.
"Well, he didn't want you to ever see him in that form so he's at the depths of the ocean."- Dente explained making the demigod slap his forehead.
...
Darkness, that was all there was, pitch-black darkness for miles and mile at the depths of the big blue. Nico couldn't lie, he was glad that at least he had that. It was weird but he was thankful that he at least nothing could take away the darkness from him. It had always been there, his entire life. At first he had hated it but then he realized it made him strong because it hid he truth that everyone feared, the darkest of thoughts and they were all at his disposal. But he also couldn't deny how much he missed that light at the end of the tunnel, in the form of Perseus James Jackson.
"Nico!"- he heard the son of Poseidon and got his new fins ready to swim away as fast as possible.
"Don't even think about it! You're in my element!"- threatened the sea prince.
"Percy go away! I don't want you to see me like this!"- replied the son of Hades.
"I don't believe that! You feel guilty Nico, guilty that I would have to be grateful to you for bringing me back and spend the rest of time with a shark as my lover! Nontheless, you still want me selfishly..."- the green eyed demigod was talking until...
"Why are you doing this to me?!"- asked the newly turned hammerhead as tears dripped out of his protruding eyes.
"Neeks, when this all began I asked you to be honest about what you want and time and time again you've told me that you hadn't even for a moment regretted doing that. Despite all that's happened I know that is still true so today I'm asking you to do the same. What do you want Nico?"- Percy responded.
"I love you, Percy!"- the Italian admitted heavy-heartedly.
"Then show me! Stand up for! Don't let this stop something wonderful! I know we would have never guess that this could happen but that doesn't mean we can't turn it into a wonderful thing. In the end I'm a sea prince and now you're a sea creature, a part of me!"- said the raven haired encouragingly. Succumbing to Percy's persuasive words,he son of Hades let him kiss him. Even though he now had a wide shark mouth with teeth as harp as knifes and gills and was cold-blooded it was still the most wonderful thing in the entire universe.
Then he felt his entire body tingle. It was as if there were bugs crawling on his skin and then his entire shark skin compressed to the trident tattoo on his neck.
"What the...?!"- the Italian stood confused.
"Love! You took Acheilus' curse which was cast upon him by Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty to make him ugly. Only love can see beyond the physical and completely disregard it, making it the only thing that can take control of the curse."- explained the sea prince.
"Percy"- Nico began.
"Yes, babe?"- replied the raven haired.
"Take off your clothes and fuck the daylights out of me!"- ordered the Ghost King.
"Aye, Aye captain!"- smirked the older demigod, shedding his clothes and attaching his lips to Nico's. Warming up the until recently cold-blooded demigod with his tongue, Percy used his hands to find his way to the Italian's juicy ass. Groping it with passion and giving it a few hard slaps, Percy stuck his fingers inside the puckered entrance, making Nico whimper into their kiss.
Once the Ghost King's muscle ring was loose and wet by the sea water the older demigod turned him around and shoved his rock hard member right in making Nico let out a moan loud enough to cause a tsunami. He kept on emitting loud, wanton moans as Percy rammed into him, over and over again, testing the durability of the Italian's walls. Nico was in utter bliss, seeing nothing but bright light in the darkness of the ocean as his prostate got assaulted. He drooled like a puppy as his member throbbed, begging for release.
In the meantime, Percy's finger found their way to his lover's pink, puffy nipples, giving them a hard squeeze. This made the son of hades let out a high-pitched whine that was for sure loud enough to be heard all the way to Olympus. This was enough to push him over the edge. He came in the waters of the big blue.
Percy was right behind him as Nico's ass tightened in on his member. He filled his boyfriend up with his warm, thick seed.
"I love you! I love you! I love you!"- both chanted in union, in between short shallow breaths. Eternal love prevailed once again.
...
Hades had just finished organizing yet another meeting and could now relax. Being both the king of the gods and the Underworld was no easy task. Hearing the floor cracking he turned around to see Kawkab.
"Hello Kawkab!"- said the god, smirking.
"My lord, an actor only acts in front of their audience. Call me by my real name, master!"- replied the Arab.
"Alright! Come closer, Alabaster!"- said the lord of the dead as the demigod dropped his disguise and made the distance between them vanish.
"Much better!"- commented Al before raising himself on his toes to kiss his lover. Like always Hades overpowered him with full dominance, basically making him watch as his world spun, unable to affect it in any way. Hades' skilled tongue explored what his rosy lips kept hidden for what felt like eternity before they reluctantly separated for air.
"I gotta be honest, I doubted the plan would work."- confessed the boy.
"I told you any plan with my son and nephew as the main force is bound to work out. I feel bad for what we did, though."- sighed the lord of the Underworld.
"Don't! Love, if I hadn't sent Percy the letter 'from Nico', took the form of Kawkab and manipulated my sister Zeus would still be the king of the gods. What do you think he would have done when he found out that you were sharing a bed with the most powerful demigod child of Hecate, the goddess even he fears?"- asked the demigod.
"I don't even want to think about that!"- Hades responded.
"Exactly! What happened to the tyrant anyway? Unlike the real thing, recreated Chaos could only destroy him but not his soul so what did you do to him?"- replied the son of Hecate.
"I used him to get rid of another threat. Placing his soul inside a vibrator, I offered 'him' as a peace offering to Hera."- explained the new king of the gods.
"Perfect!"- grinned the demigod before once again pushing his lips against his consort's.