Nico really hoped it was just Percy and Annabeth. He really did. Prayed for that to be so. Yet it wasn't his friends who stepped into the light of the fire. The creature has the fore part of a lion which was odd enough. "I don't remember passing any Zoo's here Nico," ground out Thalia as she struggled to her feet behind him. Nico has immediately placed himself between the girls and the noise.
His witty retort was lost on his tongue when the beast's tail swished. It was a massive scaly bulk like that of a dragon. "Yeah, no, don't think the locals keep those caged up for entertainment. Both demigods drew their swords and Nico glanced behind him, charting where he would need to play defense in order to keep the beast from his still unconscious sister. A cry of surprise brought his attention forward once more. It was obvious what had shocked the daughter of Zeus. The beast turned to reveal two more heads, that of a goat and that of a proper dragon. It growled before belching out flames. The two scrambled back in alarm and Nico's heart clenched once more as his unruly mind thought of how convenient his flame retardant boyfriend would be to have around in this particular moment.
Thinking in tandem, he raced from the left and Thalia from the right. Nico dropped and rolled to avoid a mass of fire, popping up unscathed as he jabbed. The creature must have had one set of eyes on him though as the tail whooshed forward and parried the blow with the thick impenetrable hide of dragons' tail. Apparently Thalia's efforts were even less effective. She stooped in close to try and slay the beast, but it put her within the goats reach. With a powerful buck of its head the young girl flew backwards and flopped to the earth. Stomach in knots Nico watched as she rolled to her stomach, tried to upright herself and flopped down once more.
A new sense of urgency swept over him. Leo needed him. These girls needed him. Percy and Annabeth probably needed him. He would conquer this creature. As he fought valiantly his arms began to tremble, covered with cuts from flicks of the tail and swipes of a paw. His breath was labored from his efforts and he was certain his shoulder was severely burnt. Mind reeling he began to back towards a nearby pond. It was frozen over. As he backed up the creature advanced towards him. When his foot hit the ice he felt it shift, but kept going. When they had reached the center he put his plan into action.
"Isn't it a bit chilly out here for a mutt like you? You probably couldn't light a candle much less burn me!" The beast roared and bleated and snorted smoke from its nostril. As the flames poured forth the son of Hades sprinted for the edge of the water. His plan worked. His plan also failed. The ice crashed inward taking the beast into its dark icy depths…and Nico with it.
Nico's finger scraped on the ice as he clamored desperately for a hold. It seemed that each time he pulled himself out a fraction, he would slip further in than before. When he had nearly given up hope a warm hand gripped his wrist. Vision blurred slightly from the impending pneumonia, it took him a moment to settle his gaze on his savior. Soon the warm eyes of Hazel met his own.
"You're okay Nico. I got ya," she ensured before pulling back with all her might. The two collapsed in the snow before crawling up to kneel. Nico pulled his sister into his own trembling form as she choked on a sob.
"I woke up and looked over and, and you just fell in. I t-thought I'd lost you," she gasped out. The shaking boy pulled her face into his shoulder and rocked her back and forth.
"No you saved me Haze, you saved me."
The moment was shattered as a very concerned Annabeth Chase took in the site of the expedition. "What in the name of Olympus happened here?!" She exclaimed as she knelt next to Thalia and pulled the girl into her arms.
"Nooo,"slurred the dark haired girl, "screw you for not being eaten by the Aslan-Godzilla-Billy Goat thingy." The blonde's head shot up in concern. "You fought a chimera?! How did you beat it?"
By this point Percy had one arm around a sopping wet Nico and arm around a still wobbly Hazel. The group settled by the fire once more as Percy pulled off Nico's shoes and socks, sweater and shirt, and eventually jeans before wrapping the long past numb demigod in one of those extraterrestrial-looking emergency blankets that he had pulled from the bus first aid kit. They hung his clothes to dry and bundled in what resembled a puppy pile.
Hazel, the most coherent, at this point recounted what had taken place. When she told of how Nico had crashed through the ice Percy pulled the smaller lad tightly to his side.
Despite how violently his teeth were chattering Nico looked up at Percy and ground out, "ssssso wwwerererere youuuuu?"
Annabeth straightened up at this point. As she spoke she hadn't each member of the group a hot ember wrapped in leather from the bus to hold to their chests and retain heat.
"I kept wandering because I hadn't reached a sign yet that showed where we were. I did find one. We're near Luverne, Minnesota. So it's a half hour drive to Sioux Falls from here. We've almost made it. We just have to sort how we're going to get there."
For the first time since the crash Nico felt hope stir within him. He snuggled in closer to Percy and felt safe for the moment. It wasn't long before his eyes drooped shut.