2 months since the last chapter. WOW. Well, I am here, to finish the story off! There aren't too many chapters left, so tell me what you guys think of this chapter! No reviews=no chapters for a while!
"Michael?" I asked.
"Yeah?"
"What did it feel like to be dead?"
We were at a park, sitting on a cold bench, watching the sunset. The lake reflected the orange son, and bright colors surrounded us.
"It was boring," he replied, but I could tell he was lying. His voice had dropped two notches, and he began to fidget. "Nobody talks in the underworld, and I didn't eat. I didn't even sleep. It was like being a vampire to the extreme."
I smiled but now that the fun was over, I knew I had to find out who he had killed to come back alive. I wasn't going to like the answer. I looked into Michael's eyes, and tried to figure him out. His smile was deceiving. His bright eyes were misleading. I closed my eyes and touched Michael's wrist. As a goddess, I could look into anyone's mind. It just took concentration.
Michael realized what I was doing. Yet, it was too late. I was already seeing what he was seeing. Then, I squeezed my eyes shut, and forced him to open up his mind. I looked back to when he was trying to find me. Then, I found the memory.
He was in the underworld, eating a warm piece of pizza. He was sitting at an ancient black table, surrounded by yummy food. God, out of everything to eat, he chose pizza? I wanted to smile at his oddness, but then I realized how tense the room was.
Michael slipped a steak knife into his back pocket, and I knew he was out to kill someone. Yet, he couldn't kill someone who was dead. I was confused for a second, until Nico walked in. They exchanged a few words, and then Nico walked out.
Michael followed him. He stayed out of sight, and scampered down the long dark hallway.
Then Michael grabbed Nico's shoulder and whirled him around. Michael's steak knife went straight into Nico's beating heart.
Time seem to stop. Nico's eyelids fluttered and he collapsed onto the ground, his heart slowing down.
"This is for Rose," Michael promised Nico, and then walked away. There was not any sign of regret on Michael's face.
Nico groaned, and his body went limp.
I opened my eyes, pulled away from Michael and fell onto the grass. Tears began to stream down my face. Nico couldn't be dead. He just…couldn't be dead. Nico was the only person who had never given up on me. Nico was the only person who understood me. Nico was the only one who knew how I felt.
Nico was dead.
"You…killed Nico?" I cried, tears silently falling down my face. "How could you?"
"Rose, you need to understand, there is a good reason," Michael said. "I couldn't stay in the underworld. I have important information for you, and I had to be alive and give it to you. Nico had to die. He knew he had to!" All the light had gone out of Michael's face. He looked stressed now. He was almost trembling, "Besides, Nico is home. He came from the underworld, he can be happy there."
"You don't know Nico at all, if you think that," I hissed. I didn't know why, but for some reason, I felt like I knew how much Nico hated that place. Nico hated going to the underworld. Yet, he went there anyway, because he had to. He was stuck down there, now. Dead.
I was shaking. It wasn't because I was angry at Michael. I was shaking because I had just lost Nico.
"I can't save the world without Nico," I whispered, "I can't fight without him by my side." I glared at him, "Tell me what you're good reason is."
Michael took a deep breath, and talked really fast, just trying to get it out, "I know what Zeus and your mother's plans are. I know where they are going to attack, and it's soon. I have to tell you their battle plans. I have to help you."
I took several breaths, and smiled weakly. At least Michael was on my side. See, there was my positive side. I had to think clearly. I had to push my pain away, and save the world.
"When, where and why?"
"Mount Everest," Michael said, "In 6 days. Calysta and Zeus are going to start there, and send out their army. No one will ever be able to kill them if they are on the peak of Mount Everest."
"Why?"
"The peak of Mount Everest is a safety place for gods. They can't be hurt there. They are invincible if they get there. The only thing is that they have to get their by land. They can't shadow travel there, or anything. They have to start at the base of Mount Everest and climb up. So, that's when they are weakest, until they reach the top of Mount Everest. They plan on getting to Mount Everest in 2 days. They will start climbing then. That's when you have to attack- Before they get to the top of Mount Everest."
It was a lot to process. They would get to Mount Everest in 2 days, and climb to the top. Once there, they were invincible. Two days.
"Two days to get Nico back. Then we can climb up and greet them before they reach the top. Then we will send them to the depths of Tartarus," I decided.
"That's cutting it close…" Michael trailed off.
"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," I smiled, "I just need Nico. Alive."
I had a plan.
