Hey, just so you are all aware I might not be able to post any more chapters for a few days. I am going to lose access to my main computer for a week or so. I will still make sure to update it at least twice a week. I will use my phone if I have to, though I don't like writing on it as the small screen gives me a headache. Enjoy. :-)
Important thing to note... This will be yaoi (boy-boy). Don't like? You do not have to read.
Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. (One can dream though) All rights go to the proper parties.
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Percy POV
I felt my heart pounding in my chest. We had really made it to Ogygia. We sailed through the doorway only to have the portal close behind us. There was now no way to get back the same way we had come. I felt a twinge of nervousness at the loss of out exit but that was a thought for a later date. At the moment the only thing on my mind was Nico.
I was nervous; if we couldn't convince Calypso to help him then he would die. I suddenly wished that I hadn't come. I knew Calypso, she had a good heart, but I had hurt her.
I had come to her at the point of death and she had saved me. Then, like everyone that had found the island before me, I left her. It didn't matter if I had asked the gods to free her; I should have made sure that they did. Instead I asked and then proceeded to forget all about her. True I had forgotten about everything but that was no excuses. It took a trip through Tartarus before I realized what a terrible friend I had been to everyone.
I owed her even more than I had known I had. I had to be cursed by her before I realized the true extent of my actions. If it hadn't been for her I might have never realized how I had been treating Nico. If it hadn't been for that realization I might never have tried to get to know him better. Without her, I might have never grown to love him...
I scratched my neck and looked across the deck. Frank and Hazel had brought him up on deck so that Calypso would be able to get to him that much sooner. He looked even worse than he had last night. His lips were cracked and his breath seemed even more labored that before. I silently prayed to all of the gods that she could heal him.
I didn't care what it cost me. I would do anything that she asked if it meant that Nico could live.
I bit my lip and looked ahead of the ship. We were only about one mile from the island. I took the helm from Jason and started our descent. We had decided to set the ship down on the beach. There may have been water but we had no way to get Nico to the shore without a row boat.
The plus side to being ADHD is that I was able to focus on more than one thing at a time. I was going through the complicated pattern of setting the ship down while still keeping an eye on Nico and I still notice when a figure, with hair the color of cinnamon, approach the beach.
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We tied the ship down and looked at each other. By silent agreement Piper and Hazel went first. Jason picked up Nico and followed after them. Frank turned into a giant eagle and carried Ryan down. I took a deep breath, looked around me once more, and jumped down.
The instant I landed I heard Calypso gasp. I looked up and met her eyes. In that split second, I saw a hundred expressions flash across her face. I gulped and nodded to her before she settled her face into a blank gaze and looked away. I saw her take in the sight of Nico lying in Jason's arms.
I had a hundred possible speeches to try and convince her to help him rush through my mind and in the end, I didn't need any of them. She took one look at the boy, frowned, and signaled Jason to lay him on a nearby log.
"What happened to him?" I had forgotten just how musical her voice sounded.
I cleared my throat. "We were attacked by a sea monster."
She nodded and touched the wound. "How long ago did this happen?"
"Just about two days ago. We did what we could but none of us are healers."
She put a hand on his forehead and winched. She turned and leveled her glare at me. "You fed him too much ambrosia. Only part of this fever is his infection, if you had given him even a few more bites he would have died."
I broke eye contact and looked down. "We were worried about him, he hasn't woken up since it happened and he keeps getting worse." Calypso sighed and shook her head. She knew I was speaking the truth and I could tell that she couldn't stay mad at us for that. "Can you help him? Please, I... we can't lose him."
She looked at me with ancient eyes and shook her head. I felt my heart plummet. "I'm sorry, I cannot heal this wound. His injury is too severe and his strength is too low. If I tried it, he would die."
I saw Hazel drop to the ground with her arms around her stomach. I felt tears spring to my eyes. I had to ask, "Please Calypso, There must be something you can do."
Her shoulders hunched when I said her name. "There is one option, but... it's not pleasant."
I felt my heart begin to swell with hope. "Just tell me what you need. Whatever it is, I will do it."
Her eyes shot to mine in surprise. "You do not even know what I will ask of you."
I shook my head, "It doesn't matter. If there is even the slightest chance that it will save him, I will do it."
I heard her sigh as she looked down at the son of Hades. "I can take the strength of another and give it to him. There is no guarantee that it would work, he will still most likely die, but it would give him a chance."
I felt myself smile, "Do it, you can take my strength."
She looked at me with a serious expression. I felt my heart clench. The last time that she had looked at me like that she had told me she loved me and asked me to stay. "Think carefully before you decided. It will be painful. It will feel as though I am ripping out your soul. If you do not have the inner strength to survive, you could easily die as well."
I wanted to say that I didn't care but I knew that she wanted me to seriously consider it. I thought about the risks. I didn't enjoy pain and I certainly didn't want to die...
I shook my head. It was worth the risk. If I had to risk my life for Nico, I would do it without hesitation. I looked her in the eye and nodded.
She picked up Nico's body with surprising ease and carried him towards her home. She motioned for me to follow.
I walked along beside her as I took in the view. I had forgotten just how beautiful the island was. I had convinced myself that nowhere could have been that gorgeous and that it must have been a dream. I had been wrong. If anything my memories hadn't done it justice. The soft white sand, the ocean waves, the fragrant blossoms, it was indescribably beautiful.
I started thinking about how much it reminded me of the Aphrodite beach where Nico and I had gone on our first non-date. I smiled at the memory. I would find a way to win Nico back and when I did, I would take him on a real date on our privet stretch of paradise.
I looked towards the beautiful girl who carried the man I had grown to love. I was happy that even if I did die, the others would see that she was freed. She deserved to find the same happiness that I had found in Nico.
We entered her house and she laid Nico on the bed and motioned for me to lie beside him. I felt my heart constrict. I owed her so much, and had never thanked her. If I was going to die, then I knew I should tell her how sorry I was. "Calypso..."
She looked at me with sadness in her dark almond eyes and shook her head. "I believe that you will survive this. We will talk once you wake."
I looked at her and smiled. "Okay."
She gave me a sad smile and took my hand. "This will hurt..."
I had just opened my mouth to respond when the pain hit. It was 1000 times worse than anything I had felt before. The last thing I saw was a tear slipping down the goddesses face before I blacked out.
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Nico POV
I felt like I had been hit by a bus, then trampled by a herd of centaurs, and then fried in boiling oil.
I groaned and opened my eyes. I took in the sight of a stone roof and turned to the side. I instantly froze. Sleeping not even two feet away from me was Percy. I felt my heart start to race. Why was Percy in my bed?
I started to panic a little and pulled away. I tried to sit up only for the room to start spinning. I fell back down and put a hand to my head. I took a deep breath and forced myself to sit up much more slowly.
I felt sick to my stomach. I had a feeling that I had been sleeping for quite a while but I was still exhausted.
The last thing I could remember was finding Apollo's iPod. I looked around but nothing seemed familiar. I seemed to be in some kind of cave. It wasn't immediately obvious that it was a cave, I could just smell that we were underground. The cave was decorated to look like someones house. However, it was unlike almost any house I had ever seen. For one, it seemed to have no electricity. The only light in the cave seemed to come from a fireplace that was built into one of the walls.
I swung my feet out of the bed and tried to stand. My legs were a little wobbly but I refused to allow that to keep me there. I could handle a lot before I broke but there was now way that I could survive sharing a bed with Percy. Not when I knew his heart belonged to the daughter of Athena.
I winced. I tried to convince myself that the only pain that I felt was the physical pain but I was not a fool. Having Percy choose her had hurt me. I took a deep breath and tired to force the thought out of my head.
He had made a fool of me once but he wouldn't be doing it a second time. I would not be able to stand the betrayal if he did it again. I wouldn't care if he came crawling back to me on his knees begging me to take him back, I wouldn't do it...
I sighed and used the wall to support me as I made my way outside. I really wished that I could believe myself. I knew that if he asked, I would still go back to him and yet, I knew he would never ask.
I made my way to the entrance and winced at the bright sunlight. I seemed to be on some kind of island but I had no idea where. I blinked to get accustomed to the sudden change in the light when I heard someone gasp.
I raised a hand to cover my eye and could make out the figure of a women kneeling in a garden. She had dark reddish brown hair and was looking at me in surprise. I waited for her to speak but she didn't seem to be capable of doing so at the moment. I sighed, I supposed that I would have to. "Hello..."
"You should be in bed. You shouldn't even be conscious right now, let alone walking around."
I narrowed my eyes, "Why is that?"
"Because that sea monster nearly killed you. Another day without a healer and you would have been on a one way trip to the underworld."
I was surprised but I didn't show it. I thought back and could vaguely remember a blinding pain just before I blacked out. I didn't know how to respond but she was looking at me in expectation. I shrugged. "I'm fine." It wasn't completely true but it wasn't a total lie either. "So who healed me?" Now that I knew I had been injured I was surprised that I hadn't figured it out earlier. Healing's always left a very specific pain in their wake that was unlike any other. It wasn't true pain, more like a ghost of pain.
She looked at me in disbelief. "I did, and there is no way that you are completely fine right now."
I narrowed my eyes, "I didn't say I was completely fine, but I will live." I blinked and tilted my head as I processed the rest of her statement. "You healed me? How?"
The girl stood up and dusted the dirt off her dress. "I have a gift for healing, I've been doing it for a long time."
I lowered my hand as she came to stand beside me. "Who are you?"
She gave me a big smile and offered me her hand. "My name is Calypso, it's a pleasure to meet you."
