Damn it, another time I missed a deadline last week. But here yah go, another chapter. This one is fairly short, mostly deals with loss and has one gigantic reveal at the end. The special thing is that I've been working on flashing out that Kai and Nico romance and therefore I've been writing more such scenes. i'll add them in previous chapters, but so that you do not have to search for them spread out, i have compiled them here, together with the chapter I'll put them in.
Disclaimer: extreme dark content, not sure if this falls under the right maturity rating, but TAKE THIS AS YOUR WARNING
Theo:
The Argo III was gigantic. Enough room to quarter the hunters and their wolves, wounded demigods as well as the four from Hogwarts, not to mention a cyclops.
The ship hadn't been able to land. Instead ropes had been thrown down and a complicated looking plank to attach the wounded to had been lowered. Thalia and her girls had given their best to keep the Eternals occupied and help the wounded Elizabeth and Will into the construction. Many of the wolves climbed on as well. Then, everything had gone fast. The plank had been pulled up, Theo and the hunters had grabbed on to the other ropes and started climbing. Artillery from above helped keep the Eternals occupied-
And moments later, the ship was out of the shadows' reach. Theo, still dangling on a rope, had slowly been pulled up to the ship, the trees below him turning into tiny toys. The moon was shining. The Eternals were collectively staring up at the wooden hull. Their faces expressionless. In the distance, Theo could see a gigantic clearing. Ruins where littered across the hills, and ashes still gleamed in some of the corners. The strawberry fields were trampled, the training arena- picked apart stone by stone. Only the Great House was mostly intact. However, the veranda had been torn apart, wooden planks sticking in the grass around it. Like the corpse of a gigantic ancient animal the blackened building huddled there, bones scattered. Theo wasn't sure how long he starred at the camp he had once called home. But when he touched his cheek, he realized it was wet with tears.
Up on deck, Theo had witnessed the treatment of the wounded; hunters and demigods alike. Finally, there was plenty of Ambrosia and Nectar. Clean bandages had been applied to the wounds, and most of the unfortunate souls were already sleeping. Only Elizabeth was still getting stitches from Annabeth. Usually, that would have been Wills job, but the medic had been wounded badly. It would take a while for him to recover.
Theo stood off to the side, looking at the black horizon and the distant sea. The cold stars were shining above. Slowly, the sound of waves crashing against the shore was getting louder. The water was close. He could already smell the salty air of the ocean. The son of Demeter sighed with relief. Something told him that out there, not even the Eternals would find them. Shivering, Theo pulled his jacket tighter around himself. The breeze was chilly.
"Theo." A voice said behind him, and his heart plummeted.
It was Percy.
"Where's Nico?" The son of Poseidon asked, his voice trembling slightly. Trembling with fear.
Theo pressed his lips together. He couldn't look at Percy. He did not want to see the anguish in his eyes, nor did he want see his iris' shattering. He couldn't tell him.
Theo was still shivering, but now the cold had nothing to do with it.
Annabeth:
She had just finished the stitches on Elizabeth and gone down into the hull to get some more Ambrosia, should one of the wounded wake up they might need it, when she heard heavy footsteps behind her. The daughter of Athena suddenly realised how quiet the ship was. No hammering, no screaming (in anger or pain), no laughter. It seemed as if the entire world was holding its breath. Only those footsteps.
Clonk.
Clonk.
Clonk.
They were heavy and slow. A sad rhythm, Annabeth thought. She didn't know that sound. Percy didn't walk that way, nor did Leo. And Nico- well the Ghost King was always as quiet as a ghost. They grew louder, and she turned around. It was Percy. Well, if what she saw was truly her Percy. He was a broken figure, his shoulders hunched, his eyes red from crying. He was shaking, and with utmost certainty Annabeth knew what had happened.
"Nico- he's gone." the son of Poseidon got out between sobs. Annabeth felt the tears collect and roll. She felt her hands clench up and Percy's body as she hugged him tight. Her heart on the other hand-
It just felt numb.
Was it supposed to be numb?
Annabeth didn't know.
It hadn't felt like that when Luke had died. When Thalia had seemed dead. It hadn't felt like that when Percy had disappeared.
But she was happy for the numbness.
The cold, empty numbness, and that Percy Jackson in her arms.
Malcolm:
The others needed to know.
He puked again. Don't think about it. The Eternals- no.
The others need to know.
He was standing at the railing, leaning into the night whenever another wave of sickness hit him. He was surprised how much bile a human stomach contained.
The others need to know.
Well, it hadn't been surprising. Many bodies had disappeared back then. During the hunt. In the night. In the mornings. Only few demigods had gotten actual burial. Malcolm had always wanted to know what the Eternals did with them.
He doubled over and vomited.
What the Eternals did with the corpses-
No, he had decided that he didn't want to know. But now, it was to late. He had seen, and what had been seen couldn't be unseen.
The others need to know.
What did they need to know? How their friend had died? No.
They already knew that. Did they need to know the rest? No.
But what if it was important? What if that was why they hunted in the first place. Yes.
The others need to know.
The scene replaid in Malcolm's head for what must have been the thousandth time. He knew he couldn't turn it off. He had tried.
The sky had been a dark blue. The moon had been shining. The trees stood still. The breeze had vanished. Thirty shadows had stood around one lonely figure. Their silhouettes were raised against the night's sky. A silent dance - the son of Hades fell to his knees. One strike, one sickening thump, a spherical shape landing on the ground. Nico had been decapitated.
The Eternals had stood still. And then all hell went loose. The shadows closed in, jumped, ripped, bit each other, screeched.
Malcolm puked again.
Animals. That was all the shadows where.
He spat vomit.
Animals.
By the time the hyenas had finished their meal, the only thing left of Di Angelo had been his head.
Damn, hope you don't hate me for that last reveal. So that was it for the chapter itself. Short, i know. But ive done some serious editing on my google docs, as well as outlining, characterprofiles etc. so that I am 100% ready for the next chapters and can get this fanfic to a level that I am happy with.
So here it goes: these are all moments before them dating that I'll sprinkle between chapter 6 and 10. There basically cute oneshots that develop both characters. After the brutality of last reveal, I think you deserve some fun, happy moments.
A few new Nico and Kai moments
Chapter 6: (before their relationship)
basically this happens right after Colin, Kai and Vince explain everything about Harry to Nico.
"Another Member of your Potter fanclub, Colin?" an older Slytherin sneered.
"Piss off Carrow!" Colin replied, unfazed, but the other did not move an inch. Instead, he continued. "Another mudblood I assume." Now, the students around them were laughing as well. Salazar's green seemed to have surrounded them; Nico could not make out one Gryffindor in the crowd.
"Don't know what to say because it's true?" Carrow asked, smirking.
Nico realized Colin was shaking with anger.
The Gryffindor repeated his previous line, but this time in rage. "Piss off, Carrow!"
The Slytherins laughed only louder at that.
"Ooooh, does little Creevey want to be left alone? Maybe jack off to some Harry Potter fan art?" Carrow smirked.
At that, Colin lost all the self-control he had left. He charged the 6th grader and punched him in the guts. Unfazed, the Slytherin stared down at him. And then threw a devastating hook. Colin flew through the air, landing right in front of Kai, Vince and Nico. Carrow followed, trying to kick the Gryffindor into the ribs. He missed. A leg had shot out, a quick jab which had changed the arc the Slytherin's kick had made. He swore, and turned towards his new opponent. "And I thought Gryffindors were smart. Ups, that must have been the Ravenclaws. You guys on the other hand are suicidal punks that need to learn some respect for their pureblood superiors. You'll remember this, mudblood."
The Slytherins cheered.
Nico realized Carrow was playing the crowd. He grinned. "Bring it on, gayboy."
Carrow screamed angrily at the nickname and threw a quick jab, followed by two rounds and a backfist. Nico blocked the first and second, dogged the third, and caught the last with his forearm. His eyes gleamed. The movement had caused Nico's short sleeves to pull back, exposing pure muscle. The Slytherin realized his mistake. But it was too late. Three punches later and Carrow was on his knees, to dizzy to stand. Nico, unfazed, grabbed his head, which was now perfect height, and rammed his knee into it. One fluid, devastating motion. The sixth grader crumpled, unconscious, a broken, bleeding mass the only left overs of his nose. Nico walked on, his face expressionless. None of the other Slytherins tried to stop him or his friends as they left the corridor.
For the rest of the way, the four stayed silent.
Nico realized it was because of him. He didn't care. He knew he had shocked them, but he had done what needed to be done. If they didn't see that, they weren't worthy to be his friends. The only thing that puzzled him was the look in Kai's eyes. He still wasn't sure what it had been. Sadness? Disappointment? loyalty? Only next night would he realize that Kai's eyes had gleamed in a mixture of amazement and new found respect.
Chapter 9: (before their relationship)
The wheeze of a rusty hinge woke Nico. Disturbed, he looked around. Had he fallen asleep while waiting for his friends? He must have.
Shit. had he missed any lessons? But no, the clock showed 6:20. The others probably weren't even awake yet. But in that case, what had made the noise? His eyes scanned the room, until realizing that the canvas covering the entrance hole was wide open. And within it stood-
"Kai? What the f*ck are you doing here?" the Ghost King asked, surprise etched on his face. Kai looked a little tired, his hair messy and his washed out, green T-shirt bespeckled with colorful drops of paint. A ragged old bag was hanging over his shoulder- spray cans were sticking out of it.
Slowly, the wizard raised his finger to his lips. "Shhh" he said, smirking, and walked towards the staircase. When passing the Ghost King's couch, he ruffled Nico's hair. Man, that kid had problems, Nico thought. His hand almost jerked for his sword under the hogwarts robes. But when Kai was walking up the staircase, Nico couldn't help but glance at the wizard's ass. The Bloody Baron had been wiped from his mind. What the fuck was a wizard doing with spray paints in the middle of the night?
Chapter 10: (before their relationship)
Potions had been alright. Snape hadn't been as evil as Nico had expected. But Nico had been through Tartarus and back, so maybe by now nothing of the mortal realm seemed evil to him. Colin on the other hand did have it quite hard. Snape had picked on him repeatedly. Even though his cauldron was clean for all Nico could see, Snape still took "Five points from Gryffindor for lax cleaning Standards, Creevey!". These little punishments quickly mounted; by the time the lesson reached its half-mark, Colin had lost twenty points.
Reading the board wasn't as bad as Nico had expected. His dyslexia was in check; for now. Once, he did get two ingredients mixed up, but a hand shot out, grabbed his wrist and stopped him just in time from pouring elks milk into the brew.
For a second, Nico stared at the arm. There was a leather bracelet at the wrist; brown with celtic designs across it. A few drops of bright colored inks seemed to have fallen on the skin, as it was speckled with paint. Nico looked up and realised that it belonged to Kai. The wizard looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"Elk blood, Nico, not Elk milk.". He let go of Nico, and the Ghost King, a slight blush on his cheeks, took out the right flask.
With an over the top shake of the head and a sarcastic sigh, Kai returned to his table. "You disappoint me, Di Angelo" he said in a perfect imitation of Snape's voice. He winked at Nico.
Colin bent double from laughter. Even Nico couldn't help but smirk. Until-
"20 points from Gryffindor." A cold voice, calm and oily had arisen behind them. There stood Snape, and he was all but amused.
If potions hadn't been fun beforehand, it definitely was no fun now. They all let out sighs of relief once the lesson was over and the dungeon classroom safely behind them.
"That was intense." Vince spoke the heart of all of them.
Slowly, conversation came back to the class, now all making their ways through the corridors to reach Charms. But the crowd stuttered to a halt. The way in front of them was blocked by a long rope, hanging from one wall to the opposite. Behind it stood Filch, muttering angrily to himself. He was rubbing at the wall with a gigantic cleaning broom, all types of wizard cleaning fluids being kept in large bottles on the floor. What Filch was trying to clear away was a-
Nico wasn't sure what it was. A rabbit with gigantic eyes and a humanoid body that still had fur, with huge teeth and holding what could only be a brush, painting easter eggs, was the best description he could have given, but it just didn't come close to what was actually on the wall. It was surreal; ugly yet beautiful.
The creature itself looked like something a drug addict had pulled out of his fantasy, but the technique was flawless. Even Nico, who had no clue of graffiti, knew that the outlines where sharper than it should be possible, and that those color transitions were smooth as hell. And not only that, the detail put into the thing was insane. The egg had tiny writing on it. The rabbit's fur had a brown and white pattern and texture which made it seem as if you saw every hair. He looked at Colin, and stopped. He and Kai were in a deep conversation, whispered so quietly the Ghost King could only understand every second word.
"Nice first for this year-
I tried something big yah now
Jesse Smith tattoo style, clearly,
I know, I know, tattoo artist, not grafiti, but-"
At that, Kai cought Nico's eyes and winked.
It hit the son of Hades like a truck. Kai had done this? Was that why he had returned to the common room that morning? It had to be it. How many other students were running around with spray-cans and had hands speckled with paint?
The Ghost King decided to revise his conclusion about Kai. The wizard wasn't only hot, he was cool. Like cooler than cool. And for Nico to acknowledge anyone as cool was quite the miracle.
Alright, hope you liked both the dark and the fluff here. I'll certainly have more Nico and Kai flashbacks next chapter, and some less dark usual plot. Slowly, we're returning back to normal. More less. Calypso still hasn't been mentioned, nor Grover, so keep those two characters in mind. At some point, their fate will be revealed ;D
Fives signing out