Capture

Nico had been so distraught with his encounter with the family of cyclopes that he wandered right into the Titan Army. Well, a more apt description would be that they snuck up on him， somehow.

"THERE HE IS! I TOLD YOU SO." A familiar huff voice, it was the cyclops, Tommy. He sounded less whiny from their last encounter, with a hint of determination in his tone. Nico shook his head, when will he learn? That was a monster he just let loose, and not ten minutes after, he betrayed his location to the Titan Army. Maybe monsters would remain monsters after all, he thought to himself as a group of Dracaenae dragged him off in chains, maybe we are who we are.

The Dracaenae made no haste in parading him through the monster ranks, as if showing off their new catch. They walked for a few dreadful minutes, passing entire halls stuffed with monsters of all sorts. There were just so many of them, it appears that the entire Titan Army had been marching towards Camp Halfblood. There was just no way for Nico to take care of it himself, he was regretting his decision not to inform his father.

But how am I going to tell him that? Surely I can't just say that I didn't want to talk to him. What do I do?

He felt terrible in the shackles, not just because of his misplaced gambit, the cuffs appeared to be enchanted, as he couldn't control the metal with his powers, nor could he sense anything, at all. His connection with the underground was completely blocked by some magic, it was like having his nose stuffed, and his ears plugged in.

His guards escorted him to a pair of grand doors, beyond them Nico could hear some very loud clamoring. Cheers and boos both high and low echoed throughout the halls. One of his guards gave him a dirty look, as if saying "Don't try anything stupid, we got our eyes on you." before slipping into the chambers behind the doors.

Nico wasn't very concerned with what the monsters were planning to do to him. This was the Titan Army, and, being the prophecy child, he was their best shot against the gods. There was no way that they would kill him. But what they would do to Camp Halfblood, that worried him.

The same snake lady appear from behind the doors with a huge smile. She spoke to the other guards in some hissing language and proceeded to tug Nico into another smaller door further down the hall.

It was a dark room with another set of grand doors, leading to original clamoring chamber. There were a few weapons in the small dark room, some rusty spears, swords and nets, the classic gladiator set. But there was no one there, Nico had a bad feeling that he would be joining the fighting pits soon.

A few minutes later, Luke Castellan entered the room with his Dracaenae bodyguards.

"It's really uncomfortable, you know, in these restraints." Nico broke the silence between them. "But I assume you've seen worse, with that kind of a fall on Mount Tam, I am surprised you didn't crash straight into the Underworld."

"I don't really need your sass, di Angelo. I hope we will be able to converse as two intelligent demigods." he paused, casting a dirty look at Nico, "As for the restraints, given your power, I had to take certain… precautions, I would be a fool to underestimate the killer of Iapetus."

"You flatter me." Nico eyed Castellan carefully, "I assume you are not here to laud our legendary feats?"

"I am not," Castellan agreed, "We have more important matters to discuss than stories past. I am here for the future." he paused for a moment, "The era of the immortals is coming to an end, you need not join the gods in their demise. Take my side, and we will rule the Earth as gods."

Nico stood in silence for a moment, taken aback by the audacity of the proclamation, but he quickly regained his composure. "You said the gods will die, who are we to rule as gods then?"

"In the absence of immortals, we demigods rule. You felt the surge in your powers when Iapetus died, right? One less share to the sweet power, imagine what would happen when all the immortals of death perish. You will have the sole claim to the Underworld. But that is superfluous, we do not even need to lift a finger to force the mortals into submission, the monsters, given free reign, should accomplish that for us."

Nico tensed when Luke mentioned his power surge, he hadn't told anyone about it, not even his father. Luke had certainly done his homework, the mere thought of it gave Nico chills. He drew a deep breath, and changed the topic. "That was not my question, I need a cause, not a means."

"I see you are not one who would settle for such simplistic answers. Fine. We demigods, we have given up so much for the gods, for the world. We are the warriors standing between the world and destruction. We give protection to those who require it. Think of it as a contract, protection for a small price."

"Shouldn't you make the cause sound better if you want somebody to join you?"

"Of course, it isn't that bad, the Spartans did it before, so did the majority of the medieval lords. You see, I'll be frank with you, I don't think you are one of those people who would be swayed by great promises or honeyed words. You, if I may, are reasonable. We are much alike, you and me." Nico was about to object to Luke's praises, but he was on a roll, "Therefore, I'll lay out all the facts, and I hope you will see sense."

"I doubt that, but you have avoided answering my question. You are ruling like the gods. What makes you think you can rule the world while the gods cannot?"

"You are a sharp one, aren't you?" Luke smiled, and for a moment, he didn't seem like he was interrogating a prisoner or converting a new follower, instead he became a friend. The smile made Nico lose focus for a moment, before Luke's soothing voice pulled him back into the world, "We have given up so much for the world, we fight monsters, to protect the mortals, we do it to defend the gods, and now we do so to aid the titans. They used us, knowingly, or unknowingly, they made servants out of all of us. All I demand is our freedom."

"And how does that translate to ruling the world?"

"We do not have to protect anyone, the ones who want it would have to obey our will and those who don't will be mopped up by the monsters." Nonchalance, as if he wasn't concerned with the lives of countless others. "We do not risk the lives of good people in vain." his face contorted into a snarl at this point, as if recalling a horrific memory, something that still plagues him in dreams, that still fills him with outrage and despair. "You are a good person, you need not risk your life for terrible people. Join me."

Nico stared at him, "What happened to you?" There was no way an idealist like Luke would spontaneously descend into such extremity. Something bad, something traumatic must've happened to the poor soul.

"Life, of course, life of a demigod." Luke smiled, not one one of those reassuring smiles, no. It was a sad little smile, as if to hide the sad truth that he alone had to endure. "You've lived it, have you not? In the Battle of the Underworld. The pain, the betrayal when you realise that help wasn't coming, it will never come? The gods simply do not give a dam about you."

"No, they do give a dam about me. But it is strategically—"

"But it still means they don't give a dam about you, not enough to mess up their own chances of survival."

That was the forbidden thought that plagued Nico in his dreams, the one that terrifies him whenever it arises. He was at a loss of words, unable to reply to Luke's prompt.

"You want to prove that your father cares about you, you are selfish, not that it is a bad thing, but the opinions of others should not concern you, especially not your worthless father's."

"Isn't that a little too selfish?"

"Are you sure you are not, though? What do you seek? Your father's praises? His recognition? His love? Face it, the only thing that keeps you from joining me is your pathetic wish to be acknowledged by your father."

"But I think I am right, although my motivation may be dubious, but my actions will be just." Nico was losing ground in the argument, "My way is better for this world, not yours."

"Oh, are you?" Luke smiled, "Are you? First off, don't even act like you give a dam about the greater good. You don't. The only incentive for you to do anything rests on making you feel better. And, are you truly better for the world?"

"Yeah!"

"Would you or would you not sentence innocent demigods to death?"

"No."

"But if we do not take control of the world, the gods, or the titans, whoever triumphs, will allow monsters to roam the world, and believe me, they will kill—"

"You don't know that."

"No, you don't know that. You are the sole child of your father, you are the prophecy child, everything you see is designed, no directed, like a movie, by the gods so that you will make the choice they want. I saw their dark side because they didn't bother to play pretend around me. I lost—" Luke wasn't addressing Nico any more, his eyes had lost their focus on something far away, something that haunted him. He took a deep breath from his rant, before finally looking Nico in his eyes. "You are naive, terribly so. You don't see the dark side of the gods. We do. We are the consequences that the gods disregard."

There was a long period of silence, Nico took the chance to gather his thoughts. He knew there was something wrong with the Olympians, hushed war meetings after he left the room, shadows when he carried out missions, even the vague briefings that seemed tailor fit for him. But he never thought the whole thing could be about the Great Prophecy. He never thought the love that he so desperately clung to could be because of the accursed prophecy.

"You feel it too, don't you," Luke smiled, Nico wondered if he had the ability to read minds, his eyes seemed to be staring down into his soul, and for once, Nico felt this eerie exposed feeling. "That would be enough for one day." Nico thanked the heavens for the end to his interrogation, he was running out of words and determination. "I will release you after you complete a task for me, well, you don't really have much of a choice."

The chains binding Nico fell slack, but his shackles remain, he tried shadow-traveling away, but to no avail. Luke grinned at his discomfort, "You are going to clear a path to Camp Halfblood for me."

Nico had no idea why the Antaeus guy wanted with him, Luke stepped out of the room to give some speech or another, and the next thing he knew, he was rudely shoved into the arena, facing the angry giant.

Antaeus regarded him smugly, he held no weapon but Nico knew he didn't need one. He was easily ten feet tall, with arms as thick as tree trunks, and a surly ugly mug. It was hard not to mark him for a wrestler given how he held his stature. Nico bit his lips, if he remembered correctly, the guy was the son of Gaea and Poseidon, which meant he would be invincible on the ground. With the shackles limiting his powers over darkness, Nico is left with few options.

Slowly, he drew his spear from the shadows.