Nico's Pov

The last day a half of my memory was pretty foggy. I woke up multiple times since I got to my bed in the med bay but I couldn't manage to stay awake for more than a few seconds at a time as I recovered from my long journey here. My entire body felt like lead and my bones were burning and aching. My head never stopped pounding until late last night when I woke up and the thumping magically disappeared, much to my relief.

I'm not gonna lie being back on the Argo II was weird. I still felt like an outsider but at the same time something was different then before. It was somehow a lot less intimidating and more...welcoming? Maybe it was because I knew Jason wasn't the only person that knew my secret and now I was being forced to trust these people. With at least three of my friends knowing it somehow made my secret less heavy. It didn't make the stress go away but as long as Percy and Annabeth never found out the truth, I could be okay with the a few people knowing.

These thoughts rolled through my head as I sat cross legged on a chair next to Percy. My eyes refused to look at anything other than his pale face, chiseled jaw, and the little cut on his lip. It didn't matter that he wasn't his normal tan, toned self and he had lost a lot of weight. He was still flawless to me. I wanted to hold his hand more than anything but a nasty voice in the back of my head kept saying, "You cut him out of your life when he did nothing wrong. You left him when he needed you. You don't deserve his affections."

The voice was so intense that I didn't realize I'd closed my eyes and placed my hands on the edge of the bed to steady myself from the guilt and shame. I tried to expel the thoughts but they were so persistent that it was excruciatingly difficult.

I was so distracted that when I felt something touch my hand I pulled away so quickly that I almost toppled my chair over from the momentum.

When the chair regained its stability I looked at the bed to find out what had touched me. I was stunned to see Percy's hand laying open, palm facing down as if he'd tried to reach for me.

Thinking I was losing it but also too curious to stop myself, I leaned forward and laid my hand on the bed, watching anxiously.

A few seconds went by before I felt overwhelmingly self conscious and started to pull my hand away. Before I could move it too far a small groan escaped Percy's lips and his arm moved closer to mine. I froze at his sudden motion and held my breath as his hand continued on its path only stopping when his fingers found mine and lightly grabbed hold of them.

Percy had somehow subconsciously known that I...I mean that someone was next to him and was able to find and take hold of their (my) hand. How could he've known someone was next to him? I had no idea but was I mad? No not really. It was reassuring to be able to feel his heart beat while also hearing the steady beeping on the machine behind him. It reminded me that there was hope. He could make it through this.

No one came into the med bay an hour later but I was more than happy to spend time with Percy uninterrupted. Since I didn't think I could confess my regret to anyone else I decided to tell Percy. When he woke up he'd never know anyway so it didn't matter. With a deep breath I blurted out almost everything that had been eating away at me for the last few years. Though I left out the part about my undying love for him. That's something I couldn't confess to him even if he was unconscious.

For the next thirty minutes I told Percy how horrible I felt for blaming him for Bianca's death and even worse for leaving without saying goodbye. I told him that I was scared and upset and afraid of being rejected. I couldn't believe that someone like him would ever really want to be my friend. I'm just a loser and he was a cool, funny, jock who's good at everything.

The words kept spilling out of me like a broken faucet. At one point I thought I'd felt Percy squeeze my hand but I'm pretty positive I just imagined it. By the time I was done pouring out my heart to my currently insentient crush, I had tears leaking down my cheeks and my nose was running pretty bad.

Of course Leo and Hazel chose to walk in during my crying fest and saw me blubbering like a baby. It was also just my luck for them to see my hand in Percy's, looking like I was the one who took it in the first place. To top it all off my cheeks felt extremely hot so I knew that I must've been redder than a tomato.

Dad take me now. Death by embarrassment seems pretty fitting for me. At least if I was in the underworld I could escape the teasing that they were about to give me.

To my astonishment Hazel and Leo didn't laugh at me. They didn't even smirk. Instead, Hazel silently walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me, kissing my cheek and whispering, "I'm sorry Nico. He'll be okay just give him time."

Leo walked over when Hazel pulled away and handed me a few tissues, patting my back with a slightly hesitant smile. I realized that he was trying to be comforting and I immediately felt warmth spread through my chest as I blew my nose with one hand. Leo and Hazel cared about me and it was so obvious. How'd I not see it before?

"Thank you." I said though my voice sounded pretty hoarse. "How'd the meeting go?" I asked, looking up at them and wiping my eyes with another tissue.

Leo and Hazel took turns explaining Annabeth's plan with Poseidon and the possibility of a cure. Then they told me about the task they took on of trying to reach Percy's mind like Jason had.

The idea of getting to talk to Percy, hear his voice, a real sign of life, anything, sent my brain into overdrive. Would it really work? Could we actually communicate with him? It seemed like a long shot but with everything that's happened in my life I guess talking to someone trapped in their own mind wasn't that crazy.

"We should all put a hand on him. Maybe he'll sense us and be able to bring us all in or one or two of us. It's worth a try right?" I asked hopefully, wanting to be included in their efforts. I was desperate to see Percy awake and alive. I needed to see his ocean eyes filled with life and that playful sparkle they so often held. I overall just wanted solid evidence that he'd be okay.

Leo raised a skeptical eyebrow at me but shrugged and said, "Yeah why not. Three tries is better than two, Hazel? What d'you think?"

Hazel seemed to ponder the thought before responding, "We don't know if he can even control when he brings people in. Let alone if he can do it while we're awake? Is even it safe?!? Jason said that Percy told him he was in danger and had to leave...I think it's a big risk. I want to talk to him as much as everyone else but is it worth it?"

A frown appeared on my face as I thought Hazel was going to forbid us from trying. Luckily Leo stepped in and said, "Hazel I'm sure Percy was just being overly cautious. I doubt anything could actually happen to us...but we'll be careful no matter what. We gotta try. He's relying on us."

Hazel sighed knowing that Leo was right. She looked at us both before saying, "Fine, whatever happens just promise to be careful. We need to listen and be ready for anything. This is all new and dangerous stuff for us but even more so for Percy. Do not get stuck in there and don't do anything stupid." Hazel finished her sentence by looking sternly at Leo who let out a whiny, "Heyyyy I rarely do anything stupid...but I get your point."

Leo and I agreed to her rules and with a final, "Good luck." We each placed a hand on Percy's arm except for me since Percy's fingers were still grasping onto mine with a vice grip.

I shut my eyes and filled filled my head with thoughts of Percy. I imagined that our hands were a link to each other, connecting us and pulling me to wherever his subconscious was. In my head I begged to see him, I needed to see him.

After a while I figured Jason must've just been lucky. I sighed in defeat, as it felt like my heart was being crushed from the disappointment and failure. After finally giving up I slowly opened my eyes only to come face to face with Dr. Thorn, my psycho teacher that'd nearly kidnapped Bianca and I when I first met Percy at Westover Hall.

Dr. Thorn was in his manticore form and his scorpion tail was pulled back, ready to stab me with one of its many poisonous spikes. "Ahh I thought I smelled your blood, Mr. di Angelo. You have grown since the last time we met. How's your sister...Bianca was it?"

Anger flared inside me and I went to grab my sword but panic arose when I realized it was missing. Hazel had taken it off of me and put it on the side table by my bed when I'd passed out. To make matters worse I knew that I couldn't use my abilities or I would definitely pass out and that would not be good. I was defenseless and alone with a psychotic manticore who used to be my teacher.

My heart was racing as I stood paralyzed with fear, watching Dr. Thorn as his mismatched eyes flickered over me with disgusting enthusiasm as I'm sure he was imagining my death.

"You can't hurt me Thorn, I'm not actually here!" I said with fake confidence praying that I sounded brave despite the slight waver to my voice.

Dr. Thorn laughed and whipped his tail at lightning speed, a single spike barely grazing my cheek. I knew the cut was tiny but even the little bit of poison that seeped in was excruciating. I fell back out of pure terror and found glass under my hands. The glass didn't cut me but I had to be careful. I now knew for sure that I could get hurt in this place and I was in major trouble.

My breathing was fast as I tried to scramble backward without slicing my hands. I was unable to get up from fear that my legs would turn to jelly as they were shaking so bad.

Dr. Thorn cocked his tail back ready to no doubt send a spike at my heart but I was too afraid to even attempt to run. I stared at him with wide eyes and waited, paralyzed with fear. Clips from my past zoomed through my head like a movie trailer as Dr. Thorn's tail flung forward and a spike was released. Huh, your life really does flash before your eyes when you're about to die. Who knew?

The spike came hurtling toward me as if in slow motion. I raised my hands up to shield my face and braced for the pain that would certainly come. Regret filled my mind when I realized that I'd never get to apologize to Percy. He'd never know how much I cared for him and how sorry I was for treating him so poorly.

My death was stopped short as a loud yell followed by an explosion of dust brought me back to reality, or whatever you could call this place. As I lowered my hand I saw Percy standing with his back to me with a large white tooth grasped tightly in his hand. Dr. Thorn was no where in sight.

My jaw was to the floor when it finally clicked that Percy just demolished Dr. Thorn and saved my life for the what felt like hundredth time in my life. Where'd he even come from? Gods, he was actually here, just a couple arm's lengths in front of me.

As I slowly rose to my feet and opened my mouth to say something, Percy dropped his weapon and fell to his knees with a pained gasp. My feet carried me to him before I had time to process what could've happened. "Percy?!?" I asked, moving in front of him to get a better look at what could've made him collapse like that.

Percy's eyes were shut tightly and he looked like he was in an immense amount of pain. When I looked him over for a possible cause I saw a large spike gripped in his hand. I felt the blood drain from my face as I understood what'd happened. Percy blocked the spike that would've certainly killed me. He took the hit himself and the poison was now coursing through his veins.

"No no no! I'm so sorry! We can fix this it will be fine! Percy what do I do?!?" I looked around frantically, afraid to touch him but wanting more than anything to stop his pain.

Percy shook his head and gritted his teeth as he pulled the spike out of his stomach with a yelp of pain. He sucked in a shaky breath and managed a weak, "M'fine." He mumbled as fell back into a sitting position on the rough ground, a hand firmly pressed against his bleeding side.

"Percy you're not fine! We need to do something!" I looked around and about a mile to our right I saw something I recognized that also made my gut twist with fear as I realized where we were. "You can drink from the Phlegethon! It can heal you! Let me help you get there and then you will be good as new!" I wanted to pick him up but I was so ashamed of how we ended our last interaction that I just couldn't do it.

Percy shook his head, "Doesn't work here. I tried to drink from it yesterday. It burns the same but has no healing properties. I'll be fine just give me a few minutes." He sounded so calm after being stabbed and poisoned only seconds ago that I was stunned into silence.

I waited for about five minutes, watching him with so many different emotions that battled for attention in my heart I thought I would spontaneously combust. Percy was here with me. He was awake and in front of me and he just saved my life again. Yet he was hurt worse than before, gods he must be in so much pain. My cheek still stung like ten wasp stings in a row so I could only imagine how much pain he must be in. What utterly perplexed me was how he was barely showing any signs of suffering. His eyes were still shut tightly, his hands were balled in tight fists, and he would let out groans of pain every once in a while but it was clear he was showing extreme restraint. I would probably be screaming and writhing on the ground if I'd been hit with that much poison. I was beyond impressed.

It took a long time but eventually Percy took in a deep shuddering breath and pulled his hand away from his side. It was covered in blood but he didn't seem to care as he wiped it on his jeans. When I looked closer I saw that it stopped bleeding which didn't make a whole lot of sense. I decided not to question it and just be glad that he wasn't bleeding out. Percy took in a stronger breath and slowly opened his swoon worthy sea green eyes. Those beautiful eyes locked onto me and he looked at me as if he just now realized who I was.

A smile lit up his face and made my stomach flutter with butterflies as he said, "Hey Nico, it's good to see you."

"Hey." Was all I could manage to reply as my tongue felt as if it were swollen in my mouth. Here was the guy I liked, who mind you just got stabbed while protecting me, was smiling and telling me he was happy I was here. He also looked like he was perfectly fine as if he was never hurt in the first place.

Percy chuckled at my expression but seemed to think of something that made all signs of friendliness disappear within a second as his face darkened, "Wait how are you here? Jason said that you came back but how'd you get in my head? I'm new to this whole crazy one way call thing but I thought only I could bring people in and exclusively when they're holding onto me."

I felt a blush burning my cheeks at his accusations. My heart was racing but I knew he deserved the truth. I started from the very beginning and told him that Jason let me know what happened and how I came back to see him right away but it took a lot out of me and I was unconscious for a while. Then I went on to explain how I finally woke up for good this morning and waited with him while the other's had their meeting. I ended my long spiel by saying how Hazel, Leo, and I tried to reach him the same way Jason did but it seemed to only work for me for some reason.

Percy was quiet for a while as he processed everything I said. After a while he spoke in a thoughtful manner. "Thank you for coming back Nico and thanks for watching over me. As for why Leo and Hazel aren't here...well I might have a theory. The Ara's curse burned way more than usual right before Jason showed up and I felt the same when you got here...that's why I went looking. I thought Jason came back but when I saw it wasn't him I was confused. I was...crying when he found me because the pain was too much but whenJason and I hugged the burning almost completely went away. It was really weird. It was almost like..." Percy let his idea drop as he looked down with a frown.

My eyebrows scrunched with worry, "Almost like what?"

Percy looked back at me with sad eyes, "It was almost like Jason being near me was healing it. I don't know how but I think it has something to do with Zeus. Maybe he has a cure or something. Jason couldn't cure me but something about him caused a reaction."

I was confused as to why he looked so sad about it so I said, "Isn't that a good thing? If Zeus has a cure then we just have to get it from him and then we can get you back! Why do you look so upset?"

Percy sighed and said, "Nico, Zeus won't help me. He can't stand me." An idea must've popped into his mind as Percy perked up and said, "But maybe my dad could convince him? After all they're brothers before anything else."

I let that settle in my head before promising Percy that I would tell Annabeth as soon as I got out of here.

Percy visibly relaxed at my words. He looked me over and a frown marred his handsome face. He sat up and leaned forward, gently brushing a knuckle across the cut that Dr. Thorn had given me. "You shouldn't be here Nico. It's not safe. You got hurt but it could've been so much worse."

He looked so concerned that it made me feel like I was melting into mush. He was so kind and caring it was ridiculous. "I'm fine, doesn't even hurt anymore." Realizing that we were alone and that this might never happen again, I cleared my throat and said, "Percy when I left with Reyna and Hedge...I was rude and I cut you off and I was such a jerk and I'm so sorry Percy! I-"

Strong arms wrapped around me and before I knew what was happening I was engulfed in a tight, warm hug. "I was never mad at you Nico. I was scared that you hated me and I blamed myself for Bianca too. You're family Nico and no matter what you thought about me I'll always be here for you."

Before I could stop myself, tears poured down my face as I clung to Percy, crying into his chest. "How can you forgive me so easily?!? And how did you know that I blamed you for Bianca?"

Percy rubbed my back soothingly and said, "I heard everything you said to me. I though I was imagining it but it sounded so real. Sometimes words come through. Jason was talking to me earlier too. Nico don't have to apologize. I forgive you."

I felt years of detrimental guilt get lifted off of me as soon as Percy said those three little words. My heart was so full that I almost forgot that Percy was in Tartarus and there was so much at risk. This was the happiest I'd been in a long time.

When we finally pulled away I wiped my eyes and looked up to see Percy smiling at me. "Thank you." I whispered, feeling another blush heat my cheeks. I knew he didn't love me the same way I did him but to tell you the truth it didn't matter. We were friends and that was what I really cared about. I could move on someday and to be honest Percy wasn't even really my normal type. I have a thing for blondes but Percy was just so...Percy that I couldn't help but fall for him.

It took me a minute to reel my thoughts back into my brain but when I did I saw that Percy had lifted his shirt and was staring at his gash from the ara's curse with wide eyes. The wound was glowing again but this time it was with black instead of the gold it'd been when Jason had shown us in the med bay.

"Why does it look like that?" I asked with concern, not liking his expression.

"I-I don't know. It stopped hurting while we were hugging so I went to look at it and it was just like this."

Percy looked so confused and frustrated that all I wanted was to make his stress go away. He'd been through enough in his life already that he shouldn't have to be worried about finding a cure while he's constantly fighting off monsters.

Curiosity rose in me as I randomly asked, "Can I touch it?"

When Percy tilted his head at me I quickly realized how weird of a request it was and I was about to apologize for being creepy. Before I could speak Percy gently took my hand and carefully guided it over the wound, resting his hand on mine as my skin pressed lightly against his glowing injury.

Percy and I watched as the black glow grew brighter under my palm. As we stared in disbelief it continued to grow brighter and brighter until Percy let out a pained, "Ah!" and shut his eyes tightly.

I quickly pulled my hand back and saw that the wound started to fade back to a duller black glow. My eyes were glued to Percy's scrunched up face, not knowing what happened. "Percy?" I asked quietly.

Percy slowly opened his eyes and he looked back at me, "I'm sorry. It started to feel so much better but then it just felt like someone was trying to cut it back open. When you and Jason touch me it glows and feels a lot better but too much contact is bad. It's not a lot but it's something to go off of. Black and Gold. Two different colors and two different people. Why though?"

It was an awful feeling to have no idea how to help someone you love. I didn't know what the colors meant or why Jason's and my hands helped. This was so complicated but I would do anything to find out and save him. "We can figure it out. Between the seven of us we have a lot of brain power. It'll be fine just stay alive until we can get you out."

Percy smiled at me but it quickly faltered as he noticed something behind me. He got to his feet and said, "Nico don't turn around. Everything's fine but you have to leave."

Alarmed, I stood up quickly and kept my eyes on Percy, afraid but trusting him completely. "What's wrong? What is it?!?" I was trying hard not to panic but Percy was visible startled as he looked around and grabbed his weapon.

Percy ignored my questions and moved forward, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me close to him. He whispered, "Everything will be fine but you can't come back here Nico. It's too dangerous and I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you. Don't try to come back. I'll be okay but it's not safe. They're coming for you."

My mind was in overdrive and I found myself shaking against Percy's chest, "Percy please tell me what's going on! Who's coming?"

Almost on cue a loud bellowing voice that echoed as if it was still a ways off yelled, "Look Ephialtes! The son of Pluto's back to be part of our show again! Can we tie him to a bunch of fireworks and watch him explode with all the other pretty colors?" The other voice groaned with irritation, "That's a horrible idea Otis! We need to gather the others and put on a show where we spin a wheel that decides how we torture him each time. The son of Neptune can watch and be driven mad with despair. That would surely please our mistress!"

My blood ran ice cold as I recognized the booming voices of the twin giants who trapped me in that tiny vase where I almost suffocated until Percy and the others saved me. Being in Tartarus then being thrown in that vase was the scariest thing that'd ever happened to me. I let out a pathetic whimper and squeezed my eyes shut as I felt my legs grow weak.

Percy held me up and whispered, "It's okay Nico, I won't let them hurt you. I have to send you back now but I'll be fine. Don't fight it. I'll see you soon and please keep talking to me when you can...It helps keep me sane in this nightmare."

My voice was wobbly with fear but I promised I would. I opened my eyes and saw Percy smiling down at me. "Bye Zombie dude, send everyone my love and thanks for stopping by." He said with a dazzling smile before spinning me around and pushing me backwards with both hands.

I squeezed by eyes shut as I fell and waited for the sharp texture of the glass on the ground. Instead of landing roughly I felt myself being lifted back up. I opened my eyes in confusion to see Hazel and Leo looking down at me with eyes full of concern as they put my chair back into place. "Nico! Holy Hades you scared us to death! And what on earth happened to your cheek?!?!" Hazel cried, immediately fussing over me as Leo poured some nectar in a small glass.

When I saw the healing liquid I noticed was how stiff I felt. My neck was sore and one of my arms was fast asleep at my side. I gingerly touched my cheek with one hand and winced at the pain, "What happened? How'd I scare you? I was only out for like thirty or forty minutes and this is nothing." I motioned to the cut on my face.

Hazel and Leo exchanged a nervous look before Leo said, "We were supposed to meet the others for dinner five minutes ago. Dude you've been unconscious for hours."

Another long one for ya! I have a lot going on right now so please bear with me as I might not be able to post tomorrow. I hope the long chapters can hold you over until I have time to write more but it shouldn't be long. Nico is a tough character for me to write so sorry if it isn't the best. Thank you for all your support! You guys are legendary!