Open File
Nico eyed Antaeus warily. There was no way he could overpower the giant at close range, a single blow would mean certain death. The best shot Nico had was to inflict as much damage at long range, before moving in for the kill. How he was to put the giant down, he did not know.
Nico carefully circled the giant, who did not seem wary of him at all, he had his arms crossed and his face in a snicker. Nico dashed in, and as he expected, the giant leaned down to meet his charge. Nico dodged Antaeus' grab for him and stabbed the giant in the face, before pulling away, leaving the giant howling in pain, swinging his arms around blindly to keep Nico away.
Immediately, the earth rose in slender tendrils along Antaeus' torsal, and filled in the bloody hole in the giant's face. Within moments, the tendrils stopped and there was no sign of the wound. The giant was completely unfazed, although a lot more murderous.
Antaeus leaped forward, ready to crush Nico with his weight, Nico sidestepped and stuck his spear into the giant's side. But before he could pull the tip out, Antaeus turned and yanked the shaft out of his hands. Again, the earth rose in tendrils to seal his wound. And again, the giant swung his arms around to drive Nico away.
Nico retreated and unsheathed his sword. Looking at the rising giant, he formulated a plan.
When Antaes rose charge again, Nico met him with a swipe for his arms, and before the giant could react, he sliced his legs from under him. Antaeus gave a panicked yelp at this encounter. He fell to the ground with a loud thud. As usual, the earthen tendrils started to heal the giant's wounds, but he was defenseless this time, without his whirling arms in the way, Nico rushed over to the fallen Antaeus, and using all his might.
He lifted him from the ground.
The limbless torso writhed and wriggled in his arms, but he held firm. Antaeus' reduced weight was nothing compared to the weight of the sky. Slowly, the earthen tendril, unable to reach their wounds, begin to wither away and dissolve. And slowly, the giants' struggling grew weaker, before finally crumbling into a pile of dust.
The once clamoring arena fell deathly silent.
CLAP. CLAP. CLAP. Nico turned to find the clapping Luke, who was grinning like a madman.
"Well, I have to say I expected no less from the prophecy child." Luke's tone bore no hint of a praise, he stared down upon Nico who returned the glare, "perhaps you would be more entertaining when fighting someone… more interesting."
Luke snapped his fingers, and the shackles bounding Nico's wrists fell away. Nico felt the familiar feeling of the underground return. He stared at Luke suspiciously, there was no way he would deliberately let him loose, especially not in his element. But Luke merely grinned and gestured to the other end of the pit. Nico turned to find the grand doors opposite the arena open and out stumbled three dazed demigods.
Nico could recognize Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase from the trio, the last one was an asia demigod with an black cloth covering his left eye. The guy wore dust stained gladiator armor that were two sizes too big for him. Nico could not feel any energy from the demigod, so he assumed he was a minor one. The trio seemed tired but otherwise unharmed.
"You! You expect us to kill each other?" Percy, now coming back to his senses, jagged a finger at Luke, who was already making his way out of the arena, taking three quarters of the monsters with him. He didn't reply, but Nico could imagine the smirk behind his turned back. That triggered him "Hey, come back and fight us yourself," Percy, not one to be ignored, yelled again, "You yellow bellied coward! Get back here..."
Nico waited for Percy to stop his incessant stream of insults (which lasted ten minutes after Luke had left), before surveying the arena. The monsters that were left were incredibly quiet, they had the decency not to boo and endure the ten minutes of swear words directed to their boss. Many of them carrier bows and quivers: they were there as guards. Nico concluded, but whether they were up to the task is up for debate.
"When are you going to stop cursing and start thinking how we are going to get out of here?" Annabeth's voice was a bit too loud for Nico's liking, she sounded raspy, and for some reason, Nico found her tone unnecessarily whinny.
"That was not cursing, I did not say a single bad word and—"
"Enough, who's the new kid?"
"Oh, right, Ethan, Nico. Nico, Ethan." Percy gestured at the one-eyed demigod. "Anyways—"
"Talk later," Nico grabbed their shoulders and the four demigods disappeared from the arena. Not a moment too soon, seconds later, the pit collapsed on itself, burying all the monsters in it.
The four demigods landed just outside the entrance of the Labyrinth in Camp Halfblood, Nico on his feet and the others on all fours, all of them throwing up.
"What the Hades was that?" Percy managed between breaths, "No offense, by the way."
"Shadow travelling," Nico replied, dusting his cloak, "We needed a quick escape, this is it. Now get up, we need to warn the rest of the camp."
"Hey, Percy! You're back!" from the treetops emerged a blonde teen with the most blinding of smiles, no doubt a child of Apollo. "Everyone, false alarm," he yelled back to his sibling archers, who too, climbed out of their trees.
"So, the attack's off then? You stopped the Titan Army?" the son of Apollo patted Percy on the back "Wait, haven't I seen you before? And who are you?" he jabbed a finger at Nico and the Ethan kid.
"Oh, this is Nico, the kid that I've told you about. And the other guy, he's Ethan."
"I know that kid!" Clarisse made her way to the questors, flanked by a phalanx of her siblings, "You're the scrawny Nemesis kid who disappeared! Where the hell have you been?" Her eyes flashed menacingly at Ethan, grilling him.
"We picked him up in Luke's underground arena." Percy replied, turning towards the daughter of Ares, discreetly shielding his new friend from her perpetual glare "Luke was having him fight for entertainment. He umm… left camp a while ago?" that raised a few eyebrows.
"Wait, you didn't take him on your quest?" Nico asked incredulously. "You mean you found him in the arena? How can we trust him? For all we know, he could be working for the titans!" Nico cast a dirty look at Ethan, who had sulked behind Percy, reluctant to partake in the judgement of his loyalty. His sole eye held such an expression that Nico was almost certain he was a traitor.
"Now, now," Percy chimed in, "I vouch for him, he will not betray Olympus."
"Not again, that is." Clarisse countered. "Obviously he has betrayed us once before, he left camp to join the Titans!"
"See here, he has nowhere else to go, why the hell would he betray us then?" Percy nose to nose against Clarisse, "I will not have you execute him, not again."
"Percy, I think you should—" Nico tried to intervene before Percy and Clarisse could tear each other apart. Clarisse silenced him with a punch to the gut.
"Zip it, dead guy, this is Camp matters, I will deal with you later." Clarisse spat at Nico, then shifted her attention back at Percy, "That Ethan kid is a gods dammed coward, I wouldn't be surprised if he would get down on his knees and lick your boots to survive."
"He is not a coward, you're just plain cruel."
"Am not. I do what I must for the safety of the camp! You're soft and can't bear to get your hands dirty. You know what? You're weak."
"And you're despotic!"
"Pathetic!"
"Paranoid!"
The Campers, along with Nico and Ethan observed cynically as the trial for Ethan's loyalty descended into a shouting, name-calling match.
While the two unofficial leaders of the Camp were squabbling, the campers stood in disarray, unable to pick a side.
"He came to us because he has nowhere else to go!" Percy poked Clarisse.
"Exactly!" Clarisse poked Percy back with twice the strength. "Which is why he would return to the Titan Army as soon as it suits him."
"You do not know that!" Percy shoved Clarisse back a good three feet.
"You're both wrong," Ethan shouted towards the pair, who sprang apart almost immediately. "I am loyal to Luke, but not to the titans. And no, I did not come here because I had nowhere to go, I came by choice."
The mist shimmered and revealed a golden thread wrapped around Ethan's waist, leading… to the entrance to the Labyrinth.
"You need one end of Ariadne's String anchored to where you need to go. Then you could follow the trail to the exit." Ethan held up his end to the string for all to see. "The Titan Army is on its way to Camp. You cannot win against them. Join us, surrender peacefully. Every drop of demigod blood shed is a waste."
The campers stared silently at the son of Nemesis, some awed by his sheer nerve to confess his betrayal, others weighing the benefits of his offer. Nico could see in their eyes that every one of them dreaded what grim fates that lay ahead.
"If you wish to surrender, move to the south side of the woods. No harm will come to you, I guarantee it." That sent a wave of muttering among the demigods, not just the unclaimed from the Hermes cabin, but between campers of all parentage. There was a delicate balance: no one denounced Ethan's proclamation while no one dared be the first to pay heed to it, lest their outburst mark them as targets for the judgement of their peers.
Even Clarisse and Percy ceased their bickering. They stood in grim silence before the campers' assembly, unable to utter the half-formed orders choked in their throats.
The campgrounds shake in an ominous manner, the woods seem shadier than usual.
"Form ranks! Archers back to your posts! Beckendorf, the catapults." Clarisse barked, before punching Ethan so hard that he passed out, "I will deal with you later." she said while kicking his unconscious body again.
The campers scrambled into action, this time with much vigor, now that their lives are on the line. The few sparse holes littered the phalanx seemed abrupt in the otherwise flawless formation, while the few unclaimed demigods stood uneasily on the west side of the woods, under the scrutiny of their more fortunate brethren. No one made any comment on the vacant squares between their ranks.
But Nico did.
With brutal efficiency he cut down the group of demigods that stood out of formation. Silently they fell to the ground.
No one said a word.