Thank you for all of the follows, favorites, and reviews. This AU has been incredibly fun to write, and while I'm sad it's over, I hope everyone enjoys the final chapter.
No one was in the mood to celebrate, and neither was Nico. He had spent the past few days brooding over what he could have done differently. He should have been able to save Reyna. He should have still tried to shadow travel or summon skeletons. Instead, Nico just stood there as Reyna stabbed herself to stun Damon long enough for Nico to kill him.
Nico wished he had used shadow travel to get medical help, but he knew it was no use. No one short of a divine could have saved Reyna's life. Her life was already close to the end when her ribs were snapped and driven into her lung. If Nico had gotten her help back then, she might have survived, but when she stabbed herself with the sword, there was no saving her at the point.
The worst part was the no one blamed him. Nico had carried Reyna back to the other captains and explained what had happened. He expected Isabella to threaten him and even try to kill him. Instead, she just took Reyna's body and carried it away. The other captains looked too distraught to say anything.
The rest of the day was spent burning the bodies of the Mistveil, looting anything even remotely valuable, and then burning everything on the island to the ground. The captain didn't participate, and neither did Nico. He watched the captains grieve, and Nico did as well.
Nico hated himself for not giving more. There had to be something else that he could have done. Nico felt sick to his stomach, and he hadn't been able to get rid of that feeling. After they collected the bodies of their fallen, they gave everyone a funeral. Nico only stayed long enough to watch them burn Reyna's body on a pyre. Then, he left to go back to Camp Half-Blood.
In contrast, everyone there was in high spirits. The quest had been a success after all. Leo was alive, and they had broken Calypso's curse. The big camp celebration had ended long before he returned, but something told him that Jason, Piper, and the others wanted to have their own celebration with him. Nico didn't feel like facing them. He didn't want to tell them he failed.
Instead, Nico found Chiron and told him that he was back, only so the Harpies that came out at night wouldn't think he was a trespasser and try to eat him. After informing Chiron of his safe return, Nico went right to his cabin and to sleep.
After suffering through a few nightmares of how he could have done things differently, he woke up and felt sick to his stomach. Nico tried to take a walk on the beach, but he saw that Percy and Annabeth were standing with Piper and Jason. They would ask him how he was doing, and Nico wasn't doing well. He felt terrible. Useless. He should have done more.
Part of Nico thought he should go to the Underworld and talk to his father and tell him not to punish Reyna. It wasn't her fault that she had made the best of the circumstances life had given her. It wasn't her fault that she threatened Nico and almost killed him. That was just desperation.
Nico knew that it wouldn't work though. His father very rarely interfered in the decisions of the judges of the Underworld, and he definitely wouldn't do it for some random pirate. Nico just hoped that Reyna would end up where she could finally be at peace.
Nico was halfway back to his cabin when he heard someone call his name. A small sigh left him as he turned and saw Will jogging towards him. Upon seeing Nico's scowl, Will slowed his pace and frowned.
"How are you doing, Nico?" Will asked. He studied Nico carefully. "Did everything go well?"
"No," Nico answered bluntly as he turned away. He thought about Reyna's last words. She hadn't chastised him for not doing enough and had only requested to die looking at the sunset. Reyna thanked Nico for being a friend, but how could Nico be a friend if he watched Reyna die?
"Do you want to talk about it?" Will asked. Nico wanted to tell Will no, but he remembered his last conversation with the son of Apollo. Will told him that mental wounds could be like physical ones. A wound that was too big couldn't be closed by one person. They needed help.
Nico remembered his talk with Reyna when he decided to help her. Reyna had admitted that without her rage to destroy Damon, she would be nothing, and Nico told her that was why she needed friends. Why couldn't Nico take his own advice and realize that the people around him were trying to be friends and help him out?
Piper and Jason wanted to see him when he first woke up from moving the island. Percy and Annabeth were worried about him, and Will cared enough to seek him out and comfort him. They were all trying to be his friend, and without them, what would Nico be?
"I don't want to talk about it," Nico began. A look of sadness crossed Will's face. "But, I think I should. It's just going to be hard."
"It's always hard," Will admitted. He gently grabbed Nico's shoulder. "That's what you have friends for though."
"Yeah," Nico said softly, and he looked at the ground. Nico didn't fight as Will led him away, and a sad smile came to Nico's face. He wiped a small tear away and lowered his voice so that no one else could hear. "Thank you, Will. For being a friend."
Seeing Nemesis for the second time was much worse than the first time, especially since the goddess was just staring down at Reyna. All Reyna could do was match her gaze and hope she had done enough. According to the founder of the Mistveil, every member of the Mistveil had been killed before she killed Damon and then died a second time. She had fulfilled her vow, hadn't she?
Was Nemesis going to pull the rug out from her and say that since the founder wasn't dead, Reyna hadn't fulfilled her vow? Was she going to congratulate Reyna and make her a ghost anyway? If Reyna had fulfilled her vow, why would she even be seeing Nemesis? Shouldn't she be in the Underworld?
"I fulfilled my vow," Reyna started. She swallowed painfully and was glad that there was no more blood in her throat. She still tasted it though. "I did what you asked. They all died, and I killed Damon. I know that you bound the two of us."
"But I fucking did it. All of the Mistveil died before I did. You can't fuck me like this," Reyna snapped. She stared up at the goddess in desperation. A small smirk came to Nemesis' face. "I did what you asked!"
Panic came to Reyna's chest, and she almost collapsed to her knees. Instead, she clenched her fists and took a deep breath. Reyna had played Nemesis' game, and she would be damned if she let the goddess screw her. Reyna fulfilled her end of the bargain. It was time for Nemesis to fulfill hers.
"You said that if I killed every member of the Mistveil and fulfilled my vow, I would go to the Underworld when I died. I would see my sister. And I did that!" Reyna snapped. "And, you told me that I would have my entire life ahead of me after I fulfilled my vow. I guess the joke was on me since you planned for me to die when Damon did. But I outlasted him."
"By a few minutes," Nemesis confirmed.
"So why the fuck am I not in the Underworld, and where the fuck is my sister!?" Reyna yelled. The first time she has been so scared that she couldn't breathe. Now, Reyna was not going to let the trickery of a goddess stop her from seeing Hylla. It didn't matter if Reyna had to fight Nemesis and storm the gates of Hades.
"So arrogant," Nemesis commented. Reyna's fist clenched tightly. "And disrespectful."
"I'll show you disrespectful" Reyna snapped as she closed the distance between herself and the goddess.
"I only brought you here to congratulate you," Nemesis said. "You have removed a thorn in mine and Lord Hades' side. I also wanted to introduce you to someone almost as disrespectful as you."
"What?" Reyna questioned. She heard footsteps behind her and turned. Reyna's eyes widened, and she flung herself into her sister's arm. Reyna had so many things she wanted to say. She wanted to apologize for everything that she had ever said. Instead, she held her sister. Hylla felt solid. She felt real.
Reyna buried her face into Hylla's chest and cried miserably. Each cry that left her felt like a punch to the gut. Hylla held her close and spoke softly, "Miss me?"
"So fucking much," Reyna cried. She felt Hylla's tears hit the top of her head. Reyna tightened her grip. "I'm so sorry, Hylla. I'm sorry I didn't save you."
"It's my fault for not listening to you," Hylla said. Her voice was so full of heartbreak that it made Reyna sick. "I watched everything you went through."
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help," Hylla whispered. Reyna didn't answer and tried to choke back her sobs. Losing Hylla had been worse than death itself, but now that Reyna had her back, she would do everything to keep her. "I should have been there to protect you."
"So touching," Nemesis commented. Reyna began to pull away to snap at the goddess, but Hylla pulled her tighter into the hug and rubbed her back. "The ferryman awaits."
Reyna turned her head enough to see Hylla catch two coins: a pair of obels. A gift from Nemesis. The goddess studied them and spoke, "Lord Hades beckons you."
"Beckons us?" Reyna asked quietly. She pulled away from Hylla, and her sister wiped her eyes. "What did you do?"
"You're the one who did it," Hylla commented. "I don't think he's too happy that you nearly killed his son."
"I saved him before. It should even out," Reyna countered, but she was terrified. She held Hylla again. Hades was the god of the Underworld, and pissing him off was the stupidest thing Reyna could have done. He could literally snap his fingers and make sure that Reyna never saw Hylla again.
Hylla gently released Reyna from the hug and made her look up. Hylla spoke, "He was pretty pissed off that you almost killed Nico, but he's willing to forgive that after you killed Damon and made sure the Mistveil bastard can't make another pact with someone else."
"How?" Reyna questioned. Hylla grinned and gently kissed her forehead. She pulled Reyna into another hug. Her hand gently rubbed circles in Reyna's back.
"Damon was helping him hold onto the last of his sanity. Without Damon, the unspoken one will quickly become a mania and be nothing more than a wail in the night," Nemesis commented.
"And don't worry about Hades not liking you. He took a liking to me after we met," Hylla whispered. "He was originally going to have us tortured for eternity, but I used my charm on him."
"You told him you would do whatever he wanted as long as you got a good afterlife?" Reyna asked. Hylla's sly hum all but confirmed it. "I'm surprised he went for it."
"It helps that his son liked you a lot," Hylla added with a sigh. She rested her chin on Reyna's head.
"What do you think will happen to your fleet?" Reyna asked softly. Hylla chuckled quietly and kissed the top of Reyna's head.
"Isabella is going to take her place as head of the fleet. She's already been promising to raise hell for us," Hylla answered. "I don't think the other captains will fight her, but gods help anyone who crosses her path."
Reyna smiled and relaxed against her sister. She didn't care if Nemesis was staring directly at them. Reyna was going to enjoy every moment she spent with her sister. Hylla slowly stopped rubbing her back, "We should get going."
"I love you," Reyna whispered, and she didn't let go of Hylla.
"I love you too," Hylla whispered. Reyna slowly pulled away from the hug but grabbed her sister's hand tightly. The other hand gently grabbed one of the obels. Reyna didn't know what the future held, but as they prepared to meet the ferryman, Reyna knew that her and Hylla would face it together.