IX- Nico

Saying Nico wasn't a fan of sports would be an understatement. Why rush towards a place when you could get there a few minutes later with a brisk walk?

While on that topic, he also wasn't a huge fan of long walks, too much light-it was a shadowbender thing, or people who annoyed him. So right now, running back, all the way from the shore to the beach, just as the Sun was rising, casting long rays of heat that permeated his back, with Percy and Bianca ahead, showing their, ahem, superior athletic skills, it was understandable that Nico was annoyed.

Percy had insisted that they head back as soon as Blackjack disappeared into the ocean-he had a bad feeling in his gut, or something. Whatever, Nico wasn't interested.

But, since Bianca had, of course, agreed with Percy, here they were. Nico bit back a curse as he stumbled over a tree root sticking out of the ground-what was the tree's issue? Could it grow roots underground like every other decent tree?

Nico groaned as he saw Percy and Bianca disappear into the forest. He ran after them into the haze of trees, which all looked alike- big, and green, and woody and really annoying. Darn it-why did they have to meet in a forest? Who's idea was the quest anyway?

Oh wait. Never mind.

When they finally reached the clearing, Nico panted, resting his hands on his knees. That was it. No more running for a while. "S-See?" he wheezed, glaring at Percy. "There's nothing amiss-"

"Really, Nico?"

Nico glared at Bianca. "What?"

"Can't you see that Jason and Annabeth aren't here? We were supposed to meet them here, unless the firebenders attacked."

Oh.

Yeah. Nico noticed the scorch marks lining the ground. Okay, so maybe running wasn't as bad as fighting for your life.

"Guys!" Nico heard Percy yelp from a distance. He looked at Bianca, before heading towards the sound of Percy's voice. Percy's face was unnaturally white, and he looked like he was about to throw up. "Look-" Percy whispered, pointing at something in the undergrowth, before turning away, looking more green than white now.

Nico cleared a large green leaf in front of him, allowing him to see what was behind, before immediately withdrawing his hand and turning away, wishing he hadn't see what he had-there was blood all over the plants and the ground, and lying in the middle of the pile was a firebender, agony and surprise written on his face. Rigor mortis had set in, and his body was contracted in the weirdest possible way. The stench of blood and sweat and bowels permeated the area, and Nico wanted to hurl.

The three of them met back in the clearing, a lot more sober.

"So there was an ambush, and it looks like Jason fought back well."

"How do you know it was Jason?" Nico heard Bianca ask Percy, who had spoken.

Nico spoke up, since Percy still looked like he was trying to collect his thoughts. "That slash, sis. It's a clear sword-mark. I don't think Annabeth has a sword in person, but as a royal, Jason would have one."

Percy nodded. "Yep. He does. I saw him handle it once, back in Olympus."

There was a pregnant silence.

"So what do we do now?" Nico asked.

"We bury the firebender, and continue towards Mount Etna. I think if we get a hold of Blackjack again, we should be able to get there."

"Bury the firebender?"

Percy grimaced. "Well, yeah. He was a warrior after all, and we can't just leave his corpse here-can't you or Bia conjure some Earthen covering or something?"

Nico shrugged. "Well, yeah, okay I guess. Bia, you'd better do it."

Bianca glared at him. "I'd better?"

"Yeah. You know, I need a break after all that running and stuff."

Bianca rolled her eyes. "Sissy" she muttered, before taking a deep breath and heading towards the place they found the corpse.

"I can help-" Percy began, but Bianca shook her head. "I-I've done it before. I can do it alone."

Percy frowned, but didn't further protest. Nico glanced at him while he sat down, near the grey ash formed on the forest floor-remnants of yesterday's fire. The ground was littered with black marks as well-scorch marks-and Nico shuddered to think of fire being launched at him. The blackened bushes contrasted with the green vibrancy of the forest beyond, but the worst part was the smell- a mixture of charred flesh, ash, and burnt vegetation. Nico was more than grateful for the early morning dew still covering most of the tree trunks and the lower herbs and shrubs-that was probably the reason why there wasn't a massive forest fire already.

"Bianca's buried people before?" Percy asked, breaking the silence.

Nico nodded. "Well, only once-our mother. I-She wanted Bianca and I to make her gravestone."

"Oh. Sorry about-"

"It's fine. I'd just rather not talk about it. Bianca's really stepped up for me after that." Nico said, quickly. He wasn't looking for anyone's sympathy.

Percy nodded. "Okay."

The two of them relapsed into silence.

There was a rustle of leaves, and Bianca came back, her face looking grim. "It's done. What do we do now?"

"Head down to the beach? I can try to call Blackjack, and we can head towards Mount Etna. That's what Ja-Jason and Annabeth would have wanted." Percy replied, his voice cracking.

Nico understood. The five of them had bonded, if only briefly, but there were these types of people that you know you could trust with your life. Jason and Annabeth struck Nico as two such people. And now, they were most likely dead, or rotting away in a firebender dungeon. Who knew things would go so bad, so fast?

Bianca nodded. "Okay. We can do that."

Nico sighed and got up from the rock he had perched on. He dusted his palms, and looked at the others. He pointed a thumb towards the beach and raised a brow inquiringly.

"Yep." Percy replied, shaking his head as if he was trying to knock himself out of a trance. A moment later, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, Nico saw the old resolve he had missed seeing in Percy's eyes. The sea could not be restrained.

Nico glanced at the others while they walked back to the beach. The three of them were silent, each deep in thought. He sighed, and blinked as the damp, cool forest suddenly gave way to the bright sun and sandy loam of the beach. It was still way too bright for Nico's liking.

Percy waded into the water, and Nico watched him go wait-deep, before putting his hands underwater, and it seemed like currents flowed away from his hands. He turned back. "That's it. I summoned Blackjack. He should be here any-"

A huge wave crashed over Percy as a large, anxious looking Hippocampus reared up and out of the water. Blackjack looked at Percy anxiously-Nico couldn't tell what they were talking about, but he noticed Blackjack dip his head in sorrow, before aligning himself parallel to the beach, looking at Nico and Bianca expectantly.

He wasn't expecting them to climb on, right?

Percy climbed onto Blackjack.

Oh. Of course he was.

Nico sighed, as he and his sister nervously waded into the water. He sent out streams of earth-sensing, feeling the sand through his shoes. He was nervous, glancing around at the water that lapped around his ankles.

When the two of them clambered onto Blackjack, Percy quickly flicked his wrist, and the water peeled off from their robes.

Bianca nodded. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Percy replied. "You guys ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Nico muttered.

Nico had to hold back the gunk that threatened to come out of his mouth when Blackjack sped off without warning. The Hippocampus crested through the water, his powerful muscles powering him through the waves at terrifying speeds.

The wind screamed into Nico's face, and Bianca had already shut her eyes, holding on to Blackjack for dear life and not saying a word. Percy simply closed his eyes and smiled. Nico rolled his eyes. Easy enough for him-he wouldn't drown if he fell off.

Of course, Percy was supposed to help them back if they fell off, but hey, rushing through water at breakneck speed gave Nico some excuse to be terrified.

Nico felt ready to puke when they finally slowed down. The trio-and Blackjack-had travelled for a good part of the entire day. Thanks to that, they were much closer to Mount Etna, but dead tired. Nico could barely keep his eyes open. Blackjack foamed at the mouth, and Nico could feel his muscles quivering with the tremendous exertion.

Bianca had already fallen asleep, resting against Percy's back, while he leaned back, into her, asleep as well. The two resembled the 'graceful monuments' Nico often read about-you know, those monuments that looked like they were going to fall down at any moment, but didn't.

Wait.

"Blackjack!" Nico whispered forcefully, hoping the Hippocampus would hear him. Blackjack looked back at Nico-and he grinned. He gestured towards Percy and Bianca, mimed a rolling motion with his hands, and quickly jumped off Blackjack and onto the shallow water that reached out and caressed his ankles with a cold touch. It was a cool evening, and the setting Sun meant that the water was turning cold. Really cold.

It would be a real pity if you were to somehow, end up in the water, right?

Blackjack snorted and rolled his eyes-Nico didn't know Hippocampi could do that-but smiled at Nico. He whinnied, and gently eased into the deeper water, before rolling about abruptly, resulting in his head, and the entirety of Percy and Bianca, disappearing under the water.

Well, someone was entertained, at the very least.

Maybe this quest would be fun after all.

Percy and Bianca were not happy when they came out. The two of them-completely dry, of course, thanks to Percy- glared at Nico.

Bianca snapped her fingers, and a column of sand erupted behind Nico, covering him and getting sand into his eyes, ears, hands-and all over his robe. Nico quickly willed the sand back into the beach-but he could still feel the itch of an occasional grain rubbing against his skin under the robe.

"You do that again, and I'll not go so easy." Bianca warned.

Nico shrugged. "Sure. You don't scare me."

"Do you want me to?"

"Well, not really."

"Is that a yes or a no? There a lot of good sandbending skills I've learnt-more than you know. It would be a shame if I never used them."

"Okay, fine, no. Happy?"

"Happy?" Bianca screeched. "Let's see how you react to being woken up fifteen feet under the ocean."

Percy placed a hand on Bianca's shoulder. "Chill out. We're here-and that was just a prank. Besides, it was really Blackjack's fault." he glared at the water, daring Blackjack to surface. The Hippocampus was probably somewhere deep underwater, if he knew what was good for him.

Seemed like he did. Nico was alone now. Great.

Bianca rolled her eyes. "Ugh, fine. I'll let it slide this time. Where are we anyway?"

Percy scanned the surroundings, his brow furrowed. "I'm not sure. Mount Etna is closer though," he pointed towards the huge volcanic structure that loomed ahead. Even though it was quite a few miles away, Nico could clearly see the huge fumes of smokes that were emitted from the monstrosity's mouth. "We still have some more hours of daylight. Shall we walk towards Etna?"

"No." Nico said, the same time Bianca said "Yes."

Nico rolled his eyes. These two..athletes..had just been dunked underwater, and now they wanted to go for a walk up to a mountain? Nico regretted signing up for this cours-oh wait, it wasn't one.

"Fine, you over-energetic benders. Let's go then."

Percy crossed his arms. "What's going on? Aren't you a fan of travelling?"

"Well, yes, but actually no. Travelling is nice, don't get me wrong, but I'm not a huge fan of walking."

"Or anything that involves physical exertion or hard work." Nico heard Bianca add under her breath.

"Hey! I'm not against hard work! It just seems a waste of time to run everywhere, when you could just get there by walking."

"Oh yeah? That explains why you're late all the time."

"Says you. I'm actually conserving my energy."

"Sure you are."

"Guys!" Percy interrupted. "Can we discuss this on the way?"

Nico glared at Percy. "Whatever. Let's go already."

The three of them settled into an uncomfortable silence. Bianca scouted ahead, and Nico followed her, while Percy brought up the rear guard. Nico gazed around at this new place they were at-the desert gave way to a dense copse of trees again, obviously. Nico liked that the forests were dark, and sort of ominous, but he was not a fan of the huge flies that buzzed around his ears, or the deep throated calls of large beasts that echoed through the forest. Nico glanced around- if hell could ever be a tropical paradise, this would be it. The forest seemed to stretch all around, seemingly endless. There was just a never ending succession of trees, and more trees. The morning mist hung heavy in the air, and Nico was dead tired.

Would it be too much to ask for a break?

Apparently not. Nico glanced at Percy and Bianca, and as if by mutual agreement, they nodded.

"Well, that was weird." Percy commented.

"Yep. We all nodded at each other like the weirdos we are. What are we even nodding about?" Nico asked.

"I was thinking of pitching in for the night." Bianca replied.

"Same here." Percy replied.

"Where do we settle in though?" Nico asked, looking around for something that resembled a clearing in the dense forest.

"We scout. When we come across something, we'll camp there." Percy replied.

"Well, then what the heck were we doing till now?"
"Well, uh, walking?"
"We weren't looking for shelter till now?"
"Geez Nico, we can do things other than look for shelter everytime we're on land."
"Yeah sure." Nico grumbled. "Like unending flirting." he added under his breath. Bianca slapped the back of his head.

"What?" he asked. "It's true."

Bianca turned red. "Percy and I aren't flirting!"

Percy turned back to look at them. "Say what now?"

"Nico here thinks we're flirting all the time."
"Well," Nico corrected, "not all the time, just most of the time."
"I'm not even going to waste time answering that." Percy threw his hands into the air and walked forward. Bianca followed, before glaring at Nico.

Eesh. Why was he getting under everyone's skin today? Maybe it was just one of those days.

Who knew?

Honestly, Nico couldn't care less. He hurried after Percy and Bianca. He wanted to some food.

The clearing wasn't ideal, but it was near-perfect.

There was a small cleft-or cave. It had been hollowed out by years of incessant battering of rain on rock, but a few touches here and there made it look suspiciously anthropogenic to Nico. Like a skillful Earthbender had gently eased the formation into a more pleasant shape- a remarkable feat that required lots of focus and concentration. And to be this precise? Nico thought it would be safe to assume it was purely nature at it's finest.

A sparkling stream ran near the cleft, and the trees parted to give way to soft grass and dandelions. Nico, Percy and Bianca took turns ferrying firewood to the entrance of the cleft. A couple of awkward attempts later, they had a fine fire going on in the spit.

"Damn. Annabeth made it look so easy." Percy grumbled, then frowned.

"What do you guys think happened to them?"

Nico chewed his lip. Bianca had headed out to the lake for a quick wash, so it was just Percy and him around the fire. The dusky rays of the sun were quickly giving way to the cool night.

"It's pointless to speculate." he replied. "I just- I just hope they're okay. We need to stop whoever is doing all...this." Nico gestured wildly with his hands.

Percy nodded, "Yep. We do." He pursed his lips and exhaled. "Long day. I think I'm going to sleep."
"Wait."
Percy glanced at Nico. "Yes?"
"Do you have a crush on Bianca?"

"This again? I'm going to sleep."

"I'm serious. Answer me this once, and I'll not bother you both again. I need to know- she's my sister. If you're playing her, I'll- I mean, she's all I have left."

Percy's features softened. "I know how it feels to have no one. Besides, yeah, Bia's a great person and all, but she's so, well, noble, and you know, royal. I'm just me. Not a royal, just plain ole' me." Percy grinned self-deprecatinglyself deprecatingly.

Nico shook his head. With the fire glowing at his side, highlighting his sharp, chiseled features, and messy black hair, his glowing eyes shining in the darkness like pearls, the firm set of his jaws and the literally power radiating out from him, Percy looked as much as a royal water-bender as possible. If Percy wasn't royalty, Nico was a chicken.

Well, at times he was, but that wasn't the point.

"Geez. Okay, I have no idea how to even respond to that. Just be careful, will you?"
Percy chuckled. "Careful?"
"Yeah. Don't pull yourself so deep that you're unable to come out."
"I'll think about it. Thanks, Nico. You're a nice kid." Percy yawned. "That's it for me then. I'm off to bed."

Nico watched Percy saunted towards the cleft, stretching out on the sand, hands behind his head, before just falling asleep. Nico envied him- sleep always seemed to evade him. But then again, it was not like Nico slept a lot anyway.

He waited for Bianca to come back from whatever she was doing. He stared at the dying embers of the fire. They'd decided not to leave it burning at night, since that would basically call in every firebender within a mile.

Nico was almost asleep when he heard the soft footsteps of his sister.

"Bia?" he called out.

"Here, little bro."
Nico turned around. Bianca stood in the starlight, looking at him, her eyes glowing like a night sky of their own.

"How are you holding up?"

Nico may have tried to act tough, but there were few things he enjoyed as much as talking to his sister at the end of each day. He could just be himself then- no one else understood him quite as well as her. He shrugged. "I'm good. Just tired. Like, in my mind, I could go on for miles, but my body just wants sleep."

Bianca chuckled as she walked over and sat by Nico, who immediately shifted his head to rest on her shoulder. Bianca sighed.

"What's up, sis?"

"The sky, silly."
"Woah, someone's mature."
Bianca sighed. "Fine. I'm just worried about the quest. I mean, we've barely even met and we're already fighting for our lives. I'm more of a fan of peace."

"Peace?"
"Yeah. I'm just more of a fan of staying at home, playing with Mrs. O'Leary, watching the stars. You know, the things we took for granted back home."

Nico chuckled. "Who isn't a fan of those things? But when evil rises, we always need someone to stop it. Till now, we had peace because someone was willing to go without sleep to protect us. Someone to help us. Someone to stop Kronos. And if our sleepless nights mean millions of others have peace, I think I can live with that,"

Bianca furrowed her brow. "Who are you and what have you done to my brother?"
"You know, I can be thoughtful when I want to."
Bianca laughed-clear and musical, it rang through the night- and grabbed Nico in a one-armed embrace. "Yes. I love you, Nico. Coming?"
Nico returned the hug. "Sure. 'Bout time I slept anyway."

Nico lay under the cleft. The night was filled with serene sounds-crickets chirping, the bubbling stream, the wind in the leaves. This- this was worth fighting for. Nico closed his eyes and fell asleep.

"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here."

Nico gasped and opened his eyes. He glanced upward, to see a girl his age looking down at him. Percy and Bianca were standing at the side- tied up in some form of rope. Four girls stood around them as guards, each brandishing a sword and a spear.

Nico turned his attention back to the girl in front of him. She was dressed in some sort of armour- it covered her torso, and looked like it was made of Minoan iron, while her black flowing hair hung in a single braid. Her eyes were like black, like Onyxes, and she had a regal face, with high cheekbones and a sharp jaw. Most importantly though, she was pointing a spear at Nico's chest.

Oh great.

That's all for now. Reviews appreciated!