Nico looked like shit.
Of course, to most people who didn't already know the son of Hades, Nico always looked like shit. He had pale skin, looked unhealthily skinny, had heavy hair that desperately needed a trim, and usually had a very distinct odour that never really went away.
Then again, you try washing the smell of corpses off you when you're the son of death.
But man, Percy couldn't help but feel a serious pang of hurt at the sight of his friend, because Nico looked like shit.
He was worn out, that was clear by the look of him. His wrists were raw where the chains had been, bloodied and sitting at the end of arms that could barely hold themselves up. His cheeks were hollow and gaunt, like he'd been eating even less than he already did (which for Nico would be around once every three days, give or take). His eyes sat deep in their sockets, with irises far too wide, clearly somewhat permanently adjusted to the dark of the cave. It told Percy something he didn't want to think about: Nico had been here a while.
"Nico..." He breathed, as he held the boy up, "Nico, how did you-"
He stopped talking as the boy pressed his hand over Percy's mouth. He raised his arm, grabbing one of the bars of his cell and shifting off Percy, leaning against the cell as he did, turning so he could look him in the eye. He raised a hand and pointed a long finger at Percy.
"I knew you were here you son of a bitch." Nico said, in a tone that sounded less aggressive and more satisfied. Percy took a step toward his friend, reaching out to catch him as the boy slipped off the bars.
"Nico, what happened? How did you end up here?" He asked him, the son of death threw an arm over his shoulder and leaned into him.
"Knew you were here, had a hunch and some hints from some... questionable characters." He said, managing to get his feet under him, "Tried shadow travelling, but it got thrown off. Ended up here."
"Where is here, Nico?" Percy asked him as the boy stood up on his own.
Nico grimaced, "You'll see. Let's just hope we can convince them you're not one of Surtr's minions."
Percy head nearly spun. He knew that name, he damn sure knew that name. It was one that stood out far more than others in his research. One of the big dogs, the bringer of Ragnarok. The one to destroy Asgard. He shook his head as he took note of the other words Nico had said.
"Wait, what do you mean convince them, who's them?" He asked. Nico opened his mouth to answer, but something behind Percy caught his eye. His mouth closed, his eyes widened, and he shot both hands into the air, stepping back as he did. Percy didn't need more than the look to know there was something bad behind him, and he and Leo already had their weapons drawn and flaming when they turned. They didn't really expect what they saw.
A bunch of hairy, jacked, dirty little men.
There were dozens of them surrounding them, and they did not look happy. Most of them had familiar characteristics to Percy, as far as the folk of Hammer falls went. Blonde or red hair, thick beards, mostly blue eyes. That's about where the familiar things ended. They stood pretty damn short, maybe 3'6" at the tallest, with massive bulging arms, thick necks, and chests that looked like if they grabbed Percy's leg they could bring it home with them. Their clothes were an absolute mishmash. Some had on flannel shirts with the sleeves cut off and denim, others wore loins made from animal pelts and were shirtless, some had on miner-style clothes like the jumpsuit Thor wore, with hard hats and head lamps. Most of them carried pickaxes, the same type Percy and Leo had spotted at the entrance.
One of them, which Percy could softly describe as the tallest and more confidently describe as the strongest (seriously, if Thor made him insecure about his arms this guy made him borderline depressed) stepped forward, pickaxe slung over his shoulder. He had thick red hair just about everywhere. Beard, head, chest (which was exposed), even his eyebrows seemed to eat his forehead alive. His eyes burned with an onyx glow that reminded Percy of when Leo was about to use his pyrokineses.
"Who be ye?" He boomed, in a gravelly voice that washed over the group. Percy stood for a moment, frozen in ace as he shot a nervous glance at Leo. The son of Hephaestus cocked an eyebrow at Percy with his mouth slightly open, flaming hammer still taught in his grasp.
Percy cleared his throat. "We're Percy Jackson, and Leo Valdez. We're on a quest."
The leader let out a low, rumbling hmmmm, running his hand through his beard as he did so. A beard that nearly reached the ground, now that Percy could get a good look at it...
"Be ye... minions of the great Hel daemon?" The figure asked, pointing a thick, calloused finger at Nico, "He implored he wasn't, but the stench of Hel reeked upon him like sulphur."
Percy shot Nico a look, which Nico noticed, giving his own that pretty clearly said I'll tell you later. Percy cleared his throat again, turning back to the figure.
"No, we're not minions of Surtr." He said, the leader's eyes perking up as his group shifted uncomfortably at the name. The leader straightened up, his upper lip twitching and making his moustache shake slightly.
"Can ye prove this?" He asked, Percy let out a breath.
"Do you guys know what swearing on the Styx is?"
The leader shook his head, lifting up a finger, "No, but if ye can swear upon the great Aesir, our all father, we may lend you our faith."
Percy nodded, raising his eyebrows. "I swear on the great Aesir that the three of us aren't minions of Surtr."
A breeze seemed to blow through the cavern as the hairy men discussed amongst themselves. They silenced as the leader raised his hand with what Percy assumed was a smile, though his beard was so thick it was hard to tell.
"Ye be trustworthy." The leader said, bowing as he did, "I am Brokkr, leader of the dwarves. I humbly greet and welcome ye to Svartalfheim."
The figure raised his hands, gesturing around him as the room suddenly illuminated itself, with dwarves coming out of every crack in the wall there was. The room was brought to life as the people poured out, a vast majority of them similarly built men, holding up their torches or candles or headlamps to properly illuminate the room.
Percy did a little circle, acknowledging the group surrounding him, before letting out a little whistle.
"So... I'm guessing you guys have been here for a while then?"
Brokkr smiled, as he turned away from them, gesturing for them to follow. They did, and he began to lead them through the tunnels, guiding him between the thick rock walls with a torch in hand.
"These mines have been built upon for centuries, nay, millennia." Brokkr explained, gently gliding his hand on a wall, "Our elders have been carving through this cave since the all father first molded our form out of the great giant Ymir."
Brokkr paused, letting his hand lay on the cave wall. "But we have made a grave error."
He continued forward, quicker now, keeping ahead of Percy and Leo who were helping a still rather weak Nico along. Brokkr pulled ahead around a corner and Percy and Leo followed, steeping through a doorway into... well, one of the most impressive things Percy had ever seen.
There was a massive, and Percy meant it when he said massive hole in the earth. It led up, way way up to what Percy assumed was the top of the mountain they were in, and was topped with a joke where the snow poured in. The rims of the great chasm were lined with huts, houses carved directly into the cavern itself. It was Leo's turn to let out a whistle as he turned to Percy.
"Man, I cannot say I'm anything but impressed." Leo said with a grin, taking in the handiwork. The dwarf smiled, running a hand through his beard.
"Aye, the great chasm of riches be a feast upon the eyes." Brokkr's expression turned grim, "But this be not what ye must witness."
He led them again to a dark stairwell, several of his fellow dwarves in tow alongside Percy and his group. Nico had regained at least some of his strength by then and was walking on his own now, next to Leo.
"So Leo..." He began, awkwardly trying to gesture at him with his hands.
"I know what you're gonna say." Leo replied, "And yeah, I've still got it."
"Oh." Nico said, looking ahead as they walked, "...Can I have it back?"
"Depends." Leo replied, "Are you gonna throw it at me again? Call me a coward? Call me a fool?" He couldn't help but let a little sourness seep into his tone.
Nico cleared his throat, "Well, you may not be a coward..." He turned to Leo with a sharp look of satisfaction in his eye, "But I recall being very insistent he was here."
Leo grumbled, reaching into his pocket and fishing out Nico's ring. The skull glistened softly in his hand as Nico took it and placed it back on his finger. He smiled as the piece of jewelry settled back on his digit. He clenched his fist, cracking his knuckles as he did, and gave Leo a smile.
"Thanks." He said, before his smile fell a bit, "How uh... how is Will?"
Leo shook his head, closing his eyes as he did so and muttering under his breath "how is Will?". He turned to Nico, a heavy look in his eyes. "He's shitty, Nico. His dad visited a few days ago, went into the cabin, and he didn't even crack a smile."
"Oh." Nico said in a quiet tone as he looked down at the floor. Leo turned to him, a slight sneer over his face.
"Really? That's all you got? Oh."
Nico scowled, looking back over him. "What the fuck am I supposed to say? I'm sorry? I was wrong?"
"Yeah, you're supposed to say you're sorry, jackass." Leo said, prodding Nico in the chest with his finger, "But not to me. To Will, your boyfriend, remember?" Nico's eyes flashed as he gritted his teeth.
"You think I don't want to?" Nico shot back, his jaw clenched tight, "If I'd known this was gonna happen, I'd never have left."
"But that's just your problem, isn't it DiAngelo?" Leo said with a shake of his head, "It's not how long you're gone, it's that you always leave. Always. Doesn't matter who it hurts, if Nico's got a hunch then poof, he's gone for another season." He turned to Nico, who's eyes were glowing with regret in the light from Leo's hammer.
"You know, he always waits for you to leave before he cries." Leo said, the words bitterly seeping out of his mouth, "He always waits, says he doesn't want to make you feel bad, says he understands, but..." He turned to Nico, a flash of what could only be described as fatherly shame sparking in his eyes, "...It kills him to watch you leave."
Nico felt a tear drop from his eye, running down his cheek. He quickly turned, wiping it away.
"I didn't know..." Nico admitted, in a quiet voice.
"No." Leo said, facing forward again, "You never do."
"I won't leave anymore." Nico said, muttering the words out in shame as he raised his gaze towards Leo, "I won't, I promise. I swear-"
"Don't." Leo said, cutting him off, "Don't swear it to me. Swear it to Will. You look that golden, shining, ray of happiness that you piss rain onto every chance you get in the eye and you swear it to him when you get back."
They walked in silence for a moment, before a joking look spread across Leo's face. "Y'know, if I ever tried to pull the shit you pulled on Will with Calypso I'd be stitching my asshole back together." Nick snickered as he said it.
"Oh yeah? How is Callie by the way, and little Esperanza?" Nico asked.
Leo chuckled, "Still the two lights in my life, and, ah, we've got another on the way."
Nico's eyes widened in shock. His mouth fell slightly agape. "You dog."
Leo chuckled and shook his head. "No, death breath, she's the dog. You'd think 3000 years alone on an island would curb your sex drive, but..." Leo let out a shudder, "I guess it's just been building up."
Nico laughed at his old friends words, before his smile fell and a painful truth nestled it's way into his mind.
"I miss you guys. When I leave like this. I pretend I don't, that I still enjoy being alone, but... I miss you all." His head fell a bit as his tone broke slightly, "I miss Will."
Leo shook his head, laying a hand on Nico's shoulder. "I know you do, and I'm glad you've stopped pretending that you don't."
The son of death was a bit silenced by Leo's words as the son of Hephaestus walked ahead, illuminating the path with his flaming hammer.
They smelled it before they saw it.
They had continued on the path that Brokkr led them down, swirling through the stairwells as they neared what they could only guess was the core. The end of the mineshaft. The bottom of it all, as Brokkr had described it.
That's when they smelled it. A putrid, pungent smell that lingered in the air like a poison, souring their faces and drawing coughs from their throats. They didn't know what it was, save for Nico, who made it very clear what they smelled.
"Brimstone."
Brokkr turned to the boy with a short nod, "Aye, son of Hel. I'm certain you're familiar with the scent."
Nico let out a sigh, "I'm not familiar with most scents at the moment..." He said, his eyes drawing back into a glare, "...except for my prison cell."
Brokkr let his expression sadden, his moustache almost comedically dropping down his face. "I utter my utmost apologies." The dwarf said, "Our suspicions were not without merit, though, as your colleagues have explained."
Percy turned to Brokkr, "Hades." He said, "I said he's a son of Hades, not Hel."
Brokkr shook his head, "In times like these, biases are most of the time reasonable." His expression firmed, "...and we have had a long standing conflict with the underworld, which only increases as we mine nearer to her gates."
Percy shook his head, "I'm guessing your problem..."
Brokkr nodded, "We found a line, and dared to toe it."
They stepped out of the stairwell, onto a balcony overlooking yet another massive room. This room... Percy cod feel the power as he stepped in. The power, and the heat. It flowed over the group, coming on waves over their form. Percy instinctively hefted Maelstrom, which caught the eye of Brokkr.
"That blade?" He asked, reaching out, "May I see it?"
Percy watched as the dwarf reached for the blade, his eyes widening. "Careful it's-"
He was cut off as the dwarf wrapped his hand around the flaming steel, gently pulling it from his grip.
"...hot," Percy concluded, "And sharp."
The dwarf smiled, running his hand along the flat of the blade. "Aye, but a dwarf's hands are a tough surface, built for heat and conditioned to the blade." He ran his thumb along the groove in the blade, and over the lettering that sat in it.
"Just as beautiful as the day I made you..." He gently whispered to the sword. Percy's gaze snapped in his direction.
"You made Maelstrom?" He asked, his mouth slightly agape.
The dwarf nodded, "Moskstraumen be her name, but yes, I crafted her by my own hand." The dwarf continued, balancing the blade in his baseball mitt sized hands. Percy raised his eyebrows.
"Well, I must say, you know your stuff." He said, as the dwarf looked up at him.
"What was your full name again?" He asked, Percy cocked up an eyebrow.
"Perseus Jackson." he said, "Why?"
"I'd like to label her properly." The dwarf replied, showing Percy the lettering along the blade, "All the names of her owners are here." He ran his thumb along the groove. "We have Baldr the beautiful, A man named Jason of the argonauts, Another here by the name of Arthur, a king I believe..." He got to a name near the middle and let out a smile, "Ah, the last one this blade was owned by, a daughter of Thor..."
"Astrid." Percy breathed, the dwarf looked up, eyes filled with interest.
"Oh, you've met?" Percy let out a smile.
"Let's just say she's quite the friend." He said, clicking his teeth, "And she slapped her dad."
Brokkr let out a chuckle, "Sounds like her." He focused back on the sword, dragging his thumb along the groove as it glowed slightly. He pulled his hand away, a new set of runes engraved on the blade.
"There we have it, Perseus Jackson. Along the blade, as it should be."
Percy smiled as he took the blade, feeling the weight. It felt even better in his hands now, as he shifted the weight to and fro. It had felt good before, but that dwarf must've had some magic in him, because now it was perfect.
"Just one question..." Brokkr asked with a twirl of his beard, "How did ye set it on fire?"
Leo raised his now flaming hand. "That was me."
Brokkr raised his eyebrows, "Aye? Son of Hephaestus, I presume?"
Leo cocked an eyebrow, right along with Percy, "You know about Greek gods?"
"Mostly just your father." The dwarf said, "He is quite a legendary figure in our beliefs. To meet a son of his, I must say, this is quite the honour."
Leo let out a soft laugh, before hefting his hammer, "Maybe if we have some free time we can swap notes."
The dwarf nodded, "All in good time." Before turning back to the balcony just as a noise reverberated over the room. It was a low noise, a dull, grumbling sound that echoed and reverberated through the room. But that wasn't what disturbed the group.
It was that it was a groan, clear as day.
Brokkr made his way over to the balcony, peering over it as the rest of the group followed. They peered over, rather shocked by what they saw.
It was a chasm, not nearly as deep as the one they'd seen before, but a chasm nonetheless. It stretched down, a few hundred feet at best, and ended rather abruptly, but when Percy looked up, he took note that he could see clouded, snowy skies above as the hole ran all the way up. From Percy's point, he could make out some details on the ground. Pickaxes, a minecart or two, but those details really fell to the wayside. The main point of attraction was the massive, flaming hole in the bottom of the pit.
It was huge, at least thirty feet across, and smoking quite a bit. It had lava in it, that much was very clear, but there were other... things, that wandered the floor if the pit too.
"Daemons." Brokkr said, glaring at the beasts in the mineshaft. Percy turned to him, his eyebrows pulled into a firm line across his forehead.
"Let me guess." He said, holding up his hand and raising a finger with each statement, "You dig too deep, you crack into the underworld, and now I'm guessing Surtr is down there."
The dwarf smiled as his comrades stood close by. "You're perceptive, a rare trait these days."
Percy smiled at the dwarf, "Well you did a rather good job spelling it out for me earlier."
The dwarf nodded as his tone took on a dark pitch. "He cannot raise. He is the Doom, the bringer of Ragnarok, the one said to burn Asgard to the dirt and revel in the inferno."
Percy cocked his head side to side, "Sounds bad. Any ideas on how to stop him?"
The dwarf nodded, pointing up to the roof of the cave, at a buildup of ice, "There. If we can find a way to soak the great daemon in the waters of the mountain, we can silence him, smothering him while he rests in this weakened state."
Percy nodded, looking at the ice, before turning back to his team.
"Alright boys." He said, clapping his hands, "Any ideas?"
Leo's hand shot up immediately and a pit the size of the grand canyon opened in Percy's stomach. He held up his hand, glaring Leo down as he slowly lowered his arm.
"You grabbed the dynamite, didn't you?"
Leo smiled, reaching into his tool belt and pulling out a stick of the explosive.
"C'mon Percy..." He said, tossing the TNT in the air with a little spin, "It's me."
Zoe was pissed.
No, pissed wasn't a good word for this emotion: Zoe was furious.
That idiot. That no good, rotten, stupid, foolish boy. That moron, that irredeemable, beautiful, golden ray of light in her life. They were having such a sweet time together, all the sappiness had finally stopped disgusting her, and she'd finally gotten very, extremely comfortable with being very public and open with her emotions towards him, so what does the big dummy do?
He goes and gets himself trapped behind a wall of rocks.
Zoe probably could've stayed there all day, glaring at a bunch of stones at the mouth of a cave, but the cold wasted no time dragging her back to reality. She, Freya, and Annabeth were still in the frigid cold, and without shelter, and they still needed to complete this stupid quest.
Yes the quest was stupid now, and yes it was because Percy was gone.
She hefted her bow, tightening her jacket across her chest as she tugged the toque down on her head. She turned to Annabeth, who gave her a look of genuine concern.
"I'm not gonna ask if you're okay," The daughter of Athena spoke, "Because I know you're not. But we need to keep moving Zoe, you know that."
Zoe let out a sharp nod, swallowing deeply as she did. She met Annabeth's gaze, her fury evident through her eyes.
"Let's get over this fucking mountain."
Annabeth smiled and turned to Freya, who still had the compass in her shivering hands.
"I think it wants us to go that way." she said, pointing towards a small path along the tree line, that led upwards. Zoe's eyes narrowed and she hefted her bow, softly notching an arrow as she did.
"Keep your wits about you, both of you." She said, her gaze skittering along the trees, "I don't trust these woods."
Freya shifted nervously as they walked towards the trees, "Why not?"
Zoe shook her head, her eyes flicking about as the forest surrounded them, "Because I can't hear anything. Not a whisper, nor a creak, nor a breath." She turned her eyes over to Freya, who had her rifle in her hands, having handed the compass to Annabeth.
"Because these woods are dead, Freya, and I don't want to meet whoever made them that way.
They slinked through the brush. Close to the ground and quick to cover, moving as a unit. They covered each other as they did, watching each other's backs as they prowled through the forest.
Prowled. No, that wasn't the word. As they hunted.
It made Zoe smile, pretty damn quickly too when she realized why this freezing trek with weapons had felt so familiar to her. The way they moved, the way they were taught, and ready, hell, even the way Zoe could shoot Annabeth a look, and she'd nod, knowing exactly where to move. It wasn't as if they even knew they were in danger, and for all they knew they were being as lethal in their actions as possible for no reason, but a hunters ears never lied, and Zoe was lieutenant to Artemis all those years for a reason.
It was a few minutes later when she heard the crack. It wasn't loud, no, barely even a sound at all. But she heard it.
She heard it and she wasted no time tackling the other two to the ground, and pulling them under a bush. Annabeth went silent immediately, with Freya stuffing a grunt when she realized it was Zoe. She lifted her hands off their mouths and pointed dead ahead of them.
"I heard something." She whispered, in a tone as cold as the snow around them.
Freya peered ahead, hands still tightly gripping her rifle as she did.
"Maybe it was a branch breaking from the snow?" She offered in a hopeful tone. Zoe shook her head softly.
"I've been alive for more than two thousand years, Freya." She said, her eyes peering across the terrain as she watched for anything. Movement, a lack of movement, a cloud of breath in the air. "...I know what a tree branch sounds like when someone steps on it."
Freya gulped and turned back forward, her hands gripped around her gun. Annabeth's breathing had slowed, and her own storm grey eyes were peering across the trees, looking for anything in the forest.
Zoe was the one to see it first. Give it to the hunter to have the best vision, but she spotted it.
It was a man, up in the trees, tucked away amongst the brush. He was handsome, that was the first thought that came to Zoe's mind and she regretted it as she thought it, but it was true, he was very, very handsome. Broad shoulders, square jaw, piercing blue eyes, and a black slightly curly head of hair, trimmed properly so it was short on the sides . He had five o'clock shadow across his cheeks and was clutching a bow in his right hand. He had on a black winter coat and light grey cargo pants along with a pair of hiking boots.
He scanned the terrain, looking for anything. Any movement, any lack of movement, any clouds of breath. At least, that's what Zoe's assumed. The man, straightened up, dropping out of the tree and landing on the ground, his knees bending slightly as he did. He shouldered his bow, bringing his hand up and letting out a sharp, high pitched whistle. Next to him, another man landed. He was equally handsome, with the same strong build, but with brown hair and green eyes instead. The first man looked to him as he spoke.
"You smell it, don't you Sigmund?"
The second man, Sigmund, let a scowl cross his face as he replied. "Aye, Leif. I smell it. A wind pulls the scent into my lungs, one I wish to cut out of me." The man spat on the ground, before turning to the first man, Leif.
"Do you suppose we let the lord know?"
Leif shook his head, "Nay. The presence of them would only seek to enrage him further. It's much more preferable if we find their kind, and snuff them out ourselves."
Sigmund nodded, a stiff motion that did nothing to detract from his beauty. He turned away, squatting slightly before leaping into the trees. Leif paused for a moment, turning away from Zoe and her group and looking off into he woods, before he turned his head over his shoulder.
"I do not know if you can hear me, or if you're here, but if you are, this is your only warning. Leave now, and you will be forgiven. But women..." The man strained as he spoke the word, as if it hurt to say, "Are not desired in Lord Baldr's presence."
With that, the man leaped into the trees, pulling himself away from them.
Zoe waited a good minute before she stood her group up. Annabeth seemed calm, although a little frazzled from the cold. Freya had no such wits about her.
"What the fuck was all that?" She hissed, pressing herself behind a tree as she did, "Did you guys hear him properly? Because I swear he mentioned Baldr."
"He absolutely did." Zoe said, gripping her bow tight, "You know him?"
Freya shook her head with a breath, "No. Most people don't. He's very... I don't know, I guess private is the word I'd use. Nobody really talks about him anymore."
"I can see why." Zoe said, recalling Leif's words, women are not desired in Lord Baldr's presence. The way they were spoken, how they came out of his mouth. It was almost like they hurt him to say as much as he wanted them to hurt whoever heard them. Zoe couldn't help but shake another feeling from her mind, a feeling of familiarity with the way that man thought of the opposite sex. It reminded her of... well, herself. All those years ago. She shook the thought from her mind and turned to Annabeth, who was still clutching the compass.
"Annabeth." Zoe said, to no response. She took a step forward and laid her hand on the girls arm.
"Annabeth." The daughter of Athena's gaze snapped up and zoned in on Zoe. Her eyes were wild, and full of thought.
"Are you okay?" Zoe asked, her hand still clutching Annabeth's arm. She let out a breath and laid her own hand over it.
"Never better." She said with a smile, before flipping open the compass. "Now let's get off this fucking mountain."
Zoe nodded at the girl, trying not to notice the blush that was spreading across her cheeks.
They continued their trek through the woods, marching with a bit more finesse now as they were now we'll aware of the dangers that presented themselves. Presented themselves with square jaws and broad shoulders, but presented themselves nonetheless.
Zoe caught up with Annabeth, who appeared to be staring at the compass with enough intensity to crack the glass. Her gaze seemed to flicker though, as if foreign thoughts threatened to pull her mind from reality. Zoe couldn't help but feel a small smile pull across her lips, as her own mind began to wander a bit.
"So." She said to Annabeth, bow in hand as she spoke, "That Leif, he sure was something, huh?"
"Mhm." Annabeth mumbled, her gaze unwavering from the compass. Zoe felt the smile widen as she looked back ahead.
"So tell me, Annabeth..." she said, her tone that of a playful interrogation, "was it his black hair or blue eyes that really got you crazy."
Annabeth let out a sigh through her nose, her eyes closing as she did, "Zoe..." She began.
"Hey now, I can't judge." Zoe continued, "I mean, I'm me. It took a fraction of my life for a boy to melt me down in his hands."
Annabeth stopped in her tracks, turning to Zoe who's smirk vanished in a second.
"Zoe..." She breathed, clearly more frustrated than upset, "Enough. Please."
Zoe nodded, and held Annabeth's, her friend's hand. "Sorry." She said.
"It's alright." Annabeth said, continuing forward.
Zoe internally scolded herself for that, for all of it. She didn't know where any of that had come from, all that teasing, all that toying. She normally didn't act like that, so why now? The realization hit her like a pallet of bricks. Because Percy acted like that, always picking fun, always poking the metaphorical sleeping bear (with that usually being Zoe's nerves). Gods above, she missed him so much she was starting to act like him...
She stuffed the thoughts. She'd see him again, even if she needed to grab a shovel and dig him out of that mine with her bare hands.
She was going to see her Percy again.
Percy was not having a good time.
Well, that wasn't fair, he was actually having a great time if you only counted his company. He'd missed Nico, quite a bit actually, and that fact only felt a bit more bitter in retrospect when he considered that Nico had most likely been trapped in this mountain for a few months.
Trapped there because of him.
But it was fun, watching his old friend slink through the shadows with him as they made their way down the spiralling staircase. Their steps softly echoed as they walked, the sound being smothered though by the horrendous noises that came from the pit. The groaning that they'd heard, it was only getting louder, and more frequent. They picked up their pace as they made their way to the bottom.
They reached the base of the pit, their stairwell ending with a simple doorway that the group peeked around. Brokkr held his pickaxe firmly in his hands, the glowing glint that was present before burning firmly in his eyes. He pointed across the pit, to a line that led up the rear wall, a crack.
"There. The fault line." Brokkr said, his voice a grumbling whisper, "I recall there being a deposit of explosive compounds there. If you can get your explosive in that line..." He turned to Percy, who already had Moskstraumen in his hand, "...it'll bring the cavern and ice down on this beast."
Percy nodded, turning back to Leo who'd been doing Leo-things to the sticks of dynamite he'd grabbed.
"You ready?" Percy asked his friend, who let out a huff and turned back to him. He held in his hands... something. A mishmash of wires, the sticks of dynamite, what looked like a kitchen timer, and an unsettling amount of duct tape. Leo caught Percy's unimpressed look and let out a huff.
"Hey don't give me that look, Jackson." He hissed in an exhausted tone as he tapped his hand on his tool belt, "The belt's been running dry lately."
Percy shook his head as he turned back to the hole, "it'll work though, right?" He asked, as Leo let out a grin.
"C'mon Percy, you know how good I am with bombs." Percy sighed, recalling Leo's words at the camp regarding his gifts for his half siblings.
"Well it had better..." He said, peeking around the corner, "...because I don't want to be there any longer than I half to be."
The Daemons as Brokkr called them were... well, they were something. Greek monsters, as disgusting as they were, had some amount of class to their look. They nearly always had some way of disguising themselves. A camouflage, magic, special clothes, something to make them at least appear human, but these things?
They were monsters through and through.
They had red skin, a leathery coat of it that hugged close to their emaciated forms. Their limbs were long, too long, stretching out from their gnarled torsos. They had wings on their backs, leathery bat-like appendages that were tucked against their shoulder blades. But their heads, that's where the most grotesque features laid. Pitch black eyes, massive rows of fangs, dual ram horns growing from their temples. Some had what looked like liquid fire dripping from their jaws, others had what looked like blood dripping from them. They looked like proper, biblical demons.
Percy let out an audible gulp as he turned to Brokkr. "Any advice on how to kill them?"
Brokkr shrugged, "Run them through, cut them down. They were man... once, and die all the same."
Percy nodded as he hefted Moskstraumen, the blade glinting slightly in the darkness, he gave one last look at his group, taking note of each of them. Leo looked ready, dynamite in one hand and hammer in the other, Brokkr and his group looked equally so, their impossible musculature taught for the battle, Nico...
Nico looked a million miles away.
He was looking, no, staring at the pit. His mouth was slightly agape and his eyes were wide and he was just... staring at the hole in the earth.
Percy snapped his fingers in front of the boys face, Nico shook off whatever daze he felt and focused back forward, hefting his stygian iron sword that he'd reclaimed from the dwarves as he did.
"You with us?" Percy asked. Nico took a shaky breath.
"I hear him." He whispered.
Percy gave his friend a worried look, as Nico's eyes took on the same uncomfortable amount of focus, "Hear who?"
Nico raised his hand, pointing at the pit. "Him."
Percy grabbed his friends hand, lowering it back to the sword and helping him wrap his fingers around it. He looked Nico in the eye, making the son of death meet his gaze.
"In five minutes, you won't hear him ever again."
Nico took a shaky breath and nodded, hefting his blade. Percy smiled, and turned back to the doorway. "Everyone ready?"
Grunts of approval rang out around him. He took a deep breath, flicking the striker and illuminating Moskstraumen as he stepped through the doorway. "Then let's do it."
They got the jump on the daemons, and pretty damn well too.
They crossed the pit quickly, swinging their weapons as they did. Percy caught one of them just as it was turning towards him, it's revolting head flying off it's shoulders as its body fell to the ground and melted into a pile of... something.
One of it's disgusting buddies noticed and let out a screech, a noise that nearly stopped Percy in his tracks to hd his hands over his ears, and that's when things went bad.
The Daemons swarmed, almost immediately taking to the skies as they unfolded their wings and began circling the group. Percy and the others backed into a circle, moving along the pit as quickly as they could while dodging daemon attacks. The dwarves admittedly had it a bit easier, being so low to the ground that when the daemons did get close enough they were practically already on the floor, where the dwarves and their powerlifter arms drive their tools into their skulls. They were doing well, and making good progress.
Until Nico stopped.
He didn't stop, really. Stopping implies a desire, a want, a control over oneself. What Nico did was freeze. He froze, completely still in place as the hoke in the ground groaned yet again, this time loud enough to nearly shake the room. Percy felt the ground beneath him vibrate and his throat let out a cry.
"Nico!" But if he heard, he didn't listen. The boy turned to the hole in the ground, a vacant look in his eyes as he spoke out loud in a voice that sounded... wrong, like more than one at once.
"Whispers upon my mind, the great beast stirs."
Nico steppe towards the pit, a clumsy stumble as he reached out with his hand.
"The end is nigh, the flame flickers upon Asgard."
It was at this point Leo seemed to have had enough. He tossed the bomb to Percy, before sprinting towards Nico. Percy let out a cry as he watched his friend dodge daemons, but cut it short as he was still preoccupied all his own, now with the monsters and Leo's homemade bomb. He made his was over to the wall of the pit and franked the timer, jamming it into the wall, before turning back to Leo.
The young man was desperately grabbing at Nico's shoulders, trying to pull him back as Nico marched to the edge of the pit. His hand was outstretched, his posture was firm, he was moving, and Leo wasn't strong enough to stop him.
Percy'd had just about enough of this cave at this point. He turned to Brokkr, as the dwarf was smashing a daemons skull to bits with his bare hands.
"The bomb is set." He said, chopping upwards to drive his blade into another daemon, "Get out of here."
The dwarf nodded grimly, before pointing to another tunnel, a hike at the opposite end of the pit. "That hole be your exit. It'll lead ye out of the mine." He grabbed Percy's arm, an act that would've probably hurt if Percy's adrenaline wasn't pumping through his body.
"Good luck to ye, Perseus Jackson. Asgard rests upon your shoulders."
Percy gave the dwarf a short nod as the being smiled and rounded up his men, running back to the exit. Percy turned back to Leo and Nico, who were now close to the pit, too close. Close enough that Nico's hand was nearly reaching over the edge. Percy sprinted, his feet beating against the stone floor as he winged his sword around, chopping daemons out of the sky. He would've been impressed at himself, at the moves he was pulling off, but that didn't matter now. None of it did. He knew what would happen if he stopped to admire his handiwork, if he took a break from his path.
He knew what was going to happen if he didn't get to them.
He dug his feet and grit his teeth, sprinting over the ground like a jaguar. He got closer, closer, as Leo desperately held Nico's feet, trying to stop him from going over the edge.
He couldn't, and Nico pulled him in, just as Percy dove over the edge and grabbed both their hands.
They were fucked, and Percy knew it the second he'd grabbed them. If it were one of them, no sweat, Percy would have them up in a heartbeat, but not the both of them.
They were fucked.
Percy gritted his teeth, looking at the two of them as they hung off the edge, each holding Percy's arm tight. Percy finally got a good look at what was in the pit.
It was fire. Lots and lots of fire. It burned and churned, whipping around in circles as it swirled through the gaping maw of the hole. The hole itself Percy realized at this time was really a mouth, and entrance, to a massive open cave that had to be hundreds of feet across and hundreds of feet deep.
He saw it at the bottom too. Him. The one they were here to stop. Barely an outline, a figure in the flames, but he saw him, his massive form, his wings, his gigantic flaming horns that stuck out the side of his head like a hammerhead sharks eye stalks. He saw Surtr, and he was sure Surtr saw him.
Percy was brought back to reality as his hands started to slip. He gripped tighter, desperate to hold on, but he knew, he knew deep in his gut that despite how hard he held, how tightly he grit his teeth, he knew.
He had to let one go.
He looked them in the eyes, a silent message passing over the two of them as tears welled in Percy's eyes. He opened his mouth, a mix of a grunt and a sob coming out.
"I can't." He whispered, desperately trying to hold tighter, "I can't hold you both."
Nico looked terrified, his eyes focused on Percy as he desperately tried to hold tighter, but Leo...
Leo was looking down. Into the pit, into the flames.
He turned back up to Percy, with a certain look in his eye. One that Percy hated the second it passed over his face.
Acceptance.
"Leo..." Percy hissed, through gritted teeth, "Leo don't you fucking dare..."
"One of us has to go Perce." He said, his own eyes glistening as they welled with tears. Tears that Percy realized he'd never seen in his friends eyes before, not even once. Tears he realized he was going to see for the last time. Nico turned to him, a horrible look in his eye.
"Leo please..." He said, "Please, it's my fault, please..."
The son of Hephaestus shook his head, giving Nico a tender look and a smile. "No it's not. It never was, Nico. You were right about him, him being here. You were right."
Percy felt his grip slip more as he gritted his teeth, desperately trying to hold tighter, but knowing that he just couldn't. He cried out, hoping to get Brokkr's attention, but the dwarf was likely long gone by now. He turned back to Leo, who was now staring in his eyes. He felt his mind slip, back to the old days, back to the Argo II, back to all the lunches they'd had together and the jokes they'd shared and the times they'd enjoyed each other's company. He thought about how Leo was his friend, and this... this was it.
He gritted his teeth, and tried to find something, anything, any way out of this, but there wasn't.
"Remember what I said, Perce." Leo said, with a sad smile, as a single tear fell from his eye and rolled down his cheek, "Take care of her for me."
There wasn't a way out of this, so Leo made one.
He let go.
He let go and he fell, deep into the flames, closing his eyes tight as he did. Percy winged his hand down, grabbing Nico by the scruff of his jacket and pulling him out of the pit.
They sprang to their feet, their bodies natural instincts not allowing them to mourn as they sprinted for the exit, dashing through the doorway just as the bomb went off. It blew the cave to pieces, cracking a line op the wall as it tracked up the fault line, smashing the ice free, which immediately rained down ice and water into the pit.
Nico and Percy burst from the cave, out back into the snow as they turned back towards the mountain, looking up to the peak.
The ice and water fell, then it hit the pit, and the fire, and Percy suddenly got a serious flashback to Mt St Helens, because it blew.
The top of the mountain exploded with steam, bursting out through the hole that ran all the way up. The steam shot through the sky, firing up into the air as mountain heaved and groaned. They both fell back on their asses, heaving breaths. They'd done it.
But that wasn't good enough.
Percy turned to Nico, grabbing him by the collar as he did.
"Is he dead." He demanded, making. the son of death look at him in a shocked manner.
"What?" He asked, still in a shocked state.
"Is he dead, Nico. You know, you always know, is he dead..."
Nico shook his head, "I don't know..."
Percy gritted his teeth, "What do you mean you don't know?" He growled.
Nico looked away, tears in his eyes. "I don't know, I can never tell in Alaska, my powers, they
don't work here properly..."
Percy stood up, breathing heavy as he did. He reached into his pocket and flicked Moskstraumen, letting out a cry as he drove the sword into the ground. He feel to his knees, putting his hands on the ground as he hunched his shoulders, feeling his chest get tight as tears welled in his eyes.
He tried to remember his face, Leo's face, to recall every last detail he had on it. Every scar, every birthmark, every little thing he could recall. He tried to remember his laugh, his jokes, his movements. He tried to remember everything, and gritted his teeth when he realized the memories weren't good enough. He pulled the sword out of the ground and drove it in again, and again, and again, and again. He drove it until he couldn't, before closing the lighter and slipping it back in his pocket. He turned to Nico, who had tears running down his face.
"We need to keep moving." Percy said, his own eyes red, "He... he wouldn't have wanted us to stop."
Nico felt his chest tighten at Percy's words, before he let out a nod, picking himself back up onto his feet. He looked Percy in the eye, taking a deep breath, before he started walking, with Percy in tow. They didn't know where they were going, but neither could care less about that right now.
All that mattered was leaving this place and never coming back.
Zoe felt the explosion before she'd heard it.
It rumbled through the earth, shaking her whole group. Freya balanced herself on a tree, holding herself steady as the snow continued to fall into their group.
"What the hell was that?" She hissed. Zoe looked around, noticing something off to their east. A plume of steam, blasting it's way up into he sky, just about cutting a line through the clouds. Zoe let out a grim look, hoping that explosion was caused by Percy and not in the process of killing him.
They stood still for a moment, just watching the blast force it's way into the sky, before the shockwave hit them. It rumbled the earth, shaking snow off the trees as they all feel to the earth.
Zoe was on her feet pretty quick, lifting Annabeth and Freya back to theirs when she heard it. She stiffened immediately, feeling her body go taught and her breath hitch as she tuned her ears, listening for the sound again, which she heard again.
A branch snapping, and close too.
She grabbed the girls by their collars, pulling them to the floor and rolling them under a dead tree. They hid, keeping themselves tucked under the massive rotting trunk as they waited for something, for anything. They waited, and waited, and waited some more, and Zoe was about to admit her ears were wrong when she was proved they were right.
By a pair of boots landing on the ground in front of them.
The figure stood still for a moment as the girls stayed as still as they could. Freya had her hands in her gun, her finger laying over the trigger as she kept her mouth shut. Annabeth's dagger was clenched tightly in her grip as she slowed her breathing to avoid her breath giving away their position. Zoe was fixated on the boots, one of her daggers tight in her grasp.
The person in front of them squatted low to the ground, running his fingers along the dirt as he did. From the look of his hands this was yet another white male. He picked up a clump of dirt off the ground and held it up to his face, taking a smell. The man froze, his body tensing, before he stood up slowly. He stood there for a moment, before taking another sniff, slowly and deep this time. He let out a soft chuckle and turned towards the dead tree, the toes of his boots pointing them in the face, before he gripped the trunk tight and threw it off them.
Not moved it off them, threw it off them, like it were made of paper. The trunk of this tree had to be at least a ton.
The trunk flew through the woods, smashing itself to pieces on trees as Zoe and her group were suddenly completely exposed. Zoe wasted no time springing to her feet and surging forward, placing a dagger to the man's throat. He was yet another freakishly handsome man, with staggering blue eyes and long chestnut hair tied into a bun, a cropped, full beard covering his face. He held up his hands, a fully unimpressed look on his face as he did.
"Who are you?" Zoe hissed, her teeth gritted as she pressed the knife to the man's throat.
The man was silent, not a word escaping him nor an emotion shown on his face. His hands didn't even lift up. He just stood there, staring at Zoe with his piercing blue eyes. They were silent for a moment, with Annabeth and Freya having pointed their weapons at the man as well, before he spoke.
"You are not allowed here." He said, in a voice that matched the sneer that drew across his lips, "You have one chance to leave. I'd suggest you take it."
Zoe was flabbergasted, where the hell did this guy get off? The shock was a bit too much for Freya who let out a laugh as che clutched her rifle.
"Buddy, you gotta get your eyes checked..." She said, as the man's eyes flashed with anger, "Were the ones with the weapons, you're the one with your thumb up your-"
She was cut off as an arrow implanted itself into the tree next to her head. The three of them were cut off guard, even Zoe, enough so for the man to see an opening. He ducked under her knife, sweeping her legs as he did and sending Zoe tumbling back into the other girls. He turned, hopping back to his feet and sprinted into the woods.
Zoe growled as she rose, pulling out her bow.
"We can't let him get away." She snapped, pulling the other two to their feet as they took off into the woods.
The guy was fast. Too fast. Faster than anyone Zoe had ever seen before. He was barely out of their line of sight and growing his lead as they chased him. He sprinted through all the trees with grace as he vaulted over dead trunks and ducked under branches. Zoe was trying her best, years of training had made her quite the sprinter, but she knew...
This guy had them beat.
And yet, he didn't. Every few seconds he'd land with a little less grace, or stumble around a corner, or slide to a stop then pick up his pace again. Zoe didn't understand what was happening, not until she caught him peeking over his shoulder. Seeing if they were still following him.
She made the group stop too late.
They crashed into an opening, and boy howdy was it not good. Dozens of men, all dressed similarly to the first two surrounded them, all armed with bows and arrows with swords at their waists. They were all... well, beautiful. Like Abercrombie and Fitch models in parkas and military boots. They were strong, stunning, and intense, with most of their eyes drawn back in venomous glares at the girls. Zoe dropped her bow immediately, as did the other two with their weapons. Their arms shot up as a figure stepped forward.
It was Leif, the one they'd seen before.
We walked right up to them, his bow slung over his shoulder as he did. His eyes were intense, and full of emotion, piercing through their gazes like a beam of blue fire. His mouth was drawn into a firm line, unmoving and u twitching as he stopped in front of the girls.
They stood still for a moment, all of them, before Leif spoke in a tone that was less one of rage and more one of sympathetic frustration.
"I told you to leave."
Zoe stepped forward, dropping her hands as she did. "We're here on a quest." Her ears recognized the sound of bowstrings being pulled taught as she approached, but ignored it.
Leif shook his head, "I do not care why you are here, girl. You are not permitted on these lands."
Zoe took another step forward, "Look buddy, Ragnarok is coming, you know what that is, right? End of the world." She moved closer, "Were here to stop that."
Leif stood still, his gaze unwavering as he stared her down. Truth be told, though she'd never admit it, Zoe was intimidated. This man just... oozed control. As if the concept had been invented just for him. He didn't waver, nor compromise with any word he said, and with what he'd said earlier, Zoe had to wonder if that was related to her being a girl.
"Alright." He said, his eyes glazed over with thought, "I will take you to our leader. He will decide what is to be done with you." Zoe felt her shoulders relax, but go tight again as Leif spoke again.
"But if I get so much as an inkling of an idea that your intentions are even somewhat malicious..." He leaned in close, his upper lip twitching slightly as he did, "... I will slit your throats myself, and leave you for the wolves. Do I make myself clear?"
The three girls nodded, their collective heart rates (even Zoe's, a bit) jumping in their chests.
Leif's eyes settled, "Good." He said, turning away from them and beckoning them over, "Let's go see our Lord."
The trip was short.
They hiked maybe a mile, maybe two, and pretty damn well in a straight line. The group of men refused to follow any beaten path, practically carving a line through the forest as they marched into it, hacking through errant bushed with their swords or vaulting over the odd log.
The trip was short... for them. For the girls? Not so much.
Zoe wasn't exactly a tower of muscle. Sure, she kept herself in shape, but she took great pride in keeping herself in a small, fast shape. One that could sneak through the brush and draw a bow and was just strong enough to pull a deer into the trees to be gutted. These guys were built like they were gonna carry the deer on their shoulders up the mountain, and they moved like it too.
They had a few of the men hang back, keeping their eyes on the girls as they followed the group, but that's all they did. They watched. They didn't try to help them, or assist them in any way. They didn't even seem like they wanted to touch them, they just watched them struggle to keep pace with the group. At one point Zoe lost her footing for a second and slipped into a snow bank. She looked up to one of the men, with it most likely looking like she wanted a hand. The man sneered, and turned away from her.
Jackass, She thought.
The girls followed the group as close as they could, vaulting over and under brush, until they got to a campsite. It was filled with tents, all massive and all the same black colour as the jackets the men wore. They stood tall, most of the tents being relatively open design-wise, with furniture and fire pits under most of them. There appeared to be tents for actual sleeping a ways off, in a tightly packed group off to the side, but it was clear the area they were in was for socializing. Zoe got the feeling, though, that her and her trio wouldn't be doing much socializing.
Every step they took into he camp, another set of eyes turned their way. Not in a friendly introductory way, no. Every one of them was a glare. Piercing, intense, unwavering. Some men stopped whatever they were doing, whether it be reading or sharpening arrows. Others, who'd been talking or socializing cut their conversations short as the group passed them, standing up from their tables as they did.
Zoe felt a very familiar, yet unfamiliar feeling. She recognized this hostility, this hatred. She'd known if for millennia, but the only difference was she'd been on the other side of it.
Leif came up behind them, placing a hand on Zoe's and Annabeth's shoulders.
"Apologies. They are not used to seeing... your kind here."
Annabeth had started getting red in the face as soon as Leif had made contact, she turned to him with a worried expression.
"You mean women, right?"
Leif let a breath out of his nose, as his gaze met with Annabeth's, and Zoe swore she saw a little something in their eyes when their gazes met. "Indeed, females have never been welcome in the our camps."
Annabeth let out a breath, "Well don't I feel welcome." She said, as Leif let out a soft chuckle. He gave her shoulder a squeeze as he ushered the group towards the central tent, the largest one, his eyes filled with an emotion Zoe couldn't quite pinpoint, but she got the feeling was sympathy.
"All will be explained with him."
He opened the flap of the tent and ushered the girls inside, and man, if this whole thing was familiar before it was scarily so now.
The tent was exactly, and she meant exactly like how Artemis' tent was always set up. The walls stretched up, softly illuminated by the gas lamp on the large oak table that rested in the middle of the room. The surrounding area was fixed with all sorts of objects: weapon racks, chairs, rolled up maps, all sorts of things that blasted Zoe's brain with nostalgia. Her attention was pulled once again when she noticed the man standing in the back of the room. His back was to them as they entered, his bare back as he was shirtless, and she could make out a smattering of Nordic style tattoos across his back. Leif spoke up, getting the man to perk his head up.
"Lord Baldr." Leif said, as he stepped back, "We have... intruders, on the hunting ground. They claim to be on a quest, to prevent Ragnarok."
"Do they now?" A voice replied, it croaked and groaned as if the man had spent the last year gargling nails and screaming until his throat bled. The man turned around and Zoe... really didn't know how to react.
It was hard to describe the man in front of them, it took a second for her to really register what she was looking at. The man was, by all means beautiful. Stunningly so, with a sharp jaw and strong features, eyes so blue they quite literally glowed in the tent and a head of chestnut hair, shaved at the sides into an almost messy mullet mohawk.
That was where simplicities ended. The man was... haunting. It was hard to explain, really, but it was almost as if he were at one point beautiful, and remnants of that beauty still remained, but he couldn't hold that title anymore. His body was gaunt, but at the same time not, while being covered in the same Nordic tattoos that covered his back. He was muscular, but not overly so, but his body, the way it was built with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, looked like it yearned for strength, like it could be so much greater than it was. His face was haunting, a gaunt collection of shallow cheeks and dry skin pulled over a perfect skull. His brow was thick, with perfectly shaped eyes, and a long beard flowed off his face, sloppily trimmed into a goatee.
This man was beautiful, and looked like he hated it, like he did everything he could to stop it.
He stepped forward, bringing his hands behind his back as he did so. He drew his gaze across the group, with Zoe shuddering as his glowing blue eyes passed over her. He turned his head, stretching his neck with a crack, as he brought his hands down gently on the table, gripping the edge of it.
"I've heard," He said, raising his gaze from under his furrowed brow, "...that the great beast stirs."
Zoe took a tentative step forward, steeling her nerves as she did. "We're on a quest..." she began, clenching her fists, "A quest to prevent it. Can you help us?"
The God leaned back, his shoulders stretching out as he did. He brought his hands off the table and clenched his own fists, giving his knuckles a crack.
"Who's to say I wish to prevent it?" He asked them.
The three of them were shocked, shocked into silence, with Freya being the first to break it.
"Ragnarok means the end of Asgard," she said, in a tone that was less confused and more angry, "and you're on Asgard. Do you seriously intend to do nothing?"
The god narrowed his eyes at Freya, his tattoos glowing ever so slightly with blue light as he did.
"Speak to me like that again, daughter of Thor, and I'll pull your tongue from your maw." Freya took a step back, her facial expression unchanged but her mouth firmly sealed. The god smiled, before reaching out with his hands.
"I believe an introduction is in order. I am Baldr," He said, bowing slightly, "God of beauty."
Zoe looked at him, a bit confused at the combination of this title with this man. Baldr caught the look and sneered at her. "No one ever said gods got to choose their subjects, girl, and believe me," He leaned toward her, "I'd give anything to change mine."
It was Annabeth's turn to speak now. She stepped forward, brushing Leif's hand off her shoulder which Zoe couldn't help but notice had still been gripping it tight.
"This group, these men." She asked, in a tone that reflected Baldr's precious warning, "Who are they, why are they so... hostile to us?"
Baldr let out a chuckle, before he turned away from them and began to slowly pace.
"It's quite simple, really." He began, looking up at the roof of his tent, "Many centuries ago, I grew tired. Tired of all of these... mortal desires that plagued me." He turned to the group, raising his eyebrows, "there was a time where hostilities would not be shared between us," He turned his eyes away, "But, as I lived and lived and lived, I found myself... disgusted." He said, pulling his lips back into a sneer, "Disgusted at females of all kind."
He dragged his fingers across the table, lightly carving lines in the wood with his fingernails. The sound it made, Zoe couldn't help but let it send a shiver up her spine.
"The way they would throw themselves at me. Give themselves to me. Betray their husbands and lovers for me. It made me... sick." He said, growling the word out of him, "It sickened me, the way they would throw away all the care that their significant other would give them, just for a moment with me." He gestured to his body, "So... I abandoned it. The godhood, the life I'd lived. I left all that behind."
He gestured out with his hand towards Leif, "...and found others, others who shared my disdain for the female gender. Others who, for one reason or another, would abandon the chains of love, free from it's poison for good."
Zoe turned to Leif, who had a certain look in his eyes. A look that she couldn't quite pinpoint, but could assess was not positive.
"They become ageless, forever the young men they are, and are bound to me for eternity." He lowered his left hand, the right one coming up to give his beard a stroke, "They become a Herald of Baldr."
Zoe felt like her head was going to explode. For fuck sakes, she was really just hoping that the hints she'd been getting this whole time were just her being overly observant and overly imaginative, but no, she was right.
The trio of girls had run smack dab into a woman hating group of male hunters.
Baldr turned to Zoe, moving around the table so he could get close to her, his muscles rippling as he approached and brought his hands across his chest, crossing them.
"You smell... familiar." He said, eyeing her up, "Like me, yet... not."
He brought his hand up for another beard stroke, running his eyes over her silver parka. His lips drew back over his teeth with a hiss.
"You're one of Artemis' wenches, aren't you?" He asked, hissing the words out. Zoe's eyes flashed with anger all her own.
"I was... once."
He sneered at her as he turned away, walking back to the table. "I've had my run-ins with that wretched woman on occasion. On one hand, I must appreciate her goal to keep your kind away from potential heralds, but..." He said, gripping his table again, so tightly the wood groaned, "...her habits of... dispatching men, they guarantee I'll kill her on sight."
Annabeth opened her mouth to speak again, but Baldr held up his hand.
"If you wish to ask why I will not prevent Ragnarok. Don't. My intentions and desires are for me to know, and only me to know." He said. Annabeth still took a step forward, but he shot his piercing blue glare at her, making her step back.
"I will have no more questions." He said, snapping his fingers as several of his heralds entered the tent. They roughly grabbed the girls by their collars, about to drag them off when another herald entered, out of breath as he bowed to the god.
"M'lord." the man said, as Baldr raised a gentle hand.
"Speak, my son."
"M'lord." The young man continued, "We've found some people, men, wandering through the wastes."
Zoe felt her heart skip a beat when the young man spoke, when he mentioned men, seriously hoping it was her man.
Baldr smiled, gesturing to the man with both hands this time. "Perfect. Some new recruits possibly, and the lord Aesir knows we've been missing out on them. Bring them in."
The flap opened and in they came, grunting as they were shoved into the tent, and... there he was, in all his dumb, stupid, useless, beautiful, perfect, glory.
Percy. Her Percy.
She wanted to run to him, to wrap her hands around him and crush his chest in her grasp. His eyes met hers, widening as they did, and he beat her to it. He surged forward, past the guards, past the rest of her trio. He shoved the herald who'd been holding her off with what sounded like a growl, before his expression softened immediately and he threw his arms around her. She didn't hesitate to do the same, feeling her eyes tear up a bit as she did. She squeezed him as tight as she could, burying her head in his chest and taking a deep breath, just taking in his scent as she did.
He smelled like the sea, just like he ought to.
He planted a soft kiss on her forehead, before he pulled away and she shot him a venomous glare. He looked a bit confused until she cleared her throat.
"You missed."
He smiled and came in again, this time pressing his lips to hers properly. She felt herself melt, into his arms, into the ground, didn't really matter where. She ran her hands up to his cheeks as he pulled away, running his thumb over her hair.
"I thought I'd lost you." He said, a tear in his eye. His gaze dropped as he spoke and Zoe took a second to realize that the boy who'd came in with Percy wasn't Leo.
"Percy..." She said, but he met her gaze with his own, tears evident in his eyes.
"He... he didn't..." he couldn't finish his sentence, but she didn't need him to. She dropped her head, as did the girls, when they heard Percy's words. They stayed that way for a moment before they were brought out of it by baldr clearing his throat.
They looked up at the god, who was staring at Percy and Zoe with what looked like red hot hate in his eyes.
"I suppose I will exclude you from possible recruits." He sneered at them before turning to Nico, walking over to the young man. He placed a hand on his shoulder, guiding him over to the table.
"What is your name, boy?" He asked, to which Nico awkwardly rubbed his neck.
"Nico... Nico DiAngelo, sir."
The god smiled, "Nico, do you wish to abandon the chains of love, to abandon the burden that women leave on your heart and mind?"
Nico let out a nervous chuckle as he shifted on his feet, "Well, see, the thing is, I kinda already have..." He said, before looking back into the gods eyes.
The god shook his head, "Then you wish to join me? I offer you agelessness, an eternity prowling the lands of Asgard with my Heralds."
Nico felt a blush creep across his cheeks, "Well, you see... I've abandoned the burden of women... but not exactly love," He gave the god a poignant look, "if you follow me." His gaze darkened as he stared off into the tent, "And I promised someone I wouldn't take it for granted again."
The god took a moment to register what Nico had said, before a look of realization crept across his face.
"If you are still burdened by love," He began, taking a step away from the group, "Then you are of no use to me."
He turned back to his heralds and gave his hands a clap.
"Take them away."
I'm sorry Leo bros, I'll let you pour one out for the homie.
On another, more positive note I've been keeping track of likes and follows and, fuck me dead, 200 likes and 260 follows. Bloody amazing, and I thank you all for it.
You may have noticed me slowing down a bit lately and that is intentional. Real life has gotten a bit more... interesting lately. Namely my girlfriend found out about this fanfiction thing.
Frankly I was pretty weak willed about it. She spotted the app on my phone and I caved pretty much instantly. That being said, she did not react how I'd feared she would (dumping my lame ass instantly), but instead was really interested in it. She even called it cool.
So if you're reading this M, I love you, and thanks for accepting this dumb hobby of mine.
Either way, updates will be slow from now on as I'm no longer ass blasting through chapters like I used to, and want to take things especially slow. You'll still probably get a chapter this weekend, as I can usually crank them out on free days lime it's nobodies business, but we'll see. Things are getting complicated, and I'm busting out the big brain concepts (namely the heralds of Baldr, came up with that concept like a month before I wrote this) But there's more on the way. I still have my ending and I can still see the path, so don't worry, this story will be finished.
Take care everyone, see you soon.
-Bronzeandsteel
P.s. shout out to all my new reviews, especially parafron. That one made me feel all warm inside, broski, the long ones tend to do that :')