CHAPTER SUMMARY
The Hunters rescue Nico and Alabaster. Cho finds a friend.
BEGINNING NOTES
Chapter Rating: General Audiences
Content Warning: Graphic Depictions of Violence
Word Count: 3919
And all the characters are owned by JK Rowling, or Rick Riordan.
Credits at the end.
_NICO_
Nico stood on the streets of Venice on a dark, starless night. Mamma walked briskly, shivering despite her heavy coat, gloves, and hat. But her hat wasn't the usual black netted one, it was thicker and concealed part of her face like a hood would. She wore all black. Her shoes made no sound. That was odd; she always wore heels, and she rarely wore all black. "Every darkness has some light," she would say.
The only time she wore all black was when she was in mourning. She died the same day as Nonno. Nico remembered she'd gotten a phone call that day, one that hurt her; he put two and two together last year, when he discovered how Nonno died. Mamma was killed in black without light, mourning her father. But the woman on the street had no one to mourn. So why did she wear black now?
"Maria di Angelo?" Nico recognized the voice. Hades.
Mamma jumped. "Chi è la?" [Who's there?]
Hades stepped out from the alleyway. He wore an apologetic smile. "I apologize for scaring you. I assumed you could see me."
Mamma laughed nervously, clutching her heart. "In this night?"
"I am used to darkness. I forget not everyone is."
Mamma took another moment to recover. She blushed. "What are you doing in Venezia? You said at the banquet that you worked for the Americans. And where have you come from?"
Hades raised his eyebrows. "I am here for the same reason you are."
"I live here, Mr. Hades. You do not."
"It was an honor, meeting you in person, Miss di Angelo. I work with your friends and have read many of your letters. I recognized you tonight and thought I could escort you home."
No one could misinterpret what Hades meant-he knew she was a spy. Mamma's eyes narrowed. "I should report you, Mr. Hades. You accuse me of betraying my country! I know Il Duce personally, and he has no mercy for people who hurt his friends."
Hades leaned over and whispered something in Mamma's ear. Under his coat, he showed her a piece of paper. Her anger melted away. She looked him in the eye, conflicted, unsure if she could trust him. "And that's why you were... kind to me in Washington?" He nodded. She blushed. A charming smile lit up her face. "I would like your company," she conceded. She took Hades' arm, and they continued down the silent street.
His dream changed. Nico stood in the Santi Cosma e Damiano. Hecate slammed her fists on the altar and screamed.
Merlin stood a few feet away from his raging wife. He looked a little nervous. Nico didn't blame him. Hecate was one powerful (and scary) goddess. "We knew this would happen, my darling."
"Ceres betrayed us, Merlin!" she shouted. "How dare she move the trial! Hades will worm his way out of punishment, and that goddess will face no punishment for her crimes against my children!"
"The odds are stacked in our favor," Merlin reassured her. "Hades may know trials, but I know battle. We will win the war and gain ourselves allies before Persephone can rig it in her favor. Do not fault Ceres. She is another vote against Hades, and does us a great favor."
Hecate took a few deep breaths. "You're right, of course. But Hades will pay with more than the loss of a son he hates. Tell Salazar to take the magic from thestrals. Nico di Angelo will have to find another way home."
"That will incite war, Hecate. Hades may hate the boy, but taking any son, even one disowned, is a slight on his honor. Destroying his only gift to you and your lands will be too much for him to take."
"I'm aware of that. I will not wait for him to strike. We will strike first. I still have residence in the outskirts of Erebos. I will speak to Melinoe, tell her to recall the ghosts. Hazel Levesque may be too human for her to have full control of the girl, but when Thanatos does not come for her, Hades is a hypocrite, and I have another avenue against him."
"Is that wise? Melinoe may not want to take sides against her mother."
Hecate scoffed. "Proserpine and Melinoe hate each other as much as Juno and Vulcan. She will be glad to assist me."
Merlin nodded. "The Founders will serve as a war council until better arrangements can be made." When Hecate gave him the okay, Merlin left the altar. In a blinding flash of light, Hecate disappeared.
His dream changed again. Nico stood in Hades' throne room. Persephone sat in her throne, nervously tapping her fingers on the armrest. The three Furies swooped in and bowed before their queen. "Well?" Persephone prompted them.
"Ceres moved the trial to January 1st," Alecto said.
Persephone breathed a sigh of relief. "Hecate didn't take it well, did she?"
"No, my Queen. She recalled the ghosts, and thestrals are now nothing more than piles of bones. Ceres captured Nico di Angelo and holds him hostage as a bargaining chip for Lord Hades."
Persephone's fist clenched. She lounged on the throne, running through her options. "This is a slight on my Lord's honor that we cannot forgive. If the Titan wants war, we'll give it to her. Collect the ancient monsters of Erebos per Hades' instructions. And send Thanatos to me, immediately. Macaria may cover his duties until further notice."
The Furies bowed again, then flew away with a flap of their wings.
Nico woke, greeted by a splitting headache.
Great. A concussion. Just what I needed.
His cell was clay on three sides, and a door of woven grass locked from the outside. He ran to the door and pushed with all his might, but the grass refused to budge. The guards had taken his sword and Leo's shield from him, so that was a no go. Without any other option, he sat on the floor, trying to think, but his migraine made that impossible.
He took off his aviator's jacket and dug through the pockets, looking for an Advil or Tylenol to dry swallow. Nothing, only some ambrosia from his cutting days he could no longer eat, and- wait-
Nico glanced through the tiny holes in the woven grass door to see if anyone was coming. He saw a few people talking farther down the hallway, but they were out of eyesight and earshot. Nico pulled his jacket as far as possible from the door, then took out the two-way mirror Blaise and Hestia gave him at the holiday party.
As soon as he pointed it towards himself, the image lit up. When the sound came on, ear-splitting cheers greeted him. He muffled the mirror under his jacket and prayed to Olympus his guards hadn't heard. After the cheers calmed down, he took the mirror out again. "Blaise! Hestia!" he whispered.
A hand pulled the mirror out of a pocket. "Nico?!" Blaise asked.
"Shhh! I need you to I.M. Thalia! Tell her Ceres threw me in a cell, and Al's somewhere around here too, as her 'guest.' Newt's dead, so we need another way back to camp, one as fast as possible. You got that?"
"Got it. Hold on, Nico. Help's on the way."
_CHO_
Cho's room at the Leaky Cauldron was small but quaint. And she hated it. Alone with her thoughts again, Time tortured her as it had at Hogwarts. Cho needed Sora's laugh, Papa's hug, Mama's warm smile. But as much as she longed for it, her resolve never waned. She had a mission, one to make Harry and Cedric's deaths mean something. She had to find that informant and get the truth about You-Know-Who from them. When she exposed it to the world, Cornelius Fudge would come after her-she had to keep her family safe.
She'd memorized the Wizarding Weekly article now. On her desk sat every name she could think of that may be the informant. The most likely answer was a former at Hogwarts, or the sibling of one-how else would they know about Umbridge's torture? Perhaps a friend of Harry's? A few of the seventh year D.A. members went to the Ministry once they graduated, so maybe she could reach out to them? No, she didn't know any of them that well; why would someone doing something so dangerous reveal everything to a practical stranger?
The plan was to attend the protest tomorrow morning and ask around for friendly faces. She was quite popular at Hogwarts, so she knew almost every student there. Chatting up Ministry staff would also be helpful. She'd practiced conversation after conversation, training herself how to drop You-Know-Who into the interaction so she could judge reactions. It wasn't a perfect plan, but it was the best Cho could come up with.
It was past eight o'clock now, and Cho hadn't eaten any dinner. She grabbed some galleons from her stash and made a mental note to run to Gringotts tomorrow after the protest. She had a pretty decent emergency fund saved up, and her leftover Hogsmeade money wouldn't last more than a week, tops.
Two hours later, Cho sat on a barstool, picking at her leftover chips in a zombie-like fashion, when a woman's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
"What was that?" Cho asked. She turned to find a young woman, only a few years older than she, smiling from the stool beside her.
"I said is everything all right? You seem in a bit of a fog."
Cho blushed. "Oh... it's nothing. I'm..." her voice trailed off.
"Thinking about the protest tomorrow?" the woman said with a knowing grin. "It's on everyone's mind, isn't it? I've never heard of something like this happening before in the Wizarding World. It's so new, especially to people who've lived here their entire lives."
"I didn't think of that, but you're right. My mum's a muggle, so I guess I can't relate."
The woman laughed. "I'm muggle-born, but my fiancée's had no experience with the muggle world, and she was... shocked isn't the right word. It took me forever to explain to her what 'peaceful protest' meant. I'm assuming muggle-borns organized the whole ordeal."
Cho laughed. It had been a long time since she felt this comfortable with a stranger. "I'm sure that's it."
"I know the protest's important," the woman continued, "but I was supposed to get married tomorrow at the Rosa Lee Teabag, but since it's so close to the Daily Prophet's headquarters, we had to cancel. My whole family is in, and some of them spent a fortune." She rolled her eyes and shot Cho a teasing, exasperated look. "Nothing's ever easy with family, is it?"
Cho fought back a sob. This was all dangerously close to Cedric, Harry, and home. "Yeah," she pushed past the lump in her throat. "I should get some rest, but thanks for talking to me." She pushed her leftover chips to Tom's side of the bar, threw a few galleons with it, and ran off to be by herself when the tears came pouring out.
No, family's never easy, but finding your place is harder. Be careful with a wedding. Sometimes you can't recover from a broken heart.
_THALIA_
Thalia, Roszí, and Ianthe were hiding in the apple orchard. The orchards were the only deserted area of New Arcadia, probably because Persephone wasn't around.
Iris must be on her side today. Seconds after Percy gave them the good news-the tornado was gone, and everyone was okay-and the bad news-Annabeth was M.I.A. and Nico and Alabaster were prisoners-she got an Iris Message from the separated Hunters. The sun was almost gone now, and they were all waiting for news about the trial.
So, it was helpful that Yasmina's Iris Message wasn't Yasmina, but Lady Artemis.
"My lady!" Ianthe cried. "I thought the meeting ran until the stars shine!"
"They do shine in New York. You are in a different timezone, remember." Lady Artemis smiled warmly at her young Hunter. "You have succeeded. The trial is delayed until the New Year. War has not been averted, but the end of the world will not come today."
Lady Artemis's good mood dissolved when Thalia passed on Nico's message. When she finished, Lady Artemis turned away from them. "Yasmina! Begin your assault on the emposai! I have to depart for New Arcadia." She faced her three shocked Hunters again. "Break the boys out of their prison. I will meet you on the border with my chariot to escort you to Camp Half-Blood."
"My lady, you don't-"
"I need to speak with Dionysus and Hestia. It is no burden on me. Now, go! Quickly!"
Thalia, Roszí, and Ianthe made their way back to the wheat fields, where numerous half-bloods, nymphs, and satyrs worked. It wasn't hard to find a nymph with a load a little too full and offer to carry some. The three of them snuck their way into the palace with ease, following the crowd so it looked like they knew where they were going. As they approached a barn, twelve gods stood in a line, barking out orders.
"C3, all wheat goes to C3!"
"All barley goes to C5!"
"Remember, each bushel must be taken to the washing station in the processing wing on the third floor!"
"Plows-
"Can be found-"
"At A2!"
Thalia watched the last three gods glare at each other. It reminded her of Roszí, Ianthe, and Nico. She made a mental note of it. If she could use those gods... they obviously knew the palace pretty well...
"Track me," Thalia whispered. "I'll get the location of Nico and Alabaster from them. Ianthe, you grab Nico, and, Roszí, you do Alabaster. I'll figure out where they put Nico's sword and shield. We'll meet by Lady Artemis's chariot." Roszí and Ianthe nodded and slipped out of sight. Once the coast was clear, Thalia walked up to the gods with her best smile. "Hi! My name is Thalia, I'm new here. Can you show me where the washing station is?"
"Certainly!" all twelve of them said together.
"We are the-"
"-twelve gods of the harvest!"
"Conditor, he who stores the grain!"
"Convector, he who carries the grain!"
"Messor, he who reaps!"
"Imporcitor, he who plows with a wide furrow!"
"Thank you, but I don't-"
"Insitor, he who plants seeds!"
"Obarator, he who traces the first plowing!"
"Occator, he who harrows!"
"Promitor, he who distributes the grain!"
"Yes, this is all very interesting, but-"
"Reparator, he who prepares the earth!"
"Serritor, he who digs!"
"Subruncinator, he who weeds!"
"Vervactor, he who plows!"
"Great!" Thalia said through gritted teeth. "Can you show me around now?"
She followed the twelve gods into the palace. They walked in unison, like foosball men spinning together on metal poles. Once Dea Dia and her reception desk was out of sight, she spoke.
"I heard a son of Pluto passed through here. But I'm sure that's just a rumor."
"No-"
"-he spoke to Lady Ceres!"
"Oh." Thalia did her best to sound afraid. "That's so scary! Didn't Pluto take-"
"Despoina Proserpine?"
"Yes!"
Thalia gasped. "How could Lady Ceres speak to him?!"
"Despoina Proserpine sent him!"
"But don't worry-"
"-we locked him up!"
Thalia sighed in fake relief. "I didn't even know we had a place to do that."
"We do!"
"In the prison wing!"
"Basement-"
"-next to the bathrooms!"
A shadow scurried away.
One down, one to go.
"A son of Hecate-"
"-went with him!"
"He is in the cells-"
"-but the nice ones!"
That was easy.
A second shadow scurried away.
Now, to get out of here.
"I have a question," Thalia said. "So-" She did her best to remember the names of the three bickering gods. "Um, I remember... Imporcitor! Obarator! And... Vervactor! You guys all said that you were plowing gods, right? Why are there three plowing gods?"
They stopped walking. She knew she'd gotten the root of their bickering right when nine gods exchanged worried looks. Three gods gleefully answered Thalia at the same time, with the same response:
"Because I'm the most important!"
In unison, nine gods smacked themselves on the forehead. The other three turned to each other, shouting the same thing:
"No, you're not! I am! I'm the best plowing god!"
Her plan worked. With the gods distracted, she slipped away and followed the signs down to the prison wing. When she arrived, there were four arrows:
Cells
Nice Cells
Bathroom
Weapons Closet
Thalia followed the sign to the weapons. It was a tiny broom closet. Rather than coats, weapons hung off the rod, each with a detachable, plastic hook. Thalia started shuffling through the mess of celestial bronze and imperial gold, when-
"The son of Hades will not receive his sword, Hunter."
Thalia spun around, an arrow already in her bow. She fired in an instant, hitting whoever that was in the heart. Golden ichor poured from her wound.
Dea Dia.
"You didn't think we left our most precious bargaining chip undefended, did you?" she asked in clipped tones. Thalia notched another arrow and shot her in her stupid mouth. Dea Dia laughed despite the ichor falling from her lips. She whistled. "Get her, Lord Picus."
Something hit Thalia's cheek like a bullet. A flash of brown appeared in front of her and looked for another opening. Thalia drew her knife and swiped, but the woodpecker was too fast. As she dodged Picus, Dea Dia pulled out a scythe, Demeter's scythe, and entered the fray. Thalia caught it with her knife just in time, then pushed her back with a kick to the stomach. Picus rammed his beak into Thalia's stomach, sending her spiraling backward. She grit her teeth. The little bird had a bite in him.
"You sent the blizzard, didn't you?!" Thalia shouted. "You've been trying to stall us the entire time! You've been whispering in Ceres' ear, trying to convince her to go against her daughter! You're working for Hecate!"
Dea Dia laughed again as she swiped with her scythe. Thalia side-stepped, narrowly missing the blade inches from her neck. Without time to notch another arrow, she stepped out of range of the scythe and threw her hunting knife at the goddess's forehead. Now Dea Dia had three fatal wounds, but her strength remained.
"Do you know what this is, daughter of Zeus?" the goddess crooned, holding up her scythe as Picus kept Thalia occupied. "Ceres entrusts her symbol of power to me, her most trusted assistant, when she returns to Olympus. It is the first weapon, created by Gaea. This scythe slew Ouranos and Kronos alike. It is used for cutting wheat now, but it still packs a punch far greater than any other blade."
Now without a knife, Thalia held Aegis against her attacker. She dodged blow after blow, hoping to tire her out before her knife reappeared at her side, but it wasn't working. The scythe latched onto her shield and, before she could stop it, Aegis was ripped from her hands and clamored to the floor.
Picus struck her in the knee and Thalia lurched forward. Dea Dia landed her first blow-she hit Thalia square in the chest with the back of the scythe. The blade hurt worse than Alastor's had. She crumpled to the floor, praying for a miracle. This was how she would die. At the hands of a low-level garden goddess.
For once, the gods answered her prayers. The ground split open below her feet. Two skeletal warriors pulled themselves from the fissure and pinned Dea Dia to the floor. Picus flew to his mistress's side and pecked at the bones, but he couldn't kill what was already dead. Thalia stood with her bow and shot at her, helped along by a second set of arrows a few feet to her left.
"I asked for snow," Dea Dia snarled, "But I did not send the blizzard."
Before Thalia could ask what that meant, Dea Dia disappeared in a blinding flash of light, leaving behind nothing more than the smell of freshly cut grass. Picus chirped, more threatening than a woodpecker had the right to be, and flew away, back to Triptolemus. The skeletal warriors melted back into the earth. She took Nico's hand and stood up. "Thanks, death boy. Guess I owe you two, now."
"One," Nico corrected. "You broke me out of prison."
Thalia grabbed Nico's sword from the closet as Ianthe spoke. "Roszí and Alabaster already made it to the border. We should go before anyone else catches us."
"I can shadow travel. It's short enough."
They arose inches from Lady Artemis's silver chariot. Nico took one look at Lady Artemis, then fell like his legs were made of jelly. "Nico!" Thalia cried. She had a flashback to the last time that happened. Her heart started pounding. Had Elladora not gotten all the poison out? Did Ceres poison him?
"It's hard for a half-blood to shadow travel. It must be nearly impossible for a full mortal to," Ianthe assured her.
Thalia breathed a sigh of relief. Her Lady looked at her quizzically but said nothing. Alabaster took Nico in his arms and carried him onto the silver chariot. They laid him down on the bench until Ianthe revived him. Nico sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked around, bewildered until he officially came to.
"I can shadow travel," he growled. Roszí and Ianthe rolled their eyes.
"Remember thy leg, boy. Thou hast less strength than thou presumes."
"Quiet," Lady Artemis commanded. It was nice not to be the only one who knew why Nico was acting the way he was. "You cannot shadow-travel to camp as a mortal. Your only ticket home is with me. Now get into my carriage or I will send for the wolves."
"Wolves, please," Nico mumbled, but he was still too weak to stand up. The silver deer launched themselves into the sky, heading east towards camp.
"I am proud of you girls," Lady Artemis said. "I feared Persephone expected too much, but, as I have learned time and time again, I should never underestimate my Hunters. You have saved the world from destruction."
"Temporarily," Nico grumbled. Everyone in the chariot shot a look at Nico. He met Thalia's eye and withered with guilt, yet he refused to say another word. Alabaster leaned over and said something under his breath, but Nico shook his head, crossed his arms, and turned his back on all of them. Lady Artemis's eyes flashed with pity, no doubt remembering Bianca, but it was gone as soon as it came.
"We temporarily avoid the end of the world every day. Only the Fates and Delphi know what the future holds. Assume nothing. And, Alabaster C. Torrington, Nico di Angelo-" Nico huffed at his name, but everyone ignored him. "-you did well."
"For men?" Nico shot back.
"No."
The six of them sat in silence for a while, watching the stars flicker. When Thalia glanced at him, she saw Nico staring at a constellation: a Hunter with a bow and arrow running across the sky. He refused to cry, but he was close. She sat down next to him and punched him in the arm. He looked at her, then his eyes fell on his lap.
"Did we do it, Nico? Did we make peace?"
Nico smiled without looking up. "Yeah, we did it, Thalia."
END NOTES
This week's beta commentary:
STORY: "Every darkness has some light," she would say.
LISSY: I love how it's basically become accepted fanon that Maria di Angelo pulled out random fortune cookie Dove wrapper mumbo jumbo on a daily basis.
Credits:
Melody Rose - Author ( .com)
Oli - Beta Reader ( .com)
Suhalia - Beta Reader ( users/milkandtahoney/)
Please comment so I know what you think! See you tomorrow!
Credits:
Melody Rose - Author (Tumblr melody0rose)
Oli - Beta Reader (Tumblr paradoxicalpsychic)
Suhalia - Beta Reader (Archive Of Our Own users/milkandtahoney/)
Please comment so I know what you think! See you tomorrow!
COMMENTS
FestusGirl
Sorry for not leaving any reviews lately. My life is so busy right now, it's crazy. This will probably be my last review. I will still read it, and I will always love it, but I won't review anymore. So for now, this is goodbye
It's totally fine, I get it! And I'll be sad to see you stop reviewing, but I understand. Goodbye for now!
ShadeFireDragon
Ye, at least I got a fanfic idea, so thanks. But why must you keep hurting Nico XP He used to be so innocent...
Hey, I didn't take his innocence away, Uncle Rick did. I thought it was obvious why I hurt Nico: it's fun. And how else can I get my daily/weekly servings of tears?