Disclaimer: Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Trials of Apollo, Heroes of Olympus, The Vampire Diaries, and The Originals do not belong to me.
English is not my native language, so I apologize for the mistakes I might have.
I also apologize for taking so long to post this chapter; this semester of college has left me without time for anything, but I hope to be able to update more recently now that it's almost over. Enjoy!
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Chapter 18
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The Forbes' picnic brought multiple complications to the residents of Mystic Falls, specially to the supernatural side of it, in an unexpected manner. The morning after her cousin arrived, Percy Jackson found herself in the middle of the Salvatore's Boarding House, listening to them prepare for Elena to move into the house with them; all for her safety, but there were things that the demigoddess couldn't comprehend.
"But that doesn't make any sense," Percy made her thoughts known. "We were there, Elijah and I, and there was no way that Klaus could've also been there."
Not with Mr. Darcy on the scene, at least, and the reason the suit-wearing Original (and, consequently, her) was forced to leave was because of his presence.
"Well, even if he wasn't, he managed to send a message through," Stefan answered without turning back to look at her, his hands clutching the papers he'd have his girlfriend sign, so the house would be at her name and no other vampire could enter without her consent. "He's here in town, it's just a matter of time before he makes his presence even more known."
Damon continued for him, moving to offer the demigoddess a glass of bourbon. "Just a matter of time before he attacks. Elena needs all the protection she can get, especially now."
After Percy rejected the drink Damon offered her, he shrugged, remembering that she never accepted any alcoholic beverage he offered her, and moved to sit by her side on the couch, drowning his glass in one long gulp.
"It's seven am, why are you drinking?"
Before Damon could open his mouth to give a sarcastic remark, Stefan answered for him. "He's stressed, and alcohol subdues the bloodlust."
He finally looked up from the papers, sighing as he moved to sit in the table in front of the demigoddess and in front of his brother, watching them carefully as he did so. When he spoke, his voice portrayed how exhausted and worried he actually felt, "Elena's scared."
And for once, the demigoddess could understand what the doppelgänger must've felt in that moment. Compassion filled her senses, she found herself biting her lower lip as she thought of a way to express herself without revealing too much. Having to be careful with her words around them was starting to get annoying, but, no matter how much she tried to come clean to them and tell them her story, she couldn't ignore the fear that came with such vulnerability.
Damon seemed to read her thoughts, because he guided his free hand to her face, carefully pressing his thumb against the lip she'd been biting, "Stop that," He told her, "It's sexy."
She found herself unable not to chuckle at that, though she moved his finger away and settled for crossing her arms over her chest. "Klaus wanted to torment her, her fear was all he wanted to achieve by dedicating her a song. I've seen that tactic before and it's ridiculous, but monsters of the such literally thrive when they receive any kind of reaction related to fear."
"We know," Stefan and Damon said together, to then share a brief look.
"It doesn't necessarily mean he's going to attack soon," She concluded carefully, not knowing if her experience with immortals from her world could be relevant to the immortal hybrid's plans; she didn't know how his mind worked. "It just means he wants to implant fear onto you all."
"Which is why, as a precaution, we're having Elena move in with us," Damon repeated, considering how complicated their lives would become with the doppelgänger in the house. It was hard enough to be around her on a daily basis, he couldn't begin to comprehend how painful it would be to live with her and watch her fall for Stefan every day.
"She'll be safer here," Stefan continued, though he shared Damon's concern. He was aware of how complicated things could get with his girlfriend living under their same roof; he liked having some privacy, some time for brooding, but with Elena on the house (and Damon too), he wouldn't have time for himself.
"No vampire could enter the house without her consent," Percy thought it was a clever idea of them, though she wasn't excited about it. She knew that as soon as the doppelgänger arrived, she wouldn't be able to spend time with them as she usually did.
"For now, we need to make sure she doesn't do anything harsh; like contact Klaus behind our backs-"
"I don't understand how her mind works," Percy whispered under her breath, though perfectly aware that her friends were very much capable of hearing her. "There are four vampires, a witch, a vampire-hunter, and several mortals protecting her, and she still wants to play the martyr. Why would she do that?"
The Salvatore brothers shared a small look, though they had no answer to her words. There were times in which both brothers questioned the same about the doppelgänger's mind, but there was no time to dwell on those thoughts; they had preparations to make.
"We could handcuff her to the bed," Damon slammed his empty glass into the table where his brother was sitting, deciding to follow his brother's trail of thought about his girlfriend going behind their backs to the hybrid.
"That's extremely inappropriate," Percy snorted, noticing how Stefan's face portrayed annoyance at the things his brother suggested with his girlfriend, "-but, it might as well work."
"And best of all, it could be fun," Damon said wickedly.
Stefan rolled his eyes, "You always have such a great way to talk about my girlfriend, brother," and the handsome green-eyed vampire then turned to look at their mortal friend, "Anyways, Percy, we've been talking about our problems ever since you arrived. How are you?"
Before she could answer, Damon interrupted them with a click of his tongue, and he waved a reprimanding finger in his brother's direction. "Don't let him fool you, goddess, goodie-two-shoes Stefan here is being nosey and wants to know who's the boy that stayed the night at your house."
Stefan protested immediately, looking offended as he rolled his eyes. "You're the one that wanted to know that, Damon."
"I know you both want to know," Percy laughed at them, finding the confirmation she needed when they turned to look at her sheepishly. "Nico's an old friend."
"Oh. An old friend," Damon made a hand gesture that made Stefan groan in disgust, but that the young teenager didn't understand.
"I don't know what that-" She gestured to his hands, "-was, but I imagine, and I'll just tell you: you're disgusting."
Damon took it as a compliment, grinning sarcastically in her direction. "I know, thank you."
Stefan started to smirk, and asked: "Is he though? A friend of yours?", which made his mortal friend turn to look at him in surprise, not having expected a question of the such to come out of him; but Damon, who knew how his brother was, only laughed.
"You two are something else- stalkers, for instance," The raven-haired girl rolled her eyes, though she wasn't as concerned as she used to be with the lack of privacy that came with being neighbor to vampires. "But if you two really want to know, he's not an old friend, he's my cousin."
Both vampires looked disappointed at the answer, having expected something more interesting to come out of their conversation.
They'd seen many people stay at the Jackson's house through the months, most of whom they eventually got to meet, but never had a boy stayed in her same room, for which they had thought that perhaps it was a boyfriend (or a special friend) of hers.
"He stayed in your room, though," Damon pointed out, smugly. "Cousins or not, that's not appropriate, so spill, goddess. How naughty is your family-?"
Percy placed a hand on his mouth, completely disgusted. "I'm going to have to stop you right there, Damon. First of all, I would never-" She stopped herself, remembering that she couldn't say she would never fool around with a family member, because, technically, the sun god was her cousin. Not to mention that her immortal family was extremely sexual with one another.
Stefan's eyes portrayed his amusement at the situation. It was nice to have some sort of distraction from his concern for his girlfriend and their friends. He said, "The fact that you stopped mid-sentence is worrying, Percy," in a teasing tone that he usually never used anymore; there were too many things going on for him to be able to. He couldn't remember the last time he had gone to The Grill with his friends to chill- lately it was only to plan, scheme, and stalk possible threats.
Percy shook her head and continued. "Nico was allowed to stay in my room because he's a kid, and because, as I've said before, my cousin."
Damon, growing impatient with her hand over his mouth, did what anyone would do in said situation. He licked her palm from one side to the other, relishing on the disgusted groan that his actions got him. She wiped her palm over his shirt, groaning and insulting him as she did, her young face morphed into a grimace of disgust.
"Seriously, dude?"
Stefan chuckled at her reaction, while his older brother bluntly laughed out loud. "You played yourself right there," The green-eyed vampire told her, "After all, you had your hand over his mouth."
"Because I wanted him to stop talking, not because I wanted him to put his dirty tongue on me," She protested.
Suddenly, Damon's arm came to wrap itself on the demigoddess' shoulders, pulling her towards him so that their faces were dangerously close to one another. Startled, she blinked at him, all while Stefan watched with curiosity, not expecting that move from his brother.
"Don't pretend, goddess," Damon purred, his voice low and seductive. "You know you're dying to have my dirty tongue on you."
Her heart skipped a beat, because she wasn't completely immune to his charms when he used that specific tone of voice with her- she was, after all, a hormonal teenager- but to pretend, she rolled her eyes at him and pushed him off her. Amused, and having noticed the effect he had on her, Damon's hands moved to passionately grab her face and pull it towards his own, pretending to move in for a kiss, which made her laugh and push him off once more before it could accidentally happen.
"You're disgusting," Percy repeated, though this time there was a barely hidden edge of fondness on her voice.
"But you still love me," Damon winked at her, settling down and leaning against the couch once more.
"Right," Percy said, sounding not really convinced, which made Stefan laugh and Damon roll his eyes, though a small smirk covered his lips.
Truth was, the old blue-eyed vampire felt relieved that his friend hadn't denied that she cared about him. He was still hurt from the time that Elena made him believe his love for her was the main problem they were facing- it was something he couldn't forget easily, not when he loved her as much as he did. It was refreshing to know there were other people that appreciated his affections, even if it was only the annoying kid next door that he had begrudgingly grown to care for, too.
"So, your cousin," Stefan went back to their previous topic. "Is he...like you?"
"What do you mean 'like me'?" Percy knew what he meant, but she had decided it was safer to play dumb instead of defensive every time someone hinted at wanting to know what species she was; that way, she wouldn't portray how paranoid she was, and no one could use it against her.
Stefan pursed his lips, though he knew her enough to know she was pretending not to understand. He sought the right words out very carefully, not wanting to offend or anger her when they were having such a pleasant time. When he found a proper way to ask, he shared a small look with his brother before daring to speak: "What I meant to ask was: is your cousin the same as you, your blonde friend, and the witch that helped us?"
"You mean my friends," Percy tilted her head to the side. "Annabeth and Hazel."
Stefan nodded, waiting for her to elaborate. On the other hand, Damon looked curious at the mention of the beautiful blonde girl he had tormented in the past, remembering how frightening and alluring he had found her that one time he met her; and the other girl, the one that broke the spells connecting both doppelgängers, she had been fairly young, but had also an air of sophisticated beauty that was hard to forget.
"Hazel isn't the kind of witch you two are familiar with, but to answer your question: yes. Nico's one of us- and he's also Hazel's brother."
"But that would mean that Hazel is also your cousin," Stefan looked deep in thought; when he snapped out of it, he met Percy's eyes. "You have a lot of family."
Percy found herself unable not to smile. You have no idea, buddy.
Damon eyed both of them, then dared to speak his thoughts. "Why is it that all the friends you bring into town end up being related to you?"
Stefan followed that trail of thought. "Wait, does that mean Annabeth is also related to you?"
Percy didn't see how it could harm her to be truthful about that, for which she nodded. "She's also a cousin. All of us are related in some way, but that's nothing you two should concern yourselves with. It's complicated and also, a story for another time."
"You have a lot of family," Stefan repeated, shrugging.
All of us are related in some way. Damon thought about his theory regarding ancient gods and their offspring, remembering how the gods were related to each other in a macabre, incestuous way, but he had to close his eyes to collect his thoughts, because what he was thinking about was just impossible.
Those stories about gods and their offspring were just myths- tales that old people created to explain natural phenomenon such as earthquakes, the sunset, and the sea. Percy Jackson was not a myth, she was real. Damon found himself moving his hand towards her to make sure, even for just a moment, that she was real and that his thoughts weren't rational.
Not understanding the reason behind Damon's gentle touch on her hand, but not feeling bothered by it, the demigoddess simply offered him a small smile and returned the gentle touch with a reassuring squeeze.
The blue-eyed vampire was worried he'd gone too far trying to discover what she was; he didn't want her to think that all he cared was about that, because, truth was, he was content with the little things she had confided in him through the months, because it portrayed that she trusted him- that their friendship was real. But sometimes, like that moment, he allowed himself to be impulsive and let his curiosity to be shown, damaging everything he'd carefully tried to build with her.
But the best thing was, Percy didn't seem to notice what he had been thinking, which allowed him to relax briefly.
"I should head back home. It's almost time for school."
The demigoddess kissed Damon's cheek gently as a goodbye, to then move to do the same with Stefan, who couldn't help but notice the soft smile that graced Damon's face at her actions, and the way he watched her move around the living room as though it was the only thing worth watching there.
"Have dinner with us tonight." Stefan offered after a small shared-look with his brother.
Elena Gilbert would be there too, (that, if things went as planned and she moved in that same day with them), but both girls would just have to grow used to each other's company. They didn't have to like each other- Stefan and Damon knew that wasn't happening anytime soon- but they wanted them to at least try to be cordial to one another for the sake of their friendship.
Percy smiled at the offer, nodding in agreement without any hesitation, having grown used to spending almost all of her time with them.
Damon continued, "Great! I'll go to the store to buy food-coloring, because for some weird reason you love blue food."
The demigoddess smiled at them. Once, she had mentioned to the blue-eyed vampire that she liked how his food tasted (Stefan's food tasted good, but she preferred the touch that Damon gave his food, it was different), which made him invite her over every time he was planning on cooking.
"You don't have to do that," Percy waved aside his words, chuckling. "You're always spoiling me!"
"And so what? I'm not going to stop, and you know you love my food."
"What I do not like is your ego, which keeps getting bigger and bigger-"
"You'll get used to it," Stefan smirked at the look his brother sent him. "It's the one thing that never changes about him."
"Your cousin can come too," Damon added. He couldn't deny his curiosity about the kid his friend mentioned, and deep down, he wanted to see if he could find something on him to disregard his theory of the ancient gods and their half-god children.
Stefan, not knowing that his brother had an ulterior motive, nodded. "Of course, the more the merrier."
"We'll be here," Percy said her last goodbye, then walked out of the Salvatore's Boarding House and towards her own home.
...
When the daughter of Poseidon arrived on her own house, just a few minutes later, she found that her family had finished breakfast, and that, judging by the sounds echoing through the second floor, Paul was getting dressed.
She closed the door behind her back and made her way towards the kitchen, where she could hear her mother turning down Nico's offer to help them clean the dishes.
"Really ma'am, it's no trouble," Nico said politely as he helped her carry the remaining dishes towards the sink. "Don't hesitate to put me to work, I don't want to seem like an ungrateful guest here, and helping around is nice."
"Nico, you're an absolute sweetheart," Sally smiled him in her usual, motherly, way, "Thank you, dear, but that won't be necessary."
Melancholic for the mother he couldn't remember, Nico blushed and offered her a tentative smile. No matter how much time he spent in camp, surrounded by caring people and other friendly campers, he could never get used to people showing him kindness without expecting something in return. However, his surprise grew- as did the warm feeling on his chest- when Paul came back to the kitchen, nodding in agreement of his wife's words, and friendly patted him on the shoulder as he walked past them.
"You're so cute. I knew you still had in you some trace of the sweet boy I met all those years ago," Percy teased him as she stood by the table and smiled at her parents, who seemed relived she had come back in time for Paul to leave for school; her parents didn't want her to have to go through the trouble of asking the neighbors or one of her mortal friends to give her a lift to school.
The son of Hades threw her a look that portrayed his dislike for the comparison she made, though it only made the daughter of Poseidon smile to herself. "Please, don't."
It felt nice to have a memory that wasn't painful to remember, and recalling that first time she met the di Angelo siblings certainly made her feel amused.
Percy simply offered a small smile at him, though it didn't reach her eyes. Her fondness had soon morphed into melancholy as she remembered Bianca di Angelo, and the broken promise that came with her death; along with the pain that it caused the young boy in front of her.
"You were so excited to meet us," She recalled softly, almost fondly, "You were so happy to discover we were demigods."
Nico's young face grew somber. "Believe me, if I had known back then about all the problems that being demigods would bring us- I wouldn't have been as excited as I was."
"On a similar topic," Percy sighed deeply, trying to find the right words to express herself in a way she hadn't been able to the previous night. "Nico, I-I'm sorry to involve you in this new mess that I have with the originals. I know that's not the reason you came to town."
"Do you want to know why I came to town?"
Not expecting him to want to talk about that so soon, the green-eyed girl could only nod.
"I came to town because I missed you," Nico seemed only partially uncomfortable expressing himself, which was already a gigantic change of character for him. "And because Chiron wanted me to check on you, but it's mostly because I was going fucking insane stuck in camp with everyone else."
Percy chuckled. "That sounds more like you- and like Chiron."
Nico continued, rolling his eyes at her words, though amusement danced on his dark eyes. "It's nice to be away from everyone for a little while. Mystic Falls isn't the place I could've thought of going to, but it will have to do. But to appease your concern, I don't mind helping you find the missing leeches, I'm actually curious about them."
The daughter of Poseidon didn't know what startled her more about his words, though she found herself proud of his character development; he had never called her a friend before; but what she couldn't shake about her words was the fact that the old centaur (who was supposed to trust her) was worried about her.
"I should've called Chiron," She looked embarrassed, "I just forgot, I didn't want him to be worried about me."
Nico smiled a little, something different coming from him. "I think that he's always going to worry about us, even when he knows we're fine, because he cares." And at the curious look he received, he was forced to explain himself, "Listen, just because I need a little time away from Camp doesn't mean that I don't like it. It's a good place, and... it's not as bad as I thought it would be."
"I told you- years ago," Percy crossed her arms over her chest. "You should've listened to me from the beginning instead of running away."
"And you should've been smarter enough to know not to stay here after seeing how fucking crowded of monsters this town is, but that's another conversation to have. About Elijah, he's coming to bring us an object to locate his siblings, isn't he?"
Reluctantly, Percy nodded. "I don't know exactly when-"
"If he arrives before you're done with school, I'll deal with him," Nico said immediately, knowing that it would fall into his shoulders to protect her family while she was occupied. "I'll keep him away from your mother, I imagine she doesn't know what's going on, does she?"
"Elijah doesn't know someone else will be with me on this mission-" Percy bit her lower lip, concerned and pushing aside the fact that she was keeping secrets from her mother when she never did that before. "I don't know how he'll react."
Nico wasn't particularly worried. "I'm sure he'll be relieved to know that there are two demigods on his side that will find his lost siblings before his insane brother actually throws them at sea or does something worse to them. So, relax, seaweed brain. I can deal with him. You, on the other hand, need to go to school, pretend like it's a normal day so that your little mortal friend doesn't notice anything wrong and alerts the hybrid."
"Oh, fuck," Percy sighed. "I forgot about Emma."
Nico frowned. "Just be careful; not only of your mortal friend, but also for those two vampires next door. For all we know, it could be anyone around town."
Gods' warnings weren't always as straightforward as necessary, sometimes they ended up meaning the complete opposite of what demigods thought, and there were other people around town she considered nice and carelessly cataloged as "friends" even though they didn't spend much time together after school.
It could be either one of those, or none of them, and that was what she hated the most about those vague warnings that deities gave to demigods- it was impossible to know for certain what it was referring to until the moment it happened, when it was too late.
"Don't think about it too much-" Nico started, then his eyes took an interested gleam when he realized the following: "The warning says there's a new danger coming to town, one you'll mistake as a friend; doesn't that mean you should be wary of me, too?"
Percy's concerns were pushes away by the amusement she felt by her friend's sarcastic statement. She snorted and crossed her arms over her chest, saying a: "I've always been cautious of you, death-breath, you're extremely frightening on a daily basis, that's not new," that seemed to amuse the other demigod.
"That's actually the nicest thing you've ever said to me, kelp brain, I'm touched."
Percy chuckled. "It's nice to have you back, di Angelo."
...
Through the whole day, the demigoddess managed to push her thoughts aside and concentrate on her classes, though she couldn't stop wondering about the son of Hades' possible encounter with the second oldest original vampire. She knew that Nico was one of the most dangerous demigods to exist, for which she was conscious of the fact that she shouldn't be worried about his safety when dealing with vampires, but no matter how much she reminded herself of his abilities, she was still concerned.
At lunchtime, she was almost trembling with the need to go back home to check on her mother and cousin, but there were still two classes left, and one of them was English with her stepfather, which made it impossible for her to skip without her parents knowing.
As she was passing through the multiple tables on the cafeteria, looking for her friends, she heard a familiar voice behind her back, "Jackson, wait," just when she caught a glimpse of Emma Darcy sitting by herself on their usual table. As though feeling her eyes on her person, Emma looked up and met her gaze, an unusual smirk covering her lips as she waved. Not thinking much of it, Percy waved back at her before acknowledging the person that had greeted her first.
The raven-haired girl turned. In one of the tables to her right, Elena and her gang observed her in a distinct way that could only mean trouble.
Percy raised her eyebrows and said, "Hi, Elena. What's up?", while watching carefully the reaction her friends seemed to have; it was as though they expected both girls to tear at each other's throat. She had no idea what the doppelgänger could want, but since she constantly found accusations to throw at her, Percy expected the worse.
The smug smirk that covered Elena's lips served as a proof for Percy's thoughts. "I was right about you all along."
The demigoddess rolled her eyes. Here we go again. Crossing her arms over her jacket, the green-eyed girl met the doppelgänger's gaze, and with a sarcastically curious voice she said, "Would you be so kind as to elaborate on what the fuck you're talking about?"
Elena continued, "I know you're working for the originals," and for a split second, Percy's heart dropped, but then the younger girl continued, appeasing the demigoddess' paranoia, "-and the fact that Klaus made his presence at the picnic known right when you left is all the proof I needed to unmask you."
For a small moment, Percy didn't know how to address the situation.
The first statement was true, because she was working with Elijah (not for), but she had nothing to do with Klaus' actions at the picnic. She didn't even know he was there- in fact, he wasn't even supposed to be at the picnic, considering that Mr. Darcy and Emma were also there.
"Elena," Percy started, "You have no idea what you're talking about, and it used to be amusing, but now it's just sad."
"We all saw you arrive and leave with Elijah Mikaelson," Elena exploded, nerves rattled ever since the previous night when Klaus went as far as to dedicate her a song in the middle of a party that was supposed to be safe.
"I'm not your enemy, Elena," Percy couldn't keep the exasperation out of her voice. "I believe it's about time you understand that the fact that I don't like you doesn't mean that I want you dead."
"You're not normal," Elena stressed, shaking her head and crossing her hands over her chest. "Maybe Damon and Stefan can see through that and somehow blindly trust you, but I cannot- and will not- ignore the fact that you're a danger to this town."
Percy observed carefully the other girl. "What exactly is it about me that makes me dangerous to this town, Elena? Can you answer me that, or do you not have a concrete answer other than your delusional thoughts about everyone that isn't your friend wanting to inevitably harm you?"
"Like Elena said, you're not normal," Bonnie interrupted them both before the doppelgänger could speak for herself.
Glancing in the witch's direction, the demigoddess was not surprised to see the unreserved look of disgust that was thrown in her direction. Behind their backs, Caroline remained sitting on the bench, her attention fixated on them, though she made no indication of desiring to voice her thoughts on the matter.
"Your abilities are unlike any other I've heard of," Bonnie continued with narrowed eyes. "Not to mention that my spells don't do anything to you."
"Your magic is extremely different to the magic from my world," Percy explained with a careless shrug, "-what you call an aneurysm spell, I consider a tickling one." She paused for a moment, to allow her words to weigh on them, but at the look that crossed the young witch's face, she added a: "I'm sure you're powerful for a Mystic Falls witch, Bonnie, but you're just not comparable to the other witches I've met in my life."
There was also the fact that the spells Bonnie attempted to use on her were spells that she reserved for supernatural creatures such as vampires, werewolves, and other witches. Spells of the such didn't have a direct effect on the green-eyed girl because, despite her status as the daughter of a Greek god, she was still half-mortal.
"That's exactly what makes you dangerous," Elena pointed out, shaking her head as a look of distrust crossed her features. "No one is supposed to be that immune to those things. It's not normal."
The demigoddess was starting to lose her short patience. There were things she needed to do that were far more important than bickering with a stubborn girl that that thought she knew everything just because she had a small glimpse of the real world.
In an unusual way, Percy could at last understand their point of view and the reason for them to react towards her in such a way: they were afraid of all that they couldn't understand. Vampires, werewolves, and witches were no more than a tiny part of the supernatural, but they were also the only species that Bonnie and Elena were aware of. When she came into town, bearing more strength than a vampire and being unaffected by a witch's spell, it must have frightened them to no end.
"You can't be afraid of all that's unknown to you, Elena," Percy said at last, looking straight into her eyes for a moment, to then do the same with the witch at the girl's side. "None of you should. Most of the time, unknown doesn't equal danger."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Elena crossed her arms over her chest, uncomfortable.
"It means that I'm not your enemy," Percy hissed, growing impatient. She was the least of the doppelgänger's problems at the moment. The full moon was approaching- Percy knew that Klaus would act upon his plans soon, for his spell could only be broken during a full moon.
Bonnie scoffed and walked away, having grown tired of the conversation already. The demigoddess wished she could have the choice to walk away too, because she could see her friend Emma waiting for her a few tables away, observing their encounter with an edge of curiosity, but the doppelgänger's heavy stare allowed her to realize she wouldn't give up until she had made her point clear.
Percy directed an apologetical look towards Emma's direction, something that only seemed to amuse the petite girl; she smirked in the demigoddess direction, interested with the conversation she secretly eavesdropped on. The Original hybrid hadn't been aware of the mutual dislike between his doppelgänger and the famous demigoddess that resided in his town- it was a curious thing, almost interesting even, and he wondered if perhaps it was something he could use to his advantage.
Caroline stood from her place and approached them, her sweet voice catching the attention of both girls. "We have bigger things to worry about with Klaus being in town, Elena. You need to keep the green-monster at bay before it causes you even more trouble than it already has."
Emma raised an eyebrow, finding interesting how the beautiful, blonde vampire seemed to be level-headed enough to know when to reprehend her own best friend. He had thought all of Elena's friends tended to take her side on things even when she was wrong. It was refreshing to realize some of those teenagers were more mature than he had expected.
Elena scoffed in Caroline's direction, annoyance crossing her features. "This has nothing to do with jealousy, Caroline. This is about-"
Caroline rolled her eyes, acknowledging then that Elena was too stubborn to recognize how unreasonable she was being, not to mention that jealousy was blinding her.
In her opinion, there was no reason for them to worry about the green-eyed teenage girl in front of them. She had behaved well towards them, even helping them with their Katherine problem- but Elena didn't see those things, all she could recall was how she had threatened Damon and Stefan when she first arrived into town.
"This has everything to do with Damon and Stefan, as always," Caroline huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
She couldn't understand what happened to the kind, happy, and compassionate girl that she once called her best friend. When she looked at Elena, she couldn't see anything of her old self there, just this new person that had grown to believe everyone was out to get her, someone that thought the whole world revolved around her. It hurt the blonde vampire to realize how much her friend had changed ever since her parents died and the Salvatore brothers entered her life. They really damaged her.
"Caroline-" Elena started, wondering if she had caused the sudden sadness she could see on her friend's face.
"No, Elena. This isn't you."
And with that, the blonde vampire walked away, leaving behind three pair of curious eyes.
Percy sighed and waved a hand through her hair, exasperated with how out of control their conversation had become. Earlier that morning, she had promised the Salvatore brothers she would make sure that the was no indication of the hybrid being at school or somewhere close to the doppelgänger- but after their small argument, she couldn't bring herself enough to care about the other girl's well-being. It wasn't her responsibility, she had more important things to do; she didn't want to deal with an immature, stubborn child.
"Your friend is right," The demigoddess observed her reaction carefully, trying to assume what she was thinking about. "You're not scared of me because you think I could be dangerous, you're scared because Damon and Stefan care about me, and, in your opinion, they have never seemed to care about someone that wasn't you."
The truth of those words seemed to shake Elena, for which she took a step backwards and couldn't hide the small gasp that left her mouth.
"How dare you say that?" Elena gaped at her, "Damon-"
There it was, Percy thought in disbelief, that was the issue that bothered Elena.
It wasn't even about Stefan (her boyfriend) anymore, it was about the brother she had sworn she could never, ever, love; the brother she had destroyed multiple times in the past by making him believe he was unlovable. She didn't seem to be bothered about Klaus' actions the previous night, nor about the fact that she had seen Percy and Elijah arrive and leave the picnic together. It was Damon who plagued her thoughts.
"Damon is your boyfriend's brother," Percy pointed out with as much strength on her voice as she could.
"I know what he is to me, but what is he to you?"
Percy sighed. Not this again.
It had been the same back in Camp Half-Blood when she became Apollo's friend (though with the god it had been a valid accusation since their friendship eventually grew into more- but with the vampire she had no such intention) and it annoyed her to no end. Her stepfather had made the same assumption a while before, questioning innocently if she was seeing one of the Salvatore brothers. It was an exasperating topic that Percy disliked discussing because no matter what she said, people didn't seem to believe her. There was nothing- and there would never be- between them.
But Elena had been clear about one thing: she loved Stefan and not Damon, so why was she acting as though she were jealous?
The demigoddess couldn't understand, it seemed unnatural that she (or anyone) could have feelings for both brothers at the same time.
"I have to ask, because it certainly doesn't look like a friendship to me," Elena swallowed thickly as she remembered all the times Damon had chosen the green-eyed girl over her in the past few months, not being able to hide how much it hurt her to acknowledge that her vampire seemed to have his affections on someone else. "He looks at you like he cares. And he has never cared much about someone other than himself."
Percy tilted her head to the side, "He has never seemed to care about someone other than you, don't you mean?"
Elena looked away, pursing her lips as she sighed, irritation crossing her pretty features.
"This is wrong, Elena," Percy said at last, unable to stop herself from sounding disapproving. "You're behaving like Katherine, and it's only going to hurt both of them."
Something different crossed the doppelgänger's features, a different gleam that worried the demigoddess to a great extent, but she was swift to push those thoughts away- Katherine Pierce was dead, there was no way out of that; but for a moment, she was almost sure she had seen something of the old vampire in the girl's eyes.
"I-" Elena was speechless for a moment, taken aback with the truth she had ignored for so long. "I never wanted to hurt them."
Percy disregarded all her previous thoughts about Katherine when she saw the remorse that seemed to overwhelm the younger girl after such a comparison. The demigoddess could see that Elena, however annoying and self-absorbed she was, still held an awful lot of innocence. She acted the way she did because she was still, to some extent, naive and guileless. She was young- even younger than Percy was- and she had been thrown into a world filled with creatures that wanted to harm her. It was understandable that she would be cautious and untrusting of the new girl in town, someone that had infiltrated her life by befriending her lovers and portraying an immense amount of power. For the first time in all the months she had spent in town, Percy found herself feeling sympathetic of Elena, and not as annoyed by her as before.
"I know you didn't," Percy said carefully, opting to use a soft tone of voice with the younger girl. "I can see that you care for them, but perhaps not in the right way. You're hurting Stefan, and you're leading Damon on. You have to make a choice before it gets out of hands. It has to be one or the other, but not both of them."
Elena swallowed down her embarrassment, only then being able to recognize how out of hand her jealousy had gotten. She didn't want to imagine what her friends- what her boyfriend (the man she loved), the girl in front of her (whom she disliked deeply), and what Damon (someone that she had started to like more than she was supposed to) - would think of her as a person. She was ashamed of being compared to Katherine, however similar they had proven to be.
"I-I'm sorry," Elena said at last, sincere about her apology. "I haven't been fair to you."
"It's all right," Percy offered her a tentative smile, but nothing had changed between them. "I haven't been exactly polite towards you either."
"This isn't like me," Elena started, needing to defend herself for her own sake. "There are just so many things happening at the moment and I haven't been able to process it all, you know? All my problems keeps building up together and I don't even know what to do anymore."
"You don't have to explain yourself to me, we don't know each other that well," Percy really could understand how stressing it was to be in the middle of something as draining as the whole situation with the Original family, though she could never change her initial impression of the olive-skinned girl. "But we share the same friends, and they care about you enough to protect you against an Original vampire, that speaks a lot in your favor."
There was a small pause between them.
"You weren't with Elijah last night because of me," Elena realized quietly, "Because you don't care about me enough to want to harm me."
The demigoddess nodded, "I was with Elijah last night because I wanted to."
Elena took it exactly how Percy had wanted her to take it; the young girl thought that her words meant she was interested in the handsome Original vampire, and it appeased her never-ending fear of her being interested in Damon.
Emma, on the other hand, found that particular piece of information rather interesting. Niklaus wasn't aware that the demigoddess had met his brother already. That was rather intriguing, for Elijah had never shown much interest over demigods, it had always been their younger brother who obsessed over those creatures. There was something about her statement about Elijah that stuck him as strange, and, narrowing his eyes, the soon-to-be hybrid wondered if his brother had planned something involving the demigoddess (who had a connection to beings of higher power than them) to thwart his plans.
He hoped to be mistaken, because it would be unconventional to have to murder Persephone Jackson before his younger brother had a chance to meet her; not to mention that he was aware there could be bigger consequences if he harmed the heroine of Olympus: the gods wouldn't be happy, and while it wasn't their world, those beings were in control of everything, no matter what species it involved.
Emma glanced back at them when he heard them continue speaking, curious about their unusual encounter and how things hadn't gone as he had expected.
"You, um, you and Elijah are...?" Elena looked incredibly uncomfortable as she attempted to formulate a question, though there was a barely disguised look of relief crossing her young face. Knowing that the green-eyed girl wasn't interested in Damon made her feel slightly better, though she could never get rid of the envy that came with seeing how close she was with both brothers.
The demigoddess wasn't expecting such a direct question, for which she found herself speechless for a second, to then sigh. Of course the doppelgänger wouldn't be content with knowing she had no plans to murder her- she constantly seemed to want to know more.
"Listen, Elena," Percy started, pursing her lips. It annoyed that Elena asked because she wanted to know if there was still a chance that her friendship with the blue-eyed vampire was something more. "Right now, there are bigger issues to concentrate on than my love life. You have an original vampire haunting you down; you should concentrate on that and leave me alone."
She started to walk away, moving towards where she could see her brunette friend waiting for her.
Elena called out, "You didn't answer my question."
"Yes, well," Percy didn't bother to turn around as she called back an answer, "That's none of your damn business."
…
The rest of the day passed in a blur, and before she knew what was happening, the daughter of Poseidon found herself in front of an abandoned old house, with her hellhound and the son of Hades leading the way into its protected grounds. A couple of witches, about twelve or thirteen of them, guarded the entrance.
Nico strode forwards.
The witches fell back as though he radiated an imminent and painful death, which, as the demigoddess observed him, was exactly what he emanated, his eyes as dark as the shadows of the night covering them, his posture straight and full of a confidence that wasn't there before.
It wasn't the first time that his presence frightened their common enemies and it would most definitely not be the last one, but it was the first time since the war was over that she saw him taking advantage of the power he bore and the effect it caused on others. A strange feeling of proudness enveloped her, and Percy forced herself to drown it away. That wasn't the right moment to feel proud of her friend- a fight was about to break.
"We were told to guard the coffins in case the suit-wearing vampire came for them-" One of the witches said.
"But we were never told that a mortal would come for them," Another continued, looking alarmed for a second. She turned to the witch at her side and said a hurried, "Are we supposed to hurt mortals?"
"How cute," Nico scoffed, sharing a look with his cousin. "They think they can hurt us."
"Let's not make a big deal out of this," Percy caught the witches' attention as she flashed them a winning smile. "We just came for-"
"To hell with what you came for," One of the witches spat at her, interrupting her. "It's because of people like you, who think they can steal the remaining Originals, that we were forced to stay here to guard them. Our family is being threatened because of you."
Percy laughed. "It's easy to blame others for your own mistakes, isn't it? It's certainly not my fault that you witches decided to be bossed around by a vampire- it's your own fault."
Nico cursed under his breath, recognizing the rage that crossed the witches' eyes at his friend's words.
Witches were never easy to fight, they had too many tricks under their sleeves. He hated them with a burning passion for all the trouble they had caused him in previous missions. His only relief was that there was a small difference between the witches from their world and the ones in Mystic Falls, he could feel their power and it didn't compare to the ones he had met before, the ones that dabbled with magic powerful enough to curse deities, but the effort to engage with them was annoying.
"We can take them," He stole a look at the demigoddess at his side. "What do you say?"
"I say we're not leaving here without those coffins."
The son of Hades liked how confident the daughter of Poseidon acted in front of their enemies. It was, most of the time, what intimidated them and made them do a mistake in their haste to prove that they were better than them. It was one of the few tricks demigods were taught, and consequently, the one that the green-eyed girl seemed to use the most.
One of the witches scoffed at them, "Then you both will perish trying."
"And your spilled blood will be our reward," Another witch added, a dark look on her eyes.
Amusement crossed Nico's features, giving him a sinister look to his young face. "I don't think so."
Mrs. O'Leary growled at them, sensing that those surrounding them had awful intentions with her owner and the boy that had cared for her for months while she remained in Camp. I have to protect them- the hellhound therefore bore her teeth out at the witches, getting ready to launch at them.
"No, baby, wait," Percy ordered immediately, worried about the witches harming Mrs. O'Leary with their spells. The hellhound obliged to her master's request, but remained snarling at the witches, daring them to try and attack her loved ones.
"Percy-" Nico started.
Percy was hyper-aware of everyone surrounding her, something that had begun to happen since she escaped Tartarus and her senses seemed to sharpen. She felt their own blood pumping through their veins, could feel the way it moved across their body and towards the heart, which she felt the furious thumping of their agitated heartbeat as though it was her own heart. One little movement from her fingers, one little twist of their fluids and she could stop their hearts, she could make them choke on their own internal fluids, she could watch them suffer.
The glass shards inside of her rattled, the world around her stopping as she allowed herself to lose the little control she used to have- and with a small gesture from her fingers, the witches in front of her collapsed, some gasping for breath as they choked on their own fluids, other completely dead as she had stopped their hearts.
"Dear gods," Nico watched with amazement. "-that's new."
The daughter of the sea watched her victims fall one by one. Her sea-green eyes took a different turn, darkening around the edges, similar to how the ocean turned obscure after a storm.
All the while, Nico observed her thoroughly, interested with the fascination with which she observed them die, and it was then that he saw a smirk appear on her face. A shiver went up the son of Hades' back; that meant she was far more gone that he had previously thought.
He felt every single one of them die, but was startled when he realized that their bodies kept twisting forwards because she continued to choke them even after they had been killed.
"Percy-" Nico had a small grimace when he decided to speak. "They've been gone for a while now, it's time to stop."
His friend seemed not to hear him, her darkened eyes remaining glued to the twitching victims with pure fascination, something that made him scowl.
He raised his voice enough to catch her attention. "I said stop."
The daughter of Poseidon shot him a glare that made his insides twist, but he refused to allow her the satisfaction of a reaction from his part, not when she had seemed so happy with the reaction she received from the witches. He could see her spiraling at that very moment, knowing very well how it felt to be consumed in such a way, and knew that she needed something to bring her back to earth.
"Control yourself," Nico glared at her. "Unless you can't."
Amusement crossed Percy's features, but there was nothing of the usual playfulness that characterized her, which allowed him to realize she was still drowning on the consuming power she held on her grasp. It was exactly what he had feared when they lost communication with one another during those past months.
"Where was your control when you banished that boy's soul right in the middle of the war?"
Nico had to chuckle at her attempt to rattle him. "I've made peace with what I am and what I've done after Tartarus, Percy. I'm the son of Hades, I control the darkness," Nico said, moving his finger in a circular motion that casted shadows all over the place, proving his point as he did so, "-the darkness doesn't control me. I know my powers and I'm not afraid to use them, but I also know when to stop before going too far."
Percy shook her head, sighing deeply as she felt her anger start to dissipate with his words.
Embarrassment filled her senses, but she pushed that thought aside.
He was right.
She had no control over herself, she didn't know when to stop. There was no need to kill those witches, she could have made them black out- but instead, she had murdered them in cold blood, and worse of all, she has thoroughly enjoyed it. She enjoyed knowing they had been hurt as much she had, and that their families would suffer their absence as much as her own family had missed hers when she had been kidnapped.
There were things she couldn't control, that was true, and she was also scared of her own impulses, but it was because everyone was scared of them too, even her immortal brother thought them to be dangerous and unnatural for such a young demigod.
It was what she'd grown to think about herself because of those that were afraid of her, that she was a monster for feeling that amount of rage and for being tempted by those unnatural urges.
Nico seemed to have a different point of view than them, one that startled her deeply, though the shattered part of her insides couldn't wait to hear him explain himself better, to hear that what she wanted to do wasn't as wrong as everyone made it out to be.
"I can't make peace with myself because I'm a danger to my own family and to those that I love," Percy pointed out, shaking her head as she started to collect herself. "Nico, I'm constantly blacking-out and murdering-"
"It only happens because you're repressing yourself," Nico interrupted her, though he had softened his voice as much as he could, adopting a tone that he reserved for his beloved sister. "With practice, you can prevent yourself from spiraling out of control while at the same time taking advantage of your new abilities."
"Is that what you've done?" Percy needed to know. "Practice?"
Was that what Triton meant when he said he expected to get better, that he wanted her to find a way to remain passive without having to destroy herself?
The god mentioned that every sea had a dark side, but it was then that the demigoddess was conscious enough to understand that dark wasn't a synonym for evil. The son of Hades wasn't evil, but he was certainly dark most of the time, more when he allowed himself to use his powers freely, but he wasn't evil.
Nico hesitated. "That, and I've had a very persuasive companion that constantly reminds me I'm not evil for what I have done in the past. He says that it's what us demigods have do to survive, what we've been forced to do so survive in the world we were born in. It's who we are."
Percy looked curious about his words, though she had a small idea of who he was referring to. After confessing that he had crushed on her for years, the son of Hades had then admitted what Eros had forced him to acknowledge in the past: that he had never been certain of his sexuality. Using that as an explanation for him not being infatuated with the demigoddess anymore, he had accepted to stay in Camp after Will Solace had almost begged him to. And thus, they had gotten closer in those past months, becoming close friends- though at times she was almost certain that they were in love with each other, though none of them seemed to be brave enough to admit it to one another.
"You have a point I hadn't thought about," She admitted at last, going back to their main topic, pushing aside her other thoughts about her friend's possible love interest.
Nico smirked at her words, to then nod carefully in acceptance. It was point he hadn't thought about before his blond friend had pointed it out to him, but that he had grown to accept.
"We're the children of the Big Three," Nico continued after a small pause. "We have therefore inherited too much power from them. I think that it's something all of us (Thalia, Jason, Hazel, you, and me) have to go through at one point or another. We're different from our other demigod friends, their parents are powerful, yes, but not to the same capacity that ours are."
It made sense considering what Triton had mentioned about the children of Poseidon being tempted by their own powers, though she wasn't sure what the consequences would be for her cousins, she knew what her father did to those children he couldn't control. Isolation. Abandonment. Death.
"It truly is our burden," Percy realized with a start. "It is who we are."
Poseidon had already abandoned her, which meant that the old god was aware of the fact that she was spiraling out of their control every time she allowed herself to let loose of all the anger she felt towards them.
Nico nodded carefully. "The Fates wouldn't allow one of us to have more power than we're supposed to."
That particular statement made his cousin's breath die on her throat.
Percy had never thought about it in that way, but once she allowed herself to comprehend what Nico had been saying, she couldn't deny that he was right. The Fates controlled everything and everyone, and they were also known for putting an end to those that strayed away from the plans they'd made for them.
Perhaps it had always been the fate of the offsprings of the Big Three, to drown on the immense amount of power they inherited from their parents; perhaps it was what the fates had prepared for them. Perhaps it was what had meant to happen from the very beginning.
"So, this-" Nico gestured to the corpses around them. "-is something you need to control, yes, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. After all, the gods haven't tried to murder you because of it, have they?"
"That's because they need me," Percy sneered before she could stop herself. "Asclepius, and even my own brother, admitted that what saves me from their wrath is the fact that I'm their favorite pawn."
Nico crossed his arms over his chest. He too had grown annoyed with the gods and their intentions with them. He had lost his sister Bianca because of a mission, and he had almost lost his friends because of the latest wars, he had almost lost Percy because of them and because of Tartarus. He just wanted it to end, he wanted to be able to reach adulthood without them continuously destroying himself and those that he cared for.
"Then we don't allow them to use us as their pawns anymore," Nico spoke seriously, with such conviction that his cousin was left feeling startled. "We fight back, even if it costs us our life. Being free from their manipulation is worth fighting for."
"But it us not worth dying for, Nico," Percy had thought about it before. "Rebelling against them has never done any demigod any good. Luke was right, I'm not ashamed to admit that, but look how he ended. He's dead. Forgotten; considered the villain of the story even though he died being more heroic than I ever was. The gods are not worth it."
"But we are," Nico shot back fiercely. "Our mental health, our peace, and our future is more important than a bunch of selfish, cruel beings that don't even care about their own children. We are worth fighting- and dying- for."
"I agree," Percy finally admitted, feeling some sort of liberation afterwards. "But we cannot rebel against them."
"I never said anything about rebelling," Nico shot back, raising his eyebrows, though at his darkest moment he had thought about it. "I'm not stupid nor suicidal. But, I'm also not going to allow a god to push me around ever again, you have my word on that."
Percy nodded carefully, and the conversation ended there. She had reached that same conclusion before, but hearing someone else say it out-loud was startling and it made her feel concerned. She would never allow the gods to use her again, she would rather be considered their enemy than their pawn ever again, but that was because she had no care about herself- she didn't care if they killed her for her insolence. Hearing Nico say those words worried her because she didn't want anything to happen to him. He was only fourteen, he didn't deserve such a fate; he had a whole life ahead of him.
When Percy thought about when she had been thirteen- fourteen, all she could think about was the constant missions to be one step ahead of Kronos' army, about the mission to rescue a kidnapped Annabeth, to the first time she met Apollo, to the first time she felt the (literal) weight of the world on her shoulder.
The following years had been hell.
At fifteen, she had already gone through the labyrinth that wrecked a son of Hermes' sanity, to then fight in the bloodiest war of the century alongside her friends and her family.
At sixteen, she thought her life would take a better turn after the war ended; she spent peaceful moments with her loved ones, but even such a thing did not last much- before she knew what was happening, she had her memories stolen and had been kidnapped and thrown into a (literal) wolf's nest.
At seventeen, she fell into Tartarus and lost everything that made her herself down there, to then fight directly on the war against Gaea. After it was over, she had a messy breakup with the man she loved while battling with horrible thoughts and urges that started once she landed in hell, and then she had been forced to leave behind the place she had called home to move into an unknown town that ended being a monster's nest.
It wasn't the kind of life she wanted for Nico.
He deserved better; he deserved to have an opportunity to spend his teenage years as peaceful as a demigod could.
"Can you...?" Percy didn't know how to express herself, it embarrassed her to some extent.
He nodded, knowing very well how it felt to battle alone with irrational thoughts and emotions, with all the baggage that Tartarus left them. The son of Hades thought that he had it easier with his friends (Will, Jason, Reyna) on his life supporting him. But his cousin and former crush had isolated herself in a town full of monsters and away from her friends and family, choosing to push those thoughts aside instead of working with them. He wanted to help her.
"Of course," He added, to then throw her a smirk. "I'm staying for a while in town, if your mother doesn't mind, so you're going to be stuck with me."
Percy chuckled. "That's not as bad as you want to make it sound, death-breath," and after a small pause of consideration, she gave him a small smile, her eyes full of melancholy that she couldn't hide. "It's nice having you around again."
"It's..." Nico sighed, looking around as though he attempted to discover all the secrets of the mysterious town of Mystic Falls, to then look back at his friend with a different expression, one that reminded her of the happy kid he had once been. "I can't say it's nice to be here, because we are, after all, in a monster-infected town, but it's good to be by your side once more."
"Let's concentrate on these monsters first," Percy gestured to the abandoned house, where the coffins were supposed to be, "Then we can talk about this awful town."
"What are you worried about?" Nico tilted his head to the side, giving her a curious look as he raised one eyebrow in her direction. "I can see that there's something else bothering you, so, tell me."
Percy weaved her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment before daring to admit what she had been thinking about since a few days before. "Our weapons are made of celestial bronze, which is what allows us to harm and kill our monsters, but it is also a material that does nothing to a mortal, it just passes thought them like nothing."
"Bravo," Nico said sarcastically, though a certain edge of amusement had crossed his dark eyes. "La Rue was wrong, you do have a brain."
"Don't be mean, this is something serious," She had to hold off the impulsive and immature desire to stick her tongue out at him, and judging by the smirk he sent her, he was well aware of said fact. "As I was saying, it has no effect on mortals, but it works on mortal-monsters, Katherine's death is proof of that. It proves that, while mortal-monsters and our monsters are different, they have some similarities."
Nico gestured impatiently with his hand for her to further elaborate. "Where exactly do you want to get with this?"
Percy's eyes shot forwards and locked into Nico's own. "Our monsters regenerate after we kill them with celestial bronze and they spend some time in the underworld. What's it to say mortal-monsters don't?"
Nico didn't know the answer to that question. He looked back at the mess of scattered corpses behind their backs. The air surrounding them smelt like death, making them grimace every time it hit their nostrils. It was a familiar stench for both of them (because of the wars and all the corpses they had been forced to camp with), but there, in an open field in a remote place like that one, it felt a little overwhelming.
"Well," The son of Hades pursed his lips, "It's a good thing that we didn't kill those witches with celestial bronze."
"My concern is, what if the time comes for me to kill an Original? They're explosive and could cause enough havoc around town for me to be forced to intervene, but if our weapons make them regenerate like our monsters do, then it'll be a whole different kind of trouble to deal with."
Nico shared her concern, but shook his head, pushing it aside. "Don't jump ahead of time, we've just found them. When the time comes, we'll deal with them if it's needed. But for now, how many of them are supposed to be inside?"
"Three," The daughter of Poseidon replied. "Finn, Kol, and Rebekah Mikaelson."
"What's next?" Nico frowned. "How are we going to carry their coffins?"
Percy Jackson glanced back. About twelve witches, all which had been surrounding the abandoned house that held the remaining Originals' coffins, had met a cruel end when crossing two demigods in a mission. High on the adrenaline and the euphoria that came with using the powers that people (and herself) had deemed dangerous, the daughter of Poseidon took several steps forwards, as though guided by sheer instinct and no rational thoughts.
Nico stopped her, "Percy?"
"We're not going to carry their coffins," Percy met his eyes, knowing how he was bound to react once he found out the plan she had formulated with the second oldest Original. "We're going to wake them up."
After reminding the dark-haired boy that it was what Elijah had asked of them on the mission- and that they had done far more dangerous stuff through the course of their lives- both demigods found themselves inside the house, in the middle of a circular room surrounded by four coffins, three which were to be opened, and one that wasn't supposed to be touched at all.
"Do you know what happens when they're woken?"
"I saw it happen a couple of times, in the memories Elijah showed me," Percy answered quietly. There was an air of danger surrounding the room, something that bothered both demigods, because it wasn't coming from the coffins that held Elijah's siblings- it was coming from the one that they weren't supposed to touch. "As soon as the dagger is removed, the effect starts to wear off and they start to wake up."
Nico stood behind the coffin that they weren't supposed to touch- the one that Elijah had said belonged to his mother- as Percy approached one of the coffins.
"I don't like the feeling that comes from this one," Nico said as he carefully gestured to the coffin, not daring to place his hand on it considering what he felt coming from inside, "The others feel like death, but this one is just rage, and, whoever is here is definitely not dead."
"Esther Mikaelson," Percy remembered from Elijah's memories, "A dangerous witch- the one that created the spell that turned the originals into monsters. I don't care if she's not as dead as they are-" The young girl gestured to the coffins, "-I've seen what she can do, and if Elijah doesn't want her to be awakened, it's better we don't even attempt to."
Nico took a step back and shrugged. "You had me at 'she's a dangerous witch'; she can stay there for all I care about."
Not knowing how else to prevent the inevitable, Nico and Percy shared a small look, to then move towards the closest coffin. For them, all looked the same- simple coffins, so they had no way of knowing whom they were about to wake.
The son of Hades moved to hide behind it as the daughter of Poseidon placed herself right in front; their plan was simple. He would remain hidden as she awakened them, ready to protect her just in case one of them tried to attack.
"Ready?" Nico raised his eyebrows, gesturing to one of the corpses they'd dragged from outside.
"Not really."
Percy opened the coffin. There was a young man inside, though his features were impossible to describe, his whole body was in a profound state of decadence that made her grimace in disgust, though her eyes found the dagger on his heart in a second.
She shared a small look with her cousin, to then move her hands towards the dagger, which was cold to the touch, and before she could change her mind, she grabbed it and pulled it out of his chest. She threw the dagger in Nico's direction- he caught it and placed it inside his jacket- to then take several steps backwards.
In a matter of seconds, the man's skin returned to normal, all states of decadence disappearing as though having never existed.
The green-eyed girl grabbed the first corpse she found on the ground, knowing the vampire would regain consciousness at any moment and would most definitely be hungry. But when she blinked back to where the coffin was, she realized it was empty, something that made her adrenaline kick off, her senses heightening. He's awake. She glanced to where Nico had been standing at, but he had melted into the shadows in a way that made it impossible for her to know where he was.
Another blink, and there the vampire was, standing right in front of her; something that startled her and made her heart skip a beat, though she attempted not to portray any kind of nervousness.
For a moment, none moved, which allowed the demigoddess to observe him. The first thing she thought was that he was most definitely Elijah's brother, because he shared quite a few physical characteristics with him. The first vampire she woke was handsome (and rather tall), with a lean and athletic body, dark hair and eyes. He was dressed in a collared shirt with a vest, and dress pants, an outfit that allowed her to recall he had been daggered several centuries before that moment.
The most unnerving thing was, though, that just as she observed his features, she could feel the vampire doing the same with her, observing her and seizing her up.
"Hi," Percy tilted her head to the side, still observing him, to then throw the dead witch's body forwards so that it fell by his feet. His eyes remained glued to her features, unmoving from her even though the sound of the corpse falling to the ground made a deafening sound echo through the room. "I brought you some peace offerings, you're looking a little dead. Go ahead and feed."
"Not an unkind gesture, darling," The man bore his fangs out, a loud growl emerging from his throat, pure rage vividly present on his dark brown eyes, "-but I prefer my food fresh," and then he lunged for her, but the son of Hades jumped from out of the shadows and snapped his neck before he could touch the daughter of Poseidon.
Percy breathed out in relief, her nerves on edge ever since he had appeared right in front of her, watching her in silence, almost like an animal observing its next meal.
"Thank you, Nico-" She started.
Nico protested, "I told you this was a bad idea!"
The raven-haired girl agreed, but couldn't admit it. Instead, she said, "Name just one mission where someone didn't try to kill us. This is the same, this is our usual thing, don't be so worried."
Nico crouched in front of the unconscious vampire, observing him with curious eyes. "Do you happen to know how long they stay unconscious after their neck is snapped?" He imagined she must've snapped the Salvatore's neck once or twice already in an argument, for which he was surprised when she admitted that she had no idea.
"Hopefully," She answered, "Enough time for us to wake the other two while Elijah arrives."
"I don't think it's a good idea to wake the other two," Nico raised his eyebrows, "I mean, you saw how this one reacted. There's three of them and only two of us. We should wait for Elijah to arrive."
"We'll wake them up while he arrives. He must be on his way by now."
As she approached the other two coffins, she could hear her cousin groan at her answer. The green-eyed girl carefully moved to open the first coffin to her right, which revealed a woman inside, and then, as she moved to the second one and found an older-looking man, she realized something: "Oh, no."
Nico perked up at that. "What did you do, seaweed brain?"
"Figures," The green-eyed girl muttered to herself as she turned around to look at her cousin, who had crouched down to examine the unconscious Original. "If these two are who I think they are, that one I woke first is the unstable, psychopath one."
"I thought all of them were psychopaths," Nico grimaced in disgust as he observed how she removed the daggers from both remaining vampires, an action that made a sickening sound that disgusted both demigods. "Are you sure it's a good idea to also wake the other two? They're going to react in the exact same way that this one did."
"With the slight difference that I'm here how," Elijah's voice echoed through the room, startling both mortals in the room.
As though startled by the sound of their brother's voice, the two vampires still inside their coffins started to stir, groans leaving their mouths as color slowly started to fill their once-wrinkled bodies. The demigods watched how, slowly but certainly, they became to look normal and human-like once more.
"Right on time," Percy stepped away from the coffins, pulling Nico close to her as they cautiously approached the suit-wearing vampire, knowing that the far from them that they were, the safer they could be.
"Apologies for the mess we made," Nico didn't sound apologetical, but he did attempt to be polite, respecting how his cousin had decided to trust him. He followed Elijah's concerned glance, which had followed the trail of bodies and found an unconscious vampire on the ground close to them. "Witches weren't nice, but your brother was nastier."
The suit-wearing Original felt more at ease. He had thought that, perhaps, the murder of those witches had been caused by his younger brother in one of his temper tantrums cause by the starvation he had endured all those centuries, but knowing that the demigods hadn't seen that kind of sight made him relax.
"What happened here?" Elijah frowned, curious.
"Your brother saw me as a walking blood bag, so Nico snapped his neck before he could attack us."
Things made more sense then, and Elijah nodded as he looked down at his brother's unconscious form. "Yes, I apologise for Kol's behaviour," while his face hid all emotion, his eyes portrayed how joyous and triumphant he felt at the sight of his family- which he had thought lost forever- coming back to life before his very own eyes. "He's not a morning person," He teased.
As though connected with one another, Kol's hands twitched as he started to regain consciousness, his neck popping back in place as he healed, at the same time that the other two moved out of their coffins and stared at everything and everyone with blinding rage and confusion, none of them knowing how long they had been sleeping, but conscious of the alluring smell coming from two unknown teenagers in the very middle of the room.
Both demigods noticed, shoulders tensing as they readied for whatever would come.
But before anything could happen, Elijah took one step forwards, shielding the demigods with his body and making his siblings focus their attention on him.
"Ms. Jackson, Mr. di Angelo, I'm forever in your debt now, thank you." Elijah's smooth voice seemed to echo through the deafening silence that surrounded the room.
No one moved, no one seemed to breathe, there were three hungry monsters and two mortals full of the substance they craved in a closed space. It could go wrong at any second, which prompted Elijah to be on guard at all times. He knew both kids could fend for themselves, that they could paralyze his siblings in a second if they needed to, but he didn't want his siblings to realize what kind of creatures were before their eyes so soon. There were more important things they had to discuss- family business, as usual; the topic of demigods could come after everything else was discussed.
"We have to get going," Percy dared to speak.
There was a sudden movement, the unconscious Original now stood, fully awake, right in front of his older brother and staring right ahead at the mortals that had managed to snap his neck. Nico held his stare with the same detachment that his father had when he stared down at unworthy souls, but Percy found herself staring at the young blonde woman behind both men, curious and interested; she had heard how she was often compared to the hybrid in regards of her explosive temper.
"Take my car," Elijah held her the keys without looking away from his siblings, holding them in place and forbidding them, with just one look, to act upon their bloodlust.
It wouldn't work for much longer, his sister was furious, his older brother was in a turmoil of emotions at being awake after so much time, and his younger brother was trembling with a starving rage that demanded to be felt- and it certainly didn't help that both mortals had snapped Kol's neck, they all saw it as an act of violence towards them.
Elijah allowed himself one small glance in her direction, hoping that his siblings would read between the lines and understand that both demigods (though they didn't know those were demigods) had helped him find them.
Thank you, Ms. Jackson.
Percy nodded as she took the keys of his car, holding down a shiver once she felt a pair of eyes boring holes into her figure, Kol's dark eyes following her every movement with a sickening gleam of hunger that, or the first time since meeting a vampire, made her feel unsafe.
Elijah directed his eyes to the younger boy in the room, nodding in his direction. Thank you, Mr. di Angelo.
Nico nodded at him, though his shoulders remained as tense as Percy's, who had a bad feeling about the situation ever since undaggering them. She had, quite literally, brought herself more trouble than she was willing to handle to protect a town she didn't even consider her home, a place she didn't even like, all for the sake of the mission.
Both demigods made their way out of the house as swift they could in a discrete way, not wanting to portray how desperate they were to leave the house and leave their company. Their stentch- which was more alluring and intoxicating (in a good way) than those of a normal vampire- was almost unbearable considering that there were four of them in a closed space, and no fresh air to take it away. Their power was palpable, not as concrete as the gods' aura, but just as threatening for them.
They almost threw themselves inside the car, and she drove away immediately, not caring that the vampires inside the house must've heard how the tires screeched when she drove away as fast as she could.
None of them dare to speak until there was a considerable amount of distance between their moving car and the abandoned house.
"What now?" Nico inquired.
Percy's hand on the wheel tightened. "I don't know."
There was a small pause, both demigods collecting their thoughts.
"What now?" Nico repeated.
Percy stayed quiet for a moment, then she forced a smile into her face and briefly turned her head to look at him, "I don't know. Would you like to have dinner with my two annoying vampire neighbors?"
Nico actually chuckled, "Sure. Why the fuck not?", because he thought that after waking three starving vampires and not being hurt in the process, nothing related to mortal-monsters could be harmful.