A/N: 100 points to HoOisawesome for guessing Nico's POV ;) I've been dying to write from Nico's perspective, that kid really grew on me in Blood of Olympus :')
Woot! Chapter 10! Finally made it to the double digits :D
Anyways, enjoy a brief peek into Camp Half-Blood!
"I'm telling you, there's no way they'd fall for that!" Clarisse was fussing at Annabeth.
Annabeth huffed, "And I'm telling you it will definitely work, Percy and I have trained with them plenty. They won't see it coming, right Percy?"
She turned to look at her boyfriend, but he seemed much more interested in Travis Stroll and Will Solace's heated thumb wrestling match, "Percy!"
"Huh? What? Yes!" he turned to Annabeth quickly, trying to catch up with the conversation, "Whatever Annabeth said."
Nico rolled his eyes, 'Typical Percy Jackson. You'd think he would have grown out of it by now…' He tried paying attention to the conversation again, but Clarisse and Annabeth were dominating the most of it as they were the "war experts."
All cabin leaders had assembled in the Big House to plan for the 3nd Annual Greek versus Rome war games. Percy and Annabeth had been spending the last two years going to college in New Rome, but they still retained their leadership positions and returned during the summer and winter breaks. After the success of the Second Giant War three years ago the camps had agreed to coexist peacefully, but seeing as both groups were naturally aggressive, they had decided to set up an annual "War" between both groups so they could let out all of their aggression. The idea was met with much eagerness by both camps and unsurprisingly, they both took the games way too seriously.
The Greeks had been victorious the first year, but they were defeated by the Romans the year before and were out for blood. Naturally, the Romans had been boasting over their victory for an entire year and as the games got closer the Greek camp was in a frenzy to reclaim their title as champions. In honor of the battle that brought them together, the games were scheduled to occur on August 1st, which was only a month away. Cabin leaders were now meeting at least once a week to track everyone's progress and ensure that all their strategies were fool-proof.
"How about you, Di Angelo? You've been to the Roman camp, notice anything that could give us a leg up?"
Nico glanced up, thinking quickly, "Hmm nothing more than what Annabeth and Percy have reported. Just be thankful they're not bringing that elephant all the way out here. We'll have the home field advantage this time around."
Clarisse nodded thoughtfully, "So they won't have Hannibal, that's something. What about your sister? Will she be riding that horse of hers this time?"
"Probably," he said, "She hasn't been very forthcoming about her plans, but my guess is—"
He cut himself off and gasped in shock, his eyes widening. 'No, it couldn't be…it's impossible!' A cold shiver ran down his spine, and all of a sudden he felt unbearably warm…almost like he was on fire. 'There's just no way…'
"Nico?" several voices called out to him, and when he looked up he saw that everyone was staring at him in alarm.
"I just felt…" he trailed off, confused. He took off his aviator jacket and realized he was sweating.
Will Solace stepped towards him and put his hand on his forehead to check his temperature, "What is it? Do you sense a great disturbance in the force?" he said with half-hearted grin.
Jason and Percy snorted appreciatively; sometimes it freaked Nico out how well the three of them got along.
He brushed Will's hand off his forehead, blushing and hot for a different reason, "I'm fine." He mumbled, uncomfortable with the sudden attention.
"Your temperature's a little high," Will looked at him intently, then he relaxed and smiled, "but that could just be because I'm unbearably hot."
Nico let out an aggravated sigh and Piper giggled, "Leave the poor boy alone, Will. You're making him blush!"
Jason spoke up, the grin slipping off his face, "But really though, what happened?"
Nico frowned, "I felt…but it's not possible. It can't be right…"
"What, Nico? What was it? Did someone die? Does someone need help?" Will was clutching his hand, watching Nico intently.
Nico shook his head; he had to confirm his suspicions before he got anyone's hopes up, "No. Nobody died, and no one's in danger. I think…I need to go see my dad."
He stood up and began making his way out of the room, his mind going a million miles a minute, 'There's just no way!'
He had just finished descending the steps outside the Big House when he heard Will's voice behind him, "Hey, Death Boy! Wait up!"
Nico slowed and waited for him to catch up, "I'm sorry Will. It's just…what I felt. I don't want to say anything until I've spoken to my father about it."
Will pulled a face, "So are you going down to the Underworld? Right now?"
"Yes, I have to."
"Are you sure you shouldn't rest up first? You were training all day today, you must be exhausted! Plus you haven't even eaten dinner yet, at least wait till after dinner?" Will chewed on his lip worriedly, and Nico almost gave in.
"No, I'm sorry but this can't wait. If my suspicions are right, then…" he looked up at Will, "I know you don't like me shadow traveling, but I'm not as weak as I was before. I'll be fine."
Will sighed in frustration, "I know that. I just—you know I don't like it when you use your Underworld-y powers in less than prime conditions. I don't want you pulling a disappearing act again." He shuddered, as if remembering that time when Nico nearly faded away three years ago.
Nico took his hand and gave him a reassuring smile, "Hey, I'll be fine. Trust me. I'll just go talk to my dad for a bit and I'll be back before dinner's over. You can save me a seat and everything."
"Fiiiiiiine," Will pouted, "but you're eating extra healthy tonight, none of that junk food you're so fond of. Doctor's orders!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Nico shook his head and started walking off.
Will yanked him back, "What, you think you're leaving without your good luck kiss?" He grabbed Nico by the back of the neck and placed a quick peck on his lips, "There, now you can go." He nodded in satisfaction.
Nico grinned, "See you later, Doc." Yeah, he'd never get used to having Will Solace around.
He squinted up at the fading sunlight and looked around, noticing a particularly shaded patch of land in the forest. "That should do nicely," he muttered to himself and stepped into the shadows. Immediately, he found himself in the looming halls of the Underworld, 'Feels good to be home.'
He made a short trip to his father's throne room and was pleased to see that Hades was alone and not in a bad mood—it was rare to see his father in a good mood when Persephone wasn't around.
"Hello father," Nico bowed from his waist up when he entered the throne room, "I hope I'm not disturbing you?"
Hades looked down at him, "Nico. I wasn't expecting you today; to what do I owe this visit?"
"I had a question for you. About Leo Valdez."
Hades scowled, "This again? That Valdez kid is more trouble than he's worth."
"Father, please," Nico pressed, "you've refused to answer my questions about him for too long. After what I felt today…I thought I felt him cross into the world of the living."
Hades shifted uneasily in his seat and mumbled to himself, maybe Nico had been wrong about him being in a good mood.
"Lord Hades," he tried pleading in his formal title, Hades seemed to like being addressed as such, "I beg of you. Please, just tell me if he's alive."
Hades huffed angrily, "I swear if I never hear that kid's name again it'll be too soon! Why can't people just die honorably and be done with it? But no, eternity in Elysium isn't good enough for Leo Valdez, he has to go and try to cheat death! To cheat death! What an insult! And then Hephaestus has the gall to ask—"
"So Leo did die? He's in the Underworld?" Nico's spirits dropped, he'd thought….
"Yes and no," Hades rolled his eyes. "Leo Valdez did die and his soul did make it to the Underworld. But then he had to go and inject himself with that wretched Physician's Cure and throw everything off!"
Nico frowned confusedly, "So if he injected himself with the Cure, his body must still be alive…"
"Yes," Hades waved his hands irritably, "his body was alive but his soul was not—this has never happened before, so naturally my judges were in over their heads. They were fighting over his sentence for months! I could have sworn they were going to revolt. And then Hephaestus came to me asking if I could send the soul back to the living world. Just like that! After all the issues with Thanatos and the Doors of Death he actually asks me to release yet another soul from the Underworld!"
"So…did you?" Nico asked tentatively.
"Well, it's not like I had much of a choice, did I? Hephaestus gave this whole speech about how Leo Valdez saved Olympus through his sacrifice and how it wasn't fair that I let my own daughter have a second chance at life…and of course he said this in front of all the gods, so it would have been impossible for me to say no…" Hades then proceed to mutter to himself about "stupid Zeus" and "Persephone taking sides" and something about getting his "conditions" in.
Nico felt dread creeping up his spine, "Conditions?"
"Hmm?" Hades looked up, as if he'd forgotten that Nico was still there, "Well anyways the point is that yes, Leo Valdez's soul has been released from the Underworld."
"And it took you three years to make up your mind?"
Hades frowned, "Three years? No, I released his soul years ago…ah but of course, you wouldn't have known since he's been stuck there…"
"He's stuck? Stuck where?" Nico asked desperately.
"No worries," Hades sat up, as if done with the conversation, "the point is that the boy is alive. I'm sure you'll see him soon enough, once he figures out how to get to Camp Half-Blood…"
"Leo knows where Camp Half-Blood is…"
Hades grinned, as if enjoying a private joke, "Of course he knows. Now, you should get back to dinner, that boyfriend of yours is getting antsy."
Nico flushed, "Wha-you—umm." He'd never quite gotten to telling his dad about Will Solace….
"No worries, son. You could do much worse than a son of Apollo." Hades smiled at him, "Now, off you go!"
Before Nico could react he found himself sitting at his regular spot in the dinner table, "Goods above!" Will dropped his silverware at Nico's sudden appearance, "Nico! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Nico grimaced, "Yeah sorry, Hades sent me back up here with no warning."
"So what did you find out?" Jason spoke up from his spot across the table.
Nico looked around and saw that all of his close friends were sitting around the table: Will, Jason, Piper, Percy, and Annabeth.
He took a deep breath, not quite sure how to break the news to them, "Um…well…" he trailed off, unsure.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can't be that terrible," Piper's voice was soothing as always, he could never keep things to himself when she was around.
"Okay, but before you all go crazy just understand that I know almost nothing, my dad wasn't exactly forthcoming with details…"
"Nico, just tell us—what's up?" said Percy.
Nico looked up, his gaze hovering between Jason and Piper, knowing that they would be the most affected by his news, "It's Leo. He's alive."
"He's what?!" Jason leapt up from his seat. Piper gasped and tears rushed to her eyes. Annabeth clutched at Percy's hand, both sitting there in shock.
"Nico, are you sure? How is that even possible? You said he was dead!" Piper's voice was quavering.
"He was dead," Nico said slowly, "He did die. I wasn't wrong about that. I'm not sure I understand all the details but he was able to administer the Physician's Cure somehow."
"The Physician's Cure? The one you said could bring someone back from the dead?" Will asked interestedly. He hadn't been as close to Leo, but he still looked concerned.
"Yes, it seems as though after the Cure was administered his body came back to life, but his soul was already in the Underworld."
"But if his soul is in the Underworld then how can you say he's alive?" Percy asked quickly.
Nico held his hand up, "I wasn't done. Apparently the judges of the Underworld had issues deciding Leo's fate because his body was brought back to life. My father says that Hephaestus pleaded for him to release Leo's soul from the Underworld. He says he released his soul years ago…"
"But if Leo's soul has been released and if he's alive…" Jason sat down stiffly, "Then where is he? Why hasn't he come back? Why hasn't he contacted us to let us know he's okay?!" he slammed his fists on the table in frustration.
"I don't know," Nico shook his head, "My father said something about Leo being stuck, but he wouldn't tell me anything else. I'm sorry I don't have more information, but all I know is that Leo is alive, somewhere."
"So Leo's stuck somewhere and we have no way to find him?" Piper asked worriedly.
"I don't know if that's necessarily true," Annabeth said slowly, "If Leo's been alive all this time and Nico only felt him now…then perhaps this means Leo's finally become un-stuck…"
Will nodded pensively, "That would make sense, maybe you could only feel Leo's soul when he escaped from wherever he was before."
Nico sighed, unconvinced, "Maybe, probably. Hades said something else…I'm not sure what he meant by it."
"What was it?" Jason asked sharply.
"I'm not sure, he said something about Leo needing to figure out where Camp Half-Blood is…but when I mentioned that Leo knows how to get here Hades just laughed and dismissed me. Maybe it was nothing, I don't know. It just makes me uneasy."
They all shared quiet looks, gods rarely gave straight answers, and they always knew more than they let on.
"Well," Piper said slowly, "what matters is that Leo's alive. I'm sure that, wherever he is, he'll find his way back to us."
Jason nodded and held Piper's hand, "You're right, Pipes. Wherever Leo might have been the past few years, if Nico's sensing him now it must mean he's getting close. Now we just have to wait for 'Commander Toolbelt' to show up."
They all shared a half-hearted laugh at Jason's comment, "Well wherever he is, he better hurry on over here, he has a lot of explaining to do!" Piper set her mouth in a hard line, and Nico was sure that he did not want to in Leo's shoes when he finally did show up.
"Poor guy will be in for the lecture of his life when Piper gets to him!" Will laughed.
"And a hell of an ass-whooping!" Piper added.
Jason smiled and looked out over the horizon, "Wherever you are, Valdez, you better be ready!"
A/N: Aww snap, I'd hate to get on Piper's bad side! Haha, anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this little insight into the goings-on at Camp Half-Blood. The next chapter will be from Leo's point of view—now that they've gotten out of Ogygia, how are they gonna figure out where to go from there? Mwahaha!
As always, thanks for reading and feel free to review and let me know your thoughts!