Chapter Eight: Revelations Part I
Pre-Note:
Okay before anyone gets their panties in a twist I know I promised one chapter left however that chapter was almost 18,000 words. So I split it into two parts: Revelations Part I and Revelations Part II.
It was WAAAY too big to edit in one piece so I'm sorry for the lil' white lie about one chapter. BUT how about you think of it as you got two chapters instead! Enjoy guys, thanks for taking the time to read!
Nico Di Angelo, 1 Day 20 Hours After Eripus
By the time Nico had finished retelling the events of the last few weeks, the moon had started its descent and the eastern horizon was kissed with hues of pink and gold.
Nico felt rejuvenated, he had disliked certain elements of the story, quickly glossing over his own experience in the pit and his time spent in the jar. However that whole series of events had still taken at least an hour to explain, one very painstaking hour, of several.
However Reyna had avoided asking any and all questions until he finished, simply nodding her head in understanding if he ever paused.
Now here they sat, his throat felt raw after talking so long, and to be honest, he was pretty sure he would need to nap for a thousand lifetimes to recover .Reyna on the other hand, was carefully re-braiding her black hair as she stared out at the sea, she had been quiet for the last forty five or so minutes Nico had to guess.
The instant he had finished, she had simply said "I need a moment" before turning away from him and walking to the top of a small rise around fifty feet away, she had sat there and watched the ocean as the sun slowly revealed it in all its glory.
Obviously she wanted private time, he understood that, he was normally a pretty private guy himself. She had taken her damaged armor and the cleaning supplies she had needed and walked off. He on the other hand simply leaned back into the tree and closed his eyes, waiting for Reyna to collect her thoughts.
It wasn't long before her heavy combat boots were thudding across the earth back towards him, as he stood in front of him, having taken the time to don her Lorica Segmentata again. Once more the stoic Praetor of New Rome he had known, stood before him, her weapons sheathed at her hips.
"Alright, I have some questions now, Di Angelo, if you'll humor me once more" Reyna said in a calm and even tone.
"Sure…" Nico sighed, he knew enough about Reyna to know that there was no use denying her over something so simple, she would hound him for hours until she got what she wanted and Nico didn't have the patience for that.
"You said you were searching for Percy and Annabeth? Are the rest of the seven not helping you?" Reyna inquired, walking over to retrieve Cassis and picking it up calmly, clearly avoiding looking at her fallen Pegasus.
"Jason's the reason I have to look for Percy like this in the first place, why the hell would he help me? As far as he's concerned Percy and Annabeth knew the risk, and 'died with honor'" Nico said ending, by quoting Jason directly.
Nico thought back on his argument with Jason, they had been separated twice, once while still in the house of hades when Nico had launched himself, sword drawn at Jason shortly after the chains had been cut. Then once again when they got to the ship, Nico had instead tried to beat the living shit out of the son of Jupiter. Willing to use just his hands if he had to, as Jason refused to draw his sword, however on the second attempt he was tackled by Frank as Leo got the ship into the air.
Nico had called Jason every name he could think under the sun, a few choice ones had been 'traitor and coward' all the while Frank had held him back. Nico had spent at least ten minutes blaming him for the fact that Percy and Annabeth may as well have just been sentenced to death. Jason for his part had taken it all with a clenched jaw and flushed face, waiting until Nico had finished his outburst.
It looked like he had been about to reply and then the ship got hit by a giant boulder and like always shit hit the fan. Fast forward a few hours and he had messaged Thalia before leaving to begin looking for Percy. Having been too exhausted to bother with the son of Jupiter for a third time.
A snapping sound jerked him out of his recollection as Reyna snapped her fingers in front of his face once more. "Did you hear me Di Angelo? Everything all good up there?" she said as she gestured to his head.
"Ha, funny… regardless of the rumors around Camp Jupiter I am in fact perfectly sane, and uhhh, no I didn't hear you." Nico replied back, finishing with a sheepish grin and a slight shrug of his shoulders.
With a heavy sigh she repeated herself "So you chose to do this alone?", to which Nico nodded once. "I understand your frustrations, believe me I do" she said with a heavy sigh. "Percy is a unique individual, he inspires hope, faith and a belief in something greater than oneself in almost everyone he meets." She calmly polished a section of her helmet with a small rag as she talked.
"He was a Roman born in the body of a Greek, I am proud to call him Praetor and prouder to say that I consider him a friend. However, he did what any 'True Roman' would have done, their duty. Just as Jason did his." she finished, looking to stare at Nico, as if daring him to disagree.
"You can't seriously be telling me you think Jason trapping them down there was okay! He left them to die!" Nico shouted as he stood up and stalked right up towards Reyna, who regarded him just as calmly as she had before, not a hint of fear or anger on her face.
Reyna studied Nico as he struggled to control his breathing, nostrils flaring with each breath. He could feel the slow flush on his neck and he wrung his hands in anger. "Jason wanted to do this, I've heard how heated their rivalry was and he cut those chains without a moment's hesitation, cave in be damned I should have stayed! I should have stopped him and I didn't!. So yes im doing this alone because I don't trust him not to fuck it up for me again!" Nico finished almost screeching with frustration as he glared at the daughter of Bellona.
Without breaking a sweat Reyna walked up and carefully laid a hand on Nico's shoulder, looking him level in the eyes. "For you?" Reyna asked questionably, Nico refused to meet her look, instead staring off past her into the distance. "You are acting like a child Di Angelo, you blame yourself for Percy's fate, don't you?." Reyna said as she sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"Don't talk like you know me, Percy is my… friend and I will not abandon him down there!" Nico raged. However the Daughter of Bellona was not to be intimidated. "You didn't answer the question, Di Angelo. Do you blame yourself?" Reyna asked again.
"What does it matter!" Nico replied stubbornly, a little intimidated that the girl could read him like a book. "It matters because you are not in your right mind at the moment Di Angelo, an issue I intend to correct" Reyna said firmly.
"What are you talkin-" Nico started to say angrily, his voice raised as he could feel his whole face flush red. However, he wasn't ready when Reyna tightened her grip on his shoulder, and drove her free hand into his solar plexus none too gently, quickly interrupting his impending speech.
"Listen to me well son of Pluto '' Reyna said calmly as Nico wheezed and slumped against her, the Demigoddess was literally holding him up as he struggled to breath, the force behind that one punch was quite literally shattering, and Nico felt like an elephant had been dropped on his chest.
"You dishonor the sacrifice he made… and if he is dead as you fear you do him a great disservice. You tarnish his memory with your actions, Is this how he would want you to act? Turning on your allies?" Reyna said with a hint of anger coming into her voice.
"You have no idea what Jason has done to himself, he may as well have signed his own death warrant and all he did was what he was supposed to do, if it's Jason's death you seek worry not. 'Dura Lex Sec Lex'' Reyna almost growled in Latin, as Nico went from angry to confused in a split second.
"What do you mean 'The Law is Harsh but it is the law'?" Nico asked with a wheeze as Renya regarded him coldly.
"Percy is one of two acting Praetors of New Rome…. While what I said is true that Jason only did his duty to the gods… his duty to his legion and his Praetor is another matter. While his intentions were good, I have little doubt that is not how it will be seen in New Rome when word of this gets out." Reyna said as she released her grip on his shoulder, and turned around now pacing back and forth as she kept a careful eye on him.
"But Jason's Praetor….?" Nico said slowly backing away from the angry demigoddess, rubbing his chest as he finally felt his lungs start working properly again.
"Was Praetor. That is until the senate forced my hand and Percy was chosen to be Praetor, by public approval no less. I could no more revoke his title than I could move a mountain. The city would be in uproar over it. As it stands they believe the Greeks kidnapped him, that he only chose to leave to reduce the damage you 'Greeks' did to 'our' city. It's one of the main reasons I had so much trouble controlling the Legions, why war became inevitable, they're out for blood." She whispered quietly.
"Who the hell convinced them of that?" Nico asked in stunned silence.
"Octavian" Reyna answered with a sneer.
"But Octavian hates Percy, fuck he hates all of us Greeks, he thinks we are the scum of the earth, why would he convince them Percy was kidnapped?." Nico said in utter shock.
"Yes he hates you but Octavian is nothing if not a formidable politician, he knows that he can't turn public opinion against Percy quickly enough. He returned with the Legion banner, and Saved New Rome, only to be hosted on the shields of his legion and carried into the city as a savior. Octavian knows that to gain what he wants with any speed he cannot attempt to smear Percy's name. So he turns him into a martyr instead." Reyna replied quickly before spinning around suddenly to throw her once again clean helmet out into the field. It soared for about twenty feet before slamming into the dirt with a dull thud.
"Come on Reyna you can't be serious, Jason's a hero you can't seriously tell me that the senate will punish the demigod who led you against the Titans? what's the worst that's going to happen?" Nico said, trying to put on a happy face, while inwardly he dreaded what Reyna was about to say next, he knew the Legion laws and their punishments were brutal, but he had never taken time to get to know them intricately.
"Best case scenario, and this is if he's lucky; 'dissension for disobeying orders'. Percy did tell you to meet him there, a conversation overheard by Miss Levesque, it was her duty to report it to her superiors and their duty to follow the orders. As such Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque would also likely be charged in this case." Reyna turned back to look at him, "The punishment for which is to be flogged publicly, in front of the legion, twenty five lashes each."
"BEST CASE SCENARIO MY ASS" Nico Screamed surging forwards with a roar, "As if I would let any of you lay a finger on Hazel!" he finished, leveling a glare at Reyna.
"I doubt it would come to that, Octavian hates Jason even more than you apparently do. He will call for Jason to be tried for Treason, for which the punishment is death by hanging, and if he doesn't Jason will no doubt bargain for the other two and end up in the situation anyway." Reyna's voice wavered slightly before she steeled her eyes and looked at Nico once more.
"Oh.." Nico said quietly
"Yes so let us pray that you have come up with a way in which to track Percy Jackson, because if we can't find him I can guarantee you war will be at our doorsteps soon enough." Reyna said pointedly, her tone leaving no room for argument.
"Wait, so what about Frank? Jason Field promoted Frank to the rank of Praetor which is what allowed the legionaries to listen to him." Nico said suddenly, confused on the subject.
"Yes, that was after Percy had already been raised to fill Jason's place. Jason wasn't in New Rome long enough for us to formally revoke his military rank. The one that comes alongside being a Praetor, so instead he bestowed Frank his Military Rank, Promoting him to an acting Legion Legate. So Frank will be tried as an officer, Hazel and Jason as common legionnaires.
"Oh…" Nico muttered once more.
"Yes, so now that we have established how awful this situation is, do you think you can bring yourself to figure out a way to not let your personal emotions cloud your judgment here. You cannot complete this task alone Di Angelo." Reyna stated as she walked towards it and picked up her helmet, gently brushing the dirt from it.
"So instead, we shall travel together, Preferably as far from the other three as possible, I am still Praetor of New Rome and they, according to her laws, must stand trial…. I would not care for that confrontation, it would end badly." Reyna muttered.
"...thanks…" Nico said quietly
"For?" Reyna inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Not throwing my sister to those wolves in the senate…" Nico replied with a hint of gratitude gracing his voice.
"How about you pay that kindness back with some good news" Reyna replied with a smirk, "I need a nap, preferably not filled with dreams of a creepy statue and your blonde haired friend. And we need a way to track Percy." Reyna finished with a yawn.
Nico chuckled "Demigod dreams really suck, nothing like a load of random visi-" Nico froze mid sentence.
"Oh i could kiss you right now" Nico practically screamed as he threw his arms around Reyna. For a second they didn't really seem to realize what was going on. Before both of them flushed bright red and seemed to explode into movement as they separated.
"W-well that was interesting Di Angelo, i never took you for much of a hugger" Reyna said with a wide eyed grin on her face.
Nico turned around, flushing bright red which really put a damper on his whole creepy goth thing that he had going on. "If. You. EVER. tell anyone about that, i'll stick you somewhere very dark and very far away…" he said threateningly
Which was completely ruined as she giggled at him, the giggle slowly turned into a laugh and eventually the daughter of Bellona was flat out on her back, tears streaming down her cheeks as she roared with laughter.
Nico literally sethed with rage, but her laughter was infectious. He found himself fighting not to smile and ended up with a pained grimace on his face as his arms were crossed. His foot tapped impatiently while he waited for the normally stoic Praetor to get a hold of herself.
"I haven't laughed that hard in a long time" Reyna wheezed out between giggles. "You can be so 'intimidating' Di Angelo" She snorted and once more descended into unrestrained laughter.
"Alright, fuck off and get up, any brownie points you scored giving me this idea you just lost, times about a thousand." Nico replied grimly as Reyna stood up on shaky legs, a wide grin still splitting her features.
"And what might this idea be?" Reyna asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice.
"Well if I can't find him, I need some guidance, and I think I know the perfect guide." He flashed a quick grin, "How does a prophetic mortal blessed by Apollo sound?"
A look of sudden realization crossed Reyna's face as she said "I am unfamiliar with how your oracle works. But how will she be able to help us, does she not need divine inspiration or something along those lines?" she asked.
"Well yes and no" Nico replied as he grabbed her hand and dragged her deeper into the woods looking for a particularly dense and dark patch of shadows. "Rachel can see things in her dreams, far clearer than other Demigods, what she lacks is control of those dreams." Nico said calmly as he spied what he was looking for.
"Then how is she going to help us?" Reyna asked, a hint of frustration in her voice. "We don't have time for her to sleep a few days away."
"No but that's where a certain son of Hypnos is going to come in handy, Lets go pay my fellow campers a visit, I'm sure Clovis would love a late night visit from yours truly." he said flashing a grin as the shadows began to curl around them, Reyna gasped slightly at the cold as Nico struggled to keep the shadows stable and in check over such a long distance. It took nearly four minutes of constant struggle to stabilize it enough for safe travel, at which point Nico was soaked in sweat.
"This landing is probably gonna suck, fair warning" he said quickly before letting them fall into the blackness of the shadow realm. Normally it was like falling under a calm glassy lake, this apparently wasn't going to be a normal trip. Instead it felt like he was riding a massive water slide that was very poorly made, he had never been jostled about so much during shadow travel before, then again he normally wasn't so tired or jumping such a long distance.
All these thoughts raced through his mind as he struggled to keep a grip on the shadows wrapped around them, his blood freezing in his veins as he could feel his hold slipping. Finally his feet hit solid ground after what felt like hours, but in reality was seconds and he immediately released his hold. Sending him and Reyna crashing to the ground, both steaming slightly as the light coating of frost that covered their skin and clothing melted nearly instantly in the warm weather, the sun was setting behind them, meaning it was sometime around seven or eight o'clock.
As they untangled their limbs and stood up slowly he realized he had dropped them right at the edge of camp, close to the lake and Rachel's cave but away from the more populated areas, which was good. He didn't feel like explaining the presence of a Roman Praetor to his hot headed Greek friends.
"That was….unpleasant." Reyna commented dryly as she was clearly struggling not to puke.
"Serves you right, Karma for laughing earlier." Nico replied quickly as he stood up and dusted the sand from his clothing. He figured they would go talk to Rachel first, then he could go and grab Clovis. Just the thought of waking the son of Hypnos brought a smile to his face.
"I'll remember that Di Angelo" she groaned out as she stood slightly wobbly as she attempted to get over the brutal vertigo first time Shadow travelers normally experienced. Nico had to give her credit, that was a rough ride even for him and she appeared to be holding down her breakfast quite well.
Nico walked with purpose, knowing exactly where to head. Following the shoreline towards the cave as he thought about how he would tell Rachel what was going on. They weren't particularly close, but he knew she and Percy were.
As they neared the cave he and Reyna walked in silence, save for the occasional sound of waves crashing against the beach, and the rustle of the trees in the evening breeze. It was surprisingly warm out and the sky was lit with an array of red, yellow and orange hues that had turned the normally blue water into a sparkling golden sea.
"Fair warning, she can be eccentric" Nico said as they stepped up to the entrance to the cave.
Reyna looked at him and raised an eyebrow as a voice called out from within "Nico, nice of you to introduce me like that, but no need. Me and Reyna here are old friends." Rachel Dare said with an exaggerated wink as she stepped out of the inside cave, stopping to stand at the entrance.
Nico paled slightly as he stumbled on his words, "The good kind of eccentric you know…"
Rachel stared at him incredulously before she shook her head and sighed. Walking towards Reyna, who held out her hand formally as if to shake it. Rachel raised an eyebrow before stepping in and giving Reyna a full blown hug. Nico could have sworn he saw her whisper something in Reyna's ear but it was too quiet for him to make anything out.
With that out of the way she walked up to Nico and flicked him in the forehead, before walking into the cave and calling out over her shoulder. "Get in here, I know this wasn't a social call."
Reyna stifled a giggle and walked past him into the cave as Nico grumbled about 'stupid oracles'. Nico sighed deeply before following the two girls into the spacious cave. Nico had to admit she did well for herself, the whole space was decorated quite nicely, with carpets and throw rugs, even a few low couches. Dozens of murals covered the walls, depicting various members of camp half blood during the titan war, their exploits, their heroes, and their fallen. The rest of the room was dominated by a large circular firepit that hugged the back wall, though it was dark and empty. Instead Rachel had lit the inside of the cave with hundreds of small candles, which cast flickering shadows about the entire place.
Several incense burners lent a heavy almost intoxicating scent to the air, filled with the scent of oranges and spices. The smoke wafted across the floor in small waves, disturbed as they entered the lair of the Oracle.
True to her nature the Rachel had paintings both complete and in progress scattered about the place, various trays and paint supplies scattered about. However his inspection came to an end as Rachel plopped down on a couch and looked at the pair of them, gesturing for them to take a seat opposite her.
"So, I knew you were coming, and i have an inkling as to what you want to ask, but rather than play a guessing game why don't you tell me why you were in my dreams last night Nico, why are you here?" Rachel said, with deadly seriousness.
"I don't know how to say this exactly '' Nico began rubbing the back of his head, struggling to find the best words. For a few seconds there was silence as he wondered where to start.
"Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus, they were supposed to meet them at the doors of death and get out. Things went badly, they didn't come out and the doors were closed." Reyna said quickly, in a non nonsense tone of voice.
"Well, there goes the slight hope that it was just a really shitty dream…" Rachel sighed, her shoulders slumping for a second as she closed her eyes.
"Rachel?" Nico asked with some concern laced in his voice, as he watched the normally bubbly and excitable redhead sit with her head in her hands. However this only lasted a moment as she looked up at them. "I found out about Tartarus last night, but I didn't see Annabeth down there with him… it was genuinely awful, but it gets so much worse." she finished quietly
Nico and Reyna both paled, looking at each other in shock as Rachel let out a short sigh of frustration. "The spirit of the Oracle visited me last night, it hijacked my dream more accurately, took me somewhere, a cave with this massive ivory door. Then they issued another Great Prophecy…" Rachel said without emotion, watching the two demigods with some interest.
The silence in the cave was deafening, Nic could have sworn he could hear wax melting for around thirty seconds, no one moved, breathed or said anything. The three just stared at each other before absolute chaos erupted.
Nico surged to his feet shouting "What do you mean! How! Gaea hasn't even risen yet! How is this possible!?". Reyna on the other hand, sat on the couch, quiet, her lips pursed as she appeared to be deep in thought.
"What were these dreams like?" Reyna asked after a moment.
Rachel grimaced and looked at Reyna. "If you want to see it I can show you, but I'll warn you now, none of it is pretty."
Reyna looked at her strangely before nodding, In response Rachel walked across the cave to a set of five easels that had covers draped over them. "Enjoy the short trip inside my head guys" She said cherrily without a smile on her face, as she yanked the covers off one by one.
The first piece showed Olympus burning, the city filled with small figures battling as the flames rose high into the sky. Lighting cracked across the sky, and armies of Men and Monsters stood united under a banner bearing the symbol of Gaea, winged beasts spewing fire from their mouths soared in the air and all around the field the dead were piled high.
The second piece showed thirteen riders standing atop a hill, with a lone leafless tree in the background, snow swirling in the air around them. Each rider wore some sort of dark metal armor, and a collection of furs. Each of them carried weapons on their waists, A collection of swords, axes and hammers, all worn with use but still appearing deadly sharp even in the painting. The central rider wore a strange crown, a slim band of silver and gold in the shape of two leaping wolves, atop his helmet. Which covered his face like all the others, yet unlike the others in one hand he held a strange looking hunting horn, weathered and old, covered in strange runic markings in a language Nico did not recognize.
He pointed to the runes and looked to Rachel, "Any idea what those are?" he asked quickly.
"Your guess is as good as mine, just because I saw it first doesn't mean i understand it any better than you do…" Rachel replied sadly, before she moved onto the next canvas.
The Third piece showed a scene straight from a horror film, a horribly tortured man, his body covered in wounds and injuries, strung up in a sea of fire. Both his arms chained and manacled, the heavy chains themselves rose into the dark sky. The figure was clearly in pain, it was etched into his features, and it was a lifelike replica. He could have sworn Percy Jackson stood before him. The sky around him roiled with black clouds and the splash of red lighting across it reminded him all too well of his time in the Pit.
However, Nico had to note, having never seen an ocean in Tartarus, that he really had no idea where in Tartarus Percy could be. Nico thought with a sick sinking feeling in his stomach as he looked at the final two paintings.
The fourth piece showed nine demigods, standing before a sandstone temple in the middle of the desert, a river winded lazily in the distance and across the river he could see a city, with a clear middle eastern aesthetic. The Nine demigods rendered in magnificent detail were Jason, Piper, Annabeth, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Reyna, Thalia and himself. All of them stood in a halfmoon circle looking back at the viewer. They looked weary and tired, a collection of small wounds adorned almost everyone in the group. But the path before them was clear, the temple seemed to beckon him inside even through the painting.
The fifth and Final piece was confusing, it was a seemingly endless swirl of green smoke, obscuring most of the painting. However the vague shape of some massive monster lingered just outside the smoke, Barely visible. Two massive yellow eyes however, were clearly on display in the center, so lifelike they were almost mesmerizing to stare into.
Nico found himself admiring all five works with a sort of sick fascination and he looked at the lifelike renditions. The spell was broken when Rachel coughed gently, and he realized he had been absorbed in the paintings for nearly ten minutes alongside Reyna who was white as a ghost.
"So… I guess coming here to convince you to dream about where Percy was is kind of a waste?" Nico said sadly
"Not necessarily, I saw you coming here in my dream, so clearly you are here for a reason, the fates don't mess up this kind of thing. Specifically, I think that reason is to bring me to Olympus." Rachel finished in a clear ringing tone.
"W-what?" Nico asked as he blinked in confusion.
"I'll recite the prophecy for you first. It will make what comes next easier to understand." Rachel said as she closed her eyes and began to speak, slowly her voice seemed to echo back on itself within the cave until it was almost as if several voices were speaking at once.
"An ancient pact shall be unwoven, the fate of shadows shall be broken, her herald found at long last, his sacrifice shall be his past."
"Nine Demigods shall march in the face of Doom, the answer lies in wisdom's tomb. A foe from times long past, risen from the shadows cast"
"The blood of a king betrayed, the price in lives he paid, his people lost to one man's greed, the gods desires and foolish need"
"The Time of the Sword and Horse is Nigh, when Kings shall bleed and mortal men shall die beneath a crimson sky, Soon the hunting horn shall ring, with it our doom shall they sing."
"The nemesis of Apollo is risen, no sword or spear, shall pierce his hide. So powerful is the Great Chthoniosis. Pythia must strike the blow, her weapon, a legacy of Zeus lost in Scythia.
Rachel finished, opening her eyes and looking at the two demigods, Nico was pretty sure his jaw had hit the floor sometime during the second verse. This sounded way more complex and dangerous than the second great prophecy. Which still had yet to come to fruition, for or against them Nico thought darkly.
"Right after they gave me the Prophecy they told me that if they were not found and rescued, the fate of the gods, and all mortals would be at risk." Rachel said with an exhausted sigh at the end. Clearly tired after reciting the prophecy.
"Oh…" Nico and Reyna said almost at the same time. Nico was only half paying attention as he struggled to put the pieces of the prophecy together in any way that made sense. It was clear some enemy was rising against Olympus, as for who though, he had no idea.
"So, you want to go to Olympus because we need to inform the Gods of this, I assume Apollo is unaware?" Reyna asked, having sat back down on one of the couches in shock. One leg bouncing furiously as she held her hands to her temples.
"Yes" Rachel replied, "We can't wait, this is too important, and if what the Oracle said is true, whatever is behind this is just as bad if not worse than Gaea." she finished with a little bit of fire back in her voice. "
Reyna nodded in agreement, shrugging her shoulders as she did "I'm a soldier first, politician second. These prophecies are beyond me but if you believe that Olympus is where you need to be then that is where we shall guide you, Oracle" Reyna said with a nod of her head.
Both girls turned to look at Nico who was confused for a moment before it dawned on him. "I am not a taxi service" he said as he glared at them, which didn't seem to faze either of them in the slightest as they continued to look at him questioningly.
Nico glared at Reyna indignantly as she shrugged "I just figured for someone who could get two demigods from Greece to the camp in New York in one go, while half dead and starving. A trip from here into the city wouldn't be much of a problem" Rachel added cheerfully.
Nico sighed, "Rachel I'm exhausted, I barely made it here…" she walked up and poked him in the chest, angrily. "I've been up since three-thirty, and i had to not only see all this shit and paint it. I'm tired too Nico, really tired. So let's not play the who's had a worse day game" She said with a note of desperation in her voice.
Reyna stepped up, placing a hand on the other girl's shoulder, "Listen perhaps a night's rest would do us all well, we can leave first thing in the morning. I would prefer not to meet my Gods looking like something the cat dragged in." She finished with a slight smile on her face.
Rachel seemed to want to disagree, but after looking at both Reyna and Nico she seemed to realize that the Demigods were barely on their feet. Right as she seemed ready to open her mouth in reply, Nico cut her off. "Listen Rachel, someone explained to me the hard way earlier today, that this situation is rather delicate and that more than just Percy and Annabeth's lives are on the line here." Nico looked at Reyna and blushed slightly at the grin she was wearing.
"We need to sleep, I need to sleep. I promise you once we are rested and I've eaten something, I'll take you right to the empire states building." Nico replied as he sank down onto one of the couches with a yawn. His whole body felt so heavy now, even the effort of walking around was like walking through tar.
Rachel looked at him for a second as he teetered on the edge of blissful sleep, before snorting in amusement. Reyna went to grab a spot on one of the couches before Rachel grabbed her hand and half dragged her down towards a small cave towards the rear of the chamber.
"Boys don't care where they sleep, if you're going to stay here tonight at least be comfortable, those couches are hideous to sleep on. I would know, think of it like a sleepover" Rachel said with a giggle as Reyna stumbled along behind her, a look of shock on her face at the Ironclad grip the other girl had on her wrist.
Reyna shot a pleading glance at Nico, who responded with a shrug of his shoulder as he laid down on the couch and passed out almost instantly. The last look on his face was Reyna, her cheeks flushed with anger as she glared at him and made a throat slitting motion. Nico grinned as he fell asleep.
Authors Note:
Well I hope everyone enjoyed that part of this 2 part chapter. I will be posting the second story later this evening and hope that those of you who read it early on can bear with me until this afternoon haha!
This was a late night getting all the editing done lol, but i'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Also for any of you #Solangelo fans out there, i didnt change anything about Nico, Hes still Gay probably still interested in Will and Percy, thats probably up to yall.
From here on out I will be using some other languages. Like with Reyna speaking Latin in this chapter, I'm not going to write everything in captions beside it. I will however put any translations or explanations at the end of the chapter in the Authors Note section.
Lorica Segmentata: Roman Legionnaire armor. Made of two pieces that attach along the ribcage via bronze hooks and leather straps which can be adjusted to fit the individual.
Dura Lex Sec Lex: "The Law is Harsh, but it is the law"
Cassis: Roman Legionnaires Helmet
Happy April Folks! Hope you all have a good start to the month today, and as always until next time!