In which Nico and Leo tell a story and Leo is a lil bit of a simp for Calypso- hey he loves her it's cute.
Reviews:
DrizzleRain: You will get reactions and eventually-and I will still do the Roman AU, but I'm not writing it currently- given how much I have to write as it is lol. I may start it once I've finished the Family ties series.
Drizzle: Even when delirious she's awesome.
Undeath9087: Leo and Nico definitely thought it was a great moment.
AkitoshTheBold: It's always good right? And yeah, it's understandable, because he doesn't remember and he's confused and hurt- but it'll get there.
Guest: I guess when you're stuck in a rut you don't think of new things.
It was a strange feeling, knowing that they owed Percy's life to a giant- but Nico wasn't about to complain- his big sister was alive and looking better, and he gave Damasen a strained smile as she snored. "Thank you."
"An hour or so of sleep and she'll be as good as new." Damasen pronounced, "Though I cannot heal the wound on her back."
"Wound on-" Nico frowned, "What wound?" there had been several on her back, too many for him to pay attention to specific ones.
"The carving." Damasen informed them, "It has been coated with something- something foul to force scarring."
"C-carving." Leo's face had turned pale- and when Nico met his eye they were both thinking the same thing. After all, they both knew who had probably done the carving- and Nico resisted the urge to rant and rage. And he also resisted the urge to look- they could
ask Percy about it when she woke up- it wouldn't be fair to look while she was unconscious.
In any case Nico forced himself to breath. "We'll deal with that later. Thank you Damasen."
And Damasen just looked back and forth between Nico and Leo mournfully.
"Oh, don't thank me. You're still doomed. And I require payment for my services."
"Uh- payment? Like, what kind of payment 'cause we don't exactly have much to give you."
"Something you can give." the giants eyes glittered "A story. It gets boring in Tartarus. You can tell me your story while we eat, eh?"
And Nico blinked, glancing at Leo, who shrugged. It wasn't a bad price to pay, all things considered- somehow in the giants hut the air didn't seem so toxic- Nico was feeling a lot better-and the stew was actually great.
And Nico started first- telling Damasen and Bob his story- of his childhood, his time in the casino. He told them how he'd first met Percy, and how he'd been sent to her- how he'd found a new big sister when his biological sister hadn't been able to cope. He told them everything- his first quest, his friends, and Leo stepped in when his time came- together they wove the story of their lives, of becoming a family.
And they told the story of their big sister.
Nico took over at one point, turning to look at Bob as he told the Titan how he'd really met Percy- he didn't spare any details, and Leo listened to that curiously- the others had never really told them the real story before so it made sense.
And he didn't hold back as he told them about Percy's fate, her death at the hands of their brother- and Nico was almost relieved to see the flash of anger that crossed Bob's face when he told them that part. Bob didn't seem too fond of his brother. Was that because he remembered what an ass Kronos had been or because he cared about them.
Some of that anger he'd been harbouring did seem to lessen when Nico explained how Percy hadn't had a choice really- Iapetus had been about to kill them all, Percy had done what she did to defend them, and the lie she'd told after, well, Bob hadn't had his memories- he'd seemed so kind and gentle. Percy hadn't wanted him tossed back in Tartarus like that so she'd done what she could.
And of course after the story of their victory- as much as it hadn't felt like one, came the story of the Prophecy of the Seven, which was a teensy bit awkward, given the fact that Gaea was both the Titan and the Giants mom.
When Leo had brought that up Damasen had been silent for a moment before he'd spoke.
"Yes," he said. "And Tartarus is my father." He gestured around the hut. "As you can see, I was a disappointment to my parents. They expected…more from me."
And Leo, being Leo- and Nico was going to strangle him some day, asked ,"So like, you don't mind the fact that we're trying to beat
up your mom right?"
Damasen snorted like a bull. "Best of luck. At present, it's my father you should worry about. With him opposing you, you have no chance to survive."
Which, yeah that didn't sound good.
"What do you mean?" Nico shifted nervously, "Opposing us how?" "All of this." Damasen cracked a drakon bone and used a splinter as a toothpick. "All that you see is the body of Tartarus, or at least one manifestation of it. He knows you are here. He tries to thwart your progress at every step. My brethren hunt you. It is remarkable you have lived this long, even with the help of Iapetus."
Bob scowled when he heard his name. "The defeated ones hunt us, yes. They will be close behind now."
Damasen spat out his toothpick. "I can obscure your path for a while, long enough for you to rest. I have power in this swamp. But eventually, they will catch you."
"My friends must reach the Doors of Death," Bob said. "That is the way out."
"Impossible," Damasen muttered. "The Doors are too well guarded."
"But you know where they are?" Nico asked quickly, tilting his head.
"Of course. All of Tartarus flows down to one place: his heart. The Doors of Death are there. But you cannot make it there alive with only Iapetus."
"Then you could come with us." Leo declared brightly, "C'mon dude. With both of you and the three of us we could totally pull it off-Percy's a powerhouse and so's Nico. We could do it!"
"Son of Hephaestus I am not your friend." Damasen wasn't harsh when he said that though, serious yes but not cruel. "I helped mortals once, and you see where it got me."
"You did?" Nico blinked, a curious look on his face, "How?"
"Bad story," Bob explained. "Good giants have bad stories. Damasen was created to oppose Ares."
"Yes," the giant agreed. "Like all my brethren, I was born to answer a certain god. My foe was Ares. But Ares was the god of war. And so, when I was born—"
"You were his opposite," Nico blinked, "Of course- that means you were peaceful right? Huh- Ares' opposite. Percy will like you."
"Peaceful for a giant, at least." Damasen sighed. "I wandered the fields of Maeonia, in the land you now call Turkey. I tended my sheep and collected my herbs. It was a good life. But I would not fight the gods. My mother and father cursed me for that. The final insult: One day the Maeonian drakon killed a human shepherd, a friend of mine, so I hunted the creature down and slew it, thrusting a tree straight through its mouth. I used the power of the earth to regrow the tree's roots, planting the drakon firmly in the ground. I made sure it would terrorize mortals no more. That was a deed Gaea could not forgive."
"Because you helped someone?"
"Yes." Damasen looked ashamed. "Gaea opened the earth, and I was consumed, exiled here in the belly of my father Tartarus, where all the useless flotsam collects—all the bits of creation he does not care for." The giant plucked a flower out of his hair and regarded it absently. "They let me live, tending my sheep, collecting my herbs, so I might know the uselessness of the life I chose. Every day—or what passes for day in this lightless place—the Maeonian drakon re-forms and attacks me. Killing it is my endless task."
"Leave then." Leo piped up. "Listen, if I could get Calypso off her island then there's got to be a way to break your curse. Or I'm not the great Flameo." Damasen chuckled sourly. "As simple as that. Don't you think I have tried to leave this place? It is impossible. No matter which direction I travel, I end up here again. The swamp is the only thing I know—the only destination I can imagine. No, little demigod. My curse has overtaken me. I have no hope left."
"No hope," Bob echoed.
"Hey!" Leo's voice was sharp and he straightened up. "I don't wanna hear that crap. There's always hope. If there's anything my big sister taught me it'd that no matter how impossible something seems, there's always a way."
"Bob has a plan to reach the Doors of Death." Nico added, "What was it you suggested Bob? You said once we found Percy we could hide in some sort of Death Mist."
"Death Mist?" Damasen scowled at Bob. "You would take them to Akhlys?"
"It is the only way," Bob said.
"You will die," Damasen said. "Painfully. In darkness. Akhlys trusts no one and helps no one."
Bob looked like he wanted to argue, but he pressed his lips together and remained silent.
"Is there another way?" Nico asked.
"No," Damasen said. "The Death Mist…that is the best plan. Unfortunately, it is a terrible plan."
"Even terrible plans are worth trying." Leo declared, "The crazier it is the more likely it'll work. You could return to the mortal world. See the sun again. I know it can feel hopeless- Calypso's island was much nicer than this and I know she felt hopeless but... there's always a way."
"Who is... Calypso?" Bob asked slowly.
"My girlfriend." Leo smiled faintly, "My love. She was a Titaness. She's mortal now. She was banished to an island for like, thousands and thousands of years because she fought with Atlas- her dad-"
"Atlas-" Bob's expression went cloudy for a moment and Nico tensed, before Bob's eyes seemed to clear. "I think Atlas was my son."
"Oh." Leo blinked before "Oh wow. Oh wow that makes you Cal's grandfather."
"Bob has a granddaughter?" Bob looked stricken at that news, as if he couldn't believe it. "She is good?"
"The best." Leo gushed- and Nico couldn't help but smile faintly at seeing that openly adoring look on Leo's face. It was nice, knowing that his brother was so happy now- he knew how much Calypso meant to Leo. She was to Leo what Will was to Nico. They were the lights in the dark, the warmth and goodness. And he watched as Leo told Bob about his granddaughter- and he also told the god about Zoe too, when he'd realised that meant that Zoe was also his granddaughter.
And Nico could see a certain warmth in Bob's eyes as he watched Leo- and Nico was pretty sure that the Titan would kill anyone and anything that threatened the son of Hephaestus from now on- now that he knew about his granddaughters.
But the brightened mood didn't seem to have much effect on their Giant host, Damasen's eyes were like the sockets of the drakon's skull—dark and hollow, devoid of hope. He flicked a broken bone into the fire and rose to his full height—a massive red warrior in sheepskin and drakon leather, with dried flowers and herbs in his hair.
After what felt like a lifetime Damasen spoke. You both should sleep. I will prepare supplies for your journey. I am sorry but I cannot do more." And Nico did consider arguing but... well, he was exhausted, the stress and the use of his powers had weighed him down a lot, and Leo looked tired too even as he protested, and Bob ignored Leo's protests and scooped him up like a rag doll, setting Leo next to Percy in the bed.
Nico decided he'd rather not get carried like a baby, so he stood up and staggered over to the bed himself- and he was willing to admit, as he toppled into it and curled up next to his big sister, that a few hours of sleep couldn't do any harm.
