A/N: Also written by mainly jeffgangfan.

Nico felt righteous to make Percy suffer this kind of silence between them.

They hadn't talked since last night and didn't seem to go to any sooner since the Underworld demigod was determined not to breathe a word until Percy said something first.

Last night he had taken the couch, showing that this was truly a war. Waking up earlier than usual, he found that Percy didn't sleep on the bed, too, as if the son of Poseidon felt too guilty to do so. The green-eyed was showing the sign of a cold during breakfast and Nico had no idea if he should just stop and fuss over the guy for a while or just subtly buy some medicines and put them on the counter with a note.

"Please take me," he wrote, remembering the juice he had drunk last evening when he folded the piece of paper and put it next to the medicine he bought.

Nico then proceeded to ask Wayan to take him to the Ubud Market because the son of Hades wanted to buy souvenirs for his sister and friends. The driver told him that he would pick Nico up with another couple after two hours and Nico thought that having a little time to himself now wouldn't hurt.

The streets are so beautiful, there seemed to be no other word that could describe them better. They were small but clean and adorned with many statues whether from the pagodas or the small temples. As a city of tourism, it was inevitable for Ubud to have many restaurants, so the smell of food with delicious, tropical spices was faint in the air. After streets full of shops, Nico finally found the market.

People here seemed very honest and they always agree to lower the prices. It was safe to say that that was why the market attracted so many tourists. Nico made some good bargains when he bought Annabeth and Piper some vials of essential oils. The two wooden horses he spotted yesterday were actually the finest of the woodcrafts in that shop. He didn't hesitate to purchase them and moved on to find something for Will and Jason, since Frank was given a small figure with a quiver and three arrows ready to be fired. Nico purposefully wanted to remind the new praetor of Camp Jupiter the time when he fought with the bow, given that Frank had chosen to fight with a spatha when he became praetor. Leo had a pair of sunglasses; Nico honestly had no idea what to give the tinker anymore.

When Nico spotted the wind bell, he wondered, if he gave it to Percy, what would it remind the sea demigod of? Would it be about the time when he failed to have a summer fling? Something told him that Percy wouldn't be that shallow and Nico worried that he was more bothered by that thought than expected.

Well, he should. After all, he was truly in love with the green-eyed demigod so his feelings for Percy were carefully clarified right before of the trip, and they were not just butterflies resurrecting in his stomach, not wistfulness, or regret. Definitely not the desperation to be in a relationship. They were the emotions harbored for the present; they motivated him to try again with Percy. Now that he fell for Percy again, knowing that the demigod was not just a hero. It was undeniable that Percy was a troubled teen, but so was Nico. As far as the son of Hades was concerned, he and Percy shared more than just one thing in common and although the dark past bonded them, Nico was determined to not let it hinder any possible chance in the future for his happiness.

In essence, Percy was a wonderful person who Nico wanted to stay beside for the rest of his life whether as a friend or someone more than that. But fries with ketchup would be even better.

He chuckled to himself and bought the elegant bell. Suddenly feeling up to talking to Reyna, Nico rushed out of the market and found a coffee shop with a fish tank beside the empty table. He immediately jumped at the opportunity and after ordering some orange juice; he immediately tossed a drachma into the tank and asked to see Reyna. Plugging in his earphones as if talking to someone on the phone (Leo's invention), the blurry image of a strongly-built girl slowly came into sight.

"Reyna."

"Di Angelo."

"Reyna," he said, his voice softer.

"Nico." The praetor's expression softened and they smiled at each other, as if feeling a little bit silly with their solemn greetings.

"How's your trip, lover boy?"

"Tsk, I need your advice."

"Figures." Reyna chuckled as she tugged a strand of hair behind her ear. "So, what happened?"

"He kissed me," Nico said, his voice must have shown his frustration as the braided-haired girl frowned.

"Without any explanation?" Reyna rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I wonder if his cluelessness in love rubbed off on Annabeth. She knew everything, but sometime she just…has not the least idea!"

"Come on, Reyna." Nico rolled his eyes, too. "We both know how much you enjoy making her blush."

"If only you learned the art of it and used it on Percy. It'd be fun."

"Until yesterday, I'm the one who blushed more."

"That's a given."

"Now, what should I do?"

"Given that Percy is as frustrated as you are now, you should tell him how you feel. Demand him to explain. Tell him, he owes you that."

"Okay. You're the best, Reyna."

No sooner had Reyna's image faded away in the tank did Nico hear the blood-curdling scream. It was not the sound any human or normal creature would make. Looking at his side, Nico wanted to curse for having forgotten his sword. Instinctively, he crawled under the table and stared out the door, seeing people run in terror while others in the coffee shop joined the run, too. He tried to estimate the size of whatever that was chasing them while looking around to find anything suitable to defend himself.

The monster made Nico feel the urge to fight it rather than the urge to hide. It came to Ubud definitely because of him. Through the window, he found that it was the same Ular that he fought in the cave, coming back to life once again. Having no weapon, it wasn't wise to fight it alone so the raven-eyed attempted to call Percy but before he could even utter a word, something scaly had wrapped itself around his ankle. His chin collided with the ground and Nico couldn't register what was pulling him out of the coffee shop. It couldn't be the Ular because this thing's size belied the Great Snake's enormousness.

Grabbing the leg of the nearby table, he shook it violently to struggle with whatever that persistent thing was, as a consequence, some items fell off the table including a knife. He was not great with daggers in combat but Nico had to make do with anything he had now.

Determined not to let his only weapon slip through his fingers, he tightened his hand around the knife even more and turned his head to face the monster. It was neither human nor animal, Nico's specialty, an undead. Or should he say, two undead. The Ular appeared lifeless, its eyes dull and irresponsive. Standing on its head was a zombie dressed in tattered robes, mud plastered on them. Nico didn't understand how it was possible to balance on the head of a moving creature and was taken aback as he looked at his ankle because the thing that wrapped around it was a snake…and a limb.

To be more precise, the arms of the priest were scaly like the bodies of snakes and the snake heads were in place of the hands. The son of Hades had never seen such a thing before and failed to think of a strategy fast enough. The other snake-hand stretched and reached for his neck while Nico tried to break the grip around his ankle. He sliced at the snake-limb and the undead made an unnatural sound, the snake at the left sank its fangs into Nico's arm flesh at the same time the priest reacted to the blow. Nico was pretty sure he screamed and the son of Hades almost dropped the knife but his right hand grabbed the weapon and managed to cut at the head around his ankle.

The Great Snake moved rigidly in a pointless attempt to attack Nico with its jaw and Nico realized that the priest's legs were fused into the head of the Ular. Having found that weakness, Nico knew that he could attack the priest and the Great Snake so they wouldn't be able to wreak havoc anymore. His left arm hurt extremely and some negative thoughts slipped into his mind, telling him that he would die right here since the chance of defeating this creature is undeniably low.

A/N: Review. There's a family dinner going on. Please.