I'm really, really sorry for taking so long.
I thought I would have way more time that last week then (than? Somebody help me here!) I did. I took to carrying around this notebook in which I work on my stories when I have a moment of free time, but the problem is that then I have to type it up, which takes ages.
Anyway, I'm sorry.
Also, this is a kind of boring chapter, but a bunch of important transitions happen.
Enjoy!
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He had just started to realize that what he was doing was dangerous, and not just to him. People could get hurt. People could get killed. He was dealing here with powers far beyond his control. Hell, there was a kid who could summon the dead, and another who controlled the world's most powerful natural force, the ocean.
It would bring him the greatest shame, but he would put a stop to it. He might even be fired from the LEP, but that was better than getting people killed, right?
He hoped he could convince himself that it was.
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Dawn was coming.
Annabeth felt the chill and hugged her arms trying to rub some warmth back into them. It was that special time early in the morning when everything stood sill and the world was deathly quiet. Nothing moved save her, Piper and Jason, who were creeping stealthily across the now slightly scorched, smoking and ravaged grounds of the Fowl family.
They were looking for Nico di Angelo, but he was nowhere to be found. They had searched all of the deepest patches of shadow, had even risked calling out—but no one had answered, and no trace of him could they find.
There was only one thing left to try: Iris-message. A big risk; if an enemy who didn't already know about it (such as, she assumed, Artemis Fowl) saw them using it, they would gain a handy method of communication. But it was the only option left other than give up.
She beckoned to Piper and Jason, and the three demigods stowed themselves in a discreet corner.
"I'm going to try IM-ing him. There's a fountain over there," Annabeth whispered. Piper looked doubtful.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? What if—''
"I know." Annabeth exhaled deeply, her breath forming a cloud in the cool morning air, and pulled out the pen light she had taken to carrying about her person. She managed to refract the light off of the spray of mist from the fountain, a large, graceful affair made of marble. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering," she tossed a drachma into the rainbow, "show me Nico di Angelo."
This mist darkened and Annabeth made out the dim form of the son of Hades. He scowled.
"Annabeth," he said flatly. "I should have known you'd try to find me."
"Nico! Where are you? I've been looking for you for ages!"
"Did you find me?" The question left Annabeth a bit puzzled.
"Well, no, but—''
"Don't you think there might be a reason for that?"
The daughter of Athena looked wounded.
"What are you saying, Nico?"
"Aren't you supposed to be the smartest one around? You tell me what I'm saying."
"There was a pregnant pause.
"You're leaving us," Annabeth said detachedly. "You're running away to save your own skin."
"You really are dense, aren't you?" scoffed Nico. "I'm not running away. I didn't want to get involved in this, blame my father for my being here at all. I told you during the giant war that after I brought the Athena Parthenos to camp I was leaving for good."
"But—but Nico!" Annabeth decided to pay her last card, however cruel it was. "Percy cares for you, how do you think this'll make him feel?"
Nico's eyes flashed, and Annabeth suddenly understood what campers meat when they talked about the son of Hades' Death Glare.
"Don't talk to me about Percy!" Nico spat. Pure loathing oozed from his words. "I never thought even you, Annabeth, would try that. Well, keep Percy to yourself, and I'll keep my own company, thank you very much, and not trouble yours."
He cast one more disdainful glance over at her before turning away. "I'm not stupid, Annabeth," he said, his back to her. "The past few years, the only reason you were ever kind to me was so that I was on your side."
The Iris-message winked out.
Annabeth stood, shell-shocked, until Piper came up and put her arm around the daughter of Athena's shoulders.
"Don't worry, Annabeth," she said. "It'll all work out. Nico's still hesitating in his decision."
"How would you know that?" Annabeth said hollowly. "You barely know him."
"Daughter of Love," Piper said simply. "Trust me, Nico's a mess of emotions, and it just so happens that quite a few of them center on Percy. Love. Hate. Regret. Disgust, with himself. He still thinks he's a monster, and not just because he loved slash loves Percy."
Piper looked sad for a moment, and Annabeth wondered if she'd known a lot of people who'd gone through and identity crisis. It would make sense—she was counselor of Aphrodite cabin, and Annabeth knew that a lot of people came to her for help, romantic or otherwise.
"Just give him a few years," Jason cut in. "He'll wander, meet new people. Relax a little with himself. Just give him time."
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"You don't know what you're dealing with."
It was a phrase, however cheesy, that Percy had uttered many a time. It was very rare, in fact, for people to tell him that. He settled for saying:
"I think I do. You're a couple of mortals who figured out about the hierarchy above and, not to put too fine a point on it, got ideas above your station. You're not the first mortal to try to bring down a demigod, and you're certainly not the first to fail."
He gave the tied-up butler a sever look, like a schoolteacher telling off a naughty child, and tried to ignore Leo's failed attempts at not sniggering in the background.
The butler narrowed his eyes.
"Listen, demigod," he said. "You don't want to get involved with Master Artemis. He can outsmart all of you together. Besides, have you ever gotten tangled up with the underworld?"
Percy studied him for a moment.
"You work for Hades," he said finally.
"No. The criminal underworld," the man clarified. Percy pursed his lips but didn't say anything. "Well, you don't want to be. We have… contacts. Contacts who would be very interested to learn about your species."
Much to Percy's chagrin, Leo decided it was time for him to butt in.
"I'm pretty sure that's blackmail," he said helpfully.
"Yes. Are you prepared to risk your identities being uncovered?" said the butler evenly.
Leo looked from the butler to Percy and back again. Then he leaned over to the Son of Poseidon.
"It's illegal," he stage-whispered.
Percy sighed.
"I know," he said patiently. He turned to the other man. "I think we should speak again with 'Master Artemis', as you call him. "If we promise to free your hands," he nodded to the ropes binding the butler, "Will you lead us to him on a sort of parley?"
Their temporary prisoner gave them a wary looked, but nodded slowly.
"Yes. I will."
Percy got the impression that the butler was secure in the idea that whatever he wanted from the demigods, Artemis Fowl could get it.
"Good." Percy paused for a moment then said: "Sorry, what was your name?" He leant forward and started to saw through the ropes with Riptide.
"You can call me Butler."
"I'm Percy Jackson, and this is—''
"This is Leo Valdez, Super Awesome Commander of all demigods." Leo grinned, ignoring Percy's exasperated expression.
"Leo?"
"Yes, Percy?"
"Another time, please."
"Yes, Percy."
As Percy finished sawing through the ropes, Butler's hand twitched slightly. Looking down, he saw that he had nicked the man's wrist slightly. Blood was trickling from a tiny cut.
"Sorry about tha—'' Percy stopped dead, staring wide-eyed at the man he had previously assumed to be a mortal.
They stared at each other for a moment, but Butler looked totally mystified at Percy's reaction.
Finally, Leo broke the silence.
"What the hell?"
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Okaaaay... I hope you all made it through that.
I know Butler and Artemis would never actually sell the fact that demigods exist to crimelords. But replace 'contacts' with 'LEP', and, well... yes, they would tell the LEP. After much taunting on the part of Artemis.
Okay, little questions- which of the following non-fandom-favorite characters is your favorite, and why?
-Hazel
-Frank
-Piper
-Rachel
-Bianca
Please review!
~Kero