Thank you for all of the great reviews. I love hearing how much you like the stories. A big thanks to Huskietrident for giving me the idea for this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy. This takes place right after chapter 3 after Hazel and Nico come back on deck.
TARTARUS 2
Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, Thalia, Coach Hedge, and Reyna sat morosely on the deck of the Argo II. They all looked up as Nico and Hazel walked up from below.
"So, how are we going to go save our buddies and the world?" Leo asked, rubbing his hands together.
"How do we even know if they are alive?" Jason inquired.
"They are definitely alive," Hazel affirmed.
"And how in the name of Zeus are you so positive that they are alive?" Thalia asked.
Hazel looked over at Nico. Everybody else followed suit. Nico suddenly looked a little bit uncomfortable.
"They have each other. Tartarus works a lot like the River Styx. You have to think of the one thing tying you to the mortal world. It will be a lot easier for them than it was for me because they have each other," Nico said.
"So how did you survive Tartarus? Did you have the thing that tied you to the world with you?" Frank asked curiously.
"No," Nico replied. "I went in alone. She wasn't in Tartarus with me. She was somewhere safer."
"She?" Thalia asked from the railing where she was leaning.
"Um, yes," Nico said becoming very edgy. He quickly glanced at Hazel.
"So who is she?" Piper asked.
"Um, a friend of mine," Nico answered. Hazel glanced back at him.
"Come on, Nico. You can tell us," Leo said teasingly.
Nico glanced at Hazel, who gave him a reassuring smile.
"I would rather not say," Nico mumbled.
"You can trust them, Nico," Hazel said quietly.
"Yeah, you can trust us," Leo responded.
"Come on, Nico," Piper said.
"You can tell us," Jason stated jokingly.
"Fine!" Nico yelled. "Thalia. Thalia is the one person that ties me to the mortal world."
Leo, Frank and Coach Hedge looked dumbfounded. Piper had a knowing smile on her face. Hazel smiled at her brother. Reyna kept her poker face. Lightning cracked across the sky as Jason growled and Thalia stared at Nico like she had been hit in the face.
Jason advanced on Nico. "If you lay a hand on my sister..."
"Jason," Thalia said sharply, raising a hand toward her brother to hold him back.
Jason turned toward Thalia with an incredulous look on his face.
Thalia looked at Nico. "I'm the one person that ties you to the mortal world?" Thalia asked.
"Yes," Nico whispered. He looked down at his feet. When he looked back up, Thalia stood only a few feet from him. He jumped, startled.
Thalia leaned in closer. "You are the only person tying me to the mortal world, Nico," she whispered.
He looked down at her for a second before the words sunk in. Ignoring everybody else on the deck, he leaned down and kissed Thalia as if they were the only two people in the world. Thunder rumbled in the sky as Zeus and Jason looked at the kissing couple. Hazel grabbed Frank's hand and quickly pulled him below deck before he hurt himself starring. Coach Hedge loudly went off to watch his cage matches. Reyna dragged a hysterical Leo off the deck and Piper persuaded Jason to go down below as well. They left as the two children of the Big Three kissed.