Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians
So here's that chapter you all have been waiting for, I hope you enjoy it.
-P.S. There will be an important author's note at the end, so be sure to read it.
-P.P.S I looked at an actual map of the cabins, and locations are different here. So, disregard the actual map.
June: 15 years ago
Nico wasn't quite sure why, but he really didn't like Acacia.
He didn't hate her, not even close; there was just something about her that made him unsettled.
The rather complicated feelings he had for her developed over the course of a week.
The week began on the day of their return.
Day 1 started normally. The three sons of the Big Three, along with Acacia, got back to camp pretty early in the morning. That was perfectly alright with Nico, he could sneak away to his cabin unnoticed. He felt terrible and wasn't in any mood to make up some excuse for his poor health.
After taking a short nap, he forced himself to get up and go train, hoping to blow off some of the unstable energy he could feel building up inside of himself again. When he got to the Arena, Nico saw something that really bothered him.
There, standing in the middle, surrounded by Ares campers, was Acacia.
His first instinct was to defend and protect, which was new for him. Usually if he saw someone getting into a skirmish, he would generally ignore it. But this time, he had his hand on his sword's hilt before he had finished processing the scene. It turns out the Ares kids were just teaching her how to use a sword.
He considered leaving, since every time he was around her bad things seemed to happen. However, Nico didn't want a repeat of those nights so he forced himself to stick around. He had just finished hacking his third training dummy to pieces when excited shouting filled the Arena. He whipped around, fully prepared to tell whoever was shouting to shut it because he hated it when people made a racket when he was tired. That is, until he saw the first thing that began to make him feel funny around her.
Acacia was in a one-on-one fight with one of the toughest sons of Ares in the entire camp. The cabin itself was cheering them on, some waving their fists in the air while others hollered and whooped. Most of the others kids in the Arena had joined in and a circle of people were beginning to form around the dueling pair. In one swift and achingly short motion, Acacia disarmed the boy who was at least triple her size.
Nico's intended words died a slow and painful death in his throat, settling into the fresh grave that was his stomach and churning together with the black gunk that was still inside of him. He felt himself start to get angry; angry at something he couldn't quite explain. He slowly turned back around to finish off the dummy, determined to relax and burn off some steam, but things only got worse.
"-and you've never used a sword before?"
Nico's ears perked up at those words. All the commotion had calmed down and he could clearly hear every bit of that statement.
"Well, yeah, I guess." If Acacia hadn't been blushing before when everyone was surrounding her, she most certainly was now. Attention wasn't something the girl was used to or even liked. In fact, she borderline hated it. "I usually just use magic and spells, so I don't really need a sword, just my hands...or my wand..." Her voice trailed off, getting smaller and smaller as she talked. She felt kind of stupid for mentioning the wand; she had enough trouble with the whole witch theory already.
At the mention of the word 'wand', the entire arena burst into conversation. Campers began asking questions: was there really a wand, what did it look like, could they see it, and, much to Acacia's internal annoyance, did she know Expecto Patronum.
All suddenly went quiet when a small explosion rocked the arena. Everyone looked around for the cause, more curious than ready for a fight. The only thing out of place was a training dummy, which was on fire and beginning to turn a charcoal black. As people scrambled around to put it out, nobody noticed Nico stomping away looking worse than before and his hands clenched so hard his nails dug painfully into his palms.
Acacia's sudden acceptance sickened him so much, that he couldn't stand to be in the same place with her anymore.
That was strike one.
...
Strike two happened three days later.
"WHAT!? NO!"
All activity around the Big House halted and the more skittish campers jumped. Everyone recognized the voice as Nico di Angelo's, and he sounded mad. No, not mad; he was freaking enraged.
Nico, who had been called into the Big House by Chiron, could feel himself getting worse and worse by the day. His health and power control were declining much faster than before. His felt awful, but the thing that was the worst was his temper; it was dangerous for others as well as himself.
Unfortunately, the trainer of heroes didn't know this and decided to throw some unexpected news at the rather hotheaded son of Hades.
"The Hecate Cabin cannot be next to mine! It can't!" Nico, eyes blazing and heat coursing throughout his body screamed these words to the centaur at the top of his lungs. Being in the same place as Acacia was probably dangerous enough; having to live next to her for the rest of his summers at camp was definitely a death sentence.
"Mr. di Angelo, mind your tone." Chiron stared at him with a stern expression, doing well to mask his shock. He had been wondering what had gotten into the young boy lately. Nico usually did a very good job at masking his emotions and displaying a neutral façade, but the trainer of heroes could always tell when something was wrong with one of his campers.
The son of Hades huffed and sunk farther into his seat, making it clear how frustrated he was. Acacia was trying hard to disappear into the fabric of the chair next to his. She didn't know why Nico disliked her so much, only that he did. And that made it hurt even more.
She risked a glance at Nico and could tell how sick he was just by looking. The shadows under his eyes were so dark they looked like bruises on his pale skin, and his clothes had begun to wear him. All Acacia wanted to do was help him, but it was hard to do that when he hated being within 20 feet of her.
"Why can't you put her next to the Aphrodite Cabin, they like her enough," Nico said with a irritated wave of his hand.
"Be that as it may, I believe it would be in everyone's best interest, and safety, if the Hecate Cabin was next to yours." Chiron began flipping through the pages of the book he had been reading, trying to find the spot he'd left off on. The message he was trying to send was clear: this conversation would be over soon.
"Why? I mean, aren't all the goddess cabins supposed to be on one side."
Chiron glanced over the top of his novel, "So you'd rather have the Eros Cabin next to yours?"
A look of horror flashed across Nico's face before it was replaced with one of loathing. Judging by the twinkle in the centaur's eyes, Nico was positive he had this planned. He stood abruptly, swaying slightly when his head spun for a brief second, before storming out of the room.
That was strike two.
...
The last, and probably worst strike, happened on the seventh day itself.
Nico's sparring class was that day, and guess who just had to be there: Miss Acacia Chastity Earhart.
He wasn't going to let anyone ruin this day for him, especially her. Today, he was determined to have something happen in his favor, and he was going to make that happen right there in that class.
Now, the thing about this sparing class is that there really were no rules. It didn't matter what kind of weapon you used, if you had any magical items, or how you fought. Nope, it was all about who was strongest and who the best was.
Nico anxiously drummed his fingers against the hilt of his sword, actually a bit excited about something for once. It was in this class that he had the opportunity to prove himself to everyone; to prove he wasn't some psychopathic weak-link.
"Nico, you're up."
He was broken out of his thoughts when Clarisse called him forward. She was in charge, more by default than anything else, and could easily spot someone eager to fight.
As Nico made his way toward the center of the arena, he could see another person standing up and making their way to the middle as well. It was a girl, about his height, who didn't seem to have a weapon on her at all, with -
'No,' he thought, 'no, no, no, no!'
His opponent for the day was her, Acacia the witch.
He sneered as she took her position in front of him, holding what looked like a stick. Nico couldn't help but laugh to himself. "If she thinks she's going to beat me with that, then she's crazier than I thought," he muttered to himself as he drew his own sword. The black metal glinted in the sunlight as Nico began to channel his power into it, preparing for a quick blow that would keep this short. The other people in class began whispering amongst themselves and backing up closer to the wall.
Shadows seemed to be getting thicker as they stretched out towards the son of Hades, who was actually oblivious to them. He had absolutely no idea of the other things he was causing.
Clarisse eyed the shadows warily, but didn't let her nervousness show, "You two know what to do?"
They both nodded, not taking their eyes off of each other. Nico's glare at Acacia intensified as he raised his sword, preparing to strike with everything he had. He was confident he could win this.
The daughter of Ares signaled for them to start...and that was when things really went downhill for Nico.
He began slashing at his opponent with his sword, keeping his pace and going through the technique in his head. But no matter what he did, she seemed to side step every attack he threw at her, using that stupid stick to deflect all his jabs and swings. It may have looked like nothing more than a twig, but it had to be pretty strong to hold up under his blows. He honestly hadn't expected that.
Nico decided it was time to change tactics to something a bit more...him.
He pressed in on Acacia, causing her to back up, and then just as she was about to take another step he tripped her by willing a shadow to stretch up from the ground behind her feet.
The young sorceress ungracefully fell backwards onto her bottom, wand toppling out of her fingers. Nico grinned, 'Perfect.' He lifted his sword, about to place it on her throat to show he was victorious...when his tummy bubbled.
Nausea might as well have punched him in the stomach the way it came on him so hard and fast. Nico could feel the black muck churning inside him, almost as if it was writhing around in his belly all on his own. It was sickening, the way it felt, and the aggressiveness of the churning…well, if he wasn't scarred before, he most certainly was now.
Acacia actually heard his stomach growl and watched with concern as his pale complexion turned a sickly shade of green. She noticed him gag slightly, assuming he must be having another episode as he did.
She also noticed the sudden hiccup in his attack, and the way his sword went somewhat lax in his hands.
In one fast motion, Acacia grabbed her wand and fired a shot of power at Nico. She'd tried to hit him in the chest so that she wouldn't make his current condition even worse. Unfortunately, she aimed too hastily.
Acacia hit him right in the gut.
Nico felt something slam into his queasy stomach. He almost threw up, but thankfully the force of the hit had knocked him onto his back, so he was able to swallow it down. His dark sword toppled out of his grasp, clanging against the ground.
The entire arena was silent except for the ringing sound of metal that was beginning to fade. Clarisse stared at the two people who were once fighting; one was lying flat on their back moaning while the other was looking at the first with an apologetic expression. "Well, finish," she commanded.
The new girl blinked before crawling over to the son of Hades and gently placing her wand on his neck. Clarisse took note of the timid gesture and snarled. 'This won't do,' she thought.
She stood up straighter and looked directly at Nico and Acacia, "You two, get up. And the rest of you, get out. Now!" As the other participants of the class scuttled away, she marched over to the two youngest members.
The daughter of Ares bent down and grabbed Nico by his arm, jerking him to his feet. Acacia stood slowly with her head down, glancing at Nico from under her lashes. His face wasn't very green anymore, much to her relief. Words couldn't even begin to describe how bad she felt for what she'd done to him, and she couldn't help but wonder how much he hated her now.
"If you two wimps are going to act like that again, then maybe you don't belong in this class," Clarisse sneered before looking directly at Acacia, "Hesitating like that on the battlefield will get you sliced to bits, and if you screw up like this again, you won't have to go to a battle, I could do it myself. Now, if don't want that to happen, then you, both of you, better get your acts together or else I'll do it for you! Are we clear?"
Both of the young teens nodded, one trying to keep from exploding and the other trying to become one with the wind (or just vanish, either was good).
Clarisse's scowl shifted from Acacia to Nico, "You know something; I honestly had high hopes for you, Corpse Breath. You've got spunk, but until you can put it to good use maybe you shouldn't be in this class."
The son of Hades was fuming at this point, silently trying to kill Acacia with his mind. It wasn't working. She had been nothing but a pain, until she humiliated him in front of a crowd and jeopardized his place in an advanced class he wasn't even supposed to be in. He'd worked hard to get here, and now IT was causing his life to crumble to bits.
"You both need to shape up, so be here at 7 a.m. tomorrow. You better be grateful I'm taking time out of my life to do this, and we can't have either of you getting destroyed in your first real fight, you're both too valuable. We'll train for an hour every day before breakfast."
Clarisse began to stalk off when Nico called out, "For how long?"
She looked over her shoulder to glare at him, "Until I say so! And you two better not waste my time like you did today."
And with that, the daughter of Ares left.
Acacia and Nico stood side-by-side in an awkward silence, neither of them moving for quite some time. The daughter of Hecate wrung her hands together and bit her lip, trying to think of how to apologize.
"Nico, I-"
His head snapped to the side, a scowl plastered on his face, "Are you having fun?"
"…What?"
The son of Hades crossed his arms, "Are you having fun destroying my life?"
Acacia opened and closed her mouth, the occasional gasp coming out, "I-I'm not trying to destroy your life-"
"Oh, oh, you're not." He quirked a brow up mockingly, "So, you're just crazy?"
"What is your problem?!" Acacia threw her hands into the air, throwing caution and good manners to the wind, "If this is about what just happened, then I'm sorry!"
"'Sorry' doesn't cut it."
She rolled her eyes, "Then what will, huh? Going to Chiron and begging to have my cabin built next to the Aphrodite one? Leaving Camp Half-blood altogether?"
Nico scowled and bent down to pick up his abandoned sword, "Well, it depends: if you're begging, will you be on your knees?" When Acacia scoffed and looked off to the side, he knew he struck a nerve and smirked as he sheathed his weapon, "But, if you are leaving, then I'll sure as Hades help you pack."
She looked back at him with a glower that almost made him take a step back. He really hated to admit it, but this daughter of Hecate could be kind of scary if she wanted to.
"If you honestly think," she said while taking a stride forward, "that I'm going to do either of those things then you're the crazy one."
"Then let me tell you something you are going to do." Nico's glare hardened as he stepped toward Acacia to where their faces were only inches apart, "Stay away from me, got it? I've got enough weird in my life already, and I don't even need you in it at all."
"I just want to help you!"
"Who are you? Wendy the Good Little Witch?"
"Then that makes you Casper."
He made a low growling sound in the back of his throat as he ran his hands through his hair and pulled at it, "Just stay away from me!"
Acacia's bottom lip stuck out a bit in a defiant pout before she smiled this sickly sweet smile and said, "I'll do whatever I please."
Nico felt what little composure he had left slipping away his temper flared and heat coursed through his veins.
Out of every person he knew (dead, alive, or immortal), Nico had never met anyone so frustrating, so infuriating, so…so…GAH! How did she manage to get under his skin so badly she practically made him itch? How? What made her so "special" that he felt like this? He didn't feel, at least not like this.
The person in question watched in silent triumph as Nico's eyes blazed. But her success was short lived when he suddenly fell onto his knees while clutching his head. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, when the weirdest thing happened.
The ground started shaking.
It was small at first, before it escalated into a full out earthquake.
Acacia fell as the arena rocked and everything practically fell into chaos. Racks of weapons fell, scattering swords and spears everywhere. Cracks formed in the walls as they began to crumble apart. She could hear people screaming and calling out for each other. Glancing back up at Nico, she began to slowly crawl towards him.
She knew he was doing this; his aura might as well have been sparking. Nico was still in the same position, even when Acacia finally made it over and placed her hands on his head gently.
Even through the extreme pain that was splitting his skull, he wanted to yell at her for touching him. But his head hurt too much for Nico to even open his eyes.
The last thing he heard was Acacia mumble an apology before losing consciousness. The ground stopped quaking as Nico collapsed onto the floor.
…
Strike Three.
He was out.
"It kills me to lose. If I'm a troublemaker, and I don't think that my temper makes me one, then it's because I can't stand losing. That's the way I am about winning, all I ever wanted to do was finish first." – Jackie Robinson
Okay, another chapter up and done. So on to my note.
This entire shebang is going to be a five part series as following:
Nico di Angelo & the Great Prophecy: The Oracle's Chest
Nico di Angelo & the Great Prophecy: The Dragon King
Nico di Angelo & the Great Prophecy: Breaking Death
Nico di Angelo & the Great Prophecy: The House of Spirits
Nico di Angelo & the Great Prophecy: The Champion
And, an epilogue story with just the gang and their lives w/ family.
Personally, I'm really looking forward to burying myself under all this work I'm going to put into writing this summer. However, don't expect immediate updates because I'm taking an online honors class this summer to get ahead for high school.
Also, how would you all like it if I made a Facebook/Twitter page for the series? Review with your opinion.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, there will be many more as you can see.
Happy dreaming and scheming,
~Fantasila~