So, I see you all liked the dark and creepy dream. Good good. I do like that Nico's characterization is liked. Different, but still kind of the same. Definitely a mysterious vibe. That will continue even after the plot reveal. So, I was thinking the other day and I'm really not sure how long this story is going to be. I can tell you we aren't even near the halfway mark. Hmm. Oh, and heads up for next week, I'll be doing a reviewer shout-out. So, if you are leaving reviews I'll go check them out and put your name up and write you a little comment. I see other authors do it. :'( I just want to be a cool kid. Anyways, this week we are doing something special. Braigi will be joining us.
Me: So, this is 5. The chapter that will destroy me.
Bragi: Slaps Son of Hades
Me: So hurtful. What if they hate me? What if they leave me?
Bragi: Be a man. You did fine.
Me:So, you like my idea of it? :(. You finally let me make Nico a total badass.
Braigi:Correction: I allowed you to finally get past your first base love affair with Nico's powers and absolutely sterling personality.
Me: . Nico is awesome. My final question is how easy is it to beta my work running off one hour of sleep and being busy writing an essay all day? Also why aren't you in bed?
Braigi: I may be a slave driver, but I do like to work hard for my writers~ And, I am not in bed because your work required...concerted attention ^.^
Oh, also if you tried messaging me last week and didn't get a reply, or it was really delayed, I apologize. My week kind of got busy around Wednesday. Plus any free time I could spare was busy working on writing.
Also, let it be known that I've spent the past week, and some before that, worrying over this chapter. This is it. The moment I'm sure you've all wanted is finally here. You finally get to know what is going on. I know some of you will keep on reading, hopefully. I talked a little to a few and they are all "stop worrying, you are doing great." Doesn't change the fact that my plot choice could make or break my story. Braigi has had me run through the plot synopsis and things to come so much. I feel confident that it will be a good story, I'm just not sure how everyone else will feel. Anyways, enough ranting. Let us get to the chapter. You've all waited long enough.
Disclaimer: Sigh. If only I owned Percy Jackson
Warning: Slash, Language, eventual smut, probably making Percy seem like a whore.
Chapter 5
"Percy! Percy, wake up!" Percy shot up in bed. Will was sitting next to Percy with a concerned look on his face. "Are you ok? You were screaming." Percy's body felt cold, and he was covered in sweat. His entire body was shaking.
Percy nodded as he ran a hand through his hair, but Will didn't look convinced. There was a knock at the door before Annabeth stuck her head in. "I'm sorry to barge in, but is everything alright? You were screaming pretty loud, Percy," she said as she came to sit on the bed.
"I-I'm fine. It was just a bad dream," Percy replied.
"Another one? Percy that's two just last night. Maybe you really should talk to your parents or a counselor about this."
"Wait, just last night? Has he been having them a lot lately?" Will asked. Annabeth nodded. "Percy why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what? They were just dreams," Percy said.
"Just dreams? Percy you couldn't remember even getting to bed for two nights. You also didn't remember the nights as they happened. You seemed to imagine up a guy. What was his name?" Annabeth said.
"Nico," Percy mumbled.
"Yea, that was it. Percy, how can you not see how troubling this is?"
"Percy, I'm with Annabeth on this. You really should go talk to someone about this," added Will.
"I didn't make him up! My parents saw him yesterday, he was at their place with me at the family dinner," Percy said, almost in a yelling.
Will didn't look happy about that. "I haven't even got to meet your parents yet. So, you had over someone you just met to meet them? I thought you told me you hadn't taken an interest in someone else?"
Percy groaned at what he pretty much admitted. "It's not like that. It's hard to explain, ok? Just trust me." He reached for his phone and scrolled to his dad's number. "The point is, my dad can prove that he's real."
Percy put the call on speaker. It rang a few times before Poseidon answered. "Percy? What are you doing calling this early? We barely ever hear from you at all."
"Sorry, I figured you were already up," Percy said.
"Oh, I was. Your mother and I were just about to head to work. Is there something I can help you with?"
"Yes, actually. Can you tell Annabeth here that we had a guy named Nico over at dinner last night?"
There was a pause on the phone, he heard his parents mumble to each other in the background. "Percy, are you feeling alright?"
"What are you talking about, dad?"
"There was no one else at dinner last night."
Percy saw Will and Annabeth frown at him out of the corner of his eyes. It figured they wouldn't remember. Why would they? Nobody else seemed to. "Thank you, Mr. Jackson. I think Percy is feeling a little under the weather today. I'll make sure he gets some rest," Annabeth said.
"Alright, thank you, Annabeth. If you need us you have our number," Poseidon said before he hung up the phone.
"Percy, I'm really worried about you. I'd really like for you to go see a counselor today," Annabeth said. She looked so concerned that it tore at Percy's heart. He knew she meant well, but deep down, he knew he was right about Nico. Apparently, he wasn't going to be getting any help to proving it, though. He figured he'd give her some reassurance and nodded agreement, even though he probably wouldn't go see a therapist.
"Alright, I need to get ready. So, if you'll excuse me," Percy said. He grabbed some clean clothes and made his way out of his room and into the bathroom. He slid his boxers off and turned on the water. He stood there a moment to let the water warm, while his mind already began to wander. He stepped under the steaming water and let his muscles relax.
"Percy." Percy snapped his eyes open at the sound of his name. It came out as a whisper from somewhere in the bathroom. He pulled the curtain back, but nobody was there. There was something written on the fogged up mirror. Today is the day. A chill ran down Percy's spine. He guessed this was Nico's way of warning him. This was just what he needed to go with his day so far, it had already been going so well. The worst part was Percy didn't even know what to expect. He didn't know who or what Nico was.
Percy turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a towel and began to dry himself off. He had wrapped his towel around his waist when Will came into the bathroom. Percy quickly wiped the mirror so Will didn't see what was written on it. Will wrapped his arms around Percy's neck and leaned up to kiss Percy. "Please don't be mad at me. I'm just concerned," Will said timidly.
Percy shook his head. "I'm not mad at you. I know that you're just concerned. Things are just weird for me right now, I'm trying to figure things out. Maybe it's all just stress."
Will nodded. "Maybe. Just know I'm here if you need me." Percy hugged Will and kissed him on the forehead. The blonde maneuvered out of Percy's arms and began to strip and he got in the shower to get ready for school.
"Hey, Percy!" Percy stopped walking at the sound of Luke's voice. The taller blonde came jogging up to Percy and Percy continued on his way. "Going to class?"
"Yea, not really looking forward to it."
"Oh, that's cool. I was just on my way to work. You know...we could both ditch and hang out." Percy smiled while keeping his face forward. "I just feel like today we should go do something."
"Like what?" Percy finally looked at Luke.
"Oh, I don't know. I'm sure we can figure something out. I could take you to work with me. Show you around. I'm sure my boss would like to meet you." Luke let a big smile spread across his face.
Percy laughed. "Have you been talking about me at work, or something?"
Luke shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, just that I met this cool guy named Percy."
"Uh-huh. Well, how about a raincheck? I got a test today, so I can't really miss. How about after school?"
"Maybe. I guess just text me when you're done if you want to come check the place out." Something flickered in the corner of Luke's eyes, but Percy couldn't quite place it. Luke looked ahead of them and his smile fell. Percy followed his gaze to spot Jason leaning against a tree. "I'll see you later, Percy." Without waiting for Percy's reply Luke walked off.
"Hey, Jason," Percy said as he got closer. Jason looked up from his phone and smiled. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, uh-I guess this is a little weird. I just hoped I'd run into you on your way to class. So, I could kind of explain about yesterday."
"Oh, yea, I was kind of hoping one of you would," Percy said as Jason fell into step with him.
"Well, it's a bit of a long story. Partly about a friend of mine. He had a bad break up with Luke, I guess is one way to put it. Just be careful around him, Percy. He's not all the warm smiles he appears to be."
"Is that all there is to it?"
Jason chewed on his lip. "I-I don't know if I can tell you more." Jason seemed to think to himself for a moment. He let out a long sigh and mumbled something under his breath.
"What was that?"
"N-Nothing." He smiled at Percy. "Just enjoy your day at school." Jason silently turned and walked off. Percy stared at his retreating form until he was out of sight. Yes, today was not a normal day. The bad part was that whatever was supposed to happen hadn't happened yet. So, Percy knew he had more to look forward to. He could only groan at that thought. The day was already long enough. Clouds started to drift in across the sky, the sound of thunder could be heard in the distance. Percy sighed and walked into his building before it would start raining.
He saw Grover not too far ahead of him and jogged to catch up to his best friend. "Hey, Grover."
"Hey, Perce. You ok?"
Percy let out a sigh. "Annabeth told you?" Grover nodded. "It's not really a big deal. It was just a bad dream."
"You seem to be having a lot of them lately, Percy."
"I know. It's nothing to worry about, though." Grover looked skeptical. "I don't need a therapist to 'fix' me, there's nothing wrong with me."
"We don't think you're crazy, dude. Maybe you could just go and vent your problems though. You don't talk to anyone about them a lot of the times, not even me. Everyone needs to vent, man."
Percy grumbled. "I'll think about it." Grover and Percy bumped fists and Percy headed for his first class.
It was Percy's third class of the day when chaos finally hit. Percy tapped his pencil against his open book as his professor gave a lecture. Percy tried to pay attention, but all this anticipation was getting to him. If everything was about to change, would any of this matter? The projector turned on by itself, which caught Percy's attention. The words, 'get out', were projected on the wall. Everyone seemed to notice, and even the professor stopped his ranting to look at it. Percy's heart sped up, he knew that was directed at him.
He sat next to a window, so he rose a little and looked out the window. Two heavily armored black vans were parked outside. Men in heavy body armor and riot shields hopped out. A rack of guns extended out of the back of the vans and the men grabbed one each. Lightning flashed across the sky. A chill ran down Percy's spine as the men advanced towards his building. They were coming for him.
A wave of panic overcame Percy. He had to get out of there, and fast. Would Nico show up and help him? Would he be on his own? His questions were soon answered as the door flew open. Nico stood in the doorway. His usual innocent features had been replaced with a look of seriousness. "Excuse me? I'm in the middle of a lecture," Percy's professor said. Nico didn't pay him any attention. He just scanned the room for Percy. When Nico spotted Percy he was at Percy's side in a flash.
"I told you to get out," Nico said darkly. It sent a shiver down Percy's spine. He couldn't help to think back to the dreams he had the night before. He flinched when Nico grabbed his arm. The boy gave Percy an odd look, but yanked him out of his desk anyways.
"Where do you think you are going with my student? You can't just barge in here like that! Don't make me call the police," the professor yelled behind them. Percy's focus didn't leave the back of Nico's head as he was dragged into the hall. In silence, Nico led him down the hall and to the stairs. Nico looked down, as did Percy. The swat team outside was moving up the stairs. One of them spotted Nico and Percy and yelled.
Nico gripped Percy's arm tighter and moved quickly up the stairs. Why was Nico taking him to the roof? They would be trapped up there. "Nico, there's no way out up there," Percy tried to reason, but the boy didn't respond. Why was he letting himself be dragged away by this boy? That dream last night had seemed so real. What if it had been a warning? Strange things had been happening, so it didn't seem unreasonable. The first dream seemed more like a memory. The way Nico had acted in it was slightly frightening. He could be getting himself killed by going with Nico. For all he knew, these men were here to arrest Nico. Instead of taking Percy to the roof, Nico pulled him into the top floor. It had been shut down for some work to be done, so nobody was up here but them.
Nico pulled Percy into an empty room and shut the door. "I need you to stay here for a moment," Nico whispered.
"No, I want to go. You can't just take me like this!"
"Shh. Keep your voice down or they'll hear you."
"How do I know you aren't the one I should be trying to stay away from?"
"You'll just have to trust me. If you don't want to come with me that's fine, but you'll still have to get out of here. However, they aren't just going to let you walk out the front door. You want out, you'll need my help."
"I've taken martial arts. I can defend myself."
Nico laughed quietly under his breath. "Did you not notice their guns, Percy? They don't exactly shoot bullets, but they're still effective enough to take you down before you get close to them."
"And you can take them out?"
Nico nodded. "Trust me. I'm not trying to hurt you, Percy. I actually want to see you safely out of this."
"You could have led them to me," Percy whispered harshly.
"I told you I'm not really trackable. You've attracted enough attention on your own without my help." Percy could hear the swat team come through the door at the end of the hall. If it wasn't so quiet, they would have been undetectable. "Stay here. Run when you get a chance." Percy nodded and Nico slowly opened the door. It was left open, just enough for Percy to get out when the time came. From there, Percy could see the soldiers down the hall. They stopped searching rooms when Nico came into the hall.
They pointed their guns at Nico and told him to freeze. Nico didn't reply, but something told Percy something bad was about to happen. Shadows radiated off Nico's body in waves. All the lights in the hall burst. Two of the soldiers fired their guns but the shadows moved in around Nico to absorb the blast. Nico extended his hand out towards the guards and a tentacle made of shadow extended down from the ceiling to grab one of the men and flung him into the wall. Percy figured he had to be dreaming. This couldn't be real.
Nico crossed his arms over his chest to form an 'X'. The walls around him creaked as shadows pulled in towards him. Nico yelled at the top of his lungs and spread his arms. Shadow spikes erupted from the ground. They moved fast at the swat team, who scattered to get out of the way. One of them called to open fire, but Nico held out his hand and the shadows tightened around the guns, crushing them. They seemed to be afraid now, but they didn't move. Percy couldn't even move. He was frozen in place. Was Nico really the dark thing from his dreams? Percy remembered what Nico had said the other day, "Though, if you end up with the enemy, my attraction won't stop me from doing what I have to do." Would Nico kill him? Would Nico kill his friends and family to get Percy to come with him?
Nico gathered a ball of shadows in his hand. He threw it like a baseball at the swat team. It exploded, sending all the men into the walls. They didn't get back up. Were they dead? Had Nico killed them? This thought frightened Percy. Nico might turn on him. Percy gathered himself and ran out of the door and down the hall. Nico called after him, but Percy didn't stop. He ran to the stairs and headed down. The door at the bottom opened and more men entered the stairwell. This was just great, Percy was now trapped. He turned around and headed for the only other he could run to, the roof.
The rain was falling hard when he came outside. Lightning flashed overhead. There was no place else to run. It looked like this was the end for Percy. He walked to the edge and looked down, it was too far to jump. He'd die if he tried. An odd sound behind Percy drew his attention. Nico was standing a few feet behind him. He looked at Percy with a concerned expression. "You don't have to be afraid of me, Percy. You and I aren't so different, as you'll find out soon enough."
"W-What are you?" Percy asked. The shadows were dancing in Nico's eyes just like in his dream.
"You could say I'm special. Just like you are. I can explain all of this later." Nico moved closer to Percy and stood next to him on the edge. "Just trust me." He held out his hand towards Percy. All Percy could think about was his dream last night though, the way Nico had done the exact same thing in his nightmare.
"Tell me what you are first."
Nico sighed. "I don't have time to tell you everything. I can explain it all if you come with me. We don't really have a term for what we are, we just call ourselves Specials. We aren't like everyone else, Percy. You're in danger for what you are. Please just come with me, and my boss will explain everything."
Nico's eyes were pleading with Percy. The door to the rooftop burst open and the second team surrounded the two boys. "I don't really have a choice do I?" Percy asked.
"There's always been a choice, Percy, and you'll always have one. I promise. Trust me, please." The men raised their guns and pointed them at Percy and Nico. Percy gave a silent nod. He reached out and took Nico's hand. The boy pulled Percy to him and wrapped his arms around Percy's waist. The men pulled their triggers and fired at the two. Nico pulled them over the edge and the two fell. Percy screamed. As the ground grew closer darkness seemed to envelop them. Percy blacked out.
Percy woke up to the sound of voices. Except, he wasn't awake, not really. It was like he was drifting between conscious and unconscious. He could make out three people standing over him, but he couldn't make them out. Everything was blurry. One of them sounded angry with one of the smaller ones. "I did what I had to do. He's here isn't he? I did what you asked. I watched him and I got him here. We learned they were moving in on him, so I made sure to get him out." It was Nico. He was being defensive about something. Was it about Percy?
Someone sighed. "Alright, at least he's here where we can keep him safe. Good job, both of you."
"Nico did most of the work. I just thought he could use a more sociable approach. Ow, what the hell, Nico? It's not my fault you're not that great with people." That voice sounded familiar. It was on the tip of Percy's tongue. Why couldn't he think clearly?
"Can we not abuse my boyfriend?" a voice said from across the room.
"Quiet. He's waking up."
Percy's eyes blinked a few time. Nico's face was the first he saw. The boy was watching him carefully. A small smile played across his lips. "Welcome back. Shadow traveling isn't for everyone, I suppose."
A man with shoulder length brown hair stood to Percy's left. He was an older man, probably around Percy's parents age. He was very tall, probably a head over everyone in the room. He looked serious, but there was something warm and inviting about the man. "Hello, Percy. I've been waiting quite some time to meet you. My name is Chiron, and I'm in charge of this little organization."
Percy sat up and rubbed his head. It felt like it was going to split open. Across the room, sitting on a chair was the boy Jason had shown him. Jason's boyfriend, Apollo. He was just as dazzling as his picture made him out to be. "I think you already know who I am, Jason said he mentioned me."
Jason! That was the voice. Percy whipped his head around to see the blonde standing beside Nico. "Hey, Percy," Jason said awkwardly.
"W-What's going on? You," Percy said pointing at Jason. "You were with Nico? You were helping him? Is that why you were there that day? To become friends so you could help watch me?" Percy was getting angry.
"Percy, you have to understand, the enemy was getting close to you. We had to take some extreme measures. I mean, I really did enjoy hanging out with you. I do consider you my friend, but yes, I did have to keep an eye on you."
Percy's head was starting to spin. It was all too much. What all had been set up in his life by these people? "I feel sick," Percy said. Nico handed him a pill and a cup of water. Percy hesitated to drink it, unsure of what it would do.
"Relax, it's just going to help calm your nerves. It won't knock you out or anything," Nico said.
Percy slowly reached out and took the pill. He swallowed it and downed the entire cup of water in a single gulp. "Can someone please explain what you people are? Are you like superheroes or something? Are you real life X-men?"
Apollo snorted. "What is it with all the noobies that think we need a label? Superheroes, mutants, witches, gods. You name it, someone has called us that. There's not really a name for us, dude. We just call ourselves Specials, because, that's what we are, special," Apollo said in a bored tone. Apparently, they had to explain this a lot.
"You're like us, Percy," Jason said. "We're just not sure what you can do yet."
Percy was like them? No, that couldn't be. Percy was just a normal guy. "I know this must be a lot to take in, Percy. We will leave you to rest. Come find me in my office when you are ready to talk," Chiron said calmly. Everyone left, leaving Percy alone in the unfamiliar room. What had he gotten himself into? What was going to happen to him? Percy sighed and jumped off the bed. He needed to go talk to that Chiron guy. The answers to everything he'd been looking for were finally here for him to take.
Don't hate me? On the bright side I finally got to make Nico a total badass. And no they aren't superheroes that run around in tights. Not really even like the guys off of the show Heroes. The plot of who Chiron and his men are will be at the beginning of the next chapter. It is an interesting twist on things. The cause of what they are will be in a later chapter, haven't written it yet. Couldn't think of a name to call them, so I settled with the name placeholder I used with Braigi when talking about them. I hope you all liked it, or will at least stick with me until next chapter or so. Like I said, more answers next chapter.