Authors Note: This story takes place 4 years after the Last Olympian, but Heroes of Olympus never happened. I forgot to mention that...
For the third time that day, Nico woke up to Percy slapping his face. He groaned, and tried to punch Percy but failed dismally, as his arms felt like they were made of lead, and he couldn't seem to open his eyes fully. It was even worse than that time he accidently shadow-travelled to China. He managed to stand up, and it was only then that he noticed where he was. In the Throne Room of the gods. And said gods did not look happy.
Around him stood the others who had gone to New York. They were trying to hide it, but Nico could sense that they were scared. He felt fear begin rise in his own chest but he crushed it. Children of Hades didn't show fear.
"Demigods," Zeus growled, his blue eyes crackling with fury, "Do you have any idea what you have done?"
The demigods shifted nervously, but said nothing. Best not to interrupt the pissed off God of Storms.
Speaking of storms, a pretty viscous one was brewing outside. The vibrations of thunder reverberated through the marble room, and lightning flashing above their heads through the glass roof.
Suddenly, Percy stepped forward. "My Lord Zeus, as far as I can see, we saved countless mortal lives, and assisted the mortals in closing the portal. If not for our involvement, who knows how many people could have been killed?"
"The prevention of mortal deaths was not our main concern!" Zeus yelled, and thunder boomed. "Because of your actions, the existence of demigods has been discovered!"
Percy paled, and stammered, "Wha- what do you mean? There were only ten of us! There's no way the mortals could have seen-"
"You were told the Mist was failing!" Zeus shouted angrily, "What with that, and the new technology the mortals have developed, the possibility of discovery was too high to take the risk. This was decided by the gods, and we ordered you to stay at camp. An order that you ignored. Because of your actions, a mortal government agency managed to obtain footage of your battle, and the Asgardian saw no reason not to inform them of what you were."
"You mean the Asgardians know about the existence of the gods?" Nico asked. "But that means they could have told the agency of our existence months ago. It might not have been because of us."
"There is no doubt that you are to blame," Zeus growled, "The last time the Asgardians set foot on earth, we managed to convince them that we were destroyed." Zeus did not look particularly happy over the memory of feigning his own death. "They think themselves gods, and they took it upon themselves to challenge our children. A battle between Asgardians and demigods could have levelled the planet. It was a risk we could not take.."
Athena spoke up, the first god other than Zeus to speak since Nico had woken up. "And because of your actions, it was all for naught. The one known as 'Thor' hungers for battle. Our children experienced that first hand all those years ago. I would not be surprised if they were already planning an attack."
"Oh, come on, sis," Ares said, "Another Pantheon war would be awesome! Our demigods can kick those Norse's collective asses!"
"But if it was a Pantheon War, couldn't the gods fight? I mean, a battle between gods would make more sense than demigods versus gods-" Annabeth was cut off before she could finish.
"SILENCE!" Zeus thundered, his face reddening with fury, "The Norse are not gods, daughter of Athena. They are similar in strength to demigods in that they are capable of possessing supernatural powers. But they are mortal, albeit extremely long-lived mortals, therefore, the gods CANNOT interfere."
"Now," he continued, "We know that cameras on the streets where most of the battles took place managed to record images of the demigods Perseus Jackson, and the son of Hades. The Mist failed to corrupt the images, so the government agency now has proof of us. The Asgardian took it upon himself to tell the mortals who you were, and we have yet to discover whether or not these mortals plan on sharing this knowledge. If you had all stayed at Camp as you were ordered, none of this would have happened."
Percy and Nico looked at each other. Mortals knew what they were, and the gods were furious. It couldn't get any worse.
"They will have to be punished," Hera said. Never mind, it could. "They disobeyed us, and so they must suffer. Perhaps a trip to the Fields of Punishment will teach them a lesson?"
The gods who didn't have children present grumbled in agreement, while the ones that did such as Poseidon and Athena, began to protest.
"The Fields of Punishment? To harsh, Brother," Poseidon argued, "They only did what they felt was right. If we had explained the situation to them in more detail, this would not have happened. We gods are also to blame."
The arguments continued, no one getting anywhere, and the demigods were left standing in the middle, awaiting their fate.
This continued until the shadows in the room came to life, and a dark figure stepped out, radiating fear and death. Lord Hades had arrived.
"Hey, thanks for inviting me," Hades said sarcastically, glowering darkly around the room. The other gods fell silent as the 'Death Glare' passed over them. It was terrifying, and even Zeus could not stop himself from cringing as he came under assault by it. This continued until Hades' eyes found Nico's. Nico bowed low to Hades. "Greetings Father," Nico said respectfully, "I see you've come to join the fun."
Hades smirked lightly at his sons words. They had grown closer after the Titan War, close enough that Nico actually lived at his father's palace in the Underworld when he wasn't at camp or exploring the world.
"Hello, son," Hades said fondly, "It seems you have caused my siblings a bit of a problem," he paused for a moment, "Good job."
Nico blinked at his father's words, and then just shook his head. His father was weird. At least they now had two of the Big Three on their side.
"Dearest Hera," Hades continued, as he walked towards the hearth. He conjured a throne of bones, and then sat down, giving Hestia a short nod, "You would do well not to volunteer my domain so flippantly. It," he paused for a moment, madness burning in his nightmare black eyes, "Upsets me."
Hera gulped and nodded. After the Titan war when Hades saved the day by arriving with undead minions to the fight, he had gained a lot of respect. Enough that he was accepted as part of the Olympian Council, when he was actually bothered to attend, that is. He was one of the Big Three, after all. He would not be ostracised by lesser gods any longer.
"Your timing is impeccable, Hades," Poseidon said, glancing at the other gods, "Our family seems to have forgotten that they were discussing the execution of a group of demigods that contains both of our sons. I don't know about you, but I'm not too happy about that."
Hades nodded thoughtfully, "I cannot say I am too happy either, Brother. Perhaps a different punishment should be discussed. One that does not include the death of my only son." His eyes flashed dangerously.
It was then that Hermes spoke up. He had been the one shouting the loudest at Zeus. "You say that this government agency, named SHIELD, I believe, now know of our existence. It is most probable that they will now attempt to recruit demigods to their cause, if the Asgardian doesn't argue for war. What say we give them what they want, in exchange for keeping us a secret?"
Athena nodded slowly at Hermes. "That is not a bad plan. If they have a powerful enough demigod on their side, there would be no need for them to search for others. Our children would be protected, and the deal means so would we." Her eyes landed on Percy. So did Zeus'.
"Very well," he rumbled, "I would be happier if I could kill them, but we will have a vote. All in favour of volunteering one of our children for the sake of our secrecy?" All hands went up except for Poseidon's. He knew that if Athena liked the plan, it would involve Percy being kept away from her daughter.
"Percy Jackson," Zeus continued, "You will go to these mortals on behalf of the gods, and work with them. If they have a demigod as strong as you" (he said this as if he didn't want to admit Percy was powerful) "then I see no reason why they would try to recruit any others." There were mutterings of agreement among the gods. Percy looked back at Annabeth and saw there were tears in her eyes. They were finally living together, and they were both in college, Percy studying Marine Biology, and Annabeth finally fulfilling her dream of studying architecture. They were finally happy, and now Percy would be leaving.
"No," a voice rang out. Percy looked forward to see Nico standing in front of him. "Percy has done enough in service to the gods. He has a life now, one that doesn't have room for government agencies. It was I who informed the demigods of the invasion, and I was the one who convinced them to go even when we were told not to. Leave Percy out of this, I'll go in his place."
Percy opened his mouth to argue, but a tendril of shadows covered his mouth, preventing him from stopping Nico.
Zeus frowned thoughtfully. "Very well, son of Hades. You will go to these mortals in Jackson's place. All of you," he gestured to the others behind Nico, "Are free to go. We have things to discuss with Nico di Angelo."
With a wave of his hand, they disappeared, leaving Nico alone in the Throne Room with the twelve Olympians, Lady Hestia, and his father.
"Demigod," Zeus said, in his most commanding voice, "You will go to the mortal agency known as SHIELD, and you will volunteer your services. You may reveal your true identity as a half-blood, only to those already aware of it, and you will assist them in whatever they order you to do. You will follow all orders, exempting those that will cause the gods harm. You may go pack what belongings you need, because you will be leaving tonight. You are dismissed."
After the meeting was called to a close, Nico shadow-travelled to the Underworld. Hades beat him there, and was waiting for him in the room Nico had claimed as his space. Stygian Iron weapons hung from the walls of black stone, and an unmade bed was shoved into a corner. Upon arrival, Nico grabbed a backpack and started shoving clothes into it, all of which were black and a number of which also had skulls decorating them. Hades sat on the bed and watched his son shove a number of daggers into the bag, before taking of his armour and shoving it in as well. The bag was like a TARDIS. Nico shrugged on his black aviator jacket and started to search the room for his stash of money.
It was a few moments before Hades spoke, "Nico, why did you do it?" Nico paused in his packing and looked at his father.
"Percy is my friend," Nico said simply, "I wasn't just going to let the gods ruin his life. Besides," he said, somehow managing to fit a shield into the backpack, "It's not like I have anything better to do."
Hades raised an eyebrow. "You are truly strange, my boy. My children are not known for their loyalty. Nor their sanity. It has been many centuries since I had a child who didn't succumb to evil, and yet here you are, Ghost King and a hero."
Nico looked at his father in surprise. Sure, he'd been getting on great with his dad, almost like a normal family (except for the whole 'living in the Underworld' part, and when he didn't clean his room and Persephone turned him into a Dandelion), but it was seldom that his father actually out right complimented him. He could feel a true smile growing on his face. He walked over to Hades and hugged him. Hades looked surprised, but returned the hug, if only for a moment. They broke apart and Hades cleared his throat.
"Truthfully Nico, you are the first of my children that I have ever invited to live with me in the Underworld. You aren't mad, like many of your past siblings, you're not selfish, and you don't enjoy mindless killing. In truth, you are an oddity among my children. I believe your mother may be the cause of that." Hades rubbed his eyes before returning his gaze to Nico. "You are mortal, Nico, and eventually mortals die. But until then, I would like you to become my heir."
Nico blinked in surprise. He knew Hades had grown fond of him, but to name him heir? That would give Nico dominion over much of the Underworld, and over death. Nico hesitated for a moment, and then walked over to his father and knelt before him. "Father, I would be honoured to become your heir." Hades smiled proudly and placed his hand upon Nico's forehead.
"You are mortal, so you will need a little bit of a power boost. We can't have you falling asleep after shadow-travelling only a small group of people such a short distance, can we? This might hurt a tiny bit," he said, before he Nico zapped with black energy. Nico yelled in pain, and face-planted the floor.
"GAH, IT MIGHT HURT A LITTLE!?" he yelled into the floor, "When my legs start working again, I'm gonna beat you to death!"
"Now, now son," Hades said as he slowly walked backwards, "I'm immortal, but with the new improvements, you might actually be able to harm me. How about we all just calm down and-" he was cut off when a ball of black fire hit the wall beside his head. Hades gazed and the melting stone wall, and then back at his son, who had gotten to his feet, and was glaring at his father with eyes that were pitch black all over, even the whites.
"I just gave you a power upgrade," his father reasoned, "Now you plan on attacking me? That's not polite."
Nico paused for a moment as he glanced down at his hands, which were still alight with black fire. He shrugged, "Fine, I won't try to hurt you." He smirked darkly. "I'll just set your robes on fire instead." Hades, wisely, fled the room.