Nico di Angelo, Son of Hades

Nico was staring hard into Morgan's tearful blue eyes. He squinted and blew.

'Ah,' Morgan rubbed her eye. 'Thanks.' She looked at the minuscule speck of stone on her finger and flicked it away. Leo was rummaging on deck, shoulders deep leaning into a trapdoor. Nico heard metallic clanging and a few choice curses about the ourae.

He was nervous. It was strange, feeling something other than the fatigued numbness which had been frozen solid by Morgan's reappearance. Nico had watched at the railings until Hazel and Arion were out of view. Feeling protective and even more helpless than he already was, he'd been dragged to sit on the fallen mast with Morgan.

'Hey,' Morgan nudged him. Nico discovered a new splinter, and pulled it out callously. The tiny pinprick of pain distracted him from the swelling thoughts and memories we was trying desperately to repress. Morgan's presence didn't help as much as she thought it did. For a while, when they had first met, a kind face had given him respite in his paranoia, and it was even kind of fun. Nico imagined maybe his time with Morgan would've been like the quests they led at Camp Half Blood. It hadn't ended well, obviously. Maybe three really was the lucky number for questing. As distracting from his own company the two of them against the world was, it could've been so much better. Maybe if they hadn't been hounded constantly by monsters that didn't die. Maybe if Nico could really return her feelings...

Maybe, maybe, maybe. Nico himself was a maybe, not here, not there, not really belonging. It was an endless cycle. Maybe he was the same boy from the last century, somewhere deep inside. Morgan had brought a bit of him back, only to have it hopelessly shattered when he ventured Tartarus alone. He was broken. He couldn't save Percy. He didn't deserve-

'Hey.' Small strong hands gripped his sagging shoulders. 'I know that look. Don't do me that look. Nico. Nico?'' She tried to no avail to catch his gaze.

'Morgan,' His voice caught on her name. 'Morgan-... is Hazel going to be okay? Maybe I should've gone with her.' Another maybe. He felt small and useless. He couldn't even come out with this original statement.

Leo: I know another thing Nico couldn't come out with.

Pearl: *slaps him upside his head*

She shook her head and released him. 'No. Whatever Arion wants Hazel to know, it's for her only.' Nico didn't bother to wonder how she could be so certain. There was a more than a little divinity in her. He mentally kicked himself - she was probably feeling as bad as he was. There was well hidden despair in that voice. Why wouldn't there be? It was the end of the world. In a low voice, Morgan clasped Nico's hands and glanced at Leo. His legs were sticking out of the trapdoor and kicking comically. He'd be alright for another few minutes, until the blood rush to his head was too much.

'Nico. Do you remember that night I told you everything, like everything, because I said ironically if one of us died the other could write a cool epitaph?' Nico didn't remember. Morgan chuffed, knowing she sounded every bit ridiculous as she felt. 'This was going to be a stupid analogy for saying you shouldn't bottle it up inside. Believe me, I do know.' Nico huffed. 'No, I really do! You told me, remember.'

Nico looked at her sharply. His voice came out harder than he'd meant it to be. 'So what, you're going to hold it against me? Because I told you one thing that was screwing me up inside didn't take care of the problem, Morgan! I know you're trying to help, and I appreciate it, I really do, but just let me handle it by myself, okay?'

Morgan let go of his hands and folded her own in her lap. She looked down and her silvery hair obscured her face. 'Okay.' She didn't sound hurt. Nico felt a twinge of guilt at how relieved he was. It had been heavy on his conscience, but he'd felt stuck in a waking dream with Morgan around. Dazed at first, but then slightly panicky. Plus she'd just been hit by a boulder. Morgan feigned this airy persona so she didn't have to deal with her problems. She could run away and bury it under work for her dad, but Nico was grounded, literally, tied to the Underworld and his roots. Every part of him dragged him down, and now he wasn't sure if he could break free. He wasn't sure he wanted to.

'Besides, there are more important things. If you let me compartmentalise, maybe I'll figure how to get out of Italy, you never know.' He cooled his tone, but he knew his words would cut Morgan. Somehow she saw good in him and wanted to stay by his side. A sick feeling crawled into his stomach. Did she see him like he saw...? Nico shook his head. She'd have to be insanely stupid. More importantly, how would they get to Greece?

But Morgan was stifling at the same time. He found himself irrationally angry at her. It wasn't her fault, but she couldn't ever really know what it was like. She was the same physical age as him, but only the gods knew how she thought. No matter what she knew, it would be nothing compared to the mindset Nico woke up to every day. Asleep, that was something else entirely. He tried not to storm away too hard. Nico shoved his hands into his jeans pockets to stop them from shaking. He hoped Hazel would hurry back.

Leo was making little strangled noises. Nico heard him bang his head on something and drop a tool. 'Hey,' Nico coughed. Leo yelped and started to slide further into the trapdoor. Reflexes took a hand from his pocket and grabbed Leo's ankle. He was suddenly aware how cold his hand was against Leo's leg. At the same time, Leo yelped again and tried to kick Nico in the face (not on purpose, Leo would later protest, he had been taken by surprise).

'Leo.' Nico sighed, stepping back so he could hold the offending foot at arms length. 'Leo, get out of the trapdoor.'

'Hey man, let go of my leg!' Nico took a deep breath and did as he was told. Leo found his face moving very quickly toward a hard Celestial bronze surface. 'Wait, wait WAIT!' Nico stooped and seized Leo's toolbelt and shirt, hefting the flailing mechanic back out of the hole in the deck. His back protested, but Nico ignored it. Leo slid backward, his goggles crooked and arms outstretched over the lip of the trapdoor.

'Heh,' Leo clicked his blowtorch. It fizzed. Some small part of Nico's brain was asking why a pyrokinetic would need a blowtorch. Leo dusted himself off and stood, scratching his head. He grinned. 'Thanks, man. You're stronger than you look.'

Nico knew he looked like death warmed up, but he let it go. Leo didn't mean anything. Pocketing his blowtorch, Leo tilted his head at Nico. 'You might want to step back.' Leo pressed a remote and a Celestial bronze cannon rose from below deck, barrel rotating and gears grinding. Leo punched the air. 'That's a cannon!' He spotted the screwdriver he had dropped on the cannon's platform and went to stick it behind his ear like a pencil, only to find an actual pencil already there.

Instead of wheels, giant plates whirred on either side. There was a frame protruding from the back, for manual firing. Nico was a impressed, but one thing nagged at him.

'Why didn't you go below deck to work on it?' Leo stopped looking like a kid at Christmas and clutched his remote.

He took his goggles off. They reminded Nico of flying goggles. Nico thought his his aviator jacket, still in the crow's nest, hopefully. Somehow still good despite the many battles and years... Reminiscing was not good, he reminded himself, and concentrated on a spot of grease on Leo's collar.

'Dude. There's a giant statue blocking the way to the loo, let alone the access port.' Nico was unaware there was an access port, but it would've made more sense to have it placed on the first deck, beside the bedrooms. Perhaps Leo didn't want to leave the deck, for whatever reason.

Nico turned to walk to the side, to see if he could spot Hazel's return. 'As long as it doesn't explode. I don't think I could convince my dad to resurrect us all.' He could hear Leo mutter something about It's a cannon, it's meant to explode sarcastically. Nico smirked. He waved at Hazel's returning figure and began to lower the rope ladder.

Leo: Wait, didn't Morgan have no problem getting to the engine room? Nike's meant to be in the engine room.

Nico: And the infirmary?

Pearl: Yeah, why hasn't the Athena Parthenos been mentioned before?

Oceana: Plot holes.