**As of 5/26/13. I forgot to say that The House of Hades cover will be released in a few days!** I know I haven't updated in a few weeks, but I did indeed write in the summary of this story, 'On Hiatus.' And, if you read Dear FanFiction, I explained that I am having major personal life issues right now with my family and I have my Finals coming up. Plus, I had writer's block. But I am sorry this story was on hold, and hopefully this chapter will clear some confusion up.

Sorry for typos/OOCness. End of school countdown: Eight and a half school days! But in those days, I have seven or so Finals to take, which sucks monkey butt

Happy Reading!

Chapter 38

Nico

"Whoa, whoa, wait!" Leo said hurriedly as they all scrambled back from Enyo. "Just hold up!"

"Leo, I think we would all love to just 'hold up', but that is clearly not going to happen," Frank said through gritted teeth, wrapping an arm around Hazel. As a gust of wind blew, it was so strong that Nico swayed to the side.

Nico was still backing up into the trees. The last thing they needed was another anger god or goddess coming after them. Considering the last god they had come across had tried to hand them all over to the giants, he didn't necessarily want to have a chat with another. Nico had never even heard of a goddess named Enyo before.

He knew it was bad when even Taygete looked scared. So did Thalia. Rather than wanting to fight, they looked like they wanted to run for cover. That couldn't be good.

Enyo was still many yards away, as she had stopped approaching. She was watching them thoughtfully, her head socked to the side and eyes narrowed. Her hair spun around her head, making a halo, but everything about her seemed cold and ready to kill. Nico gulped and pressed his back to a tree. He was a ways away from the others, who were all in a group together. He got his weapon into his hand.

"Why did you say she was Enyo," Leo said to Taygete, and then turned to Jason as he said, "and you say she was Bellona? I thought Bellona was strictly Roman, and I've never even heard of Enyo. What the heck is going on and why does this goddess look like she wants to kill us?"

Okay, so he pretty much summed up everyone's questions.

"That is definitely Bellona," Jason said matter-of-factly. "She looks just like Reyna. Now, I was raised to believe Bellona was strictly Roman, but after all we've been through, I wouldn't be surprised if that was a lie too. Maybe she is Enyo."

"Oh, she is Enyo, believe me," Taygete muttered. "And you guys should be more scared than that."

"How come we've never heard of Enyo?" demanded Piper.

"And why were we always told Bellona was Roman?" questioned Hazel.

Taygete sighed, a small blade suddenly in her hand. She twirled it around her fingers. "Now is not the time for things like this. We must leave before this… heathen comes after us." She glanced at Thalia, who nodded in agreement.

"Just explain it," barked Nico suddenly. He wasn't sure where that had come from, and they all jumped at his voice. Taygete turned on him, eyes bright. He was positive that if they hadn't had a sociopath goddess in front of him he was probably be dead.

"Enyo is a Greek goddess of war. She is sort of like Athena in the sense of being a goddess of war, but like Ares in the sense that she causes total destruction to cities. She used to ride through cities with Phobos and Deimos, terrorizing people, before turning the cities into ruins. She is not a goddess that is nice. But she was soon forgotten by most people and almost faded from existence. The fall of the Greek empire was almost a good thing for her."

"How so?" inquired Jason, suddenly interested too. Nico snorted inwardly. At least he was done acting like a know it all.

"Enyo became full out Roman. She left behind her past, since no one longer thought about or respected her, and took on the form of Bellona. Now, Enyo is forgotten, but Bellona to this day remains. Bellona is much more… diplomatic, I suppose, since she is Roman, but still a fear on the battlefield."

"So, is this Enyo or Bellona?" Leo asked again, impatiently.

"It's Enyo," said Taygete.

At the same time, Jason said, "It's Bellona."

Thalia grunted. "I think it's both. I've seen a few gods and goddesses while the Hunt has been traveling, and many of them are crossed between their Greek and Roman forms. It's like they have multiple personalities. Maybe it has something to do with the Giants or the fact that the Greeks and Romans are meeting each other. I don't know, but right now this doesn't matter. Enyo/Bellona looks pretty angry at us, and clearly that isn't good."

Nico was actually glad Thalia had said that. They did have better things to worry about other than the fact that apparently Bellona did have a less known Greek counterpart named Enyo. This goddess looked out to kill some demigods.

Thalia notched an arrow and took aim at Bellona, who'd started to approach once again, a look of thoughtfulness across her face. Thalia's eyes squinted, and her fingers twitched. The arrow was getting ready to fly.

Bellona let out a loud laugh as rain began to hammer them. "Is this really a smart thing to do, Thalia Grace?" Nico was struck speechless by how much she sounded like Reyna. Yeah, this had to be Bellona. Not Enyo.

Suddenly, Thalia gasped in pain, and the bow faltered in her hand before flying out of it with a hard gust of wind. Lightning cracked loudly and not far off. Nico took a step towards her, and out of the corner of his eyes, he caught the goddess's cold smile that sent shivers down his back. Bellona made a fist, and Thalia backed arched as she screamed in pain. What was she doing to her, and why was she doing it?

Taygete stepped in front of Thalia, trying to shield her. She was visibly shaking. "State your reason for being here, Enyo," she demanded, squeezing the knife in her hand. "I do not appreciate my friends being handled like this, and do not mistake me for being so peaceful."

Bellona's robes billowed around her body, and cold beauty and power rippled off of her in torrents. "Taygete. I had no idea that you roamed these forests now. And I had no idea that you kept company like this. Are these people your friends? Are you honestly choosing sides in this war? I though you liked to remain neutral."

The nymph's chin jutted out stubbornly. "I do like to remain neutral, but I will always help my friends when they are in need of help."

"Even the men?"

Taygete hesitated, but then confirmed, "Even the men."

Thunder rumbled the ground. Nico hadn't even realized that they all had taken stance. Even he had his body in a defensive position with his sword out to strike. Thalia was gasping for air behind them, and even though he wanted to see if she was okay, he knew turning his back on Bellona would be a foolish move.

"What are you doing here?" Taygete repeated.

"Well, I can't just have these demigods jumping into Old Faithful, now can I?" She flipped her brown hair over her shoulder, and a golden lance materialized in her hand. "That would ruin everything. This war has just begun, and I can't have them stopping that, now can I?"

Taygete gasped. "No… You haven't joined the Giant's, have you?" But the shrug and grin from Bellona justified their suspicions. "Enyo, this is treachery against the gods of Olympus. You dare defy them?"

"I am not Enyo, nature goddess," she said shortly. With a wave of her free hand, lighting struck a tree not twenty feet away from him. Nico felt the electricity vibrating through his bones and rattling his teeth. The tree crashed to the ground as it caught on fire. "I gave up that name a long, long time ago."

"Very well then, Bellona," Taygete hissed. "These demigods have done nothing against you. There is no reason for you to do this. Leave now before you face the ultimate consequence, because I will fight back against you."

"I am surprised by you, Taygete," Bellona said. "I would think that you, of all people, would support our side in this war. After the things that the gods and goddesses have done to you, I thought you'd be leading this war. You need to sort out your priorities."

What did she mean by that? What had the gods and goddesses done to Taygete? Nico looked at Frank, who was the closet person to him, eyebrows raised in question. Frank shook his head, miffed and confused too. He was clutching his bow and arrow, obviously worried that whatever had happened to Thalia would happen to him too.

There was a scream of rage, and before Nico could even react, a silver arrow whistled past his head and shot at Bellona. The goddess merely flicked the arrow to the side, but the fury that tightened her muscles was clear. Nico glanced at Thalia behind him. She was standing on her feet, back against a tree, but she wasn't going to give up so easily.

Bellona rolled her eyes and flicked her middle finger against her thumb. Thalia yelped as she was thrown back, her back cracking against a trunk as she slid down to the ground. Jason looked like he was getting ready to run after her as he yelled, "Thalia!" But Taygete beat him to it. She rushed to her side and cradled her head in her lap. Taygete and Thalia were closer friends then they had let on.

Jason whirled on Bellona. "Why would you bother joining the Giant's? That's going against you daughters! Why would you betray Hylla and Reyna?"

"Jason Grace, when will you learn this lesson? You join the winning side. My daughters could easily join with me and live, but if they are too naïve and ignorant to do so, then so be it. Hylla is a weak leader, anyway. Otrera would've been the ideal leader, as she was on our side. Her own people will soon rebel against her, realizing her mistakes, and then she will be dead before she realizes her mistakes."

"Are you that heartless?" asked Piper.

"You, Piper Mclean, do not even realize what heartless is. Aphrodite, as ironic as this is, has always been heartless, and so are her offspring. When Reyna and Hylla were born, I thought they would grow to be great leaders, Generals of armies, and rulers of war, but clearly I set my hopes too high. They worked on an island spa under the direction of that witch Circe. I call that embarrassing."

"What about Reyna? She's an amazing leader," Hazel interjected. Nico was surprised by this. It was Reyna who was leading the army to destroy the Greeks and had led them to kill the seven.

"My daughter Reyna can barely hold together a camp of Romans. She too is a letdown. She will probably end up being killed in this war against the Greek camp."

She whipped her arms out to the side, and tremors shook the ground with an earthquake. It was so powerful that they lost their balance and crashed to the ground. According to Taygete, Bellona, or Enyo, or whatever, had caused destruction to cities. He did not want to see what they were going to do to them.

"Unfortunately, not all of you will die. I have to take Nico di Angelo in for myself."

Say what?

Nico was on his feet in a second. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Gaea has informed everyone that she needs the son of Hades for herself. You could make this a lot easier by just walking over here and joining us. I promise you, I won't kill any of your friend's if you do so."

"Why do you want Nico?" asked Piper.

"Something about him being the Ghost King," Bellona said. And suddenly, Nico wasn't even there in Yellowstone. He was a twelve year old with King Minos by his side. He was facing King Minos, and telling him that he was the Ghost King, and that he had the power. And then he was in that dark cavern with Tityos near him, saying that he was going to die from a prophecy. And then, Thalia was reading the prophecy to them.

The Ghost King Will Forever Reign in Hell.

"So what? I'm the Ghost King. Big whoop." Nico sighed and rolled his eyes. "I've known that for years. It's one of my fonder aliases."

"You demigods are such idiots sometimes. You being the Ghost King means everything," she barked at them. "You are the key to this war. We need you on our side." Bellona almost seemed to be pleading with him. "You could save your friends lives if you just walk over to us now. Otherwise, I will have to take you by force, and I cannot promise that I won't rip out the spine of one of yours friends in the process."

She took a small step towards them. "Nico di Angelo, you will die if you do not join us."

Those words were a hard pill to swallow. He was going to die if he didn't join the Giant's. And he knew it was true. Also, if he didn't join their side, his friends would die. But what would happen if he did join their side? He had a pretty good feeling his friends would still die if he did. "Why do you need me anyway? What's the big deal about me being the Ghost King?"

She shook her head sadly. "Join us, Nico."

"Join us, Nico."

That time, it wasn't Bellona who'd said it. It was a male's voice, soft and firm. It was soothing and diplomatic. It was so quiet that only Nico would've been able to hear it. The rain that poured in front of him thickened, and an image appeared in front of him, as if he were looking through an Iris Message. But there was no sun.

Tityos stood there, his hand outstretched to Nico. He was one step away. His life and his friend's lives could be saved if he just took one step forward.

Tityos must've read his mind, because he smiled warmly. "That's all you have to do Nico. One step."

Far away, his friend's were yelling his name, but the sound was muffled. Nico could hear the victorious laughter of Bellona, thinking she had already won. And Tityos was smiling, his suit and tie perfectly ironed, the rain not affecting him.

Nico surged forward, bringing his sword back. He swiped the blade through the image of Tityos, causing it to dissolve. He wasn't sure how he did it, but one moment he was next to his friends, and the next he was right in front of Bellona, fighting her as if he were the best warrior in the war.

The lance and sword connected, and sparks flew.

He was vaguely aware of his friends running up to join the fight, but it was really only him and Bellona. She swung down with the lance, but Nico, anticipating the move, jumped backward and struck her side as her lance struck the ground.

She gasped and ichor dripped down her side. Nico attacked again, their sparring deadly. Her lance swung not an inch away from his throat. He jabbed at her gut with his sword, and she narrowly jumped back to escape becoming a shish kebab. Irritation filled her expression as Nico parried a terrible blow that she had attempted.

Nico lost track of how long their battle went on. The lance struck his face, slicing open his cheek, but he barely felt anything. He was on a crazy adrenaline high. He kicked at her kneecap, but she dodged. He lunged to the side as she attempted a fatal hit. The ground beneath them shook, and Nico didn't know if it was because of him or her. Not that it mattered. This time, he didn't fall down. He stayed up and fought.

Fire struck her in the side, in the same place where Nico had previously struck her. Flames licked up the side of her robes and into her long hair, even with the terrible rain. But he hadn't done that.

Leo stood there, his arms full of flames. He smiled when Bellona screamed from the burning. Leo turned around and shook his butt in her face. "That's what happens when you aren't on Team Leo. You get a fistful of fire!" He sounded gleeful, and even after everything that had happened, Nico smiled a little.

He looked back, and Taygete was helping Thalia stand up again. Thalia didn't look too good. Her hair was full of branches and leaves and she had to fully lean on Taygete.

Nico turned back, but he hadn't realized how much Bellona had recovered. The fire was out, and her clothing was burnt and barely hanging onto her body. But she looked out to kill.

She waved her burnt arms, and a wave of power hit his chest. He flew backwards and landed on his back, every bit of air leaving his lungs. Bellona cackled menacingly. "Stand up and fight, coward."

Against the sharp pain between his shoulder blades, Nico jumped to his feet, sword still in his hand. At the same time, Bellona made a fist, and something happened. This evil power coursed through his veins, like fire mixed with acid. The pain… oh, the pain was like jumping into the River Styx. His back arched as he fell to his knees, his mouthed opened in a silent scream and eyes screwed shut. Behind his lids, he saw blinding colors. And he just wanted this pain to stop, but it was relentless. It wouldn't stop. Was this what had happened to Thalia? He felt like he couldn't breathe.

Electricity filled the air and thunder cracked.

There was an oof and the pain ceased. Nico wanted to see what had happened, but he was struggling to catch his breath. His body felt numb.

He opened his eyes and turned his head to the side. Jason had his blade out pointed at Bellona, who was on her knees. Jason had probably just struck her with enough lightning to kill an army of men. But the goddess of war wasn't giving up so easily. She was still deflecting the hits and swings that his friends were doing. It was five on one, and she was still winning.

There was a blur of brown, and something hit her, sending her to the ground. Nico blinked at the doe, and then remembered that Taygete was the Mistress of Animals and that she could do things like that.

She changed back into a nymph. Her dress was torn, and she looked like the scariest little girl Nico had ever seen. "Get out of here!" she screamed at them. "I'll hold her off! LEAVE!"

And then Thalia was over him, stretching a hand down. She pulled him to his feet. Nico looked over and saw Taygete and Bellona in a death match. "I liked you better when you were Enyo," Taygete said softly to Bellona.

Bellona screamed in rage and attacked Taygete. Nico couldn't believe that Taygete was doing this for them. "LEAVE!" Taygete screamed again. "GO TO OLD FAITHFUL!"

The group of demigods began to run away through the clearing. Where to, Nico wasn't sure, but any place was better than where they were. Nico didn't want to just leave Taygete. She may've not liked him, but she was risking everything to protect them. That was respectable.

As they ran through the trees, Nico heard Bellona say the same thing Tityos had said a few days ago. "The next time we meet, Nico di Angelo, we will be enemies on the battlefield." After that, he could only hear the sounds of metal meeting and the cries of terror and pain. Nico had a sickening feeling that Taygete wouldn't be the winner of this battle.

And even though he wanted to help, he was too selfish to turn around and try to. He had to keep running with his friends, even if that meant leaving their savior behind. What did that say about him? Was he a terrible person?

But it was impossible to block out the horrific screams that would haunt him for some time to come.

I hope this makes up for the absence of me. This is the longest chapter yet in the story, so I hope it was okay.

Reviews and ideas are loved!

-BBH