The Heroes Of Olympus & The Surrounding Darkness

Alright, this chapter hopefully answers some of your questions. I tried to explain some things better, but if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask about them. It'd really help ;)

Nico DiAngelo P.O.V.

Gods, this sucks.

I've been kidnapped.

I'm currently in a car or something, there's a sack over my head, and my hands and feet are bound with rope.

Someone else was captured too. I saw him before they shoved this sack over my head. I'm pretty sure it's Jason, but can't be sure, he already had a sack over his head. The only way I could tell it was Jason is because of the outfit... and where did the cloak come from?

My shoulder still feels numb. I don't know who healed it, but they did a good job.

"Percy?" I hear a male voice ask beside me. "Is that you?"

"No." I answer. "I'm Nico."

I hear him sigh in relief. "Thank gods it's you."

"I'm guessing you're Jason, right?"

"Yeah. Anyone else here?"

"Not that I know- OUCH!" Someone punches me hard in the stomach.

"Stop talking!" They shout. It's a woman's voice, but I don't recognize it.

The car suddenly comes to a stop and the door on my left side slides open and two firm hands pull me out. I land on my knees on concrete, and I hear Jason land beside me. At least, I assume it's Jason.

"There's only two here. Where's the other one?" A man's voice booms in front of me.

The woman replies, "We could not find Perseus. These two were easy to spot, and I'll have the third by the morning."

"You'd better. It's now or never."

"I don't understand, though. Why can't we use another demigod? Why must it be Perseus?"

The man sighs in an irritated way. "I've told you time and time again: We need one child for each of the three major gods. One child of Zeus, one of Poseidon, and one of Hades."

"Oh... I forgot." She mutters.

"What are these two?"

"This one is Jason Grace, son of Zeus. The scrawny one is Nico DiAngelo, son of Hades."

Well that was rude.

"Did you bite the son of Zeus?"

"Yes, sir. I couldn't help myself. He's so... powerful." I can tell she's smirking by her tone.

"It doesn't matter. We only need him, mortal or not. Is the son of Hades still mortal?"

"I believe so."

"Good, now get them back in the truck. Prep them for tomorrow's ceremony. And make damn sure you find the son of Poseidon. Without him, everything we've done will be for nothing."

"Yes, sir. I'll have him in my custody by the morning."

"Yes, now get out of my sight."

At this, I feel the temperature drop about twenty degrees. There is the sound of electricity burning through the air and the muffled shrieks of our captors.

Jason strikes again.

I suppose I should do something to help. But what? I try squirming my hands free but it's not helping. I try shaking the sack off my head but I just can't get it. I grunt in frustration.

"Oh, jeez. Sorry, Nico, I forgot you were there," Jason says as he pries the sack off my head. He smiles down at me, obviously proud of his recent accomplishments. I roll my eyes at this.

"Can you just cut my hands and feet loose?" I ask.

He takes his coin out of his pocket and flips it. It becomes his double-edged sword and before he cuts the ropes that bind me, he decides to ask, "What's the magic word?"

"You can't be serious."

"Come on, Nico," He smiles.

"You're seriously playing this card at a time like this?"

"I'm not freeing you until you say it."

I sigh, frustrated by his idiocy. In a dull tone, I reply, "Please, Jason Grace, son of the almighty Zeus, will you free me, Nico DiAngelo, son of Hades, from these ropes?" I try my best to glare daggers at him.

"Was that so hard?" He asks, smirking.

"Yes," I mutter.

He cuts me loose and I jump up, prepared for the next possible attack. I look around and see nothing. No one is in sight.

Woosh!

Something flies past my ear and hits Jason directly in the chest. It looks like some sort of dart.

Jason stares at it for a moment. His expression is somewhere between shock and confusion. He looks up at me expectantly. I don't know what to do.

Suddenly, a sharp pain erupts from the small of my back. It sends me forward onto the ground. My eyesight begins to fade slowly.

The flashback of Percy jumping into the River Styx plays through my mind. Now I know how he must have felt. The small of his back was his Achilles' heel, and he must have lived in fear of it every day. It was my fault he jumped in. It was stupid of me. I could've gotten Percy killed. No matter what, I will always carry the guilt of that day with me. I think about it every day, just hoping for one day… not to.

Jason Grace P.O.V.

I wake up feeling hazy. I look around but see nothing. It's dark, and I know exactly why.

We're back to square one.

"Eh, I think the runt's awake," A man's voice says. He pulls the sack off my head with a devilish grin.

The first thing I see is big, ugly Cyclopes.

"Where am I?" I demand.

He walks away, ignoring me. Then, someone else approaches. It's the man with the purple cloak, the weirdo with the jar.

"Tell me what was in that jar earlier."

He laughs, amused. "You could say please." He scoffs me. "Well, I suppose I'll tell you anyway. Nothing better to do around here."

I finally take a look around. We're in some kind of... hotel room? Or maybe a master bedroom in a giant mansion? It's hard to tell, but the décor is amazing. Everything is so modern and, well, fancy. Did our captors want us to enjoy our stay here?

Nico! Crap, where is he? My head turns in every direction. Then, I spot him. Far across the room, still unconscious, chains wrapped around his chest and arms, sitting straight on the floor.

"So, you want to know about my special little jar, huh?" He interrupts my curiosity. "Truly, there's nothing really special about it. I stored eidolons in it. How that's possible: magic. I kept them all cooped up in there for many months. Now, they're possessing you and your friends. All but two of them, that is. The boy named Leo, and the other child of Pluto, Hazel. But, that doesn't matter. We have some surprises for them that will come to pass soon enough. We have a big surprise for your whole camp, actually. Oh, wait! That's right: both camps! Your precious little homes won't last another day." He smirks evilly.

"My friends will stop you. You aren't going to hurt any of us."

He laughs again. "How will your friends have time to save you and your cousin if they already have enough problems of their own? Not all of them are mortal anymore; Most of them are being controlled by eidolons; They still must figure out where you are. It's too much for them." He turns around and heads for the door.

"You won't get away with this!"

"Oh, but I already have." He smiles maniacally as he opens the door. Before he steps out, he looks back at me. "Enjoy your stay." He snaps his fingers and mine and Nico's chains disappear.

As the door quietly shuts, I bolt to it, slamming into it. I try to get the doorknob open but it's useless. I take out my coin, toss it into the air and it becomes my sword. I whack my sword against the door so hard, it made my head rattle. Nothing happened. I try again but it bounces of harmlessly. I try again.

Nothing. How is this possible?

Magic. It must be. There's no other explanation.

I turn around to see our room. There's two King sized beds, a giant, flat-screen television, a fridge (hopefully stocked with food, I'm starving), a bathroom, a closet full of new clothes, and a balcony.

Of course, I head straight for the balcony. I look over the edge, seeing that we're high. Maybe fifteen floors?

I focus all of my power into flying. I wait for my feet to stop touching the ground, to be raised into the air.

Nothing happens.

Great, now I have no powers. How is this possible? Gods, I'm hungry.

I walk back inside and open the fridge. Half is filled with amazing-looking foods: sandwiches, cookies, fruits, soda and milk, various meats, and so much more. The other, which I assume is for me, is filled with the last thing I was hoping to see: blood. It's all in transparent, glass pitchers.

I can't help myself, I'm starving. I reach into the fridge and take out one of the pitchers. I don't bother to pour some into a cup.

I just start drinking. I start and I don't stop. Not until it's all gone.

Today sucks.

I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed this chapter because of Nico. He's one of my favorite characters in the PJO series, if not the favorite. He's the cooliest! (Him, Leo, Jason, Percy, and Pipes are my faves!) ;) And it's funny, I used to hate Piper, but all of a sudden, she was one of my faves! So weird O.o