Okay, this chapter was a little late, due to internal conflict about where the story should go. I still can't chose; Percabeth or Percico.
Buuut, We'll see where the story goes. Trust me when I say this, I have as much idea about this story, as you do.
And, and, and, your reviews have been very inspiring, thank you.
NICO:
Jason led him to coach Hedge's room. He had tidied the whole room and it didn't even smell like goat anymore.
"Thanks", Nico mumbled, and Jason patted his back and left.
Nico removed his jacket and tshirt and looked in the full size mirror that hung on the wall beside the bed.
He didn't look like anything impressive. His hair was too long. His eyes too dark. His cheekbones and jaw line too prominent. His lips too narrow. His body, muscular, but not heavy built. With various small scars.
He almost punched the mirror and shattered it.
No, he was going to be a better person. No wallowing in self-hatred.
He turned and went into the shower after losing the rest of his clothes.
He cleaned up and opened the duffel bag he had brought from the Hades cabin before shadow travelling here. He was definitely not going to wear the bright orange Camp Halfblood tshirt.
He pulled out an AC/DC tshirt and slipped into it.
He went back to the mirror. He needed a haircut. But he didn't want one. He didn't know what to do.
He stopped himself, yet again, from punching the mirror.
He went out and into the deck and climbed the foremast and sat down.
He didn't know how long he sat there. The sky darkened and dawn was on it's way when the air in front of him shimmered.
He drew out his sword but it was just an Iris message.
Reyna's worried face came into focus.
She was panting and her Camp Halfblood tshirt was torn. Her medals and praetor badge were still pinned to her t shirt. Her hair stuck out from her braid. She appeared to be in the camp Halfblood forest.
Nico knew because he himself had spent a lot of time there.
"I really didn't know who else to contact", she said breathing heavily.
"Okay, okay, calm down, Reyna", Nico said softly, "You don't need to hesitate or be embarrassed, just tell me what happened?"
Reyna took a deep breath and turned to slash and behead a giant scorpion that had crawled up behind her.
Then she turned to face Nico again. "I met this beautiful pegasus and Chiron said I could have her if I wanted. I was getting her ready so I could greet Octavian as a praetor should but then the pegasus heard something and sauntered towards the woods and I tried to follow it and, well...". She faltered.
"And...?", Nico asked and he heard growling sounds from Reyna's side.
"Uh, I lost my way and I've been fighting weird creatures ever since", Reyna replied urgently, "It's so silly, a Roman praetor getting lost in a forest. I couldn't contact Chiron, he'd think I'm an idiot. I couldn't contact the Oracle, Rachel either. Any of the other seven would think I'm incompetent and there was only you."
"You got lost in a Greek camp; it's okay, relax", Nico replied.
Reyna growled and disintegrated another scorpion that had appeared.
She looked disheveled. "Tell me where to go, Son of Pluto, and fast!", she exclaimed angrily as a crazy plant wrapped it's shoot around her leg and she struggled to cut the tendrils off.
Nico suppressed a smile. "Hades, actually. Go straight and you'll come across a huge boulder with flowers growing on it. Take a left turn from there around a juniper tree and run straight. You'll reach the canoe lake"
Reyna looked relieved and Nico added, "Iris message me when you are safe" and Reyna vanished into a mist.
Nico chuckled slightly but the wind blew it away.
After a while, Reyna iris-messaged again. She looked better this time. No monsters after, her hair looked tightly tied again and she stood with a white Pegasus.
"Thanks, Nico", she said to him, her face red with embarrassment.
"Don't worry about it", Nico assured her and climbed down the mast.
He walked back to his room and faced the mirror again.
He took out a celestial bronze Swiss knife and started cutting the long strands of hair that fell on his face, blocking his vision partially. If he couldn't see in battles, he'd be in trouble.
He was halfway through cutting it when the Argo lurched to a stop and the knife slashed open his cheek.
His face burned and blood poured down to his lips. The metallic tinge of his blood filled his mouth and he rushed to the bathroom and spit the blood into the sink.
He washed the rest of the blood from his face and examined the long gash that spread over his cheekbone.
He threw the knife across the room and picked up a rubber band and tied his hair back into a small ponytail.
He opened the door and walked out of his room.
He walked into the mess hall and found Leo and Percy hogging on pizza.
They were a weird duo, he thought.
Percy looked up to see Nico and nearly choked on his pizza. He looked like he had seen a ghost.
Nico picked up an apple and sat down beside Leo, facing Percy, who gulped his pizza down, his eyes still wary.
He wondered what was up with that.
"Why'd we stop?", Nico asked Leo as he bit into the apple.
"Need more ammo before we get too close to Greece", Leo replied through mouthfuls, "We're not low, but we better be careful.
"Festus did a scan. Celestial bronze is nearby, in a cave just below the cliff right there". He made random hand movements and pointed at random directions. He was too busy with his pizza to be precise.
Just then Jason came out of his room, rubbing his eyes. He grabbed one of the magic plates and sat down beside Percy. He looked at Nico and smiled faintly. Bacon and eggs appeared on his plate and he started to gulp then down.
Looking at their appetite made Nico lose his.
"Where are the girls?", Leo asked Jason.
"Still sleeping", he said with his mouth full.
"Funny how Frank isn't here either", Leo said in good humour.
"We should get this done as fast as we can", Percy said, a little agitated.
"Don't we need Hazel to find the exact location and stuff?", Jason asked between bites.
"Actually, no", Leo said proudly, "Festus zeroed on the location when he scanned the surroundings"
"Let's go get it then, no need to worry the girls", Percy said, finally pushing his plate away. Nico thought he was never going to stop.
"Me and Percy will go", Jason offered.
"Uh, no at least three", Leo said, "I'll come too"
"Uh, no", Nico interrupted, "Leo you're better on the ship"
Leo looked like he would've argued but Jason piped in, "Yeah, Nico, come along"
He gave an apologetic look to Leo who shrugged.
"Yeah, there's nothing we can't take care of", Percy joked.
In half an hour they were trekking down the cliff to the cave where Leo had told them the celestial bronze was.
"Why does it always have to be caves", Percy asked irritated.
Jason was leading the way. He kept looking back at Nico encouragingly. He had to keep control of himself so that he didn't push the son of Zeus from the cliff and make it look like an accident.
Percy looked disturbed. He kept walking carelessly, almost plummeting to his death about five times.
"If you're so interested in jumping off a cliff, I could help you", Nico offered.
Percy scowled at him.
"Maybe you shouldn't have come", Nico went on, "You seem unsettled"
"Annabeth kept murmuring Luke's name yesterday night in her sleep", he blurted out. Now that he had said it, he just looked worried.
Nico just replied casually, "At least she wasn't screaming HIS name last night"
Jason snorted, "Isn't he the guy who travelled with her and Thalia?"
Percy looked at him quizzically. He probably didn't know that Jason had any idea about Luke.
They reached the mouth of the cave. They were about to enter but suddenly Jason turned and threw his gladius like a spear at Nico.
Too stunned to react, Nico stood there but the gladius missed him and hit something behind him.
He turned, hearing a cry and monster dust fell on his face.
A panther with gigantic wings clawed towards Percy but Nico beheaded him and he disintegrated.
Too soon, they were fighting a dozen of those creatures.
"Gryphons", Percy managed to shout. "They collect shiny stuff. The celestial bronze must be theirs"
"Or Gaia set this up, knowing we would stop if we found celestial bronze", Jason suggested slashing a gryphon through the middle.
"Who cares why they're here, let's just get the bronze and move.", Nico growled beheading two of them.
Percy moved in close and defended him while he ran into the cave.
There were rows of celestial bronze armour. Though Nico wasn't sure what celestial bronze armour did. The armours were weirdly shaped. A normal person wouldn't fit into it. There was a lot of it and he had no idea how there were going to carry it. He rushed out just to see Jason fry a line of gryphons with lightening.
But the worst thing was that there were more than a dozen. He didn't know how they were going to fight all of them.
"There's too much!", Nico shouted to Jason and five gryphons came at him.
Percy slammed a wall of salt water into a couple of them and they disintegrated.
Nico wished he had learnt to control the waves of darkness that he had emitted in his father's castle and disintegrated the furniture. The waves of darkness would've been useful right now.
"Hazel!", Jason screamed but Nico knew she couldn't have heard him. But the wind carried his voice to the Argo.
Soon the ship came sailing into view and the half the gryphons flew towards the ship.
Now two dozen gryphons were attacking the ship and two dozen were attacking them.
Just then the cave rumbled and even the gryphons seemed stunned. Then the bronze armour flew out of the cave towards the ship.
Nico fought of the gryphons who were trying to grab on to the flying celestial bronze. Monster dust flew around here and there while Jason electrocuted the rest as Percy drenched them.
On the ship, Frank and the girls seemed to be working hard but the gryphons seemed to have struck Piper down. Hazel had collapsed after bringing all the celestial bronze to the ship.
Just then a sharp pain erupted from Nico's left side. Then he felt warmth on his left leg.
He looked down to see his t shirt and pant soaked in blood. His whole body felt like it was on flames.
And he knew EXACTLY how THAT felt because, well, Tartarus.
He collapsed to the sandy ground and monster dust fell on him. He saw a whirlpool above his head and electricity and the gryphons blasted into dust. It looked like fireworks.
His eye lids fluttered.
His heartbeat slowed.
There were no gryphons in sight but he could hear their growls and shrieks in the distance.
He was feeling sleepy. Maybe he should've just closed his eyes for a while...
"Nico!", Percy's cry made his eye lids fly open.
His face was full of horror, his face pale but his eyes still sparkling and his hair windswept.
Nico had this ridiculous urge to smile. And he did.
Jason crouched beside Percy but stayed at a distance.
"No, Nico, no, don't you dare", Percy cried. Jason handed him a flask and he poured nectar on his left side. Nico cried out in pain and his voice rang through the cave. He felt his muscles, sinew and skin come and melt together again. But the pain was still there, burning his body, taking over his mind. Not allowing him to think.
"No!", Percy growled as Nico was about to close his eyes again, "I promised Bianca. You're not dying"
Nico coughed and smiled again. He fumbled and grabbed Percy's shirt.
He pulled him close and pressed his lips against Percy's. He tasted salty and a sea breeze blew around them. It cooled some of Nico's pain. He could almost feel the gentle waves of the sea lapping against his feet which should've been impossible because the sea was half a mile away.
He smiled against Percy's lips. This seemed like a good way to die.
He shut his eyes tight and let go of Percy, let go of himself. He vaguely felt strong hands grasp him, but it didn't matter anymore.
There was distant shouting but he hardly heard it.
He slipped off, still smiling, his lips tingling.
Okay, so I'm just gonna go ahead and say this.
Nico isn't dead.
That's all for now.