Hello, don't hate me please? I'm sorry. I got sidetracked and couldn't find inspiration. I read The Godfather and I couldn't help but imagine how it would've been if Nico grew up at that time, in America or in Italy.
Nevermind, I'm blabbering. Byee, I love you all, in a non creepy way of course
NICO:
Nico finally understood it.
He understood what it was like to be a hero.
"So, showing up with an army? Is that your thing?", a voice asked from behind him.
He wheeled around, and a tingle went down his spine as he saw who it was.
"Jackson", he said, a little breathless.
"Well, done Nico", he said patting his arm. His hand lingered a little.
"Nico!", Annabeth called from where she stood with Clarisse and started to walk towards him and Percy.
Nico wished the ground would swallow them.
Just then the ground shook. Nico felt himself lose balance and suddenly, the world was turning.
He wondered if he was imagining this since Percy had touched him. Or his prayer had really been heard?
When he heard people scream, his doubts faded.
He felt someone grab his arm and a moment later, he was tumbling down a dank narrow passage.
He saw two blue eyes shining at him through the dark and he was glad that Jason was with him.
The tunnel opened up into an amphitheatre. How that was possible, since they were seemingly underground, Nico did not know.
He turned to find Thalia, instead of Jason, brushing dust off her silver clothes.
Behind him were Rachel and Percy, helping each other stand up.
What an odd group of people, Nico thought.
"So what do you reckon we're supposed to do?", Thalia asked him. It was weird when he realized that physically, he was almost as old as her now. Almost.
"Well, I don't know. I haven't done this before", he told her. He turned back to look at Rachel and Percy. He couldn't tell who was supporting who.
"Let's walk", Thalia said motioning towards the other end of the amphitheatre. "We have to go upwards, right? The gods lived at the peak"
"I wonder where the others are", Percy said from the back. He sounded strained.
Nico wondered if he was thinking about Annabeth.
Of course, don't be so cheap, Nico. They're like two sides of the same coin. Or two sides of a magnet since they were polar opposites, almost.
At the end of an amphitheatre was a narrow staircase. Nico doubted he would fit.
"Let me go first", he said to them.
"No", said Percy a little too quickly. Then he proceeded to turn red. "I mean, there could be anything up there"
"Yes, I know", Nico said trying to keep the smile off his face. They'd think he was crazy.
Thalia looked from Nico to Percy, then to Nico again.
"Since me and Nico are the only ones who are not injured, we should take the front and the back", she said glaring at Percy, Nico knew not why. "You both stay in the middle"
Nico hoisted himself into the dark staircase. At first, he couldn't see anything. It seemed like the air was solid and black.
His breath stuck in his throat and for a moment he thought he would stop breathing and die right there.
Then he saw the symbol. It burned pale and green on the ceiling of the staircase. He reached for it and found himself walking upwards as it shifted, remaining just out of his reach.
The helm of darkness, in all it's sinister greenness was showing him the way.
He sent a silent prayer to his father and started moving upwards confidently.
"Nico. Could. You. Go. A. Little. Slowly. Please", Rachel panted.
Nico stopped and Percy banged into him, face forward. If he hadn't been intently listening for an unusual sound, Nico would've reacted in some embarrassing way. Probably squealed like a mouse or something.
"Uh, Nico?", Percy asked, his breath tingling his neck. He could almost feel Percy's lips move against his neck. He shivered.
"There's something wrong", Nico said in a low voice. "Don't move"
"I've seen this before. I know what's going to-", Rachel started but her sentence ended in a scream.
"RACHEL", Percy bellowed. Nico felt Percy fall to his feet and Thalia shout, "Percy, no!"
Nico heard a cackle and turned to find Thalia's palm burning with blue electricity. The light from Thalia's palm fell on Percy who was crouching on the stairs, running his hands over the smooth granite stair in vain.
"Percy, come on", Nico urged him.
"She's not here anymore. Somebody took her and they will eventually draw us out too", Thalia said flatly, "Can you walk?"
Nico could think of many reasons why somebody would want an oracle handy and he was sure Thalia knew too, but none of them said it aloud, probably for Percy's sake.
Percy nodded but as he took a step, he winced and almost toppled over on Thalia.
"I'll lead the way", Thalia told them, "Nico, hold on to Percy"
Percy crouched and Thalia climbed over him. Then she did the same with Nico. He thanked the gods Thalia wasn't too big or they would've never managed to get her in front in the narrow staircase.
And he would've never got the chance to support Percy.
Percy and Nico walked diagonally, Nico's arm around his waist and Percy's arm around his shoulder. Soon enough, they were sweating.
"I'm really sorry you have to do this", Percy told him, his sea green eyes hardening.
"I don't mind", Nico told him earnestly. "Remember the time you had to carry me out of my father's dungeon?"
Percy chuckled.
Before he could stop himself, he reached out and brushed a strand of hair from Percy's eyes. He laid the flat of his palm against his forehead.
"Percy, you're hot", Nico told him.
Percy stiffened. Then coughed.
Nico paused. "That could've sounded wrong. I mean, you're feverish"
"I feel fine", Percy said with fake confidence but Nico could heard the uncertainty underneath.
"Do you want to sit a while?", he asked even though he knew the answer.
"No we have to find Rachel", Percy said shortly.
They walked on, not stopping for a long while, without conversation.
After a while Nico felt a chill down his spine. Even Percy's feverish body didn't stop him from shuddering.
"Did you feel that?", he asked.
Thalia stopped. "No, what was it?"
"I'm not sure", Nico admitted.
"Water", Percy said, his tone grim.
"Water down here? Are you kidding?", Thalia said uncertainly.
"I'm sure", Percy replied, "But it's nothing normal"
"Yeah, low chance of that", Nico said but the others probably didn't hear him.
Because right then, the floor gave way and they were falling.
To their credit, none of them screamed.
"I hate when that happens", Thalia muttered.
"Yeah, tell me about it", Percy replied sarcastically.
The water hit them suddenly.
They had expected it, probably at the back of their minds but they weren't prepared to crash into it like a hard wall.
Nico's breath was knocked out of him, he felt like he was submerged in a timeless liquid.
He didn't move and neither did the water.
Somewhere he could hear pounding. The back of his neck tingled.
Then the water started spinning, folding and raising into a hurricane of the timeless liquid.
His head swam, his temple throbbed, his neck tingled.
He couldn't tell how long he was stuck in the hurricane. But there came a time when it threw him out on a coarse ground.
"Nico!", a feeble voice croaked.
He couldn't see the source because his face was half buried in the course sand but he knew it was Thalia. But he couldn't tell if she was okay or where Percy was.
He tried to roll over without success.
"No, Nico don't move", Percy said faintly.
"Percy?", his own voice was hoarse, "are you both okay?"
Percy didn't say anything.
But the woman did.
Nico turned his head enough to see her.
The timeless liquid or whatever it was had thrown Nico and the others and had gathered up under her like huge fanned serpent.
Nico pushed himself to a sitting position.
She sat on the top of it, looking down at them contemptuously. She was a pale with woman in a dress made of flowing water. The deep currents in her "dress" shaded it in a manner which Nico found fascinating. Her hair too was a dark blue, flowing from her pales scalp. Instead of legs, she had a scaly fish tail which glittered purple in the flowing liquid.
"He'll be happy with this", she said, her voice like broken glass. "Three demigods, born of the three great Olympians. He will be overjoyed"
"We aren't, if you were wondering", Percy told her matter-of-factly.
"Your father is just like you", she said venomously, "I wonder how I never noticed"
Percy blinked, at that. "So, I get that you're some water demon lady probably"
"Who definitely had an affair with Poseidon", Thalia said shrugging.
Nico agreed.
But Percy frowned at her.
"I did not have an affair", she snapped at Thalia, "We were in love"
Thalia nodded in mock understanding.
"We were to be married. We created the most beautiful son ever. Polyphemus"
Percy, unhelpfully, gagged at that. "So those crazy genes were yours, lady"
The woman, or mermaid, pointed a finger at Percy and a coil of water wrapped at his throat, twirling like a dark and insidious rope.
Nico frantically wondered why Percy couldn't control the water.
"I'm Thoosa, the nymph of currents", her eyes sparked dangerously. "I would kill you if I could, but Polybotes wants you for himself. And there's not much I wouldn't do for him"
"Do you have Rachel?", Thalia asked sharply.
Thoosa looked at her strangely. "No", she said awkwardly.
The chamber they were in had a very high ceiling. The ceiling dripped water, cold and sharp. The water made him uncomfortable.
The chamber rumbled as a greenish blue serpents rose from the wet floor.
As they rose, a head seemed to appear beneath a mop of serpents, and then a gigantic body. At last appeared the feet and the giant opened his eyes.
Nico looked at Percy and his heart stopped. Percy was pale and lifeless, his eyes unmovingly staring at Thoosa. The water rope was still tightened around his neck and the only colour visible on his face was the rope.
"Perseus, son of Poseidon", the giant said in a low voice that seemed to Nico like tsunami. He didn't know how or why but his voice reminded him of destruction at the wake of water.
"And a son of Hades and a daughter of Zeus", he said and laughed, a deep throaty gurgle. "This is a prosperous day, it would seem"
"Oh, yes it is", Thalia replied calmly. It surprised Nico to see her so calm and composed. "You're going down today, you son of bitch. Along with your mother and your brother"
She had threatened Polybotes, looking straight into his eyes.
"From a daughter of Zeus, I'd expect no less", Polybotes allowed. "But perhaps in another lifetime. Now, if you're done, I would like to proceed and torture Poseidon's pup"
"What is that?", Nico asked quickly, pointing towards the liquid around Thoosa. 'Torture Poseidon's pup' had a dreadful effect on Nico.
Polyboted looked at Thoosa, "Why don't you explain, love?"
Thoosa gave him a swift smile and said, "This is a creation made by our union. This is going to seep into the roots of Mt. Olympus and destroy everything. Then killing the gods will be easier than swatting away flies"
Polybotes raised his hand to silence her.
"To start, I would like to proceed with the much awaited ritual", he said slowly, the serpents on his head hissing.
A cage made of the same cursed water that made the rope around Percy's neck, was lowered into the room. Inside the cage was a limp body.
Nico saw Percy's eyes flicker, saw the heat rise to his face.
Thalia pulled out her silver bow and arrow, seemingly out of thin air. "LEAVE HER ALONE", she yelled at Polybotes. Thoosa snapped her fingers and Thalia's bow shot out of her hand to Thoosa's feet.
The body seemed to stir and a blonde head rose, the side of her face caked with blood.
"Percy?", she asked uncertainly, "Percy where are you?"
The rope fell off from Percy's neck and his face burned with rage. "Annabeth, hang in there please."
Just then a cage lowered over Nico and raised him parallel to Annabeth's cage but on the opposite side. In the middle was Percy, on the ground glaring at Polybotes.
"So, well. You've got two minutes from now before Thoosa kills both of them as revenge for Polyphemus. Save the one you want to, so he or she can die with you."
Percy looked at Annabeth steadily, where she sat sobbing in her cage. "Percy, please", she said wiping her tears.
Then he turned to look at Nico.
The heat in his gaze almost melted Nico. He drew out Riptide and breathed out slowly.
Nico seemed to have knives stuck in his stomach and punctured a lung because he couldn't breathe. He knew Percy would save Annabeth and he decided that he could die knowing that Percy would have a shot at happiness.
"I'm sorry Nico", he said in a husky voice and threw his sword at Annabeth.