Sorry for the wait! Hope you guys had a great Christmas! Going to do some quick review replies and then we'll get on with the chapter...

settheworldonfire16: sorry it took so long, here's the next chapter!

DaughterPoseidon: I hope to, don't worry

HazelPiper: Haha, no I'm not Rick Riordan. Thank you, I try my best!

Shadow Huntress: Sorry sorry, I like keeping you guys on your toes (forgive me for that), thank you for the kind words, they mean a lot! I'll do my best to keep writing!

Annapegusus: ah, i don't mind. i'm very flattered. I plan on continuing, don't worry

Guest: thank you for the constructive criticism. It's not harsh, I like it when people critique my work. it gives me a chance to grow

Disclaimer: They're not mine, as much as I wish they were.

Without further ado, Chapter 9!

The Earth's Possession

Chapter 9: Meet the New Nico di Angelo

PERCY

Percy gaped like a fish. Standing right in front of him was Nico di Angelo, the one they were trying to rescue. What was he doing on the ship? HOW did he get on the ship? He took a tentative step towards Nico.

"Nico... umm...hi?" he offered lamely. Annabeth elbowed him in the ribs while everyone else rolled their eyes. However, they were all shocked when Nico gave them somewhat of a sincere smile and replied,

"Hey, Percy. How are you?" Now everyone was gaping like a fish. Percy scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Umm... I've been doing ok. So, what brings you here?" he asked while everyone at his side tensed in anticipation of Nico's answer. Nico smiled again.

"I'll get to that but first, can we go inside? I'm starving."

JASON

Jason felt uncomfortable and was pretty sure everyone else but Nico felt the same. Here he was, sitting at the dining table, an untouched grilled cheese sandwich in front of him and sitting next to his supposed enemy who was wolfing down a bagel. Jason looked around the table. Piper squirmed in her seat, clearly uncomfortable with this situation. Hazel poked her sandwich but didn't make any move to eat it. Frank nibbled on a piece of toast. Leo played with his glass by attempting to set it and the drink ablaze. Annabeth fingered the bead necklace around her neck carefully while Percy just stared at the table. Jason decided enough was enough.

"Ok, di Angelo. I think you're just about done. Now tell us why you're here," he demanded as he stood up from his seat. Piper tried to get him to sit down but he refused. He would stand his ground "against" the son of Hades. Nico simply smiled. But that wasn't what sent shivers down Jason's back. It was the fact that the smile Nico gave him was cold. Menacing, even.

"I'm just here as a messenger for now," he replied. "Gaea wants you to surrender and join her side. A lot of bloodshed could be prevented if you agree. Heck, you could prevent World War III. It would make a lot of sense, Percy. Jason. Annabeth. Frank. Leo. Piper. Hazel." Jason's jaw dropped in shock. He wasn't serious was he? Did he actually think that they would surrender to Gaea? Percy stood up abruptly from his seat.

"Nico," he began, "we aren't going to surrender to Gaea, nor will we join her side. Tell her that SHE'S the one trying to start World War III and that we're just the ones trying to stop her." Nico sighed in exasperation.

"Well that's a shame." Jason felt a wrenching pain in his gut and looked down to find a sword protruding from it, before he fell to the ground. "Now I have to kill you all," was the last thing he heard before he blacked out.

PIPER

Piper screamed. Her boyfriend had just fallen to the ground with a bleeding hole in his gut and all she could do was scream. Get it together Piper, she told herself. She wrenched Katoptris out of its sheath and charged Nico, tears running down her face. Then, something strange happened. Nico appeared to glide along the surface of the ship, allowing him to easily avoid Piper's attack. He would've stabbed her in the back too had Percy not blocked the attack with Riptide. Piper whirled around in shock.

"Don't just stand there! Help Jason!" Percy yelled back at her. She found herself nodding numbly before going to find a first aid kit as well as ambrosia and nectar.

PERCY

Percy sidestepped another one of Nico's jabs and made one of his own. Nico blocked and glided along the floor again. Percy allowed himself a second to be dumbstruck before charging again. Nico simply closed his eyes. Percy looked confused for a second before his senses were attacked. His fingers trembled as he held his sword and he couldn't stop looking at Nico in fear. He looked around and found that everyone else was stuck in a similar situation however Frank, in cheetah form, looked worse than them all. Animals had a stronger sense of fear than humans did after all. Percy managed to will himself not to drop his sword as he concentrated on taking a step forward. He managed to do so and tried to move his other leg but before he could, he felt an intense pain in his thigh. He looked down to see a skeleton bone sticking out of his thigh. It took all he had not to hurl right then and there. Nico smiled at him.

"People always feared Hades. They thought that he was crazy, that he would snap at the smallest things. He controlled all the riches under the earth as well as the dead. They thought he would kill them for no good reason." Percy grimaced.

"So you have the power to instill fear into your opponents?" he demanded. Nico's smile got wider.

"Something along the lines of that," he said as he raised his sword to Percy's neck. Percy braced himself for death but was surprised when he didn't feel anything. He looked to see Nico's sword arm trembling before dropping the sword to the ground with a clatter, as he stumbled backwards, his eyes alternating between black and green.

"No..." Percy managed to make out between Nico's mumbling, "I WON'T KILL PERCY!" was the last thing that Nico said before his back went rigid and his eyes stayed green. Nico scowled at him. "It would seem..." Nico paused then continued, "that you are lucky today, Percy Jackson. Gaea has summoned me back." Nico picked up and sheathed his sword and proceeded to walk out of the room. Then, Leo did something stupid. With the Fear (A/N: That's what I'm going to call it from now on) undone, everyone could move. In a flash, he chucked a throwing knife at Nico. Nico didn't even twitch as a skeletal hand unearthed itself and caught the knife in midair. Nico smiled.

"Thank you for the gift. But now, I think I'll return it," he said as he disappeared into the shadows and the hand threw the knife back at Leo, who yelped and dodged it. Percy sagged to the floor, careful of his thigh injury. He shared a look with Annabeth and asked,

"What do we do now?"

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 10

A/N: How was it? Like it, hate it? Drop a review please! Sorry it took so long. I'm thinking that the next update will be during March Break? Hopefully earlier. I'll aim for the end of January/beginning of February. Thanks for reading! Happy New Year!