-"Nico, please, stop playing with those cards! At least try to enjoy this party!"- she said moving her hands with long slim fingers.
-"Why? The party is boring and my cards are way more interesting... Did you know Zeus has an attack power of—"- he replied shoving his cards.
-"Shut up! Something is wrong here, those guys over there won't stop looking at us and you decide to be a weirdo now?"- exclaimed the girl with a heavy accent.
-"You don't need to be so rude! Plus the guy over there has pretty eyes."- her little brother said with a faint blush over his cheeks.
-"Don't say stuff like that! You are not meant to! I'm sorry, but something here makes me uneasy. Something terrible is about to happen."- voiced the girl with the green hat.
Nico woke up from his memories. He always dreamt of that moment, always today, the anniversary of the day his life changed. He still remembered the way her green hat covered the worry lines of his sister's forehead, he remembered how they took them outside the party. Only to be abandoned by his only family in favor of going with some shitty girl group. Maybe she hated me because I'm a faggot, maybe she grew tired of me, maybe I was too strange to be her little brother, maybe— he shook his head and scolded himself, he shouldn't think that way. Bianca's last thought was of him, because of that stupid Hades' statue. She loved him, and he still loved her.
He was surprised when he saw Will still sleeping beside him, he opened the curtains of the balcony. The sun wasn't up yet. He checked the clock besides Will's side. 4:34 AM. He entered the bathroom and took a quick cold shower, he dressed in black, as always. Took his money and a bag. He left a note for Will on the kitchen island.
Ask Percy or Hazel what day is today.
Don't worry I'll be back in December 22nd.
-Nico-
He took some food and water and put them on his bag. He went close to the nearest corner and disappeared into the shadows.
The sunlight slowly made its way into the sleeping boy's face, waking him up instantly. It didn't mattered if he was sleeping in a room without doors or windows, the light would always find a way to him. Hell! He betted the light would finds its way to the Underworld if he found himself there.
He opened his bright-sky-blue eyes and saw that the space besides him was empty and cold. He showered as fast as he could and went down to find nothing but a small note. He didn't understand what the hell was happening but he needed to get to someone and fast.
He ran out of the house, the streets mostly empty. Camp Jupiter was far compared to houses, apartments and villas. And so he went running again, not caring about the strange looks. He banged a door so hard he felt his hand burn, but he didn't cared. A pair of sea-green eyes greeted him with a grumpy morning-like attitude.
-"Explain this to me! Right now!"- he exclaimed, shoving the note into the older teen in front of him.
-"I'm really sorry about earlier... I shouldn't have screamed at you."- said the blonde while eating the breakfast Annabeth had gladly made for him and Percy.
-"It's alright, man. Just next time try no to wake me up at 6:30 AM."- said the son of Poseidon with a smirk.
After swallowing, shyly he asked -"So, Percy... do you know what this note is about?"-
-"Yes, sadly I do."- said the black-haired guy looking down -"Today, three years ago, was when we went as a searching party to retrieve Nico and Bianca di Angelo to Camp, everything went wrong."- Jackson sighed -"Bianca joined the Hunters and when we went in a quest to save Annabeth and Artemis... well, she... she died."- said finally the sad demigod rubbing the back of his neck.
-"She was everything to Nico."- intervened Annabeth -"After her death, Nico changed a lot, I bet you did notice. He stopped being the happy bubbly little child he was... he became angry full of hate for himself. I wish Nico didn't had to go through that alone, or that it didn't happen at all."-
The atmosphere had turned gloomy and sad. They finished their food in silence, each pair of eyes looking down at everything but themselves. But he had to know, and his uncomfortableness wasn't going to stop him.
-"Do you know where I can find him? And what do you mean he hated himself?"-
The couple shared a look before the blonde girl answered -"Only three people know exactly why Nico felt the way he felt... he has to tell you himself, we can't betray him like that. About where he is, we don't know, but maybe Hazel does."-
He stood up, thanking the couple and exiting their home. He made his way through New Rome to Camp Jupiter. Various curious eyes watching him. He walked and walked and walked. Not stopping at all with steady pace and firm steps. He entered the 5th Cohort Barracks and searched for a little girl with curly hair. He didn't find her until he decided to look in the stables. There he found her, feeding a enormous caramel horse with gold bars.
-"Hey, Hazel."- he said with lack of his usual happy vibe.
-"Will."- she nodded greeting him. -"Nico thought you might look for him today."-
-"Did he tell you where he was heading?"- the son of Apollo asked leaning into one of the big wooden doors.
-"Yes, he always goes to the same place."- she said as she brushed her horse mane -"He wants to be alone, but he said it was my decision if I told you where he is, though."-
-"Are you going to tell me?"- he asked insecurely.
-"I wish I could go with him, but it's painful for me, I know he loves me. I just can't help but feel like I'm never gonna be as good as Bianca. He need someone to listen to him, so please take my horse, he'll take you."- she replied looking straight to his eyes.
-"Is this the famous Arion?"-
-"Yes, he can be a little rude."- she said with knowing smile
-"Where is he taking me?"- Will got on the horse's back.
-"To one of Nico's favorite place, New Orleans' graveyard."-
He felt trapped under the shadow of an old tree. A circle of snow around him. His powers tended to react with his own feelings. Today he felt hopeless. He felt like falling, like an angel who lost his wings. A bleeding back and tears stained face. And so he remembered. Everything. His past was like a beautiful golden cage and he was inside it. He remembered beautiful lullabies that talked about hope, about happiness, about everything he wanted to be, but right now he felt useless, it was like a distant dream. Who could he be happy? Was it ever meant to be? Sure, he had friends who cared about him. Sometimes the past made everything impossible, he was still unsure, it was just like before the storm, everything perfect, unrealistic and then everything would fall apart like always. He believed he had a happy childhood, but then the memories started coming back, sadly it wasn't like he expected. He had a happy childhood, but only inside his home, only in the surface. Under it the fear was present every time, every hour, always and forever. The oppression, the hate. His neighbor Pietro's screams at night. The dead bodies he sometimes encountered on the streets, even when he traveled with his mom around sweet Italy. He always had that kind of luck. Then he forgot, and everything was Bianca, only her. The fate had taken her too. What was next? Who was next?
He was so concentrated in his own misery that he missed the sound of galloping. He missed the steps coming to him. He missed the warm hands cleaning his cheeks. He missed the firm arms circling his pathetic form.
-"Nico."- he heard, over and over again, like a nightmare. He closed his eyes harder, trying not to listen, trying to stop his heart of warming up to this voice, trying to prevent himself of trusting, of having a friend, of caring. Everything was taken away from him at some point, he didn't want that again.
It was the same routine every day. He woke up reluctantly, not looking forward to another day. He drank some water and got out to the graveyard again. Sitting under the old, dead-looking tree. He sometimes cried, sometimes he just stared at everything and nothing. And always the tall surfer-like boy would follow him, not saying anything, neither complaining for his lack of food. Sometimes he pushed a breadstick near Nico's mouth. Sometimes Nico ate a little bit, sometimes he just turned his face. It was the same for two entire days, but it felt like forever.
After the agonizing waiting, the day had come. December 20th, the day when he felt his powers for the first time, at least, for the first time during the 21st Century. He sat under the tree again, his face resting on his knees, his arms hugging his skinny legs. He sobbed, remembering his terrible nightmare, that night when he felt his sister die. He cried, sometimes saying -"Sorellina"-, other times asking -"Why did you leave me?"-
The sun had gone down when he finally stopped. He looked around, sightly disorientated until he found a pair of sad blue eyes. It was then when he talked again.
-"I'm sorry."-
-"What for?"- the bright boy gave him a small smile.
-"You were crying too."-
-"If crying meant you would get better, I would shed my tears until I died."-
-"Don't say thing like that."- Nico said looking down in shame.
-"Why not?"- a blonde eyebrow raised.
-"Just don't."- the Underworld Prince bite his lip.
-"Okay."-
-"Okay."-
And once again they made their way back to the small hostel where they were staying.
Just like their new non permanent routine dictated, they found themselves under the tree, this time at least they were eating. Nico was eating by his own Will. That made son of Apollo really happy. They hadn't talked since yesterday, though. And he didn't want to push it. Nico would talk, eventually.
-"Mussolini was an asshole. Did I ever told you?"-
And just like that he began. He told Will how he used to live in one of the few big houses on Venice. He told Will how in school they were always trying to force down their throats that Mussolini was their savior. He ranted about how they treated people with different ideals, how sometimes they beat them up to death. How he knew since an early age that he was different, how he tried to compress that part of him. Sadly he was conscious of everything since he was little, always fake smiles outside his home. He gave a sad smile when he talked about it, he said that his home was his heaven, how only in his mother's embrace he felt safe. He told Will about his journeys with his family, where they traveled and when. It was like forgetting reality, at least that was what he said. He described how his father and grandfather would visit them from the US, how they always brought him games, pirate them things at first when he had this obsession with pirates. Then mythology related, when he started playing Mythomagic.
-"Did someone ever found out about your preferences?"- Will asked after a while.
Nico looked at him, fear showing in his eyes, he looked away, quietly saying -"Yes, they did, but that's a story for another day."-
The stayed still for another hour or so until Nico started rambling about the Hotel Casino Lotus, how it felt just like month but in reality they were like 70 years. He talked about people he met in there. About a hippie guy who kept playing some vintage game. The bar tenders that taught him casino games and how to win them. How Bianca kept telling him to brush his teeth and sleep early. How he found several geek kids to play with. How slowly he found himself forgetting who he was before, the pain of losing his mother among other stuff.
He later asked why Nico hated himself.
-"Remember I told you I was gay and that Bianca dies during her quest with Percy? "- the Italian asked, visibly uncomfortable -"Well since Percy went for us at Westover I had a crush on him. Later he comes and tell me he couldn't kept his promise and that my sister was dead. I was beyond broken. I ran away, and I tried so hard to hate Percy but I just couldn't so I started hating myself for it."-
-"Do you still love him?"-
-"Some time during the war I noticed that he wasn't my first priority anymore, so yes. I'm over him, but I believe a fraction of me will always have certain affection for him."-
Will noticed how honest Nico was being, but he was afraid to question him about it. He wanted to know him better, he wanted Nico to talk so he could get out of his chest part of what he was feeling. Nico has lost so many people, it was truly understandable how wary he was when he showed his affection and concern for any other people.
He could listen to the son of Hades talk and talk all day, it was fascinating how sometimes he expressed himself without worries, like he trusted him. It didn't matter if the Italian was crying because the story was sad, he kept going on and on until he reached a happy part and he would share a small almost nonexistent laugh.
They would have kept talking but they stopped when they heard several steps coming towards them.
The Meeting was a pain in the ass, as always. At least they had a little party afterwards, where you could drink, dance and forget about the stupid council and the stupid Olympus' matters. It's like they forget I have other matters to attend. The powerful god made his way to the food-table. He had seen his wife talking with her nymph friends, he wasn't going to stop her, she looked beautiful laughing together with her companions, yet she was the prettiest of them all. Not that Aphrodite should know.
The only downfall of attending the Winter Solstice Council Meeting was encountering gods he didn't like. Most of them conformed by his own brothers and sisters. Everyone, most of the time.
They all moved to the Grand Hall at the western wing of Olympus' Palace. Various doors led there, each one of them made of different precious woods like lignum vitae, ebony, african black wood and mahogany. And each door was also covered in glass, giving it the divine air. Tables were placed at the outskirts of the Hall, all kinds of appetizers displayed, together with wines, beers, whiskey, any kind of beverage, also some water. And of course they couldn't miss the gods' ambrosia and nectar.
-"Greetings, dearest brother. What a pleasure to see you here."-
Hades turned around to the image of his rude sarcastic sister.
-"Evening, I didn't thought you were that stupid to get near me, Demeter, not after what you did to my son."-
-"Oh, little poor Hades is mad?"- she grinned -"I'm so sorry, next time I'll kill him properly."-
Before the shadows began to react, the god breathed deeply -"Now you are just acting childish! I hope for your own good you're joking or drunk!"-
Lady Demeter was about to make her so intelligent reply when a deep voice joined the group -"Demeter. Hades. I hope you don't mind, but I'm stealing our favorite underground god. Excuse me."-
Both gods exited the party making their way through the big Palace Olympus was. The were far away, away from the party and away from the Throne Room.
They kept walking through golden and marble corridors, windows, balconies and even famous works of art. The walk was long. What was the point of it anyway?
-"I don't meant to be rude, but exactly where are we going?"- asked the already annoyed Lord of the Underworld.
The other god turned around giving him a little smile -"We're almost there, I just want to show you something very special."-
They turned to left, then to the right, a couple of turns more and they were in font of a giant rose-golden wall. Before the dark god of the Big Three protested, the other one raised his hand, touching the wall. It opened to a giant collection of wines.
-"Wine? All this odyssey for wine?"- exclaimed Hades with a brow raised.
-"It's not just simple wine. These are the best ones ever made by man and gods! We haven't talk for a long time, always have our...differences."- said the mysterious immortal with a smug smile -"Let's make a toast for family, and for fresh starts!"- he proceded to take a bottle, pouring two cups.
The first male child of Kronos gave an incredulous glance, slowly drinking his beverage.
-"My dear Hades."- he started -"always feared by the mortals, always with a hidden big heart. You know who's exactly like that?"- the unnamed turned around facing a bouquet of flowers. -"Your son. Always loyal, strong willed, intelligent, so cunning."- he sighed and looked at the Underworld king over his shoulder -"And he's going down."-
The older of the Big Three collapsed into the ground. Sweating. Hell! He felt like a vulnerable mortal. He couldn't breath, his body didn't answer to his commands. Desperation taking control of his mind. The attacker kneeled in front of him, tracing Hades' jaw with a finger, lifting his head so they looked eye-to-eye.
-"Just imagine how our associate will torture him. Destroy bone by bone, muscle by muscle. Tearing your precious son's flesh apart. You wanted him to be happy."- he came closer, mumbling next to Hades' ear. -"I will not let that happen."- he said, letting out a soft chuckle.
His body was completely out of his control. Chocking forever since he couldn't die. He didn't lost his conscious. He felt very much awake.
-"But,"- the mad man lifted a finger -"before all of that happens, we need to surround him, let him without any powerful allies. I'm very sorry,-" he smirked -"you need to be destroyed first."-
The Kind of Dead Souls felt how his body was being carried away. I'm doomed... please don't... not to Nico, not to him... Do whatever you want to me... but not my beloved son!
The chat was getting boring. Lots of gossips she couldn't care less about. The hall felt empty, she wasn't the little girl she was before. This, all of this was getting old. She was getting old. She left her group of friends behind, taking a glass of water and walking out through the giant mahogany door covered in crystal teal. She kept walking, still thinking about that door for no reason. In platinum the history was written, of all the big accomplishment of the human race. Of glory and sacrifice. Of eternal love. They were so similar yet so different from the ones from her home. Home. It was the first time she called her realm home, but it wasn't a lie. It was her home. It had always been. Even though she was forced there, she never felt trapped. The Underworld was so full of mysteries that you could spend the eternity there, without realizing it, there were so many things to do she never had the time to hate that place. Instead she unconsciously loved it. Cherish it.
She found herself walking across an old friend of hers. The Garden of Dreams. One of the oldest gardens in Olympus. She used to come here a lot when she was a couple of hundreds of years younger. The place was beautiful, it even had Persephone's favorite flowers, plumeria, orchids, water lilies, bird of paradise and the most cliché one, roses.
She vaguely remembered there was a kiosk right in the middle of the place covered with perennial sweet pea vine. She headed there, taking her time to admire the labyrinth of plants around her.
Little birds stopped to chat with her. Nature didn't rest in Olympus. It was endless. At some point she stopped and laid on the ground looking at the stars, admiring their distant beauty. Enjoying the mysteries of the night. When she was a little goddess she didn't understand why she had to sleep and hide from the night. Then everything changed when Hades married her. He had showed her things she only wondered when her mother was not around. He had showed her the beauty of darkness, the mystery that it held. He had taught her how the night was misunderstood, that she shouldn't be afraid because it was part of the big cycle. She was forever grateful with him for that.
She kept her journey and the darkness grew thicker. It didn't mattered, though. Her godly eyes could adjust to any light or lack of it. After today, she cursed her blessed eye-sight.
She heard the glass fall before it broke.
Being the little rebel she is, Artemis couldn't be bothered by attending parties. Even attending the Counsil was a hideous thing to do, even more so this year. She couldn't believe how irrational her father was. Condemning Apollo to 500 years as a mortal! No powers, no insta-healing. Nothing. That wouldn't only affect the godly equilibrium but the demigods too! What would they do without their healers? But her dad as always only listen to the bitch Hera. As fast as she could she had gotten out of there, roaming the grounds. That was until she felt glass breaking. Moving towards the event even before the piercing cry made it's way to her ears.
What she saw when she arrived was monstrous. There was no other word of it. A path made of ichor was traced beneath her. It led her into a big kiosk.
Nico pulled out his precious sword when the steps kept coming towards them. They weren't from an animal, it could be a person or a monster in disguise. The problem was that they were many. He didn't knew if he had the strength to defend Will, much less shadow-travel away. His emotions tired him. He wouldn't be able to use his powers for long. Still he tried. He pulled the shadows of the night, hiding from the shine of the moon. He made a small protective sphere around them. Hoping that whoever that was there was fooled by his little trick.
Once the steps stopped he saw no monster, but what was actually out there wasn't something he was pleased about.
-"Get out of that bubble of darkness, di Angelo. We need to go. Now!"-
He looked around to the group surrounding them. They had the stuff Will and himself had left back in the inn. At least they weren't a threat to Solace, so that was a relief.
-"To what do I own the pleasure?"- he asked with every subtle venom he could manage in a sentence.
-"I'll explain in the way, so either you come with us or you put your friend's life in danger. Understood?"-
Well, that limits the options, right?
She entered the kiosk and gasped at what she saw. There was Persephone crying uncontrollably kneeling in front of the morbid altar. The scene was carefully planned. Containing every single thing that the god represented. There was three corpses of askalaphos. Three heads of black bulls decorated the ceiling. And then there it was the dangerous god of the Underworld crucified into his own symbol. The skin around his fingers, the twenty of them, was flayed. His fingernails were missing. All of his body was bruised, specially the face, where his features were so swollen that it was almost unrecognizable. His body was stabbed everywhere, the ichor flowing like a cascade. Maybe if she examined his body she could have find more and more injuries inflicted on him. But, that was not all, as a mock he had a crown on his head made out of Mediterranean cypress' leaves and pomegranate seeds.
The most appalling thing to her, apart from the scene on display was the message written on the floor with his own ichor:
Don't interfere
Go back to the repugnant place you call home.
Long live the rightful heir.
The Moon goddess wrapped her little strong arms around the sobbing female, unable to calm her down. She couldn't do this alone, of she were to help. Her Hunters needed to help too. Mentally she called for them so they could help the Spring goddess and her delirious husband into their home, she, for her part had some other urgent matters to attend, in which she needed another squad of her girls. Persephone couldn't meddle now. She was out of the game. Artemis knew that it was up too her now to stop this madness.
It was going to be a long night.
-"What does that mean, lady Artemis?"- asked the healer when she finished her tale.
-"It means, son of Apollo, that the fates aren't ready for times of peace."-
Streaking across the sky, the stars looked empty now. The entire atmosphere, the time, it seemed cursed. Why? It was the question, the one everyone wanted to know the answer to. Why couldn't they have a little peace?
They were almost arriving to Camp Jupiter when Nico finally talked.
-"Is my father going to be okay?"- he asked in a small voice, almost sounding like the kid he still was.
-"We do not know. I don't want to be cruel, but you need to know that he is in danger of fading."-