Work Text:
Every now and then, Nico found himself thinking of his sister, Bianca. He wondered what she might do or say whenever he got into messes like these.
Then he would feel like an idiot because Bianca had been gone for years now, and there was nothing she could say to him anymore.
He was alone.
“You’re Nico, right?”
“Yes,” he replied slowly. Cautiously.
The sigh of relief was clear in the girl’s voice, even though it sounded more like gurgling bubbles.
Nico could not believe he was talking to a water spring.
“Who are you, exactly?” he asked, face scrunched up into a frown.
“You don’t recognize me?” She pouted. “I would have thought you halfbloods had more of an education in family nomenclature, distant or otherwise.”
“Family?” Nico gave her his best skeptical stare. “Percy’s side, maybe. But not mine.”
She rippled impatiently, tossing her hair over her shoulder, which Nico thought, should have been impossible to do when you were completely made of water.
“I’m Alope,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Like the city.”
“The city that was named after me, yes,” she reminded him proudly. “But I live here now, and I have a favour to ask of you, son of Hades.”
He narrowed his eyes, dark ones boring into her lighter ones. He hated favours. He also hated being asked to grant them. “What kind of favour?”
“I swear I don’t have it out for you,” she said quickly. The waves and rivulets at her feet and the watery hem of her gown were distracting him. As was the niggling worry of his having to actually do whatever it was she was going to ask. Demigods hardly ever had any luck where heroic (or not heroic) quests were concerned.
He tilted his chin upwards and concentrated on her translucent face instead.
“I just need one teeny-tiny little thing.”
“I can’t promise anything,” Nico said automatically. “And besides, what’s in it for me anyway?”
“Um.” She bit her bottom lip. “The satisfaction of knowing you made a poor spring feel like she’d been forgiven for her misdeed after all these centuries?”
“Yeah? And what misdeed is that?”
“Don’t be so petulant, son of Hades,” she snapped. The ripples in her hair began to move at a quicker pace, as though reacting to her sudden anger.
Nico swallowed. He had to remember to control his own temper, because these guys tended to be quick to anger, themselves. He’d already been through enough scrapes pissing off nymphs and ghosts, and even though he was pretty sure he could take Alope on if he had to, this was neither the time nor place for that. Besides, he just wanted to get on with his life. He probably had a geography class or something to get to.
“Will you do it?” she prompted him.
“I don’t even know what you want me to do,” he pointed out. He was beginning to wish he could selectively choose to see what he wanted to, sort of like the mortals and Mist. He was standing in Central Park, talking to a body of water in the form of a woman. To any mortal, he probably looked insane.
Perfect.
But these guys tended to be pretty persistent when they wanted to be.
“I need you to find my father. I need to talk to him.”
“And how am I supposed to do that? I don’t even know what he looks like or where he might be.” He shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. “No way.”
“You’re the son of Hades, aren’t you? My father is dead. He should be easy to find.”
Right. As if it was so easy for him to simply waltz into the Underworld and call a request to his father. Who did these nymphs think they were? “Hey, lady. Just because I have a couple of ties with the Underworld doesn’t mean –”
An unexpected stream of water erupted from behind her menacingly, forcing Nico back a couple of steps while he swallowed, hoping to get his heart back into its proper place – and not in his throat where it had decided to take up residence.
“It’s not easy for me to get into the city’s sewage system, but I will flood and clog up all of New York’s plumbing until you agree to do it. And don’t think I won’t! You don’t want to know what it’s like to suddenly have a rush of water come out of your toilet while you’re doing your business.”
Nico groaned. “Why? Why do you want this so badly?”
The stream lessened by a fraction, and suddenly Alope looked sad, almost wistful. “Haven’t you wanted to just get past something? Forgive someone for something?”
“No,” he lied.
“Oh, you have. I know you have.” Alope glared at him. “Help me, Nico. Help me. You have to. Please!”
The water from the lake was already spilling generously onto the ground, making the hard dirt a soft, brown sludge. It was sloshing around his boots and making a fine mess. An elder lady on a park bench some distance away was watching him with a slightly frightened look on her face as if he was personally responsible for flooding Central Park out.
“All right, all right. Fine. I’ll help you bring back your father’s stupid soul. Just – stop doing that.”
Alope sprayed a fine, cheerful mist in his direction. “Thank you!”
“Hey!” He wiped at his eyes, and smoothed a hand through his black hair. “Just give me the details and I’ll get on with it.”
Nico was so dead.
No. Dead would imply living in his father’s kingdom for eternity – which he was destined to do anyway. Nico was going to be deader than dead.
His long, thin fingers rapped in a frantic state along the surface of the table – dark mahogany, wooden inlay of flowers or something, and polished to shine like a bald man’s head – as he waited for the line to pick up on the other side of the phone.
He was exhausted, but panic and fear did wonders for his adrenaline levels. He felt almost wired on it, even though his body wanted nothing more than to find a corner somewhere and curl up into an immobile ball for days.
“Come on, come on, come on,” he muttered under his breath. “Pick up.”
After the fifth or sixth ring, a boy’s voice finally answered.
“Hey, Percy Jackson here.”
“Percy.” Nico never thought he’d be happier to hear the other boy’s voice in his entire life. He and Percy had a longstanding history of hatred – well, more on Nico’s side than Percy’s really, but who was keeping score anyway? “Percy, you have to help me.”
“Hold on.” Nico could hear the sound of a door closing before the voice came back. “Nico? Is that you?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow. Hey, man. How are you doing?”
“Um. Fine.” That was the biggest lie of the year. “Actually, no. I’m not fine. That’s kind of the reason why I called you.”
“Uh – okay.” Suddenly Percy’s voice took on a different tone. “What’s going on? Wouldn't it be better to send me an Iris -”
“There's no time,” Nico interrupted. Besides, he didn't want to admit he was avoiding any and all water bodies (great or small) from now on. He would rather face a hundred monsters than any single water nymph.
Nico quickly began to explain what happened and how. “I sorta used my abilities as the son of the god of the Underworld to free Alope’s dad. I … he’s alive again. Sort of. Well, he’s alive enough to wreak havoc in Manhattan, anyway. I lost sight of him after he ran off in an angry tirade. That guy was fast. And I sort of…fell unconscious after I freed him.”
“You’re kidding.” Percy didn’t sound amused in the least. This wasn’t going to get any easier.
“I wish I was. Look, I screwed up. Big time. I told Cercyon that his daughter wanted to apologize to him for what happened, and hope they could – you know, put it behind them and all that other sappy stuff. But all Cercyon wanted to do was find Poseidon and give him a piece of his mind.”
Which, Nico was smart enough to know that in Ancient Greek that usually meant violence would be involved.
Percy didn’t say anything for so long, Nico started to wonder whether he was still on the line. “Percy?”
“I’m still here. Still trying to decide whether I should go to class, or come to wherever it is you are and kick your ass,” he said. “Bad enough you got your own dad involved, but you got mine involved too. Plus a hundred thousand other innocent people if this guy goes completely crazy.”
“Hey, it’s not like you’ve never made mistakes before,” he argued weakly.
“Yeah, but nothing like this. And didn’t my mistakes teach you to be a little more careful?”
“You’re not my mom,” Nico retorted. “You’re not my – Look. I called you because I don’t have anyone else to turn to. I don’t know anyone else who would know what to do and I don’t want any of the gods to find out.”
“All right, let me just … call Annabeth and see what she thinks.”
“No!” Nico shouted immediately, much to Percy’s obvious dismay, if the grumbling he could hear from the other end of the line had anything to say about it. “It’s … my mess. And I screwed up. I don’t want anyone else to know about it. Just … keep it between the two of us. Please?”
“Annabeth’s way smarter than I am. I mean, I barely got into NYU and she’s off in Berkeley doing that architecture stuff.”
“I know, but she won’t really get this.” Or forgive him for breaking every rule. Annabeth was the smartest person he knew, and he’d done the most stupid thing in the book. Besides, he wasn’t sure he wanted to watch the two of them make goo-goo eyes at each other while Nico was creamed by two of the most powerful gods in the pantheon. “Please, Percy. Don’t tell her, okay?”
Percy hesitated, but the eventual “Okay, fine,” managed to calm Nico down wonders.
“This is never going to work.”
“Where’s the optimism, Nico? Of course this’ll work. I just have to … get around to my dad.”
Nico was standing by the edge of the port overlooking the ocean. Waves were crashing with the vengeance of an angry god, and the sky reflecting a dull, overcast grey did not help the situation. To his annoyance, Percy looked at ease standing next to him, and much older than Nico remembered. It had probably been a little over two and a half years since they had last seen each other, after the whole mess with the gods and the Titans, the awkward birthday celebration and his break-up with Rachel Elizabeth Dare.
University and an active social life were obviously doing wonders for the freshman; Nico felt like a stupid kid beside him.
He was still in high school – and struggling to get by on top of that. It didn’t help that he had ADHD and dyslexia, common traits amongst demigods. Sure it helped them in reading Ancient Greek and defending themselves from monsters, but in the mortal world, it sucked.
“Don’t tell him it was me, okay?” He clenched his hands into fists within the pockets of his baggy trouser pants, not wanting to admit that this entire thing was making him nervous.
“I won’t,” said Percy. He turned to give him a very direct look. “You will.”
Nico groaned, but said nothing else. He turned to glance back at the ocean and wondered what Poseidon would do to him if he told the truth.
“Come on. Let’s get this over with. I’ve got a paper to write,” Percy said, already heading towards the water’s edge.
“I owe you one,” said Nico, as he reluctantly followed the sea-god’s son into the water. The sudden chill of it cut against him like a set of sharp, expensive kitchen knives. He swore under his breath until Percy grabbed his arm with a laugh. He was completely dry, and there was a spark of excitement in his eyes, as though he was actually looking forward to this. Percy tugged him forward until they were both completely under water. But Nico felt warmer, and as he glanced down at himself, he found that he was certainly drier.
Percy grinned. “Don’t think I won’t take you up on that one.”
Poseidon’s kingdom was pretty much everything Nico could have imagined an underwater kingdom would look like. It was built of colourful coral and white shells and stood on the white sandy ground at the bottom of the ocean. There were spires and towers that took on organic, spindly shapes like long creepy fingers, or tree branches in a haunted forest. Fish and merpeople swam about, and from somewhere far ahead, he could hear the distant chink! and clank! of metal and weapons being created. Percy’s weird half-brother Tyson was probably there somewhere with the rest of the Cyclopes in their underwater workshop.
There was a whole other world here, away from land. It would have been kind of cool if he weren’t so anxious to get this whole meeting with Poseidon over with.
Percy swam forward, pulling Nico along by the arm to maintain contact so he would not a) drown, or b) get completely soaked. When they got to the castle, Nico was surprised to notice it looked a lot more run-down than he had expected. There was broken debris and rubble everywhere. Soldiers dressed in armour, with tails for legs, were nursing their wounds. The water was cloudier here.
“What happened?”
Percy shrugged before landing on his feet with the skill of someone who’d done this many times before while Nico stumbled to regain his footing. The water somehow seemed to sway back and forth, pushing him with the current, even here.
“This isn’t going to work, is it?” Nico asked, glancing down to where Percy was still holding him. “You can’t find your dad if I’m stuck to you like a leech.”
Percy pressed his lips together tightly, looking pensive. “It’s okay,” he said finally, the creases in his forehead disappearing almost immediately. “We’ll figure something out.”
Nico grumbled under his breath. “Yeah. Great. Until then, we have to hold hands like lovers or something.”
“Well, I don’t mind if you’re soaked, cold and losing oxygen,” Percy said darkly. “But if you do, then you’d better suck it up because without me, you’d be in trouble.”
The sound of something being blown to bits down the hall startled both boys. They exchanged confused glances before Percy dragged Nico down the length of the castle for investigation.
“You sure this is a good idea?” Nico started to ask, but he didn’t bother to wait for an answer. Besides, Percy was the kind of person to go charging into battle. That was one of many differences between them: Nico would really rather not get involved whenever possible, while Percy nearly always jumped at the chance to save damsels in distress. It was his attempt to be more like Percy that got him into this mess.
Nico peered over the edge of the doorway to where the old seagod was expressing his obvious dislike for something through complete obliteration. He looked the same as far as Nico could remember, with his dark hair like Percy’s and his attire consisting of a Hawaiian t-shirt, sandals, and cargo pants. In his grasp was a three-pronged trident, currently sizzling at the tips. On the ground before him lay a collection of debris strewn about.
“- Dad?”
At the sound of his son’s voice, Poseidon whirled around. There was a wild look in his eyes. His nostrils flared.
“Percy. To what do I owe this surprise?”
With his free hand, Percy waved. Nico noticed little bubbles rising around his hand, reminding him they were actually hundreds of feet deep in water. It was weird.
“Hi, Dad. Uh – what’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Poseidon snapped, glaring at the pieces of rock on the ground as though he could incinerate them with a single look. “Well – not nothing. It would seem that my brother is causing trouble again.”
“How so?” Percy’s question was simple procedure. He knew exactly how and it had nothing whatsoever to do with any of Poseidon’s brothers at all. Nico silently watched, half-wishing he could disappear. Annabeth’s cap would come in handy right about now.
“What do you know about Cercyon?” he asked instead, glancing up at his son.
“He was a king. His daughter Alope – um.” Percy suddenly looked uncomfortable. Nico knew why. Alope and Poseidon apparently had a bit of a thing. How did someone react to knowing that their dad wasn’t exactly a one-woman god? “Well, you turned her into a spring, right? Even though Alope’s dad wanted to kill her and leave her there as a punishment.”
Poseidon nodded. “Well, ghosts don’t drown. He decided he’d make a trip to my kingdom, threaten me, and go around knocking down parts of my kingdom.” He tensed, hand clutching his trident with far more fervor. “It was Hades, come to undermine me in my own kingdom.”
He suddenly turned his piercing gaze towards Nico who had been neatly standing behind Percy for the moment, hoping to remain unnoticed.
“You. Son of Hades. He sent you, didn’t he? What message does he have for me, then?”
The look on Poseidon’s face made Nico very uneasy. He refused to say anything. He wasn’t going to admit that he was responsible for bringing back an angry ghost.
Percy apparently sensed his reluctance, too. “Dad,” Percy interrupted quickly, “it’s probably important that we stop Cercyon before he does anything really bad before you … deal with Nico or Hades. Where did he go?”
Poseidon waved a hand, looking thoroughly preoccupied. “When my men failed to catch him, they saw him break the surface of the water. I was a little busy trying to keep my kingdom from falling into pieces. Vengeance has made Cercyon powerful.”
“We’ll find him,” said Percy. “Don’t worry about it, Father.”
“I know.” Poseidon’s expression softened, making Nico feel as though he were intruding on a private moment he had nothing to do with. And maybe there was also some resentment for Percy because unlike his own father, Poseidon seemed to care about his son. “Always the hero, Percy.”
“Leave it to us.” Percy bowed low, nudging for Nico to do the same (which, after a moment of reluctance, he did), then clapping Nico on the back with his free hand, he led them back out.
“You sure you don’t want to tell Annabeth about this now?” Percy asked once they were swimming towards the water surface again.
Nico shook his head. “No one can know about this.”
“I noticed you didn’t even mention it to my dad.”
“Sorry.”
Percy shrugged. “Fess up to your mistakes, Nico. We’re allowed to make them. We’re just kids.”
Nico didn't say anything further.
Once they broke the water’s surface, Percy let go of Nico’s arm – and suddenly the chill and the wetness came over him. It was so sudden, Nico let out a gasp. Percy, curse him, was still dry and warm even though most of his body was still submerged under water.
“Go back to land,” Percy said. “And wait for me there. Don’t do anything. This’ll only take a moment.”
Frowning at the cold, Nico managed to stutter, “Wh-what are you doing?”
“You saw my father. He’s keeping it together, but that guy Cercyon really shook him up and he took it out on his kingdom. Even gods can feel fear, I guess.”
“Fear of a ghost?” Nico quipped skeptically. Cercyon didn’t seem like anyone too important; why would Poseidon fear him so greatly?
“Maybe it’s more than just the physical ghost.”
“You’ve grown up a lot,” he found himself saying, much to his embarrassment.
Percy merely laughed. “Well, you may have been born way before me, but I’m still older than you.” He paused. “I’ll see you later.”
“Okay –”
“And Nico?”
“Yeah?”
“Seriously, man. Don’t do anything until I meet up with you, okay?”
Reluctantly, Nico nodded. “Fine.”
His intentions were good.
Really, they were.
Nico would have stayed where he was, unmoving, but being a demigod put you in dangerous situations even when you tried your best to avoid them at any and all costs. Of all people, Percy Jackson ought to have understood that.
He began by waiting at the edge of the shore, but minutes turned to hours and Nico guessed that Percy and his father were probably having some kind of heart to heart. Jealousy churned his stomach, as he wished he could share something like that with his own father. But Hades wasn’t that kind of god. And Nico – well, Nico wasn't that kind of son either. (That was his story, and he was sticking to it.)
When his feet led him away from the ocean and back towards the city, when he held his hands out and found himself a shadow trail to get back to the Underworld, he wasn’t thinking of confronting anything.
Maybe he just wanted to see his father again.
But before he could appear in Los Angeles, he found himself being pulled right back out and into the hustling city of Manhattan again. The coincidence was almost suspicious.
Who –
He whirled around to find Cercyon glaring at him, which was pretty impressive for a long-dead cowardly ghost.
“Hey!” Nico choked out.
“You will not go back to Hades,” he said. Did he sound afraid?
“What? Look, you have to – have to come back with me.”
“I will not.”
“Come on. Alope’s asking for you. Begging, really.”
The anger on Cercyon’s pale, half-transparent face was clear. He wasn't going to listen.
“What will it take?”
“Leave me be, son of Hades.” He raised a hand, forcing Nico back with a force he didn't know ghosts possessed. The soles of his shoes skidded loudly across the pavement, and he stumbled.
“Okay, that’s it. I’ve had it with you two. I’m sending you back to the Underworld.”
Cercyon laughed. “Are you?” he dared. “I’d like to see you try, godling.”
“Don’t tempt me,” Nico returned, his voice low. He reached for the Stygian blade by his side, the colour of obsidian.
Only Cercyon’s eyes shifted to glance at the blade, but the rest of his ghostly form remained still and tense. “Very well,” he began evenly. Seemingly from nowhere at all, Cercyon pulled out a long, sharp blade. Nico nearly laughed, because how did a ghost expect to fight someone alive with a ghostblade?
But he swallowed his humour when Cercyon struck out at him, tearing through the sleeve of his bomber jacket and nearly splitting his skin.
“How did you –”
“Never underestimate your opponent, godling.”
He moved to strike again, but this time Nico was prepared. He parried the attack with a move of his own, and shielded himself with his Stygian blade.
Cercyon was fast, and Nico realized that his sloppiness could only be attributed to the fact that he hadn’t trained for months now. Not since he’d gone back to school and tried to forget who he was and what he was capable of. It would always come back to him, as it did for every other halfblood. How did Percy and Annabeth deal with it, being off at college?
He had to focus on not dying. The angrier Cercyon grew, the more solid his form became until he was flickering – ghost, solid, ghost, solid – his sword bearing its unbearable weight upon him. Anger fed his strength.
Nico was weaker and he was quickly tiring. If this fight didn’t end now, he knew he wouldn’t stand a chance.
“You are a poor opponent,” Cercyon growled. “Not worthy of battling a king such as myself.”
He struck out again, and Nico nearly crumpled under the weight.
“No matter. I have gods to bring down and a war to wage –”
Cercyon didn't have the time to finish his thought as a bright gold and blue blade suddenly came between their crossfire, gripped by a taller, stronger boy.
“I can’t leave you alone for two seconds, can I?” he grunted, green eyes glaring in Nico’s direction.
“I was taking care of it,” Nico mumbled unconvincingly.
“Yeah. I could definitely see that.”
“I was taking care of it,” Nico repeated venomously as he and Percy sat with their backs to the wall of the building they’d just used as a location for their fight against a long-dead ghost king.
Percy’s eyes were closed. “I’ve never seen that before,” he said, as though he hadn’t heard Nico at all.
(And that got on Nico’s nerves.)
“What?”
“A ghost start to come back to life.”
“He wasn’t, really,” said Nico. “He just looked it.”
“When I stabbed him, he bled,” Percy pointed out, eyes opening again. He turned his head towards the younger boy. “And then he ran off. He’s good at that, isn’t he?”
Nico nodded, smirking. “Yeah. Too bad he isn’t running for the summer Olympics or something.”
Percy laughed softly.
“Well, isn’t this a sweet bonding moment?”
A shadow suddenly loomed over the two boys, blocking the sunlight.
“Ares,” Percy acknowledged darkly.
Nico did not recognize the god of war at first, but the biker’s outfit and the red-tinted sunglasses should have been a giveaway. He was wearing combat boots not unlike Nico’s own, although Nico's were looking worse for wear with scuffs across the tops and run-down soles. At the very least, they matched the gaping tear in his bomber jacket.
Ares was holding a set of motorcycle keys in one hand and a shiny black helmet in the other. His dark hair was a lot longer than Nico remembered. It was unruly and out of place, but somehow it only made Ares seem tougher, cooler.
He was the god of war, after all. And as an added bonus, his presence was making Nico irrationally angry all of a sudden. He found himself wanting to hit something or pick a fight for no reason at all.
“Kid,” Ares returned begrudgingly. In the haze of his anger, Nico understood the animosity between Ares and Percy, though he wasn’t exactly sure of all the details. Story was, Percy did something a few years back – before the two of them met – that stirred Ares’ temper. He offended and embarrassed Ares all at once, and the war god never got over it. Nico was pretty sure the only reason Percy was still alive was because he’d saved Olympus from the Titans, saved every god in the pantheon, and was Poseidon’s golden boy.
“What are you doing here?” Percy demanded.
Nico could see the sudden tension in the older boy’s shoulders and his hands clenched into fists. Percy was trying his best to keep his temper in check.
Ares pretended not to notice. The resentment and irritation creeping into Nico’s consciousness only increased, suddenly directing itself at Percy, his father, and Cercyon, old grudges resurfacing.
“A little respect if you please,” Ares snapped. But he turned to Nico instead as if Percy was no longer worth his time. And maybe he wasn’t. “I’m here to thank you, kid.”
“Me?” The shock of Ares’ words jerked him out of his temper. It turned to suspicion instead, which wasn’t the best alternative. “…why me?”
“You brought that borderline-ghoul king back, didn’t you?”
“Ghoul?”
“Well, he’s not quite a ghost. He certainly ain’t living either. But he’s not much for a diet of brains, so he’s no zombie. Ghoul seems the best way to describe Cercyon.”
“I don’t …” he began, but lying to a god was never a good start.
“Thanks to you, I don’t even have to do any work this time around. Hades and Poseidon have been quarreling. It’s gotten ol’ Zeus into a knot – he can’t take sides, or there will be declarations of war. Poseidon blames your father, you know. He certainly isn’t buying Hades’ innocent denial. It’s been entertaining. Oh man, has it ever been entertaining.” He grinned. “Personally, I’m hoping for a war in a couple weeks time – tops. Think you could find a way to get Zeus involved?”
“What kind of twisted plot are you stirring up?” Percy interrupted.
Ares whirled on him. “Can it, kid. I could burn you to a crispy little fry right now if I wanted to. Wouldn’t please your ol’ Pops, but he’ll get over it. Besides, he’s got enough on his plate, doesn’t he?”
Percy glared at him, but to Nico’s relief, he had enough sense not to say anything further.
He wasn’t sure where his own cautiousness and obedience came from. Maybe it was the slow settling sensation of guilt in the pit of his stomach over what he had inadvertently caused, but he didn’t want to say anything further to tempt Ares or out himself.
“What? No reaction, son of Hades?” the god of war prompted as if he read his mind.
“No.”
Ares scoffed. “You’re no fun. At least seaboy here has some spark. You’re about as dead as the – well the things daddy dearest deals with every day because he got the short end of the stick. If he had any brains in him, he would have found a way to get the top. Zeus has it pretty good.” His eyes gleamed as Nico took the bait, standing up quickly, fists ready to beat Ares’ smirk into an awkward, permanent grimace. But as soon as he launched himself at the god of war, Ares backed up and out of the way and Percy held him back with astounding strength.
“Don’t,” Percy warned him. “It’s what he wants.”
“Jerk,” Nico spat in Ares’ direction. He shook Percy off. “Don’t talk about my father like that!”
Ares laughed. “There we go – there’s that spark.” Then his eyes narrowed. “But call me ‘jerk’ one more time and I will turn you into a little gerbil before crushing you under the heel of my boot, got it? You don’t want me as an enemy. Just ask Percy how well that’s been going for him.”
Nico glanced in Percy’s direction but the other boy was preoccupied once more with keeping his mouth clamped shut. He knew Ares was baiting them. It didn’t mean it was easy to keep taking it.
“Think about it, kid. It’s been way too peaceful in Olympus. It’s about time we had a little family squabble between the Big Three. You got two thirds down. Won’t take much to get Zeus involved.” He shifted his gaze towards Percy. “Huh. He’s learned self-control. Well, whaddya know. Kid’s got it in him, after all.”
“Go away,” said Percy darkly.
“If you decide to do it, I assure you I’ll reward you when I become Top Dog.”
Nico hesitated for a moment, half in disbelief at himself for actually considering Ares’ offer. Then, shaking his head, clearing the fog of temptation, he said, “No thanks, Ares.”
Ares shrugged, popping his shades back over his eyes, which were hollow sockets filled with fire. “Well, if you change your mind … you set the wheels in motion; you might as well go all the way.”
Then with a laugh, he turned towards the motorbike that wasn’t there a second ago, propped himself upon it and revved the engine loudly, more for effect than anything.
“Later, kids.”
He sped down the street at illegal speeds, disappearing into thin air a moment later.
Percy blinked, unclenching his hands. “I hate that guy,” he muttered under his breath. “Nico, don’t even consider it. Ares can’t be trusted.”
“I could get equal power for my dad,” he found himself saying aloud. “He shouldn’t have to be confined to the Underworld for the whole year, except when they allow him into Olympus on the Winter Solstice.” If he could get his father equality amongst his brothers, maybe Hades would finally be proud of his son.
Percy merely looked at him as though he were a sad, lonely lost puppy who was deluding himself.
“Nico,” he started, “that sounds great and all, but –“
“No, you don’t get it Percy. We’re the guys who always get the leftovers. I’ve never fit in with anyone anywhere. This could be the time when things start to really look up for my dad and I.”
“Camp welcomes you,” Percy said firmly. “They have for years. You even have your own cabin. The problem here is that you refuse to accept them.”
“So I could, what? Have an entire cabin to myself? Be looked at weirdly because I’m the only son of Hades and because I am the son of Hades? Even the horses don’t like me because I smell like death all the time. No thanks, Percy. Happy endings may fall like rainbows and lemon drops in Percyland, but for the rest of us, if we want a happy ending we have to work at it ourselves.”
“It’s not like that anymore,” said Percy with the wisdom of an eternal, if naïve, optimist.
Nico scoffed. “You don’t see it because you left after the honeymoon period was over.” He shrugged. “I’m gonna go. It’s okay, Percy. I don’t need your help in this anymore.”
“Nico, wait.”
But Nico ignored him. He walked off before he could get another word in.
He should be crowned Hero of the Year.
It took some running around and burning off some steam before he could resume his hunt for Cercyon. But he did it.
Curse Percy Jackson to Tartarus, he was right. A war wouldn't solve anything. Hades would just lose his family - and their respect. And Nico would lose ... well, he would lose Percy and Annabeth, along with a few of the people he actually cared about at Camp Half-Blood. (And as much as Percy annoyed him, he really couldn't deny that he was someone Nico could depend on in emergency situations.)
Besides, if Hades ever discovered his son caused the war, he would hate him. And if his father hated him, his queen, Persephone, wouldn't even have to pretend to tolerate his existence. They could easily have him blasted into bits.
It wasn't easy to find Cercyon, but in the same way Percy could control water, Nico could control the dead. Like he was tagged with a GPS chip, Nico eventually discovered Cercyon's exact location and called up a couple skeletons to seize and detain him. (He really should have thought of it earlier.)
Cercyon struggled and called him several colourful words in Ancient Greek that Nico wished he couldn’t understand, but slowly the ghoul (as Ares called him) began to realize he wasn’t going to get away this time.
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” he growled.
Nico shook his head, but he didn’t answer. He concentrated on leading his skeletons towards the lake.
“I will not speak to her. You do not understand her intentions.”
“Oh, I do,” he said quietly. “More than you know.”
When Alope appeared from the lake, she splashed Nico gratefully, her eyes sparkling.
“Thank you, Nico di Angelo! Thank you!”
Cercyon winced, shrinking back. Nico wondered how ghosts could even get wet.
“Father,” she started, “there are a few things I need to say to you – so please, hear me out.” The ripples in her dress calmed as she straightened. Then she looked meaningfully in Nico’s direction, and he understood immediately.
This was a private family matter.
Quietly, he began to step away from the lake, retracing his footsteps back out the park and towards the Empire State Building instead.
He had other things to take care of, anyway.
“If it’s war you want, Poseidon –”
Poseidon’s laugh made the Ionic columns of their throne room shudder uncomfortably. Even Zeus seemed to be fearful that any further words would make their home crumble. Aphrodite inspected her nails from the other side of the room, looking thoroughly bored. Next to her, Ares was watching the two gods as if it were the most exciting tennis match in Wimbledon history.
“You would not survive,” Poseidon taunted.
“Brothers –” Zeus started, but Hades cut in before he could continue.
“ - Now you’re calling me weak?”
“If the helmet fits.”
Nico entered the space clumsily, feeling like his feet were made of concrete blocks. He swallowed his dry throat. “Uh – hi.”
“I will not tolerate being insulted like this!” Hades shouted.
“Insult? And what do you call destroying half of my kingdom, then pretending as though you –”
“Pretending? I know nothing of what you speak of! You accuse me of a crime I have no knowledge about!” Hades scowled in a way Nico knew so well because it was what he looked like when he scowled.
“Um – my lords?” Nico raised his voice slightly.
“I will not rest until –”
“Until what?”
“It was me!” Nico shouted as loudly as he could amongst the gods who were so much greater and more menacing than he was. Their voices boomed like mountains; his was a barely a mole hill in comparison. “I did it.”
“Who invited the godling?” asked Hermes, jerking a thumb towards him. The snakes on his scepter began to slither curiously.
The two gods fell into silence. Now all eyes were on him – the small, insignificant son of Hades.
“This does not concern you, Nico,” Hades said, dismissively.
Nico couldn't tell whether there was fear in his voice or embarrassment – fear that this vulnerable boy could get hurt in the crossfire, or embarrassment that this halfblood would even show his face at all.
“Go home.”
He almost wanted to laugh and shout: ‘What home?’ but wisely decided now was not the time.
Instead, he straightened and said once more, “It was me father. I freed Cercyon from the Underworld.”
Hades frowned, apparently rendered speechless.
Poseidon too, said nothing.
“What are you talking about?” Hades asked. “How would you possibly –”
Nico pulled a small and simple key from his pocket. It was the colour of brilliant sunshine, which was odd for a key of death, and it glowed dimly. Topping the shaft of the key was a skull, its empty sockets staring out at the circle of gods blankly.
There were a couple of gasps from the crowd but his reveal was generally met with silence.
Evenly: “Where did you get that?”
“I – I took it father, I’m sorry.”
“So you didn’t set out to overthrow me?” Poseidon asked.
Hades sighed. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
“Wait!”
Percy came rushing into the throne room, looking harried. Aphrodite began to giggle. Athena rolled her eyes. Ares glared in the direction of his favourite demigod. “What is this? A convention of halfblood delinquents?”
“What is it Percy?” Zeus began. He sounded exasperated.
“It’s Nico and Cercyon. It’s not his fault. I mean, yeah – he freed Cercyon out of the Underworld, and probably wreaked havoc on the entirety of New York, and he did let him play demolition derby with my dad’s kingdom –“ Poseidon nodded grimly “- but he did it as a favour to a certain spring.”
Nico was pretty sure he would rather do without Percy’s help right about now.
Percy continued. “I talked to her and she said she’d be willing to explain everything to you. Well, Poseidon.”
Nico blinked. When did he get the chance to speak with the spring?
“And Cercyon?”
Nico cleared his throat. “He told me he was ready to go back to the Underworld when he finished speaking with his daughter,” he added.
Ares crossed his arms, looking angrier with each passing moment. His mouth was turned into a deep scowl. Nico could not help but feel a twinge of satisfaction at that.
“So everything is solved,” Zeus concluded. “Can we stop this juvenile fighting?”
Hades turned to Nico. “We’re not finished yet,” he told his son.
Nico swallowed, his body growing cold with fear.
“And I think you owe me an apology,” Poseidon said.
Nico nodded, glancing from his father to Percy’s. “Lord Poseidon – uncle … I’m really sorry. I didn’t know King Cercyon would do any of that. I had no idea he was even capable of it.”
“Don’t you study the stories?” Athena asked him, her eyes narrowed. “If you did, you would know.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not good enough!” shouted Ares. “The kid nearly destroyed your kingdom. Who knows what else he’s capable of?”
“He did demonstrate a very good example of thievery,” Hermes observed, not entirely unimpressed if his smile was anything to go by.
“I won’t do anything like that again,” he said. “I swear on … all of Olympus.”
Ares scoffed. “We can’t trust you. The kid needs to be stopped. Permanently.” He lifted his shades, revealing the hollow sockets filled with fire. They narrowed into slits. “And I’ll be more than happy to do the honours.” He shrugged out of his leather jacket, revealing the rippling muscles on either arm. Nico was pretty sure they could snap him into two pieces with a thought alone.
“Enough,” said Hades to everyone’s – especially Nico’s – surprise. “No one will be killing my son today.” He paused, letting the weight of his words rest in the room. “Or ever.” He looked pointedly in Ares’ direction. “I will deal with him myself, but no one interferes.”
He turned his severe expression to Nico, who was feeling a mixture of emotion at the moment. There was a kind of contentment for being saved by Hades and being called his son; and there was fear too. Because though he could easily predict just what Ares had in mind for punishment, his father’s methods were far more unpredictable.
“First, I have to deal with Cercyon. Then you and I will talk,” he said.
Nico nodded dumbly. His father could be completely mortal and he would still feel like he was only two inches tall.
He was waiting to take a taxi to the airport.
He could easily reach LA through shadow travel, but he didn’t want to use any of his abilities. Until he spoke to Hades, he was going to lie low and be the good half-mortal son.
He popped a Maltezer into his mouth, watching the traffic pass him by. Someone came to sit next to him.
Nico turned to see Percy, just as he expected. But while he was waiting to hear a bunch of crap about how he was lucky to get off alive, how dumb he was for releasing Cercyon, etc., he had to admit he was completely surprised when Percy told him, “We have a problem.”
“We were so stupid,” Percy cursed. “It was never Cercyon. It was Alope the whole time.”
Percy filled him in on the details as they ran towards Central Park, where he’d last left Alope and Cercyon.
Her plan had been to bring her father back, knowing his hatred of Poseidon would help her get what she needed: connections, an army, that sort of thing. But when Cercyon told her he had moved past all of that, she decided to frame him. She would, she said, never forgive him for killing her the way he did, so mercilessly and so cruelly. She used the Guilt Card when she had no others left.
Cercyon fled, and tried to run from everyone ever since.
“So who really destroyed your dad’s palace?”
“Oh, that was Cercyon,” Percy confirmed. “But he did it to show Alope that no destruction would help her win Poseidon back.”
“But I thought she didn’t want him back.”
“I think she did. The point was to connect her father with her, alerting my dad and calling on her for help or something. She probably always loved my dad. Even now. But … my dad didn’t even think of it. The plan was pretty faulty.” Percy shook his head. “Man, it just goes to show you that love really makes you do some pretty crazy stuff.”
Nico nodded. “So how do we stop her?”
“My dad … is going to turn her away from the ocean for good,” Percy explained. “He’s never had to do it before – take back a gift he gave – but it’s what she wants. And if it’ll stop her…”
“And then?”
“You still have that key, right?”
Nico reached into his pocket again, remembering that he hadn’t yet given it back. He nodded.
“Before she can escape, you’re going to have to lock her soul. Your dad can take care of the rest.”
“Okay.” He paused, clearing his throat. “Hey. Percy?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really sorry,” he said. “About all of this.”
For a moment, he was afraid Percy wouldn’t accept his apology. He sucked at making them. He hardly ever gave them too, because they always sounded insincere.
Then finally, Percy clapped a hand on his back and offered him a smile.
“I know.”
“I won’t go! I won’t! Poseidon –” Alope’s spring was reeling and spraying the surrounding area with water, getting both Nico and Percy soaked.
They were at the small lake now, where it was easier for Alope to form. Poseidon stood by the water’s edge, wearing a deep green jumper suit, a 'Central Park Maintenance Staff' badge sewn into the front pocket. He fit the part.
“Poseidon, please! I’ll be a good spring from now on. Please. Nico – you’re a total traitor!”
Percy’s hand on his shoulder tightened. Don’t respond, he was telling him.
Nico obeyed for once. He kept his mouth shut.
Cercyon was nowhere to be found. He assumed his dad already dealt with that part of the problem.
“Please, my lord!”
“I’m sorry, Alope. I gave you a chance because I really did care about you. But this – is this how you treat my gift?” Poseidon looked genuinely sad about this. Nico wondered how Percy could watch this and not want to gag or something.
“Goodbye, Alope. It is your time.”
“No!” She shouted and screamed. Nico spit out the water that splashed into his face, his far-too-long hair threatening to block his vision. He hastily raked it back before he could miss seeing this. “No no no no no–”
Suddenly the spray of water stopped and Poseidon shouted, “Now, Nico!”
Nico stepped forward, the gold key in his hand.
He could still hear Alope scream and cry in protest, her form ghostly and beautiful, more beautiful than when she was a spring. He could see why she may have caught Poseidon’s attention once.
Then, calling up the strength of his connection to the dead, he returned to the task at hand. He threw the key in Alope’s direction. It caught her in the chest. Then just like that, Alope’s form was gone. The key hovered in midair for a split second before gravity took it downwards. It made a plunk! sound as it hit the water before sinking.
“Good job, Nico,” said Percy, grinning.
Nico went to the water’s edge, surprised to see the key was closer than he expected.
He turned to Percy, nodding his thanks with an answering grin. Then, feeling better – relieved, really – that this was all finally over, he added, “So how does it feel not being the centre of the heroic action for once?”
Percy shook his head, letting out a laugh. “Honestly? It’s pretty damn refreshing.”
“Thanks again, Percy,” said Nico as they stood outside of the LA music studio that led to the Underworld. The dark tinted windows were harmless enough but if he didn’t focus on seeing what was inside, he could make out the hundreds of thousands of souls waiting to be let into the Underworld entrance gates.
“No problem, man. You know that.”
Nico nodded. He didn’t really know that, but he was grateful nevertheless.
“Your dad will be proud,” said Percy suddenly. “Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to stop Alope for good. Imagine the crap she could do, free in the living world.”
“Yeah.” He wasn’t so convinced.
“Your dad cares, Nico,” he said. “He may not know how to show it but he does. You saw him on Mount Olympus. He was getting pretty defensive on your behalf.”
“It’s because I embarrassed him before his family,” said Nico.
“You know that’s not it. You are his family too.”
Nico shrugged. “It’s okay, Percy. I won’t have the same kind of father-son relationship you and your dad do. I’ve accepted it.” (That was a lie.)
“Why does it matter so much?” Percy asked. “I mean, yeah. It’s important. But you keep forgetting you’ve got other people who like you too.”
“Like who?”
Percy looked hurt for a second. Nico immediately shook his head and mumbled another apology. He was actually getting a lot of practice with them.
“Well, me,” he said anyway. “Me, Annabeth and Grover. And Rachel.”
“I broke up with her,” Nico reminded him. “She threw a couple of paintbrushes at my head and a blue can of paint.”
Percy laughed. “Yeah. I heard about that. Chiron was really mad that the whole floor got painted an unintentional blue instead of the wall.”
“Oh, it got on the wall too,” Nico assured him. “But we haven’t talked since you were last at camp,” he pointed out. He didn’t mean to sound so accusatory, but Percy looked appropriately guilty at that.
“Yeah. Truth is, I haven’t really talked to anyone but Annabeth since I left camp.”
“Not even Chiron?”
“Besides a couple of occasional Iris messages, no. Not really.” He ran a hand through his dark hair. “I’ve been so caught up in my mortal life, kind of relishing the fact that I could have a normal, mortal life that I didn’t really want to go back. My life was always in danger. Monsters were always after us. I got a bit tired of it.”
Nico made a noncommittal sound.
“I guess I forgot I had other friends still at camp to look out for.” He turned to give Nico a smile. “We’ll try to be better friends from now on, okay? Besides, I’m not that far from camp. Feel free to visit me on campus.”
“Okay.”
The sincerity in Percy’s offer made him smile. Nico believed him. He was probably one of the most honest people he knew, which was one of the things he liked best about him.
“Thanks Percy.”
“No problem.” He started to get up. “And Nico, don’t worry about your dad. Seriously. It’ll be fine. The thing about parents, no matter if they’re mortal or god, is that they’re still your parents. They’ve been hardwired to protect their kids. And Hades – as creepy as he is, no offence – is totally a father. He’ll be mad at first, but he’ll understand.”
Nico nodded.
“Hey.” Percy passed him a piece of paper with a written address on it. “Come meet up with me and Annabeth after you’re done. I’m on my way down to see her while I’m on this side of the country. We can catch up properly, okay?”
He pocketed the paper, nodding. He may have been a little touched by the offer too, but he’d never admit to it. “Okay.”
“Cool. I’ll see you later, Nico.”
“Yeah.”
Percy started off. Nico glanced up at the music studio building, then back at Percy’s retreating figure.
He wasn’t half as afraid now to go inside.