Chapter Text
As Percy let go of the ledge, letting himself and Annabeth fall into Tartarus, I tried to pull Tsuna away. He kept fighting against me, trying to use his magic (which I’m going to have to ask him about later) to try and save our friends. I barely had any strength in me as it is, even with the Yasakani no Magatama giving off its healing light, so I could barely move him.
The floor kept cracking and falling into the darkness. “Come on Tsuna! We have to go!”
“Percy…Annabeth…” he cried, tears streaming down his face. His arm was still stretched out towards the pit. He wasn’t even listening to me now.
“If we don’t leave we’ll be sucked down there too.” I said.
I kept trying to pull Tsuna away from the pit. I heard Hazel yelling from the rope ladder to the ship, probably yelling at me and Tsuna. The Athena Parthenos was being stuffed into the Argo II. Jason and Hazel’s friend Frank (who was an eagle, somehow) were flying back to the ship.
“Jason!” I waved him down. “Help us!”
Both he and Frank flew down as I finally pulled Tsuna away from the pit just as the slab of rock he was on fell into the darkness. Tsuna kept struggling and broke out of the weak grip I had on him. He was about to jump into the black hole when Jason tackled him and rocketed up towards the surface.
Right before the floor I was standing on broke apart Frank flew down. I hopped onto his back, gripping his feathers as hard as I could. He flew up next to Jason, who was struggling to keep a hold on Tsuna. My best friend was fighting against Jason, demanding to be let go so he can save his brother.
“Let me go dammit!” Tsuna yelled. “I need to save them! I can still save them!”
“No, you can’t.” Jason said, and he looked like he was in pain doing so.
“Please, I need to try!” he begged.
“I’m sorry Tsuna.” Jason cried, holding tighter onto Tsuna.
Tears fell from Tsuna’s face as he pounded his fists into Jason’s back. “PLEASE!!” Tsuna said. “SOMEONE HELP THEM!!”
Around my neck I felt an explosion of light and heat. Tsuna’s Magatama were glowing in a blinding light. It was almost painful, like I was getting a bad sunburn that kept getting worse. The Sacred Treasure started pulling at my neck until four of the seven Jewels broke off. I tried to reach for them but they flew out of my reach and towards the pit.
I turned around and saw the four Jewels just hovering over the pit, shining like stars. They pulsed like heartbeats, their glow getting brighter. Then one by one, the four Jewels of the Yasakani no Magatama shot down in the black abyss, looking like comets. I don’t understand how or why, but maybe Tsuna knows.
“Guys, come on!” Leo screamed. He starting to get the ship to move skyward.
Tsuna kept fighting against Jason, but he just kept a tight hold around Tsuna. The second Jason touched down on the Argo Tsuna pushed him away and they both tumbled on the floor. Tsuna picked himself up faster and started running to the edge of the ship. Jason tried to stop him but Tsuna pushed him away.
Frank had landed just as Tsuna pushed Jason away and had changed into a large bear, making me slide off his back. He grabbed Tsuna and hugged him to his chest, tight enough that he wouldn’t get away but loose enough that he wouldn’t get crushed.
“Let go of me!” Tsuna struggled, but Frank didn’t look fazed from Tsuna’s thrashing.
“Leo get us out of here!” Jason yelled.
While Tsuna fought against Frank I looked back down to the pit. As the ship rose the parking lot collapsed and buried the pit to Tartarus under several tons of concrete and rubble. Smoke and dust billowed up into the sky.
“Take us somewhere away safe.” Jason directed. “We need…we need to regroup…”
“You got it Superman.” Leo said over an intercom.
“Please don’t call me that man.” Jason said under his breath.
Leo piloted the ship to a hill overlooking the city. Jason and Hazel went back to the Emmanuel Building to see if they could dig through the rubble to find Percy and Annabeth, but I knew they wouldn’t find them. Frank would have gone too, but he had to hold onto Tsuna.
The Satyr Coach Hedge and Leo came out and looked around. Leo made great effort to avoid Tsuna thrashing about. When Jason and Hazel came back, they reported in that the cavern was simply gone and swarmed with the local police. They said no Mortals were hurt in the collapse, so at least there’s some good news, I guess.
“What about the Parthenos?” Jason asked, avoiding looking at Tsuna.
“What?” Leo said dazed. “Oh, yeah…I was able to get it secured in the hold. It’s a good thing I installed those hydraulic winches. It’s just barely fitting, though.”
“As long as its secured, it’s fine.”
“What are we supposed to do with it?” Piper asked, dried tears covering her cheeks.
“No idea.” Jason admitted.
All of us stood on the quarterdeck, watching the pillar of smoke from the remains of the cavern. Hazel held my hand as she cried. Piper clung to Jason’s arm. Leo was tapping his fingers nervously against a bronze sphere attached to his belt.
“Frank…” Tsuna said, getting everyone’s attention. “Let me down…please…”
Frank the Bear looked at us for permission. We all looked at Tsuna and each other before Jason nodded. Frank loosened his arms and Tsuna slid to the floor, falling on his knees. He was still crying.
Jason carefully walked over to Tsuna and reached for his shoulder. “Tsuna—”
“Don’t touch me.” Tsuna glared at Jason, and his eyes held so much anger in them. Tsuna picked himself up and ran down into the ship.
“We should get going.” Jason said after watching Tsuna vanish down the stairs.
“What’s our heading then?” asked Frank.
“Greece.” I said. “We need to head to Epirus, that’s where the House of Hades is, and the Doors of Death. It’s where we’ll be able to stop monsters from coming back as quick, and hopefully, save Percy and Annabeth.”
“Are you sure Nico?” Hazel asked. “It’s going to be dangerous.”
“And Gaea is sure to have it guarded.” Jason said.
“It’s our only hope.” I said.
“Alright then.” Jason said. “Let’s head to Epirus then. Leo can you put in the coordinates? Leo?”
“What?” Leo replied, clearly not listening.
“We have a heading.” Jason said. “We should get going.”
“Oh…right.”
“Leo, are you okay?” asked Piper as she tried to comfort him. “I know we’re all hurting, but you look—”
“It’s my fault.”
“What’s your fault?” asked Frank.
“Percy and Annabeth.” Leo said. “It’s because of me that they fell.”
“How is that your fault Leo?” Hazel wondered.
“I just had to open that maldita galleta.” Leo said.
“A…a cookie?” Hazel questioned. “What does a cookie have to do with any of this?”
“Do you remember when we went looking for Celestial Bronze and ran into Nemesis?” Hazel nodded. “She gave me a fortune cookie, and told me to open it when I was in trouble for help. And I did, back when the Eidolons trapped us in Archimedes’ Workshop. I…I had to use it to get the password for the sphere.”
“But you saved us Leo,” Frank said.
“But it came with a cost!” Leo shrieked. “Nemesis is also the goddess of balance. Her help required a sacrifice!” He clutched his hair and began to pull, tears falling from his eyes. “If I knew what the cost was, if I knew this is what would have happened—”
“Oh enough of your self-loathing Valdez.” We all turned to see Tsuna standing at the entrance the ships lower levels, tightly holding onto a weird looking book. He was glaring at Leo, his eyes red from crying.
“That’s a bit harsh man.” Jason said.
“I don’t care.” Tsuna replied. “This isn’t your fault. You had to save Hazel and Frank, there’s no way you could have thought that this is what price Nemesis wanted you to pay. And what could you do? Let Frank, Hazel, and yourself get killed or captured?”
“No, but—” Leo started.
“Be quiet.” Tsuna ordered. “There is only one person to blame for what happened to Percy and Annabeth, and it’s me.”
“You can’t take all the blame for yourself.” Hazel said, trying to approach Tsuna. With a look from my best friend she stopped frozen in her tracks.
“I can, because I am the one to blame.” Tsuna argued. “Nico is too weak to Shadow Travel as it is, so he couldn’t get to them. Piper and Hazel needed to get on the ship and help Leo rig the statue. That pit was like a black hole, meaning that if Jason or Frank tried to fly down, they would have sucked in too.” Tsuna brought his book to his chest and dug his fingers into the leather. “But me? I was there. I was on the edge of the pit, and when I couldn’t reach him, I thought I could use magic to save them. And it could’ve worked…if only I was stronger…”
“Tsuna, you’re one of the strongest people I have ever met.” Jason said.
“NO, I’M NOT!!” Tsuna screamed. “I’m not strong! I’m pathetic. I have this magic, I have the power of the Sacred Regalia, but it wasn’t enough. I am so weak I couldn’t save Annabeth or my own brother.” He held out his book. “I spent all that time learning how to use magic, and when I have the right motivation to use it, I failed. I could have teleported them out of the pit, if only I was strong enough. What’s the point of being able to use magic if I can’t use it to save the people I love!”
Yelling loudly Tsuna slammed his book onto the ground, it sliding off somewhere. He fell to his knees and grabbed his shoulders, crying. I felt so bad for him. He’s been through so much in the last year, and he keep getting the short end of the stick. I wanted to go over to support him, but I don’t know what he needs right now. And no one else really knew what to do either it seemed.
After a minute of letting the tears fall, Tsuna wiped his eyes and stood up. “Leo, let’s get going. We need to get to Greece now.”
“We need some time—”
“I don’t recall giving you a choice. Pilot the ship. Now.”
“You’re not in charge Tsuna.” Jason said, placing his hand on Tsuna’s shoulder.
“Jason, I wouldn’t—” I tried to warn. Tsuna grimaced and grabbed Jason’s wrist, spinning him around and pining him to the wall.
“I really don’t care.” Tsuna said. I could feel his rage from here. “For now, you’ll do what I say. And I say let’s get going. We have to get to the Doors of Death in Epirus.” Tsuna let go of Jason and stepped away. “Jason you should be in charge from here. But we need to get going. Even as strong as they are, I don’t know how long they can survive in Tartarus…in Hell.”
Tsuna walked away, everyone avoiding him. Piper rubbed Jason’s shoulder to soothe him. He’s obviously mad, but…we all are. While we’re all blaming ourselves, Tsuna is taking this a lot harder than everyone else is, and they don’t understand.
I’m the only one on this ship that knows Tsuna. I know how he loves unconditionally. I was there for him when Percy disappeared. He didn’t take it well, in fact he cried into my shoulder until he agreed to help take him search for Percy. I know the pain of loss, but Tsuna has lost the person he cares about most twice now.
When everyone went to get the ship heading towards Greece, I told Hazel I was going to lay down for a little bit. She whole heartedly agreed, even insisted that I ate a bit more Ambrosia and something more Mortal friendly to ‘get me meat on my bones.’ On our way into the ship’s interior, I ended up stepping on Tsuna’s book. I grabbed it and held it in a pocket inside my jacket. Hazel led me to her bedroom and laid me down. She tried to reach down to take the Magatama off my neck, but I pushed her hand away.
“Tsuna gave me this so I could heal.” I explained. “And I think it’s working.” The three remaining Jewels were glowing dimly, but they were still giving off this comforting warmth, reminding me of the sun from when I was a kid in Venice.
“If you say so…” Hazel said. “Are you sure Tsuna is going to be okay? I’ve never seen him that angry.”
“He’s hurting Hazel.” I said.
“We’re all hurting.”
“I know, but Tsuna…he’s…he’s fragile. When he loves someone, he loves them with all his heart, and he can’t bare to lose anyone. You never saw him after Hera kidnapped Percy. He was a mess. Annabeth was too, but Tsuna comforted her, while she didn’t seem to think about how he was feeling.” I brought my legs to my chest. “There was this one time, when he, Percy and I went to Japan. When we were in the temple designed to protect the Jewels, a minor god, a nature spirit really, used the Yata no Kagami, Tsuna’s Mirror, to make him believe me and Percy were killed. He told me later what he went through, how he blamed himself so much that he even swore to have the Olympians kill him in order to pay for our deaths.”
“Gods…” gasped Hazel.
“Right now, I think he just needs some time alone.” I said. “He needs to think and calm down. I know he’s sorry for what he did to Jason and the mean things he said. Once he calms down, he’ll apologize, I’m sure.”
“Okay, I’ll let the others know. Not that they want to be around Tsuna right now. You could feel his anger from a mile away. But you should rest for now. The Death Trance couldn’t have given you any real rest.”
I nodded. “You’re right.” I took off my jacket and laid my head down on the pillow. Hazel brought the blanket up and tucked me in.
“Sleep well Nico.” She said, kissing my forehead.
“I will Hazel.” I said smiling. She left the room and turned the light out as she did so. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.
I kept tossing and turning, not being able to sleep despite how exhausted my body is. Every time I closed my eyes I kept seeing the horrors of Tartarus, the nightmares I was cursed with when I was in the Death Trance, and I kept imaging what Percy and Annabeth are going through. I threw the blanket over my head and kept trying to sleep.
It didn’t end up working because a couple of hours later I sat up and turned on the light. Looking out the porthole I saw that it had gotten darker outside. As I reached for my jacket I felt Tsuna’s book in the pocket. Curious, I grabbed it and looked through it.
Inside were weird letters and diagrams that even if I didn’t have Dyslexia I wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of it. I don’t know how Tsuna could read it. I still can’t even believe he could use magic. It’s not like what I’ve seen the Children of Hecate do. I wonder if it’s a Shinto thing.
Deciding to get up since I couldn’t sleep, I put on my jacket and went to the deck to look for Tsuna. He should have calmed down some by now. Everyone else must have been asleep or doing something since I couldn’t hear them around.
It didn’t take long for me to find Tsuna. He was standing next to the masthead. He wasn’t doing anything other than stare up into the clouds.
“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” he asked out of nowhere.
“How did you know I was here?” I asked.
He looked over his shoulder to look at me. “I always know when you’re around.” That made me stop in my track. I didn’t know how to react to that. Thank the gods that he faced forwards again, otherwise he would have seen my face turn bright red.
“Uh, what you did at the Colosseum...” I started, wanting to get to a different topic. “All that ice, it was amazing.”
“If only I could control it.” Tsuna said, not even looking at me as I stood next to him.
“Where did you even learn to use magic? Is it something about being a Shinto demigod?”
“No, nothing as simple as that. It’s a long story.”
“I don’t have anywhere to be.”
Tsuna sighed and turned his head towards me. “I’m really not in the mood to talk Nico.”
“You need to talk though.”
“You’re the king of not talking about personal issues.”
“You don’t need to be an ass.”
“How do you expect me to act?! I lost my brother for the second time!”
“Because I hate watching you hate yourself for something you can’t control!”
“That’s the point Nico! I can’t control my magic! No matter how hard I try, no matter how much I practice, it only works when it wants to! The one time that I needed it to work, it didn’t.” Tears pooled in the corner of his eyes before they streamed down his face. “It didn’t work…”
I just stared at him, unsure how I could comfort him. “I wish I could help you Tsuna, I really do. But I can’t unless you talk to me.” He didn’t say anything. I know I wasn’t going to get through to him, so I sighed. I placed his book on the railing and slid it over to him. “I don’t understand how you did it, but when you get control, I know it will help us on our way to Greece.” I carefully reached out and touched his arm, making him tense up. “I believe in you Tsuna. I know you will make this power your own.” He still needs time alone, so I decided to leave him alone. “Thank you for risking your life to save me by the way. And…while we were separated…I missed you.”
Tsuna was quiet for a minute, so I decided to simply leave. “I’d do anything to save you Nico.” Tsuna said. I could barely hear him say it. “I care about you more than anything.” My heart started beating really fast.
I shook my head and went to the entry way. But instead of going all the way inside, I stood just inside. Turning back, I watched as Tsuna stood there. Tsuna then reached for his book and stared at it before he held it over his shoulder like he was going to throw it over the edge of the ship. But he stopped himself from before he did. It was like he was having a war within himself over that book. He eventually lowered his arms, the book slipping through his fingers and crashing onto the floor, with Tsuna collapsing on his knees right after.
“Tsuna…” I whispered.
Just as I was about to go to him, he let out this primal scream that shook me to my core. As his scream rang through the air the ship began to shake as wind started blowing harshly. Lightning cracked the sky and nearly blinded me. Rain started pelting the ship. It was like the weather was responding to Tsuna. Oh right. Son of the storm god.
As fast as this storm came, it was over. Tsuna stared crying so loud, even with his face buried in his hand. His shoulders shook with each sob that racked his body. Just as I took a step to check on him someone grabbed my wrist. I turned to see Jason, who shook his head, a silent message to leave Tsuna alone. I nodded and he let go of me.
We both watched as Tsuna cried. If this was the only way for him to let out all of his anger, then so be it. I just wish I could help him. As me and Jason watched Tsuna cry something strange happened. A light snow began to fall, the flakes barely clinging to the ship, and barely sticking to Tsuna. I don’t think Tsuna even noticed it. I could feel the cold through my jacket, despite it being summer in Italy. It was like Tsuna wasn’t bothered by the cold at all.