Chapter Text
Having another Big Three kid around seemed to make things easier for Nico - he at least felt more like he belonged there, and people stopped looking at him like he was going to destroy the place at any second. It helped that Percy was so friendly with everyone, including Nico. He got the other campers, aside from Will’s friends who already knew him, to realize that Nico wasn’t all doom and gloom like his parentage would suggest.
Plus, seeing as they were the only ones in their respective cabins - if Nico’s bedroom in the Big House could be considered his “cabin” - Chiron put them together for activities, and even allowed Nico to eat with Percy a the Poseidon table.
It seemed to come as a surprise to everyone, especially Nico, how quickly the two of them became friends. It was even more of a surprise when Percy invited Nico home with him for the school year.
How could he have refused? Especially when Ms. Jackson showed up at camp to pick them up, promising Nico that she would take him right back to camp if he ever felt uncomfortable, and suggested that school might be easier for both of them, considering their mutual...time displacement issues. Nico hadn’t ever thought it would be possible for him to go to school, considering he was probably legally dead, but Chiron had even had a few documents forged that would allow them both into school.
With all the work they’d put in, Nico couldn’t find it in himself to turn down the opportunity.
He kept in touch with Will through phone calls and IMs all throughout the school year when Will had decided to take another shot at school, as well. Nico soon learned that he wasn’t the biggest fan of school, especially since some of the things he’d been told at camp were apparently false - he was going to have a few words with Lou Ellen the next time he saw her - but living with Percy and Sally was...nice. Nico couldn’t remember much of his own mother, so having Sally treat him like a second son was almost more than his heart could take at times.
And then there were the moments that made Nico remember how nice it had been to be alone. He and Percy shared bunk beds in a room that used to be Sally’s office, and Percy’s talking in his sleep sometimes kept Nico awake for half the night. School was difficult because he hadn’t really had to use his brain for much other than fighting for the last few years, and even though he knew Sally was just trying to help, sometimes she inadvertently made Nico feel like he was stupid.
And they were constantly asking him about Will.
Why did they care so much about Will? Sally had never even met him! And something about the smug smile that Percy got on his face whenever Nico got defensive about the topic of his best friend made Nico want to throw the other boy out a window.
He was half tempted to jump out of Sally’s moving car when she brought up Will on their way to Nico and Percy’s freshman orientation at the beginning of summer.
“I just thought you might be excited to see him,” Sally said after Nico released a loud groan and tried to bury himself in his sweatshirt, her eyes flickering up to the rear view mirror to catch a glimpse of him. “You haven’t seen each other since Christmas! Percy, you’re excited to see Annabeth, aren’t you?”
“Mom,” Percy complained from the passenger’s seat. “Don’t compare me and Annabeth to Nico and Will. It’s not like that, we’re just friends!”
“So are we!” Nico exclaimed. “Why would you even think that me and Will are... like that? It makes way more sense for you and Annabeth to be… To be like that!”
“I’m sorry, boys,” Sally told them. “I just thought-- When you told me you were all going to the movies together, it sounded like--”
“Whatever,” Nico said with a huff, crossing his arms and glaring out the window. “Are we almost there? I wanna get this over with already.”
“So you can see Will,” Percy teased.
Nico kicked the back of his seat so hard that Percy’s seatbelt caught and nearly choked him.
“Hey, hey!” Sally shouted. “Be nice to the car, or I’ll make you walk home from the movies later.”
Nico muttered, “Sorry,” as the car rolled to a stop beside a crowded sidewalk. “Is this it?”
“This is it,” Sally replied with a smile in her voice. “Be careful, both of you, okay? And say hi to Annabeth and Will for me when you get to the movies.”
“Okay, Mom,” Percy replied as he got out of the car.
Nico reached for the handle, but as he looked out the window, his eyes widened, and he quickly ducked out of view.
“Everything okay?” Sally asked.
“Yeah,” Nico said unconvincingly. “Um. Is there a side entrance, maybe?”
Before Sally could respond, Nico’s door was ripped open, and Percy grabbed his arm to drag him out. “C’mon, dude, let’s go already.”
Nico let himself be pulled onto the sidewalk, but immediately ducked and pulled his hood over his head.
Percy nudged him with his elbow. “Dude, what’s the matter with you?”
“It’s nothing,” Nico insisted, quickening his pace and forcing Percy to catch up with him. “Where’s the orientation?”
“Uh, the gym, I think,” Percy replied, and tugged on the sleeve of Nico’s sweatshirt. “This way.”
When they got into the gym, Nico pushed his way up into the bleachers, finding the centermost seat in the hopes of getting lost in the crowd. Percy frowned at him, standing beside the bench rather than taking his seat. “Uh, don’t you think we should be a little closer to the door? You know, in case we need to...run for our lives?”
“You go ahead,” Nico told him. “I’m good right here.”
Percy rolled his eyes and dropped down on to the bench beside him. “Hell, no. I’m not letting you get eaten by some monster, and I’m definitely not letting you get all the glory for killing one, either. You’re stuck with me, dude.”
Nico huffed and looked away to hide the tiny smile that grew on his lips.
“Hey,” a voice said suddenly from in front of them, and Nico’s blood went cold. “I know you.”
“No, you don’t,” Nico said immediately, ducking his head.
“Uh, yeah, I do,” the girl replied.
“I think you’re confused,” Percy told her. “Nobody knows him. He never leaves the house. You’re probably thinking of somebody else.”
The girl sighed in frustration. “I think I would remember the guy who tried to kill me.”
Percy drove his elbow into Nico’s side and hissed, “Dude!”
Nico glared up at the girl - Rachel, if he remembered correctly - and shoved his hood down. “Would you keep it down? I don’t need people thinking I’m a murderer.”
Rachel rolled her eyes, her arms crossing over her chest. She was wearing a Goode High School t-shirt and a name badge, which Nico thought was odd for a kid at orientation. “Please, this is high school. It’s like, death threat central. You have some serious explaining to do.”
“Dude, what did you do?” Percy asked.
“It was, like, two years ago!” Nico exclaimed, his arms waving wildly in front of him. “How am I supposed to remember?”
“I would think that nearly impaling a girl with a sword would be memorable!” Rachel shot back.
“You would think that, wouldn’t you.”
“Hey, can we not do this here?” Percy said. “People are listening.”
Rachel nodded. “Fine. Follow me.” She turned and started down the bleachers. Nico had no intention of following, but Percy forced him to his feet and marched him down the steps.
“What is she?” Percy whispered in Nico’s ear once the three of them had reached the hallway.
“Mortal, as far as I know,” Nico replied. “Bianca and I almost killed her once on accident at the Hoover Dam.”
Percy frowned, and Nico was about to elaborate when he said, “Man, being a tree sucked. I missed out on all the fun stuff.”
Nico rolled his eyes.
Ahead of them, Rachel opened a door and gestured for the two boys to step inside. They found themselves in a music room of some kind. Nico took a seat on the stool beside a drum kit.
“Alright, now that we’re not in mortal danger,” Rachel started, “or in danger of being overhead by a bunch of freshman, who the hell are you?”
Nico stuffed his hands into the pocket of his sweatshirt. “My name’s Nico. That’s Percy.”
“Great. And what are you?”
Nico turned to Percy with an eyebrow raised, like, should we tell her?
Rather than responding or, apparently, even thinking anything through, Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen. It was something Chiron had managed to throw to him at the camp’s border just before Percy died and was turned into a tree. He uncapped it, and the pen grew into a three foot long bronze sword.
“Can you see this?” Percy asked.
Rachel’s jaw dropped. “How did you do that?”
Percy shrugged. “You believe in magic?” He waved Rachel closer and held out the sword. “You wanna touch it, make sure it’s real?”
She did - or, at least, she tried. Rachel stuck out a hand to poke at the blade, but her finger passed right through it. “It’s...fake?” She looked to Nico. “Does that mean yours was fake, too?”
“It’s not fake,” Percy told her, and placed the blade in the palm of his hand, even tapping on it with his nails so that Rachel could hear the contact. “And his is definitely deadlier than mine.”
“You know anything about Greek gods?” Nico asked. “Or myths? Anything like that?” Rachel thought for a second, then nodded. “It’s all real. The monsters, the magic, the gods and demigods.”
Rachel frowned. “So...which one are you?”
Nico opened his mouth to respond, but snapped it shut a second later when the door swung open and a pair of cheerleaders stepped inside.
“Rachel, you’re supposed to be helping lead orientation right now,” one of them said with a sickly sweet smile.
Rachel paled, and her eyes widened with fear. Nico didn’t get why. The two girls looked perfectly normal, aside from the too-much makeup on their faces. “H-How do you know my name?” Rachel demanded. “What are you?”
“Uh, co-captains of the cheer team?” the other girl replied. She gestured to herself and then the other girl as she continued, “Tammi and Kelli.”
Rachel’s gaze flickered to Percy, who still had his sword out for some stupid reason. She made the slightest twitch of her head that Nico read as kill them! though he wasn’t sure what Rachel had against cheerleaders.
Percy raised the hand that wasn’t holding his sword in a wave, and grinned. “Hey, I’m--”
“Percy Jackson,” Kelli finished for him, and her eyes went to Nico. “And Nico di Angelo. Wow, both of you at the same time. It’s our lucky day, Tammi!”
“And why’s that?” Percy asked, swinging his sword around casually.
Tammi’s eyes started to glow red as she stepped toward Percy, and his sword stilled. “Because we get to kill you, that’s why!”
Nico summoned his sword and jumped to his feet in a second, stabbing Tammi in the gut and drawing her essence into the blade of his sword. He looked to Kelli and said, “Your turn.”
“I don’t think so,” Kelli replied, as her eyes began glowing red as well. Nico blinked. His head started to feel a little staticky, but he didn’t pause for long. Suddenly, Kelli stood before him in what must have been her natural form - part robot, part donkey, with her cheerleader uniform showing off her mis-matched legs. She opened her mouth and hissed at him, revealing fangs like a vampire’s. “Die, half-blood!”
Nico slashed at her, but his sword connected with her metal leg and bounced off. He heard Rachel scream. He saw Percy finally snap out of his daze and reach for the nearest music stand. Nico barely had a chance to duck out of the way before he threw it, connecting with the back of Kelli’s head. She turned on him instead.
“Rachel, get out of here,” Nico told her before noticing that Percy had gone into another trance. Kelli jumped out of the way of his sword and burst out into the hall.
“Nico, wait!” Rachel shouted, but it was too late. Nico ran after her and had just a second to notice that Kelli was suddenly cowering in fear before he drove his sword into her gut and she burst into flames. That...wasn’t supposed to happen.
He looked up. There was a guy standing at the other end of the hall wearing a shirt that matched Rachel’s, with about ten kids frozen in place behind him. Nico hurriedly tucked his sword away in the nearest shadow, but he was afraid the damage had already been done.
Rachel and Percy jumped out of the music room, and Rachel put herself between Nico and the group of kids. She called out to them, “And scene! You guys are gonna love being a part of Goode High’s drama club! Anyway, gotta go!”
She grabbed Nico and Percy by the arms and dragged them out the emergency exit. “You need to run,” she said, as if it wasn’t obvious.
“One step ahead of you,” Percy said, and he started to pull Nico away when Rachel grabbed him again.
She kept a tight grip of Nico’s wrist as she pulled a sharpie out of her pocket and bit off the cap, pushing Nico’s sleeve up to write on his arm. “You’re gonna call me, and you’re gonna finish explaining all of this to me. Got it?”
Nico’s eyes flickered to the building behind her. “What about--”
“I’ll deal with orientation,” Rachel promised him. “You two just go.”
Nico nodded. “Thanks.” As soon as Rachel released him, Nico took hold of Percy’s arm and pulled him into the shadows.
Percy slapped a hand over his mouth as they emerged in Nico’s Big House bedroom. “Oh, dude, I hate it when you do that!”
“Relax,” Nico said with a roll of his eyes, and started out into the hallway.
“Hey, wait!” Percy called after him. “What about the movies? Will and Annabeth are probably waiting for us.”
Nico sighed as he stepped into the computer room. “Yeah, I know. We’re not gonna make it.”
“And all of our stuff’s still at home!”
“So call your mom and tell her to drop it off here,” Nico snapped. “Now would you calm down for two seconds?” He sat down in the desk chair and pushed his feet against the ground to propel himself toward the landline, the only phone anyone was allowed to use at camp. Technically, they were supposed to ask permission before using it, but since Chiron didn’t even know he was there, he figured it was fine.
He started dialing.
“Who are you calling?” Percy asked.
Nico answered plainly, “Will.”
Percy snorted. “You memorized his number?”
Nico held the phone up to his ear with one hand and flipped Percy off with the other. As if he hadn’t memorized Annabeth’s number by now.
“Hello?” Will answered.
“Hey.”
He could hear the smile in Will’s voice as he said, “Nico, hi! Is your orientation over already? Wait, are you calling from camp? What are you doing at--”
“Yeah, um,” Nico cut in, and Will stopped as Nico paused. “Something came up. A, um. Monstrous something. We’re not gonna make it to the movies.”
“Oh.” Nico tried not to let himself flinch at the sound of disappointment in Will’s voice. “That’s okay. I mean, are you okay? We’ll come back to camp right now--”
“No, no, I’m fine. We’re both fine,” Nico insisted. “Go see the movie. I know how much you and Annabeth were looking forward to seeing it.”
“But--” Will took a breath. “Yeah, okay. I’ll see you later, though, right?”
“Yeah, Percy and I aren’t going anywhere,” Nico assured him. “Enjoy your movie. If Annabeth gets mad at us for ditching, blame Percy.”
“Hey!” Percy exclaimed behind him.
“Bye, Will,” Nico said, and waited for the other boy to repeat the sentiment before he hung up the phone. “Alright, your turn. Call your mom.”
After Percy apologized to his mom about ten times for potentially getting expelled before the school year even started, she agreed to bring their already-packed belongings to camp in a few hours. While they waited, Percy decided to drag Nico to the arena for a quick sparring session to pass the time, even though Nico wasn’t feeling up for it. (What he really wanted to do was shadow travel back into the city and sneak into the movies with Will, but he wasn’t going to let two monster attacks happen in the same day.)
As soon as they stepped into the arena, though, a hellhound came barreling toward them. Something about it didn’t seem all that murderous to Nico, though, so when Percy reflexively drew his sword, Nico held up a hand to stop him. The hellhound slid to a stop just a few feet in front of them, and laid down on the ground, tail wagging as though waiting to be pet.
“Well, that’s…” Percy started, eying the giant dog with confusion.
“Different, yeah,” Nico agreed. He reached out to let the hound sniff his hand, and then scratched behind one of its ears. “How did you get in here?”
“That would be my doing,” a man’s voice called from across the arena, and Nico’s head snapped up to see a grey-haired man approaching them. “Hi there! My name is Quintus. I’m the new Games Master while Dionysus is away. And I see you’ve met Mrs. O’Leary.”
At the sound of her name, the hound’s ears pricked up.
“Mr. D’s away?” Percy asked.
“Official Olympus business,” Quintus replied. “And what about you two? New campers, or back for the summer?”
“Back for the summer,” Percy answered, shaking the man’s hand. “I’m Percy, that’s Nico.”
“Jackson?” Quintus raised an eyebrow. “And di Angelo?”
Nico tried not to flinch at the sound of his own name. After so many quests, he was immediately wary of anyone who just happened to know his full name. “How do you know that?”
“Chiron’s told me quite a bit about you,” Quintus told him with a grin. “He said not to pair the two of you up for any games, or else you’d be unbeatable. You’re both pretty powerful, I hear. Any chance you’re interested in a spar?”
“That’s what we came here for,” Percy replied. “Are you offering?”
“Show me what you’ve got, boy!” Quintus unsheated the sword at his hip, so Percy pulled out his pen.
“Neeks, you don’t mind, right?”
Nico rolled his eyes. “No, go ahead.” He didn’t want to spar anyway.
As the clanging of swords rang out through the arena, Nico crossed the room to take a seat on the bleachers. Only when he sat down did he notice that Mrs. O’Leary had followed him. She set her massive head across his knees, demanding more ear scratches. Of course, Nico complied.
His gaze flickered back and forth between the fight and the dog, until he noticed a new figure entering the arena.
Will took a seat beside him, leaning heavily into Nico’s side and burying his face in Nico’s shoulder with a groan.
“Hey,” Nico said in surprise. “What happened to your movie?”
“I told Annabeth that you weren’t coming, and I-- She said we should come back,” Will told him, and groaned again. “Gods, never ride in the Gray Sisters’ taxi. I thought I was gonna die, and I’m so nauseous now.”
Nico shrugged his shoulder lightly to get Will to lift his head, and patted Mrs. O’Leary’s head to get her off his lap so that he could stand. “Alright, you big baby,” he said to Will, reaching out for his hands to pull him up. “Let’s go see if your brothers have any carsickness cures that you don’t know about.”
Will rose to his feet, and rose and rose and rose. Nico had to tip his head back just to meet Will’s eyes, and he felt his face heat up, though wasn’t sure why. He decided it must have been anger of some kind.
Nico shoved at Will’s shoulder and demanded, “Who said you were allowed to get taller?”
Will laughed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re too tall!” Nico told him. “Just-- Get shorter, I don’t know!”
Will grinned brightly down at him and tugged Nico closer. “I dunno, I think I’m the perfect height right now.” He pulled Nico into a hug, his chin resting comfortably on the top of Nico’s head.
“Get off.” Nico shoved him back and crossed his arms as Will continued to laugh.
After a moment, Will’s laughter subsided, and he said, “Hey, Annabeth,” as she made her way over to them. “How’s Clarisse?”
She shook her head. “No change.” Her eyes turned toward Nico and she frowned. “Hey, Numbskull. Are you okay? You’re really red.”
Nico huffed and tugged his hood over his head.
“Numbskull?” Will repeated with a smile in his. “I love that. I’m gonna start calling you that.”
“You will not,” Nico told him.
Will sighed and leaned an elbow on Nico’s shoulder. “Alright, fine. Death Breath.”
Nico shoved him away.
Annabeth had started watching Percy. He was holding his own against Quintus, but Nico was surprised that the old man was doing so well. “I see you’ve met Quintus,” she commented.
“And the dog,” Nico added. He nodded toward the spar and said, “He’s more talented than he looks.”
Annabeth hummed in agreement. “He’s smart, too. He came up with a bunch of new training exercises for us. It should be way more interesting than capture the flag every week.”
“Annabeth and I teamed up for one of the games last week--” Will started before Nico turned on him.
“You’ve been here for a week?” he cut in. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“You were still in school! I wasn’t about to interrupt your last week of school! We both know that you would’ve just come to camp and ditched the rest of the year.”
Nico’s eyes narrowed, and when he couldn’t come up with an argument, he huffed and turned away, just in time to see Percy and Quintus supposedly call a draw. They both seemed out of breath as they made their way toward the trio, and Quintus offered Nico a friendly grin. “Well, Nico, are you interested in a quick spar?”
Will’s hand closed around Nico’s before Nico could respond, and he said, “You jumped here from the city, didn’t you? Don’t you think you should get some rest before doing anything dangerous?”
Nico squeezed his hand and told him, “I’m fine, Will.” Then he turned to Quintus and said, “No thank you, sir. It wouldn’t be fair to Percy if I disarmed you now after he worked so hard to tire you out.”
Quintus laughed and patted Nico on the shoulder. He tried not to duck out from under the touch. “Alright, I see how it is. Well, I look forward to seeing you all back here for tonight’s game, then!”
“We wouldn’t miss it,” Annabeth told him.
“We should go to the infirmary,” Will said to Nico with a gentle tug on his hand. “Just so I can make sure that monster didn’t hurt you earlier.”
Nico rolled his eyes, but decided not to argue. He wasn’t going to stop Will from caring.
“You should probably come, too,” Will told Percy, eyeing a slow-bleeding cut on his arm from the spar. “Annabeth? Have any plans, or do you wanna come with?”
She shook her head. “I should talk to Chiron again. I’ll meet up with you later.”
Nico took a nap on a cot in the infirmary while Will patched up Percy’s new minor wounds, then allowed Will to lead him to the pavilion for dinner after waking him up. Nico enjoyed having the chance to eat with Percy at the Poseidon table, but sometimes after spending so much of the day with Will and his siblings, Nico wished he could sit at the Apollo table. Though he knew it was already a stretch to allow him to sit with Percy, so he never asked.
After dinner, everyone made their way to the arena for Quintus’s new game, whatever it may be. While they waited around, Will decided to start using Nico as an arm rest again, which Percy apparently found hilarious, and decided to do the same. Nico almost stabbed him in the gut like he had with those vampire cheerleaders that afternoon. Even though he and Percy were the same age (...probably?) Percy had a few inches on Nico, and he loved holding those inches over Nico’s head, both physically and metaphorically.
Nico settled for punching him rather than stabbing.
“Alright, listen up!” Quintus called out for their attention. “Tonight’s game is a monster hunt. You will be paired up into pre-determined teams, and I will release six monsters into the woods. Each of these monsters will have a silk package tied around their neck, but only one of these packages will contain the prize. And, of course, to win the prize, you must slay the monster. Any questions?” When Quintus was met with silence, he pulled out a large scroll and began to read off the partners.
He called out Will and Nico, and Will draped an arm around Nico’s shoulders while Nico leaned into his side.
He called out Annabeth and Percy, and Will and Nico turned matching glares on the other pair. Oh, the game was on.
As soon as Quintus blew the starting whistle, campers ran for the woods, but Nico and Will held back. “Jump to Zeus’s Fist?” Nico suggested.
“For a bird’s eye view?” Will finished the thought with a grin. “Great minds think alike.”
Nico pulled him into the shadows.
They emerged from behind a tree a short distance from the Fist, but they were already deeper in the woods than any other team, so it didn’t really matter. They didn’t even jog toward the pile of rocks, rather taking their time to walk over.
Nico pulled Will to a stop when he heard a crunch of leaves a short ways away. “Did you hear that?”
“It’s probably just another team,” Will told him. “Do you want a boost up?”
Rather than climbing onto the Fist, Nico stepped away, sword drawn, and looked around. There was something like hissing coming from in front of him, but he couldn’t quite tell where.
Will grabbed his elbow. “Wait, I think it’s behind us.”
Just as Will noticed one giant scorpion atop Zeus’s Fist, Nico made out the shape of the other in front of him.
“We’re cornered,” Nico commented pointlessly.
Will grabbed his bow and nocked an arrow, but just as he started to aim, the scorpion jumped, landing beside the other. Will spun around and his back connected with the rocks.
“Maybe I can--” Nico started, but as soon as he moved, one of the scorpions lunged at him and knocked the sword out of his hand, leaving a nasty cut down his arm. “Shit!”
Will pressed back further against the rocks, finding a space large enough to wedge between, and deep enough for at least his body to fit without the scorpions being able to reach him. “Come this way,” Will told Nico, reaching for his hand to pull him back with him.
“But my sword--”
“But your life,” Will shot back, and tugged Nico back between the rocks.
Nico pressed himself back against Will’s chest as they moved inward - much farther inward than it seemed like they should have been able to - until the scorpions were up against the face of the rocks and struggling to reach the two boys.
“I think we’re safe,” Nico said in a hushed tone. “Cornered, but safe.”
“Well, if nobody comes to save us in, like, an hour, then I will happily let you jump us out of here,” Will replied. He leaned back to rest on the rock behind him, but once he started to lean, he didn’t stop, and reached out for Nico to stabilize him.
Will hit the ground maybe six feet down, and Nico landed on top of him in the dark.
“What just happened?” Nico asked. He sat up off of Will and looked around frantically. It was so dark that even he couldn’t see anything down there. “Are you okay?”
“Are you okay?” Will asked.
Nico rolled his eyes even though he knew Will couldn’t see him. He was sure he was giving off the energy of it. “I just landed on top of you. Are you okay?”
Suddenly, Nico thought he noticed a faint glow.
“I’m fine,” Will said quietly. “Thanks.”
“Sure.” Nico took a deep breath. “Okay. So, where are we?”
“Inside Zeus’s Fist, I guess,” Will answered. “But there shouldn’t be any sort of cave inside of it.”
Nico hummed and started feeling the ground for any signs of where they could be. It felt more like dirt than rock, and while he’d been working on his geomancy skills, he still couldn’t determine how far they were from the surface. If he hadn’t shadow traveled twice already that day, he would’ve tried to dig them out.
His hands connected with something soft and very un-dirt-like. “Sorry, is that you?” Nico asked.
“Yeah,” Will squeaked, and that faint glow Nico noticed came back stronger.
The glow was… It was Will’s face.
“Oh my gods,” Nico said, slapping a hand over his mouth to hide his smile.
“What?” Will asked. “What is it?”
Nico leaned in close. “You’re…” He moved in even closer, and Will started glowing so bright that Nico could see a blush rising on his cheeks. “You’re glowing!”
“What?” Will shrieked, his hands slapping onto his cheeks and dimming the room around them. “Oh gods…” He looked at his own hands, turning them up and down. “Oh my gods, I’m glowing.”
Nico started to laugh. “This is insane. How long have you been able to glow?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never noticed it before!”
Nico reached out for Will’s hand, moving it around to see different parts of the floor. Then he met Will’s eyes and grinned. “You’re like my own personal flashlight.”
Will started to grow brighter.
Then his eyes flickered down toward Nico’s arm, and he gasped. “Nico, you’re bleeding.”
Nico followed his gaze and shrugged at the sight. “It’s fine.”
Will huffed. “It is not fine.” He reached for his bag and pulled out the medic pouch he kept inside. He took Nico’s hand and gently cleaned the wound.
“So…” Nico said, settling in and letting Will work. “How do you think we get out of here?”
Will’s nose scrunched up in thought. “Well, there is one possibility.”
“I’d really rather not try to shadow travel again so soon.”
Will shook his head. “No, it’s, um. Something I overheard Annabeth and Clarisse talking about. Do you know anything about the Labyrinth?”
Nico thought about it for a second, then nodded. “Yeah, I think so. My dad said there are sections that lead straight into the Underworld and even Tartarus. It’s dangerous, isn’t it?”
“It’s… Yeah, it is. But I also think we might be in it.”
Will took out a roll of bandages and started wrapping Nico’s arm.
“This is the Labyrinth?” Nico asked. “Alright, sure. Fine. How do we get out?”
“There should be a button on the wall. Like a switch, maybe? The mark of Daedalus was a Delta, so...a triangle, I think.” Will tied off the bandage and put everything back in his bag.
“I guess you better start looking, then, Glow Stick.”
Will pouted. “You’re not really gonna start calling me that, are you?”
Nico grinned. “Guess we’ll have to wait and see.”
The two started scouring the walls, though since Will was their only source of light, they had to remain close. Eventually, after maybe five minutes or so, Will brushed a bit of dust off the wall and illuminated a blue triangle. He pressed his palm over it, and ladder rungs emerged from the wall.
“After you,” he told Nico, and climbed up after him.
The sun had fully set by the time Nico crawled out from between the rocks, which seemed unrealistic, though he had enough experience being out of time that it didn’t totally surprise him. Maybe he and Will were actually just down there longer than they’d thought.
By the time Will reached Nico’s side, he’d stopped glowing, to Nico’s disappointment, but the moon shone bright enough overhead to give them some light to see by.
And there seemed to be flashlight beams all throughout the woods.
“There you are!” Lou Ellen’s voice came from above, and Nico turned to see her perched atop Zeus’s Fist just in time to get her flashlight shone right in his eyes. “We’ve been looking for you two for hours!”
“Like, one hour,” Cecil corrected as he hopped down from the rocks to land at Will’s side. “Where were you guys?”
“We, uh--” Will scratched awkwardly at the back of his neck.
“We got stuck in a hole,” Nico told them.
Cecil grinned. “And you couldn’t find any way out, Mr. Ghost Powers?”
Nico crossed his arms. “I’m too tired from every other use of my ghost powers. Besides, we didn’t think we were gone that long.”
“Twenty minutes, max,” Will agreed.
“Try an hour, minimum,” Lou said as she joined them on the ground. “The entire camp is out here looking for you! Percy found Nico’s sword and assumed you got eaten by the scorpions.”
“Which is totally unrealistic,” Cecil added. “There’s no way the scorpions could’ve eaten both of you that quick. And there would’ve been blood or something left behind, not just a sword.”
“Glad you had so much confidence in us,” Will said. “So, uh, how do we call off the search?”
“And where’s my sword?” Nico asked.
“Uh, Percy has it, I think,” Cecil said to Nico as Lou Ellen told Will, “Just do that whistle thing.”
Nico shot Will a look like, whistle thing?
Will grinned. “Lee taught me this new trick! You’re gonna love this. Cover your ears.” He waited until Nico placed his palms over his ears, then Will brought his finger and thumb up to his lips and released a piercing whistle that had to have easily reached every corner of camp. As the sound echoed around them, Will turned his bright smile back to Nico, practically bouncing on his toes as he said, “Pretty cool, right?”
Within seconds, they were swarmed by half of camp, and the crowd kept growing. Percy and Annabeth shoved their way to the front, and Percy handed Nico’s sword back to him as he said, “So. You two disappeared. Alone. Together.”
Nico crossed his arms with a huff. “You just contradicted yourself.”
“Where did you go?” Annabeth asked before Percy could argue.
“We got cornered by two scorpions,” Nico told them. “I lost my sword, and I couldn’t jump us out, so Will pulled me between the rocks and we...fell in a hole in the ground.”
Annabeth’s eyes turned calculating, and Nico had to look away from the intensity. He and Annabeth had gotten to know each other a lot better since last summer’s quest, and he trusted her more than he used to, but sometimes it still felt like she was trying to look through him.
Nico stepped back and leaned into Will’s side, and Will draped an arm comfortably around his shoulders. Annabeth’s eyes flickered between the two of them, and Nico felt Will’s arm tighten around him protectively.
“You two,” she said finally, “are going to tell me everything.”