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Nico Di Angelo was alone. Bianco was dead, and he had no one left. His mother was gone, and his father didn’t care enough about him. Nico didn’t care about that. He just wanted Bianca back. Bianca was his rock and anchor. And now? She was dead, and Nico couldn’t bring her back. Percy Jackson was to blame. He promised to bring Bianca back. She never came back. All Nico had now were the spirits of the dead.
The dead weren't good company. Well, some dead spirits were entertaining and kind, but most were bad. Sure, Nico liked the spirits but he was lonely. None of them had a personal connection with him. None understood the pain he felt. The small, windowless cell did nothing but make him feel even more alone. Screams rang out, echoing in the darkness. Nico couldn't tell if the screams were from the wailing spirits or not. All he knew is that the screams weren't human.
Scared and tired, Nico wouldn't shadow travel. The cell had the luxury of a bed. Granted, it was very rough and uncomfortable, but it was better than sleeping on the ground. Curled up on the mattress, Nico wished for Bianca. He wished for anyone to come save him. 'I never should have left that camp. At least I was safe there.'
"Welcome, child." Nico smiled up at Hypnos, walking with him deeper into the realm of sleep. Hypnos spent some of his time in the Underworld with Hades, Thanatos, and Persephone. Nico liked him. Hypnos was calm, compassionate, and usually slept most of the time. His dark eyes shone with kindness when he smiled. His dark hair was combed back and his light beard made him look older, but not too old. Hypnos reminded Nico of that actor Bianca liked from Shadow and Bone.
The dream realm where Morpheus resided remained the same beautiful place Nico remembered. Hypnos left him there, leaving to welcome others to the realms of sleep. Walking deeper into the dream palace, Nico abandoned all sense of reality.
—
Luke Castellan roared, pulling against the golden chains that held his arms above his head. Luke shivered against the cold, damp cell. His arms ached and his wounds from the fight finally stopped bleeding, a pool of dried blood at his bare feet. His shirt had been taken and instead was given a ragged pair of pants.
The chains rattled as Luke pulled yet again, attempting to loosen them from the wall. He couldn't get into a position where he could dislocate his thumb, and he couldn't find an escape route. He found himself feeling even more trapped.
"Luke…"
No! Luke's eyes widened. "No, no, no! Go away!" he shouted, shutting his eyes. Why are they back!? I sent them away. I made them go away. "Leave me alone!"
"Luke, save us. Help me!"
"You have to try harder. Don't quit now."
"You're so close. Come on!"
"Don't let that magic bastard win, kid."
"He betrayed us. Betrayed you. He needs to be taken out. Take. Him. Out."
"You promised you'd avenge us. Don't go back on your promise, Luke."
"SHUT UP!" Luke snapped, shaking his head. Rage boiled Luke's blood. How could Alabaster do this? Sure, plans changed, but Luke still planned to make the gods change, just in a way that didn't get anymore people hurt or killed. Screaming out, Luke glared at the cell door, eyes blazing. He would get out of here, and when he did, Alabaster would pay. Yes, revenge would be so, so sweet.
"You can stop screaming, Luke," Alabaster chuckled, opening the cell. "No one will come for you. Camp Half-Blood hates you, the gods hate you, and your group of friends are too injured to bother to rescue you." The son of Hecate stepped closer, going to touch Luke, but the son of Hermes snapped at him. "Feisty," Alabaster laughed, punching Luke in the gut. Luke gasped and hunched forward, hanging from the chains.
"You're a monster!" Luke wheezed. "Why are you doing this? More of us will die." He shivered, teeth chattering. "I want the gods to change, but I don't want more demigods to die! We don't need blood on our hands to make a change. Kronos wanted to destroy everything. Why can't you understand!?"
Alabaster backhanded Luke. "No, you don't understand, Luke. The gods only react to bloodshed and violence. When they are gone, we can recreate the world to be a better place. Those who get in our way will be dealt with."
Luke grunted. "Then why keep me alive?" he taunted, staring up at Alabaster. "I am in your way, so take me out!"
"No, where's the fun in that, traitor?" Alabaster rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Traitors get a different punishment." He leaned closer to Luke, forcing the other to look him in the eye. "Poor, poor Luke. You betrayed the only place you knew as home, betrayed all of you friends, and now betrayed the Cause. You have no friends, no family, and nowhere to run to." A sick, maniac smile crept onto Alabaster's face–a smile that made fear flash in Luke's eyes. "And no one will hear you scream."
"Wha–" Luke paused, staring at the dagger Alabaster had summoned with his magic. Composing himself, Luke forced his emotions down. No, he wouldn't give Alabaster the satisfaction of seeing Luke afraid. "Do your worst, bastard," Luke growled, pushing his legs up to stand taller.
Alabaster's eyes gleamed. "Oh, I plan to." Slowly dragging the knife along Luke's skin, Luke bit back a scream.
—
Nico bolted up, eyes flying open. Sweat pooled down his back, chest heaving. A loud, and very, very human scream echoed throughout the shadows. Nico wanted to cover his ears. It was so, so loud and so chilling. Pain, agony, and anger filled the screams. Nico had never heard such a sound before. Trembling, he got to his feet.
"You have to get out!" Nico froze and slowly looked toward the cell door, seeing a small blonde child with brown eyes and elfish features. "You need to get out!" the ghost child wailed.
"You…you're…why are you here?" Nico gaped. "Did Minos send you?" Nico growled. That ghost had tried to manipulate him. He's the reason Nico had even gotten captured.
"N–no. I would never!" the child promised. "I am here to deliver a message! If you don't leave, child of Hades, you will suffer the same fate as Luke. Use your godly powers. Get out of here."
Nico blinked at the child, unsure. "How do I even get out of here? I don't know where we are." He cautiously stepped toward the ghost and the door. "Even if I escape, there are monsters at every turn. I don't have enough power to take on all of them."
"You have us, my Lord," the child grinned mischievously. "We can help you if you allow us." The child held a sword and gestured around. More ghost children and teenagers appeared, all carrying weapons and wearing the same orange T-shirt.
A smile crept onto Nico's face. "Do you have a plan?" he asked the ghosts. "Because I have nothing."
An older boy with blond hair and grey eyes stepped forward. "We do. You shadow travel out of the cell and go down the halls, taking a right. Once you make your choice, keep running and shadow traveling until you reach the edge of the forest. We will be a distraction for you, if you will, my Lord."
"My choice?" Nico tilted his head. "Nevermind, just yes, or whatever. You have permission to do what you must." Nico shoved his hands into his coat pockets. "Just, go." The ghosts shared looks of glee and shimmered into nothing.
"Be careful, my Lord." The blond child nodded toward Nico.
"Wait, what's your name?" Nico called, but it was too late. The ghost had faded. "Great, thanks." Nico stepped back and momentarily thought over the plan he was given. Pretty straightforward, right? Nico closed his eyes and sank into the shadows, coming up on the other side of the door. Hugging the walls, Nico crept down the hall.
Hearing footsteps coming closer, Nico quickly hid in one of the rooms. He quietly shut the door and hid in the shadows. Huh, seems too easy. Nico smirked, grabbing his sword that had been taken from him. Normal iron and celestial bronze? Weird choice, but it's not the weirdest thing I've seen. Nico took both swords.
"What's next, traitor?" Nico froze and hid behind the corner, slowly peeking around to glance into the room. "What about a matching set?" Nico could see two men. One had red hair, the other had blond hair and was covered in blood. The man with red hair held a knife over the blond's blue eyes.
I could save him, but then I'd be at risk of getting caught again. If I don't, then he could die and I'd suffer with his ghost. Yeah…no. Nico gripped his sword and rushed in, slashing the redhead's back. Said man screamed, spinning around and dropping his knife. A bright purple light blinded Nico and when the light faded, the man was gone.
"No…no please…no more," Luke wheezed, coughing up blood.
Nico cut the chains, wincing as Luke hit the ground with a thud and a yell. "Sorry," Nico winced. "Come on. We have to go. More monsters will come."
Luke tried to move. "You think I can move like this?" Luke hissed, pulling himself up into a kneeling position. What? Luke blinked and could see an escape route. Joy flooded over him. Maybe he'd make it out. "Actually," Luke grinned, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "I think I can, but I need your sword."
"Here," Nico gave Luke the strange sword he had found. "I'm Nico. We have to hurry." Luke rolled his eyes. "What are you–" Nico closed his mouth. Luke cut his pants to make strips of clothes he then used to wrap up his stomach and lower torso.
"Well, kid," Luke wiped his mouth, "let's blow this popsicle stand." He leaned on his sword and mentally told his legs to work.
"But…there is no popsicle stand here. How can we blow one? How do you blow a popsicle stand?" Nico asked, confused.
Luke laughed. "Kid, we need to explain a few things to you when we get out of here."
"Shit," Luke groaned. When the two demigods rounded the corner, a board of monsters met. He used the wall for support and held his sword high. "When I say run, you run kid."
"I'm not going to leave you right when I just saved you," Nico grumbled, raising his own sword. "They should be here by now," he mumbled to himself.
"They?" Luke asked, slashing through a dracaena. His wounds screamed and his muscles ached as Luke lunged forward, twirling his sword to slice through the monsters. Nico joined the fray, stabbing a cyclops in the leg before cutting the other clean off. Luke used a burst of speed to cut a path through the incoming monsters.
"No way…" Luke gaped. An arrow lodged itself in the head of an empousa . "No fucking way." An Apollo kid grinned and did a backflip, firing a volley of arrows as he flipped, hitting multiple hellhounds. A group of Ares kids charged through the monsters, killing everything in their path. Smaller Hermes kids zipped around, tripping up monsters, laughing as they did so.
"Finally," Nico breathed, pausing to catch his breath.
"Don't just stand there! Go!" The Athena kid snapped, stabbing a cyclops in the eye.
Luke shook his head, grabbed the back of Nico's neck and used the last of his strength to speed them out of there. He tripped over an upturned root and both went crashing to the ground. Nico yelped and Luke screamed.
"What the hell was that, kid!?" Luke snapped at Nico, slowly getting up and brushing the dirt off of him. "How did that happen?" Nico stood up as well.
"You can see them, too?" Nico realized, staring at Luke. "I thought I was the only one." He limped toward Luke, eyes wide with awe.
Luke narrowed his eyes, glaring at the root that tripped him. "Unfortunately, I was lucky enough to be born with the rare gift Hermes children can get. At least Hephaestus' kids get fire powers. I get the ability to see all the lost souls. Lucky me."
"It's not all bad," Nico shrugged. "They helped us get out of there." He looked back at the dark forest, knowing the ghosts did all they could and that monster would be tracking them.
"It's bad when you know them. Most of the ones I see are the kids who left camp and never came back," Luke growled, eyes narrowed. "Come on, we need to keep moving." He limped on, putting pressure onto his stomach wounds.
Hours passed before they reached the highway, a small village in sight. Nico stayed close to Luke and Luke protectively kept Nico hidden behind him. The sun began to set, and the moon slowly rose over the horizon. Luke winced. Hopefully Artemis wouldn't bother looking and seeing him. He didn't need that right now.
"Stay here," Luke said, keeping Nico by a dumpster behind a thrift store. "I will be right back. Do you need anything warmer?" Nico shook his head. "Okay. Stay put." Luke left to probably rob the store.
"Thank you!" Nico jumped, the blond ghost kid startling him.
"For what?" Nico sighed, kicking the dumpster.
"Saving Luke! Everyone knows he's Dad's favorite. We aren't mad though. Luke is one of a kind." The child sat on top of the dumpster.
"Yeah, okay, whatever. I did what anyone would have done."
"Not anyone would have saved him," the child sadly sighed.
"Let's go, kid!" Luke called, and the ghost faded. Nico stared at where the kid had sat before running off with Luke. "I found an extra set of clothes for you just in case."
"Oooh!" Nico's eyes lit up. "McDonald's!" The kid ran over to the fast-food restaurant, Luke hot on his tail. They stopped by the door.
"Are you serious?" Luke gaped, staring at the small emo child with wide eyes. "We just barely escape with our lives, and you want to stop running and get McDonald's?"
"Yes, I don't see how that's an issue," Nico deadpanned. "We are hours ahead of them. Plus, you run fast and I shadow travel. McDonald's won't keep us here for hours. I am a hungry, growing, grieving child. If I want goddamn McDonald's, I am getting McDonald's."
Luke opened his mouth to say something then closed it. He was really hungry. "Fine, order whatever you want. I'm okay with anything. Just get me a vanilla milkshake," he ordered. "I will hotwire a car for us."
Nico happily went inside and Luke looked at the cars, trying to decide which one was the best one to steal. His eyes landed on a mustang. That one. I want that one. That's the one I want. Luke grinned mischievously, approaching the car. "Oh, oh, this is such a nice car. Hotwire time!" he clapped his hands and began to work.
"You stole a sports car!?" Nico gaped almost dropping the food. "Sweet," he grinned, getting into the passenger seat, handing Luke who was in the driver's seat his milkshake and a happy meal.
"A happy meal?" Luke raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" He took the food and popped a nugget into his mouth and took a sip of his drink.
"Hey, Happy Meals are the best!" Nico protested, throwing a fry at Luke who ate it. Luke pulled out of the McDonald's. "Wait, why was there even a sports car here?" Like shrugged, mouth full. "Yeah, makes sense," Nico rolled his eyes. "Where are we going?"
Luke swallowed and sighed. "I don't know. We can't go to Camp Half-Blood because everyone hates me. Alabaster expects me to go back to Indianapolis to the Waystation. Damn it." He hit the wheel, wincing as his wounds made themselves known again.
"Well, I guess we just drive for now," Nico shrugged. "We can get a lot farther with the car than walking. Oh, and we are apparently in South Dakota."
"South Dakota? Okay, umm, why don't we head north east?" Luke said, but it sounded like a question.
"Sounds good," Nico yawned, leaning against the window. He silently ate his nuggets and drank his coke in peace.
Luke glanced over at Nico and smiled. "Kid, what's your name?"
"You finally asked," Nico drawled. "Nico Di Angelo."
"Luke Castellan," Luke introduced himself.
"And I'm Tuttle!" The ghost child cheered, popping up in the back seat making Luke slam the breaks. Nico went forward, the seatbelt keeping him from getting hurt.
"JEEZ! DON'T DO THAT!" Luke shrieked, glaring at Tuttle from the rearview mirror.
Nico laughed. "Finally, we get names! So, Tuttle, why are you still here?"
"Because, my job is not done yet."