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Approaching the temple of Pluto in the hillside, Percy knew he was excited to meet Hazel’s mysterious brother, but he didn’t know what he was getting into.
When the boy turned around something in Percy’s mind sparked. Pale skin and dark features, with beautiful brown eyes and pretty pink lips. The boy he saw triggered a flood of memories that flashed before his eyes. Not much, just bits and pieces of a picture, but it drove him crazy. It was more than he had gotten in weeks. Smiles, fights, blue birthday cake, a hellhound. Percy knew this boy. They fought alongside each other. But Percy couldn’t place who he was to him.
For a split microsecond the boy looked shocked, before quickly regaining his composure. He knew Percy too. He held out his hand, “Pleased to meet you, I’m Nico Di Angelo.”
Percy blinked. His heart was racing as he shook the smaller boy’s hand. Nico. Nico Di Angelo. He added that to the list of names he remembered. His friend Grover, his sister Ananbeth, and now his something Nico.
A million different feelings flooded his chest at once. Who was this boy to him? He felt happiness, betrayal, frustration, anger, sadness all well up inside him. He felt this connection to Nico, this sense of loyalty. This urge to protect him. But the boy was fine as far as Percy could tell. If anything he had the power over Percy in this moment. He was hiding something.
Percy narrowed his eyes. “I-I know you.” He tried to say it as a fact, but his hazy memory made it come out sounding more like a question. Fuck, his stupid forgotten memory.
Nico raised his eyebrows “Do you?” looking at Hazel for an answer. Percy wanted to rip his own hair out. He is so full of shit! But there was nothing Percy could say without sounding crazy. His memory of Nico was so hazy he couldn't even describe a specific moment, just the feeling he had about Nico, and even that felt jumbled and complicated.
Who was he to him?
Hazel was just nervously looking between the two. Percy knew that he was acting weird. All while Nico had on the best mask of confusion. He is such a liar.
Hazel started explaining to Nico how Percy lost his memory, asking Nico if maybe he has seen him before, to which Nico immediately waves off and then goes into what Percy told Reyna about the earth goddess.
Percy just nodded along. Answering his questions and maintaining the conversation the best he could with his ADHD mind tossing around the crumbs of memory he had on the boy in front of him. Then Nico mentioned Saturn, the titan king who ate his kids and recently waged a war on the gods and demigods once again. More memories flashed in his mind. It actually hurt trying to remember.
Nico eyed him nervously. He was looking for something in Percy’s eyes. Seeing what he reacted to as if fearing he was saying too much. This was important, Percy thought. He should keep his cool, but he couldn’t help but twitch when Nico mentioned defeating the titans when the Romans stormed Mount Othrys, their headquarters, and the titan king just went away at the crumbling of his throne.
‘That’s not it’ Percy wanted to say. But he couldn’t. Flashes of a battle in New York appeared in his mind. An army of skeletons and monsters. Nico was there. Percy felt powerful, like before he crossed the Little Tiber River to get here. What was it that Juno had said? The Curse of Achilles? Percy stared into Nico’s eyes. It had something to do with Nico.
But their conversation steered back to the present. The problem of Gaia and the giants being reborn. Hazel was about to tell him more when Frank ran up to them. “Hey sorry to interrupt, but Reyna wants Percy cleaned up before evening muster.”
Percy perked up at that. It had been too long since he got a proper bath, and the Roman baths looked like a full blown pool house to him. He looked to Nico, a shameful part of his brain excited to visit with the son of Pluto.
Nico once again dodged him “Frank why don’t you take Percy down, Hazel and I will see you later. We have some talking we need to do.”
Frank nodded but before he could drag Percy off with him, he reached out to grab Nico’s hand “I’d like to talk with you some more. I can’t shake the feeling—”
Nico interrupted him looking flustered “Sure! Later. I’ll be staying overnight.”
Percy’s stomach did a flip. Great. He wanted to say more, but Hazel was already asking Nico questions. Apparently he doesn’t stay in one place often. Percy knew that, he thought.
~~~~~~
From that moment until he saw Nico again at muster, he bothered the crap out of anyone who would listen. On the walk to the baths he bombarded Frank with questions about Hazel’s brother. Unfortunately Frank couldn’t answer them. “Nico is not like Hazel, he’s mysterious and secretive. When he gets here he just comes for Hazel, or to talk to Reyna, that’s it. And the Romans like to keep it that way. Being a child of Pluto is not a good sign.”
Percy decided to shut up after that. Clearly Nico had a past that he was keeping a secret from everyone. Maybe Hazel knew something. But she seemed just as confused about Percy as Nico, so clearly she didn’t know their connection.
Percy didn’t get to see Nico again until the “muster” or whatever they called it. Basically they all just stood all lined up with their cohorts and called roll call while Reyna and the higher ups evaluated them. Hazel and Nico were late, but while Hazel made a scene running through everyone to get to her cohort, Nico slipped next to Percy, which he was grateful for.
They had him standing with two armed guards next to him like a prisoner. He was just wearing spare clothes that didn’t fit right in front of hundreds of heavily armed kids all staring at him. Having Nico next to him made all of the soldiers avert their gaze. Apparently Nico was intimidating, which made Percy want to laugh. Deep down he knew he was powerful, but standing shoulder to shoulder with him, the guy barely made it up to his chin, and Percy wasn’t even that tall. Nico was just so small.
Percy kept glancing over at him, trying to catch his eye but Nico wouldn’t even glance over at him.
Later at dinner Percy felt like he had a chance to learn more. He peered across the table at Nico, who was obviously only sitting there to be with Hazel. “I was wondering if we could talk, you know…about where I might have seen you before.”
“Sure,” Nico said a little too quickly, he wouldn’t meet Percy’s eyes “The thing is, I spend most of my time in the Underworld. So unless I met you there somehow—”
Dakota interrupted them, yet again, “Ambassador of Pluto they call him. Reyna’s never sure what to do with this guy when he visits. You should have seen her face when he showed up with Hazel, asking Reyna to take her in. Um, no offense.”
“None taken.” Nico smiled at him, all too happy to change the subject “Dakota was really helpful, standing for Hazel.”
Dakota just smiled down into his drink “Yeah, well…She seemed like a good kid.”
Percy couldn’t help but glare at the son of Bacchus. Was he blushing? Like sure, it was nice that someone here shared his appreciation and fascination with Nico, but… Percy didn’t like how close the two were sitting together. The son of Poseidon wanted to sit next to Nico, but the son of Hades seemed like he purposefully chose to sit as far away from Percy as possible.
Percy sipped at his drink eyeing Nico. If he wasn’t going to admit to knowing him, then at least Percy could find out about Nico’s own past. He turned to Hazel. She clearly wasn’t in on Nico’s secret so she wouldn’t necessarily lie to him “Did you and Nico grow up together?” he asked.
Nico jumped in and answered for her “No, I found out that Hazel was my sister only recently. She’s from New Orleans.”
“How recently?” Percy asked. The whole table looked at him weird, but Nico gave him a tight smile as if he knew what Percy was trying to do.
He sighed and looked up as if pretending to think “Let’s see I brought her to camp what, a year ago? And I brought her here as soon as I met her and found out about who she was, so… a little over a year?”
That didn’t tell Percy anything. “Ok so you two haven’t known each other long.”
Nico dropped his nice demeanor ever so slightly. He actually looked mad at Percy. More images flashed in his mind of a younger version of Nico. “A lot can happen in a year.”
Percy pulled back “Yeah I guess so.” Then he added, “I mean look at me. Something big must have happened to me, since I only remember a few months.”
Nico’s expression cooled as if he actually felt bad for Percy. The son of Poseidon hoped he would say something, but they were interrupted by a faun.
The guy kept bothering them for food, making their house lare Vitellius shimmer into existence screaming about fauns in the dining hall and yelling at Dakota to do something.
The satyr just kept sniffing around Percy, which was weird. “Oh dude! You have an empathy link with a faun!”
Percy just leaned away from him, “What?”
“I know what!” Nico stood suddenly, looking nervous. “Hazel, how about we give you and Frank time to get Percy oriented? Dakota and I can visit the praetor’s table. Vitellius you can come too. We can discuss strategies for the war games. Don, get out of here before the guards turn you into a shish kebab.”
“Strategies for losing?” Dakota whined.
“For once a son of Pluto is right!” Vitellius said. “This cohort fights worse than we did in Judea, and that was the first time we lost our eagle. Why, if I were in charge—”
“Could I just get a to-go box?” Don asked.
“Let’s go!” Nico stood, pushing Don towards the door and grabbing Vitellius by the ear. Nobody but Nico could actually touch the Lares. Vitellius spluttered with outrage as he was dragged off to the praetor’s table. “Come on, Dakota!” Nico called over his shoulder.
The centurion got up quickly to follow the son of Hades who was already walking off. He stared a little too long for Percy’s taste at Nico’s retreating backside before turning back to them, “Back soon.” he said quickly before he staggered away with his goblet sloshing and spilling a little on the floor.
That was the guy Nico was dodging him with, Percy thought glumly. The guy with an alcohol problem.
Seeing them sit together with Reyna at the fancy leaders table made Percy feel really lame. Looking at Frank and Hazel then at the other cohorts, he decided it was time for the fifth cohort to step up their game. He was gonna kill it at war games.
~~~~~~
It turns out Nico wasn’t participating at the actual war games, which kinda bummed Percy out. From his glimpses of memories, he knew Nico was a badass demigod, and he would have loved to see him in action outside of his memories. Looking at the other cohorts with their stupid smug looks on their faces, Percy would have paid to see Nico knock them down a peg or two.
Instead the son of Hades was sitting in a tower, like a prince, a few hundred yards away watching them with binoculars. Percy stretched his muscles. He was at least gonna give him a show.
And boy was it a show.
At first the war games started out as ‘beat up the fifth cohort’ with the third and fourth cohort standing back as their ‘allies’ got pelted at the wall of the fort in their tortoise formation. As the first and second cohort were preoccupied with pelting and taunting their group, Frank, Hazel, and Percy snuck in from the side and used their water cannons against them in a sneak attack.
Percy felt his adrenaline kicking into overdrive. All of this felt familiar. This felt like a very intense game of capture the flag. Except instead of being in the woods, they were playing medieval style in a field with fortresses.
They were awesome. Their trio managed to scale the wall and plow through enemy troops while the fifth cohort rallied together and barreled through the fortress gates with the help of Hannibal.
Frank and Hazel did great. Hazel was slashing down enemies with her spatha and Frank shooting his arrows. Percy hasn’t felt this good in weeks. He was knocking out enemy soldiers left and right with his sword. He even got to whack Octavian in the head, knocking out the stupid augar.
By the end of it, the fifth cohort reigned victorious. Reyna swooped down on her pegasus to name them the winners and Nico Di Angelo strolled over behind her, looking not at all shocked by the outcome with his hands in his pockets, but he did look proud.
Most of his praise and attention was on Hazel understandably, and also Frank, but Nico did pat Percy on the back and congratulate him “for a newbie” he said without any conviction. Percy felt his skin tingle where Nico’s hand had touched him.
Then the mood turned sour when Gwen was pronounced dead.
~~~~~~
Then she wasn’t. And then things got weirder.
Everyone turned to Nico for answers, but he just stared at Gwen with fear and sadness in his eyes and said “Pluto never lets anyone return from the dead.”
Then their explanation came in the form of a god, Mars, giving them a quest to free Thanatos, the god of death. He was the reason for the line between life and death being out of whack. And Frank, now claimed as Mars’ son unfortunately, would go on this quest with Percy, ‘the insolent boy who needed to learn respect’, and another camper of their choosing to free him.
Percy glared at the god the entire time. He knew he didn’t like this guy, and it wasn’t just the way he seemed to glare at Nico, as if this was all Nico’s fault. The son of Poseidon didn’t want to kneel for him until Nico literally had to yank him down on the ground, so as to not cause a scene. Percy reluctantly let him. Nico could do whatever he wants with him, he’s decided. Besides this probably saved him from being blasted by the god.
After that whole situation, when they were back in the barracks, Percy tried to ask Frank if they could bring Nico on the quest.
Frank just shook his head apologetically. “Look Percy I know you’re obsessed with Nico—”
“I’m not obsessed with Nico!” Percy said defensively.
Frank didn’t look convinced. “Well look, I know Nico is powerful and would be useful on this quest, but he’s going back to the underworld tomorrow to find out about the Doors of Death, which is also a big priority. And besides,” he rubbed the back of his head “I was kind of thinking about asking Hazel.”
He looked embarrassed and Percy almost wanted to laugh. Inviting their crushes on quests was the demigod equivalent of asking someone out to prom. Still this shit was dark. He knew Frank and Hazel had crushes on each other and it was cute, but they were twelve year old kids. They shouldn’t be going on deadly quests for the gods. Percy may not have all of his memories, but he knew he was already tired of this.
Inviting Nico would have saved at least Hazel from having to go on the quest. Still, it was Frank’s quest, and Nico wasn’t even considered a legionnare to get the senate to agree to him questing. All of this made Percy incredibly frustrated. He felt like the way Romans did things was all wrong, but he couldn’t change it.
Still, even with everything going on, the one thing Percy could focus on was that Nico was leaving tomorrow, and that he would be going away on a quest.
Tonight would be his last chance to get anything out of Nico Di Angelo, and he was going to get his answers.
~~~~~~
Percy waited until later that night to speak with Nico. He needed to get him alone so that they could talk openly and honestly.
Nico was offered a bed in the barracks with the fifth cohort, but Percy noticed the boy slipped out when everyone was asleep. Good, this would be a whole lot easier. He thought he was gonna have to shake him awake and drag him outside like some creep.
Still, following and cornering him outside in the dead of night alone was probably just as creepy. Percy did hesitate, but he was at the end of his wits. He just needed answers, and Nico holding them back from him was torture. So he followed Nico outside down the rows of barracks.
His anger and frustration turned to fear. Could he really trust Nico? Suddenly, Percy realized that he was alone with Nico. His adrenaline kicked in and he did something he was not proud of. The son of Hades was already turning around, no doubt having already sensed he was being followed, but Percy had the upper hand. He rushed up behind Nico and before the son of Hades could react, Percy already had his hand on the boy’s neck pushing him up against a wall with Riptide out and against his neck.
Nico looked terrified “Percy,” he begged.
Percy had vague flashbacks to Nico in this position before. Oh gods, was Percy the bad one? Was he Nico’s villain? Green eyes met brown, and his voice cracked with emotion “Please Nico, tell me who I am. I need to know. How do I know you? Who are you to me?”
Nico struggled against his grip. “I can’t tell you! The gods have their plans, please!”
Then a shock of pain radiated through Percy’s head. “Put him down.” The voice of Juno said in his head. As if he was a dog acting out of line.
Nico sunk to the floor clutching his head. Percy looked at him “She’s in your head too?”
Nico didn’t say anything, just silently nodded, not looking at him.
All anger drained from Percy’s body. Fuck. He felt like a dick. And he’s done this to Nico before. He was such an asshole. “Nico, I am so sorry.”
Nico just shook his head and bit his lip. “It’s fine,” he said softly. Percy wanted nothing more than to pull the younger demigod close. Then Nico’s expression tightened and he met Percy’s eyes with new determination and a look of sympathy, as if he was the one who hurt Percy and not the other way around. “Your name is Percy Jackson. You’re a hero.” he winced as no doubt Juno was sending shocks through him. “You have a mother, who loves you very much, and is worried sick looking for you.”
Percy’s heart clenched. His mama. Sally Jackson. He got flashes of her face, smiling at him, eating from a bag of blue candy, being gripped by a bull-like creature.
Nico continued through the pain, “I-I can’t tell you how we know each other” he stammered, “but you were my hero, and I like to think we were on good terms the last time I saw you. Ahh” he clutched his head.
Percy rushed to his side. “That’s enough Hera!” he screamed. “He’s done and I still know nothing of your plans! I’m still going on your quest! Now leave him alone!”
Percy ran a hand through Nico’s silky soft hair, as if that would help. The son of Hades just relaxed his shoulders and leaned his head into Percy’s touch. It seemed like Hera had let up.
They stayed like that for a minute. Percy continued to pet Nico’s hair because selfishly it felt nice running his hands through the softness, but also because he felt bad about putting him through that pain. Nico just rested his head against Percy’s shoulder as they sat in silence. “I’m sorry I can’t tell you more.” he said quietly, “My father warned me not to tell anyone. I wanted to keep you safe.”
Percy knit his eyebrows “Why would I not be safe?”
Nico just pulled away to give him a look.
“Right you can’t tell me,” Percy said glumly. Then after a second, “I’m sorry I choked you out back there,” he said embarrassed and ashamed.
Nico just snorted, “Wouldn’t be the first time,” he said before getting up.
Percy got up after him. “I’m sorry for that time too,” he said sincerely.
Nico just looked at him. “You don’t know what I did to deserve that,” he said quietly before looking down.
His pretty face looked so sad and sincere, Percy couldn’t imagine Nico ever hurting anyone. He reached out and put a hand on the smaller boy’s shoulder, “Nothing you could say would ever make me believe you deserve that,” he said firmly. He trusted Nico, still, he knew he had a lot of history with him that the other demigod couldn’t tell him about. Not knowing was killing him.
Percy stepped closer to Nico, and Nico took a step back. “Look, I can’t be with you on this quest, and I know Frank wants to take Hazel. And I know she wants to go, and it will help her move up in this camp, but— they’re twelve. And it’s their first quest and they’re inexperienced, so I need you to protect them.” He said looking Percy directly in the eyes.
Percy nodded, “Nico, I promise-”
Nico put a hand over his mouth “Don’t promise!” he freaked out, “Just do. Okay?”
He removed his hand from Percy’s mouth and the older demigod looked at him confused. “Ok… I’ll protect them. Period.”
Nico nodded, he looked down at the ground as if realizing how weird that must have come off “It’s just that… You’ve promised that before, a-and it didn’t end well.”
Oh. “Bianca.”
“Yeah…” Nico said.
Percy didn’t know how he knew. He couldn’t remember her face, or what had happened. Just her name, and the image of a young Nico’s angry face wet with tears blaming him. He couldn’t let Nico go through that again. He wouldn’t. He already cared about Hazel, just her as her own person, but now Percy felt like he wanted to bubble wrap her and never let her leave New Rome. She would never agree to that unfortunately. Percy wanted to ask Nico to come on the quest with them again, but he knew that he would refuse.
So they stood in silence. Percy didn’t know what else to say, but he didn’t want to leave Nico like this. “Oh right!” Nico said. He rooted around in his pocket and pulled out a string of clay beads that looked like a summer camp arts and crafts project. “Here.” He placed them in Percy’s hand.
“Thanks,” he said politely, not understanding.
Nico's smile fell, “Oh right, your memory. Um, well, I can’t tell you what these mean, because of… you know,” he waved his hand, gesturing to the sky. “But anyways, these beads may not have been important to you since they aren’t triggering any memories… but you um— you gave these to me… and said that I-I would always have a place with you.” His voice cracked at the last bit and Percy felt his heart melt a little.
He studied the beads in his hands. They had little pictures painted on them like a trident and the empire state building. “They represent where we’re from?” he guessed.
Nico bit his lip and nodded. Clearly they were getting into dangerous territory.
Percy gripped the beads tightly, looking deeply into Nico’s eyes. “Thank you, Nico. Whatever these beads mean to me, the gods don’t want me to know.”
Nico just nodded, looking away.
Percy’s heart clenched. He gave these to Nico. They must have been something right? Nico returned his gaze. His dark brown eyes were looking up at him with so much emotion. Percy had to know.
He stepped forward and Nico didn’t step away. He kissed Nico’s cheek, before being brave and capturing his lips in for a kiss. One hand pulled Nico close as the other cupped his face. It ended as quick as it started, with Percy pulling away to see Nico’s shocked expression.
His mouth was literally agape as he tried to speak, “I- Um- You have a girlfriend.” he said.
Wait what? “I do?” Percy asked, genuinely confused.
“Yes!” Nico said, not stepping out of Percy’s grasp. His pale face now had the prettiest pink blush across his cheeks.
His ideas and contextualization he was building up around his scraps of memories was now all starting to crumble. “Who?” he asked
“Annabeth!” Nico hissed.
“My sister?” Judging based off Nico’s confused expression, that may have been wrong.
“No Annabeth is not your sister! She was your girlfriend! Is your girlfriend!” Nico freaked.
“Oh” Percy said. “So we’re not?” He gestured between the two of them.
“No!” Nico blush turned even redder and buried his face into his hands. “Annabeth is going to kill me.”
Percy’s brain was really confused now. He didn’t remember Annabeth in that way. And Nico, “What were we then?”
Nico looked at him and just threw up his hands “I don’t know Percy! Friends?”
Ok, well now Percy felt seriously embarrassed for coming onto Nico like that. He felt himself blushing, “Hey, look, I’m sorry I kissed you! I-I didn’t know. I think I might have misread my memories.”
Nico tugged at his sleeves, not looking at him, “Look, it’s fine. It wasn’t bad. It’s just… We’ve never done that before. I- I didn’t even know you were gay.”
Nico’s face settled on a flushed pretty shade of pink. Percy smiled “I’m pansexual actually.”
“Oh so that you remember.” Nico laughed. Percy laughed too. The tension had dissolved at least a little bit. Then Nico finally looked at him curiously, “Why did you think Annabeth was your sister?”
Percy shrugged, “My memories are fuzzy. We would bicker one minute and then we would make up and go fight monsters. It seemed like the type of thing siblings would do.”
“Oh ok.” Nico said awkwardly. He clearly didn’t want to delve into the state of Percy’s relationship, and Percy didn’t feel like doing it either with barely any memory to go off of.
Then Percy yawned. “Well, do you wanna go back to the barracks?”
Nico just kinda gestured to the baths, “I was actually just gonna go wash up while no one was there, I um- prefer the privacy. Plus the whole ‘Hades kid’ thing makes people uneasy, but it makes me feel energized at night so, this is the best time.”
Percy nodded, suddenly upset he got his bath earlier that day. He mentally slapped himself again for being a creep. “Oh ok, well I’ll see you back in the barracks. Imma go to sleep. I haven’t slept in a bed in months.”
Nico nodded like he could relate. “Good night Percy,” he said softly before turning around and walking off.
~~~~~~
The morning of the senate meeting Percy had to scarf down breakfast quickly before Dakota dragged him off to the city.
“Should I have worn my bedsheets?” he asked jokingly looking around at everyone in their silly-looking togas.
“No,” Frank answered honestly, “togas are formalwear for senators, centurions, and other higher ups for the senate meetings. We normally wouldn’t be allowed to come if it weren’t for the quest.”
Percy just nodded, not paying attention. He spotted Nico Di Angelo in the crowd, wearing a solid black toga that, oddly, Percy found hot. He tried to get the son of Hades' attention, but all Nico gave him was a small wave before turning to talk to Gwen. Oh right. Percy guessed that that was more important right now.
Still he was hoping to get a chance to talk to Nico before the senate meeting. Percy would have liked to have the support, maybe even have Nico sit next to them. Though he guessed a son of Pluto would be too ‘intimidating’ to the romans.
However, when they got into the senate house and Nico Di Angelo sat high above them with the senators, Percy was intimidated by him for a very different reason.
~~~~~~
His confusion and twisted emotions did not go away when his memories came in. If anything they made things even more complicated.
His earliest memories of Nico were of him as a kid, and saving him and Bianca from a manticore in some horrible wintery military school. Nico seemed so young to him then, but looking back on it now, it was a middle school. If Percy is sixteen now and Nico is fourteen turning fifteen, then that would mean that Nico was actually twelve at the time he was fourteen. Right? That would mean Nico was a grade or two below him.
Gods, he seemed so much younger. It was the naivety, Percy thought glumly. The thing he shattered in Nico by dragging him into this demigod world. Then he stomped on it some more when he had to tell him his sister was dead because of him. And fuck, Percy kissed him. That was strike three. Or strike five, or whatever.
He has put Nico through so much shit.
But meeting him again for the first time. It felt like a clean slate. And Nico was his equal if not more. He had grown. And he was so beautiful.
Percy didn’t know what to do with these feelings, or what he would tell Annabeth. The last he remembered, they were on a rocky patch in their relationship, both of them feeling awkward kissing, let alone holding hands. Still, Annabeth was possessive over him, and the idea of what they could have, are expected to have, and she was coming to meet him now with a warship.
That wasn’t the worst part.
The worst part was that Gaia told them that she captured Nico at the doors of death and was holding him hostage in Tartarus, the hell of hell. When Percy found out he was choking on dirt, being buried under the ground, and still that knowledge was the worst feeling.
The panic didn’t leave him when Frank and Hazel saved him.
It actually never left him. Not when they reached Alaska. Not when they freed Thanatos, the god not helping them out at all with his own doors. Not when they returned to New Rome and won the battle.
He didn’t stop worrying for Nico. After all these years, despite his change in feelings and perceptions of Nico, his care for him always stayed the same. And now, facing down the approaching warship of the Argo II, he knew he would not rest until Nico was back safe in his arms.