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Chapter Text

Nico

“The other side Nico! We will see you there. Understand?”

Nico’s eyes widened. “But–“

“Lead them there!” Percy shouted. “Promise me!”

„I– Yes, I will.”

Nico watched in horror how Percy promised Annabeth to always stay together, to never be apart again. Then, Percy let go and he and Annabeth fell down.

Nico could only stare at the darkness looming down in that hellish hole, his hand still outstretched where he had tried – and failed, as always – to help. Watching the two demigods fall was painful, but even worse was the knowledge that once again, he failed to make a difference. Once again, he had not been enough.

Helpless tears welled in his eyes. He was never good enough. They should have never saved him; it would have been better if they had left him to rot in that bronze jar. At least then, he would not feel so hurt.

All around, he could hear the others shouting and running to help. All too late, Percy and Annabeth were gone.

Suddenly, Nico heard another sound. A strange crackling was increasingly more and more prominent, until it drowned the voices of the remaining five. Before he realized what was happening, the ground beneath his torso was crumbling away, larger and larger pieces were disappearing in the hungry darkness below.

Nico did not have time to react. The next thing he knew, he was falling too. He may or may not have yelped in surprise, he would never know. The freezing cold darkness of the entry to Tartarus welcomed him as if he was an old acquaintance.

The sensation of falling was nothing new to him. That did not however mean, that it was any less terrifying the second time around. With nothing to hold onto or take purchase, he was left with air knocked out of his lungs and eyes stinging from vicious icy wind.

Knowing what was awaiting him at the end of this endless fall was causing Nico to shiver. He had just gotten out of that place and now he was going right back. Was there perhaps some vengeful god out there who was trying to tell him that this is where he belonged? He did not belong on the surface, he did not fit in in the Underworld either, so Tartarus was all that was left. Was that it?

He would have screamed if there was any air left in his lungs. He did not want to go back to that literal hell. He was terrified to his core. He remembered everything, the hard-to-breathe air, the atmosphere which was slowly eating at his very soul, the constant attacks from monsters, Nyx… He did not want to go back there. He could not.

But it was happening regardless of his will. All he could do was accept it and try to survive. Or not.

Nico’s surroundings were becoming warmer, then hotter and hotter, until he could feel all moisture disappearing from his mouth. It could have been because of that, but he knew that was not the only reason. He did not manage to stuff the thought away fast enough. He was scared, hopeless, small.

His eyes were slowly getting used to the growing light (if one could call it light with Tartarus being Tartarus and everything). Still, the complete darkness was morphing into reddish hue.

Nico remembered the fall being endless last time. He had not known if it had lasted hours, or days, or even longer. This time, his heart was going so fast and his mind was in such an uproar, that it felt as a much shorter period. Knowing what he would have to go through again, Nico nearly wished that he would never reach the bottom.

What about Percy and Annabeth though? Nico though with a start. He had been so focused on his own fear and misery that he had nearly forgotten that they had fallen just seconds before him. Immediately, he felt embarrassed for his previous helplessness.

The other two demigods were not children of the Underworld. It would be much harder for them, perhaps impossible, to find the Doors of Death in time. If Nico could do anything to help, he would do his best. He had failed before, but Percy was the strongest demigod he knew. He always prevailed against all odds. Plus, he had Annabeth with him too. There was no way those two would be as useless as Nico had been.

They did probably not need his help at all. But without having a sort of purpose and mission in mind, Nico felt like he would not be able to stay sane. Last time, he would have for sure gone crazy be it not for having a goal to aim for.

How selfish is that? Nico chided himself, immediately feeling the previous hopelessness engulfing him again.

He would most likely only get in their way anyway, like always. He should just hide somewhere and wait to be rescued again. Only this time, there would be no rescue. No one would willingly come to Tartarus for a son of Hades. He had never had friends, there was no one who would risk themselves for him. Forget it, he should just give up now and spare himself more pain and disappointment later on.

Deep in his spiralling thoughts, Nico hardly noticed that the light around him was now bright enough to see his surroundings. When he realized he should be alarmed, he was already in Tartarus, just falling through red clouds.

Nico’s mind was shortly distracted as he tried to understand what his eyes were seeing. It had never occurred to him that the clouds he had seen just days before from the surface of Tartarus were in fact made of blood. Disgusting. And disturbing.

Now that he could see the skin of the ancient god, all his memories were flooding back. How foolish had he been to think that he remembered how the hellscape looked during the fall. It was only now that he could see everything in vivid, way too bright colours.

Tartarus. I really am back.

Nico started screaming. The sound left his throat raw and painful, but he could not care less. He needed at least some outlet. Without help of the Mist, there was nothing protecting his fragile mortal mind against the truth.

Last time, he had had suspicions and had only seen the ancient god for what it truly was towards the end of his visit. He had time to warm to the thought slowly. Last time, it had paralysed him and had almost driven him crazy once the Mist fully dissipated. This time, he knew the truth even before actually hitting the ground.

The impact knocked all air from his lungs again and left him completely disoriented. He expected it to hurt and leave him crushed on the ground like last time. Not that it did not hurt. In fact, it hurt like hell, if he did not break at least half of the bones in his body, he for sure was bruised all over. However, instead of feeling solid ground, Nico was plunged into water and immediately started sinking. Even if he knew how to swim, the liquid ice sucked all his strength away.

Myriads of voices invaded his ears. With great difficultly, Nico managed to press his hands over his ears. To no avail, he could not stop thoughts or suffering souls from reaching him. He did not even know if what he was hearing were laments of long-lost tortured ghosts or his own thoughts.

Just give up. Why suffer all alone? Why continue living? It is not like anyone needs you.

You are useless. Always in need to be saved and taken care of by others.

You are nothing more than a burden. Who would even care if you died right here and now? Would anyone notice?

Stop suffering and give up. Stay here.

You only belong here.

Yes... Why struggle to go on? I had never done anything right, always failing. I could not even keep a simple promise to help the rest of the Seven. Never a hero; never someone who can find his place somewhere. I should just give up and be done with it. I wish I could see Bianca again.

Another impact harshly teared Nico out of his thoughts. His knees and hands could suddenly reach solid ground. Despite the overwhelming misery he was feeling, he started pulling himself out of the freezing water. He could not give up just yet. There was still one last thing he needed to do. He had to find Percy and Annabeth; he had to tell them where to go.

They were the only ones who could close the Doors of Death.

Chapter Text

Nico

Nico got to his feet.

It was hard and it took all his willpower not to keep laying down and give up on everything. If he caved, well, that was how Tartarus got to you. Its influence got more powerful with every dark thought and doubt.

Nico scoffed at himself. The knowledge was not making anything easier.

It is not like I can control my thoughts so easily. It would help to try and think positively but I do not have that in me. It is not like I have many good things to fall back on.

It was impossible to keep a positive mindset when one was under constant attacks of monsters. Or when he was so deep in survival mode that his body wan shutting down on him. Or when he was so hurt all he wanted to do was curl into a tight ball and bawl like a small child. Or when he was all alone in the literal hell.

No! Stop that!

Nico chided himself. This is exactly what he should not be doing. He had to concentrate on his mission. That was the only way how he was going to get through this.

He had to find Percy and Annabeth (he had to hope they were still alive or he would be here all alone again) and tell them where the Doors of Death were. After that, well, no one would care what would happen to him.

Not even Nico himself. He was so tired of everything. The thought of just closing his eyes and letting everything go was so tempting.

Nico shook his head violently, hoping to stop his depressing train of thoughts. It was not helping anyone. If he wanted to help save the world one last time, he had to get moving. No more moping around.

Nico scanned his surroundings in an attempt to discover where he was. He strained his ears for any suspicious sounds. Anything that moved or breathed in this place could only be bad news. A single moment of eased attention could cost Nico’s life in a heartbeat.

For now, he could not see or hear anything.

It was a little surprising. Last time, he had been attacked as soon as he had hit the ground. Instead of easing Nico’s nerves, he was actually alerted more than ever. The suspense was killing him.

Instinctively, he reached for his sword. Only to find it missing from his belt, he touched only an empty scabbard.

No, no, no, no. This is bad. Really, really bad.

Nico was panicking now. Without his sword, he was defenceless and would not last a minute here. He was dearly missing its comforting weight. He felt naked and vulnerable. And that was not something he was fond of.

Being unprepared had only ever gotten him into trouble. Usually the life-threatening kind.

Nico looked around even harder, his focus shifting from detecting threats to finding anything resembling a weapon. He would be thankful even for a rusted kitchen knife now. Anything was better than having no way of defending himself.

It is not like I can use my powers here.

That was not entirely true. It was not that he could not use his powers, he dared not.

He did not have the slightest idea what would happen if he tried. Shadow-travelling was out of question, there was not enough light to create shadows distinct enough to slip into. And even if there was, Nico was reluctant to try navigating the darkness of Tartarus. Trying to raise dead or summon ghosts did not sound safe either. Who knew what kind of nightmare would answer his call and if he would be able to control them?

After another minute of desperate search, Nico had to admit, that he would have to go look elsewhere. If he stayed in one place, finding Percy and Annabeth would be impossible too so he decided it was time to get moving.

Nico did not know where he was so he selected one direction at random. The ever-present darkness seemed to be a little less pronounced in one direction. He hoped that Phlegethon was that way.

As much as he hated the River of Fire, it was his only possibility of survival. Nico mused. Annabeth was smart (of course she was, her mother was Athena, the goddess of knowledge), she would figure out to head for Phlegethon too. It was entirely possible he would meet her and Percy there.

One step at a time, Nico progressed. He stopped every two steps, listening intently for any sounds. This alertness was exhausting, but it was still better than being attacked out of a blue. All the while, he kept scanning the ground for anything resembling a weapon.

At last, he was in luck. There, just a little further from the riverbank, there was a pile of giant bones. Nico could not wrap his head around why they were here if all the monsters usually disintegrated into ashes, but he was not going to complain.

With renewed energy, he searched the pile until he found a suitable long bone. It was a rib, slender and sharp, not unlike a rapier. It would usually not be his first choice but under the circumstances, he would take what he got and be thankful for it. At least it was fitting well in his hand and could be easily carried around.

With a weapon in his hand, he was feeling less vulnerable and ready to face any horrors Tartarus threw at him.

It was his usual luck that he had to use his new sword earlier rather than later. The Fates must love toying with him. Or he was unlucky because of who his father was.

Not that it matters, I am already used to it.

Nico have not gotten far from the pile of bones before he saw a suspicious white mass in front of him. His instincts were warning him that a monster was hiding there. A big one judging by the size of the thing.

Carefully, Nico approached what he now realized was some kind of giant cocoon. There was something dark stuck inside. Only a few legs were kicking outside, desperately trying to get the monster out of being trapped.

Nico almost snorted in amusement. This was so unexpected and funny he could not help himself. The picture was so not fitting the whole ‘Tartarus – the terrible prison deeper than Underworld’, he did not know what to do.

He did not have to think too hard about it. The monster must have sensed his presence as it started struggling more violently until it freed itself.

Nico realized two things then. First, the monster was no other than Arachne, the terrible spider creature Annabeth had battled in Rome. Were Percy and Annabeth somewhere nearby? And second, Arachne was now free and charging at him.

That is more like it, I was wondering where all the monsters have disappeared to. I know what to do now.

Nico’s training and years of experience fighting monsters took over. Without having to think about what he was about to do, he attacked.

His rib bone sword outstretched in front of him to meet the enemy first, his body mobilized all its forces to survive. Nico was weak and sluggish but he could at least take on Arachne who was already wounded.

He sidestepped, avoiding a leg aimed at his stomach. Then he twirled around on his heel to face Arachne’s side and went behind her. It seemed to have confused the monster as she could not see him now. Arachne roared in both frustration and pain, Nico had just managed to get a good strike in, severing two of her hind legs.

Arachne was out of balance, exactly what Nico was aiming for. She spread her remaining legs to straighten herself. That was what Nico was waiting for. He launched forward and ducked under the swelled belly of the spider. He stumbled a little and had to catch himself with one hand on the ground, probably getting his whole palm bloody from contact with the glass sand. He did not feel it.

The next moment, the fight was over. Nico stabbed Arachne right into the middle of her chest and she stilled. He had just had enough time and agility to slip from under her before she collapsed to the ground.

As a precaution learned by years of experience, Nico took a few steps back to get some distance between them. Just in case Arachne was not dead and would spring back to life. It was not necessary, the monster lay still with no signs of life.

Nico kept ready in his fighting stance for a few more seconds and then let himself relax. His hand hurt now and when he checked, he saw that it was only a mild injury, just some scratches and embedded glass shards. Nothing he had not dealt with before. He smiled to himself, the sword he had found had fared remarkably well.

I can do this. I can survive again.

Nico cleared his injured hand as best as he could by rubbing it on the side of his jeans. They were already all bloody and tattered, it was not like he would ruin them more. He took a steadying breath and gathered his resolve to continue fighting forward.

He had a mission to accomplish. Annabeth and Percy were somewhere out there and he was going to find them.

Chapter Text

Percy

Percy let himself be manhandled out of water and he coughed, desperately wanting to clear his lungs of the disgusting liquid.

With fear of drowning slowly leaving his system, Percy was finally able to start thinking again. He was a little ashamed of himself. Some son of Poseidon he was, almost getting drowned, and not for the first time either. He could not even keep his girlfriend out of danger. It had to be Annabeth and her quick thinking that saved him from that strange river.

What kind of river was this anyway? When he had tried to control it, it drained him empty. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. Usually, water was helping him to keep calm, giving him strength and healing his injuries. This water however, it only took and gave nothing back, struggling against him the whole time. His body still trembled from the strain.

“Cocytus,” Annabeth murmured to herself as if she was replying to Percy’s unvoiced question, “the River of Lamentation.”

Well, that made sense. They were in Tartarus. Percy should not expect that power of any normal god would be welcomed here. Only monsters and sinister beings roamed it. It was not a place for the living.

Nico had not gone into any details about his experience. But seeing the state he had been in when they rescued him (granted that it was at least partially caused by him being trapped in a jar and in a death trance for days) and his haunted and empty eyes as he told them where the Doors of Death were, this would not be a pleasant trip.

On his hands and knees, Percy could feel sand digging into his palms, probably leaving them bloody. When he looked closer, it was not sand at all, rather it seemed to be something similar to miniature glass shards. It hurt as if he was being stabbed by glass. It did not help that one of his hands was injured from when he had tried to hold on to the cliff before falling.

Aside for his palms, even the rest of his skin was hurting. It was stinging and when he looked closer, there were red patches appearing here and there. Was he perhaps allergic to waters of Cocytus? Or all rivers in Tartarus (if he remembered correctly, there were several even if he was not be able to name them). Or, Tartarus as such?

He felt like death and he could barely breathe. The air was so thick and stale it was a fight to get it to his lungs and then back out. Breathing hurt. It helped a little that Annabeth was by his side and was rubbing his back in silent support as he continued coughing.

It was when he finally managed to get all the disgusting water from his nose that he could smell the stench. Rotten eggs, sulphur, dirt and death. It was hard to describe. It was like nothing Percy had ever smelled before. Or wanted to ever smell in the future.

Percy spat the rest of the water out of his mouth: “This place smells like my ex-stepfather.”

Next to him, Annabeth laughed and it warmed his heart. They were together, and he would never let her go on her own again. He would not lose her like that. At least when they were together, he could protect her from danger until his last breath. Which could come at any moment.

Percy looked around. The said danger could be lurking anywhere here, he supposed. Luckily, nothing seemed to be attacking them just yet. Perhaps they ended up in a friendlier part of Tartarus. Percy almost had to laugh bitterly at that joke. As if there was anything friendly in this hell.

Annabeth struggled to stand up and offered him her hand.

“Come on, Seaweed Brain, we should keep moving.”

Percy agreed with her and accepted her helping hand. His knees still felt pretty weak so he was grateful when Annabeth let him lean on her shoulder and leaned on him in exchange. They were supporting each other.

We are together. We can do it.

Percy had to remind himself to keep his spirits up. The eerie and dreadful atmosphere of the place was not doing him any favours.

He looked around again, grateful for the wider field or view. That is when he spotted a car. A baby-blue Fiat to be exact, a familiar one at that. That meant Arachne could be nearby.

“Look,” he pointed so Annabeth could see it too.

In silent agreement, they carefully made their way towards the wreckage. Percy was tempted to pray to his father so that the monster that had injured Annabeth was dead already. He did not do it; he was pretty sure that no god would hear his prayers from this hellish place. They were completely on their own.

His hand edged towards his pocket, checking that his sword was there. He could indeed feel the shape of the pen and he relaxed a little. It would be hundred times worst if they would have to go through Tartarus without having even a single weapon.

He tried to get it out but his hand was not cooperating. It was trembling wildly and all the blood still leaking from it was not making it any easier to grab the pen. Percy cursed internally; he had to hurry. They were now barely twenty feet from the car.

Before he could succeed, he suddenly heard a high-pitched shriek. Both he and Annabeth stilled at the sound and looked around. It was only then that Percy realized that his girlfriend did not have any weapons on her. It was not as if she had a magic pen that automatically returned to her pocket. In her tattered clothes, it would be literally impossible to hide even a small dagger.

Percy felt vulnerable. And from how Annabeth was frantically looking around, he guessed that she was too. He could feel her heart rate spiking through their connected hands. She was preparing for battle.

As was he. Percy slipped down into a defensive stance, his body partially covering Annabeth’s from the side the sound had come from. Adrenalin was making his heart rate match that of his girlfriend, his vision turned sharper as his eyes tried to see through the red semi-darkness.

There were more shuffling noises and then, a dark figure stepped out from behind the Fiat.

Chapter Text

Percy

The figure looked human. At least there was that.

Percy did not relax. He knew large number of monsters which either had human-like appearance or could shift into one to deceive mortals and even demigods at times. His overactive mind started racing as he was trying to find a way how to protect Annabeth againt the new threat. Why was his stupid hand still not able to get out his sword!

Luckily, it was not necessary. The figure slowly approached and he realized that it was no monster. Instead, it was Nico di Angelo. A little worse for the wear but armed and alive. Percy let out a breath he did not know he was holding.

“I found you,” Nico said quietly. If Percy did not know any better, he would have said the boy looked relieved. But there was no way the son of Hades could be relieved in a situation like this. If anything, Nico was as hard as steel and just as cold. Yeah, no way.

What is he even doing here?

Percy suddenly found himself overcome by anger. He and Annabeth were stuck here, doing their best to get to the Doors of Death from this side but he needed Nico to guide the others to the other side.

It was the son of Hades who had said that they had to close both sides to stop the invasion of reborn villains.

Now all three of them were here (for whatever reason that was) and there was no one who could lead the rest of the seven to Epirus. How were they going to reach the other side of the Doors of Death without a guide? None of them knew where the House of Hades was.

And Nico just abandoned them. Like he had abandoned me and led me to be trapped in Hades’ palace.

Percy’s anger grew more and more intense, until it took over his whole body. He could feel himself shaking with it. If he was not so weak and was not supporting Annabeth, he would have launched for the son of Hades. He did not know exactly what he wanted to do to him, but it would for sure not be pretty.

How dare he betray my trust again? I should have never believed him after the Styx.

Another terrible possibility crossed Percy’s mind. If he had not been raging with anger before, he was now.

Could it be he is working for his father again? Had he purposefully let us here to separate us from the rest of the Argo II crew? What is his plan this time? Is he helping Gaia to win the war by stopping us from defeating her?

Percy felt like he would literally explode if he did not do anything. Since he could not reach his sword, he chose to at least confront Nico verbally.

“What are you doing here?” he all but spat out. “You promised to take the others to Epirus.”

Without giving Nico any time to react, Percy continued with still rising rage: “Or is this just another one of your broken promises? Have you betrayed them again and now came for us as well? Like when you sold me out to your father? I should have known better. I should have never trusted you! Do you really want to be the hero so badly? Or is there something else–”

Percy have not even realized how far he was going before Annabeth squeezed his hand painfully and turned to him with a sharp: “Percy, stop!”

It was only then that he truly registered what he had said. It knocked some sense back to him. That, and the expression on Nico’s face.

Percy could not quite name it, it was a mix of way too many emotions. What he knew however was that his words had just cut where it hurt. He immediately felt ashamed of himself. All his rage dissipated at once, leaving him feeling empty and useless. He had no idea where his previous anger had come from or how it had taken such a strong grip on him. It had been years since he had stopped blaming Nico for what had happened between them when they were younger.

“Nico, I–“ he started apologizing softly, all bite gone from his words.

“It is fine,” interrupted Nico. Now his face was back to his usual coldness and disdain. As if nothing could touch. As if he was above everything, especially all that the son of Poseidon had just thrown at him.

Percy knew that nothing was fine. With that single flicker of emotion, the son of Hades for once looked his age – a young boy who had gone through too much already. A boy who had travelled the Tartarus all on his own. A boy who had come back to the living world just hours ago (Percy was not sure how long they were falling into Tartarus so he was omitting this period altogether). A boy who had had haunted and misted eyes of a war prisoner when they had rescued him from the jar. A boy who looked so pale and sickly that a slight breeze could topple him over.

I really screwed up.

Helplessly, he looked at Annabeth, begging her for help. She was always the wise one, the once with all the good ideas. She would know how to fix this, right?

But Annabeth was not looking at him. In fact, she did not spare him a single glace but reprimanded him instead: “Percy, why did you say something like that!”

And that was the question. He did not know himself. It was still a mystery as to why he had gotten so angry.

True, I was stressed. And who would not have been if they found themselves in Tartarus of all places? With only a meagre hope they would ever be able to get out? But that could not be all, right?

It has been years since we have cleared the situation about me getting trapped by Hades. Nico explained his reasons. Valid by the way. And I have accepted his apology. We have even fought and won a war together after that! I thought I was over this.

For all his thinking, Percy was truly not able to understand why he had shouted at Nico. Well, there had certainly been a bumpy history between them, but they were more or less over it. That only left one option.

It must be because of this place. It got to me without me even noticing. We have been here for mere minutes and already we are falling apart, this is the worse. How do we fight something like this?

Percy did not know. They would have to find a way, and soon. First things first though, he needed to apologize to Nico properly. He could not let their relationship fall apart again.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Annabeth had no idea what happened.

One second, she was happy to see Nico and the second, she was trying to stop her boyfriend from spouting utter nonsense. She had no idea why Percy would say something so hurtful to Nico.

She knew their history. The way Nico just tried to shrug away the apology and hide his pain was hurting her too. She had not missed the minute change in Nico’s expression and how his eyes now looked misty and sparkly with unshed tears.

“Percy, why did you say something like that!”

If Annabeth did not know how much Nico disliked physical contact, she would have run to him (she would even let Percy fall down to the ground, he deserved it) and hugged him tight.

Despite the pretended bravado, the son of Hades seemed very small and young. His clothes were tattered and bloody. She could not tell for sure, but some of the blood looked pretty new. She worried silently if it was his. She hoped not, there was some more dripping from the sword in the boy’s hand which supported her theory.

How is he even down here?

“I– I do not know,” Percy was slightly panicking. “It just came out of my mouth. I was so angry all of a sudden, I did not know what I was saying. I did not want to yell like that.”

He turned to the son of Hades and promptly tried to apologize again: “Nico, I really did not mean it. I am sorry. Really.”

This time, Nico let him finish his sentence but he still shrugged his shoulders and dismissed Percy’s words: “I said it was fine.”

He did not say he was fine.  

Un uncomfortable silence descended around them. With his statement, Annabeth could feel Nico’s inner defences going all the way up. He was trying to protect himself. Which in theory was fine, even needed here, but she wanted to cry because the boy was protecting himself against her and her boyfriend, very possibly the only other mortals here.

We are in Tartarus, for crying out loud! We should not be fighting between ourselves. I am sure there is any number of threats that will try to kill us just fine without us helping them do it.

She did not want to dismiss the matter at hand, but Nico did not look like he was open to continuing the conversation. His slender shoulders were squared and he was frowning. He was looking down too, probably not wanting to meet their eyes. Annabeth knew that now, nothing would get to him, certainly not any logical arguments.

The silence around them was unnatural. Not even a whiff of wind could be heard. It was creepy and it was taking all of Annabeth’s will to not start turning around, checking for hidden monsters. It was only a matter of time before they were attacked, Tartarus was the place where monsters regenerated after all.

Her eyes were scanning their surroundings almost against her will. It was only then that she realized where they were. The car which had crushed into Arachne was just next to them. She could not be far.

“Guys,” she started cautiously, “we should get out of here. It is dangerous.”

Nico seemed relieved with the change of topic and he looked at her. He waived his hand dismissively and laughed humourlessly.

“If you mean Arachne, you do not have to worry. I took care of her.”

Relief washed over Annabeth. Knowing that the monster was dead now felt strangely calming. At least she did not have to face her again. At least not in the near future before she would regenerate.

Nico eyed her and Percy and continued somewhat pensively: “But you are right, we should get moving. You two will not last long like this.”

For a second, Annabeth had no idea what Nico was talking about. Unfortunately, the meaning of his words caught up with her all too soon.

Suddenly, she realized that her whole body was aching. It was hard to get any air into her lungs, they were burning. Her hands were still bleeding from when she had scraped them on the glass sand and her ankle was not yet fully healed. There was acid taste in her mouth and she dearly wished her backpack was not lost. She had a bottle of water inside. What she would not give for a single drop of normal water. She was soaked to the bone but she would rather die on the spot than drink from the River of Lamentation. She started shivering from cold.

A low groan from next to her confirmed that Percy was in no better condition. He coughed, clearing his throat. When he spoke, his voice was raspy.

“But where should we go? We have no idea where we are right now.”

Nico’s face looked haunted as he gave them a pained half-smile. He gestured toward where the eerie reddish light was more prominent.

“You need to find Phlegethon, the River of Fire. It can help heal you. When you follow it, that is how you can survive here. The Doors of Death are downstream, in the very heart of Tartarus.”

There was bitterness in Nico’s voice. And also infinite sadness. Annabeth’s heart was aching.

“Alright! Let us get moving people. We have a river to find.”

Percy tried to sound energetic, but it was lost with how tired and pained his voice was. He pushed himself, carefully, from where he had been leaning on Annabeth’s shoulder. He still kept holding her hand and she was endlessly grateful for the comfort it provided. If he let go, she was not sure how long she would be able to resist succumbing to her lingering depression and hopelessness.

It was as if Tartarus was specifically designed to keep one’s spirits down. To dishearten them until they could not go on any longer and gave up. This place was literally killing them, both body and soul.

She followed Percy’s lead. Every step was pure agony. Her eyes trailed towards where her hand was joined with her boyfriend’s just to see that it was still there. They were both shivering and their skin was covered in patches or red rash. Yet, Annabeth could not feel anything. She was slowly losing sense in her limbs. It was concerning and uncomfortable.

She staggered after Percy, following his lead. She was tired and her mind was becoming hazy. She could only hope that they would reach the river soon. It was actually a brilliant idea to go there. She remembered that Phlegethon was also referred to as the River of Healing in some legends. This could be their best shot.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

They struggled forward as they could. Their feet kept getting stuck in the sharp sand, making their progress much slower than Annabeth would have liked.

She did not know how far they have gotten when she realized there was something wrong. She blamed it on the influence of Tartarus on her mind for not noticing earlier. Her and Percy’s steps on the black glass sand were making crunching sounds. But there were no other sounds following them.

Where is Nico? Something must have happened to him.

She stopped and swiftly turned around. Much quicker than she should have if her body screaming in agony was any tell.

At first, she could not see the son of Hades. She had to squint her eyes to notice a dark figure good thirty feed behind them. Nico was not following them, he was still standing next to the car, not making any move to come. Annabeth was confused. Her stomach was in nods which always was a bad premonition.

“Nico?”

The boy finally moved. He lifted his head, at least Annabeth thought so, it was hard to see that far in the dim light. But still, he did not try to follow them. This only accentuated Annabeth’s bad feeling.

Perhaps he just did not hear me.

She tried to dissolve her worries. Next to her, Percy raised an eyebrow and his face darkened with worry. He urged the younger boy: “Nico, hurry up or we will leave you behind!”

Annabeth almost facepalmed. She wanted to hit her boyfriend on the head so he hopefully gained at least one functioning braincell. While his call would not have been any problem in a normal situation, here, in the literal hell, it sounded cruel to joke about leaving someone behind.

And after Percy had just had an angry outburst and had accused the son of Hades of betraying them. If he wanted to hurt Nico intentionally, he could not have done a better job.

It was hard to tell, but it seemed like Nico hunched into himself hearing those words. Just as Annabeth had feared. Then he shook his head and said something. Or whispered actually, it was hard to tell with the distance but Annabeth could have sworn it was ‘I am not coming, just go without me’ or something along those lines.

Annabeth could not tell what Nico was thinking. Their chances of survival were already minimal at best when they were all together. No one would be able to go through this on their own even if they were used to travelling alone most of the time.

Then, her sluggish brain supplied a horrifying thought. Nico had already done it. He had already been in Tartarus and struggled to find the Doors of Death. All on his own. All alone in this hellish place. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was able to come back the first time. And now he was stuck here again.

How hard must it be for him when he had already been here and saw all the horrors this place threatens us with? How had he not gone insane? There are three of us now and I still feel like I am barely hanging to my sanity.

Annabeth took a split-second decision. She let go of Percy’s hand and rushed towards Nico. They were not leaving anyone behind, much less one of their comrades.

“You are coming with us.”

“What– But you do not need me anymore, I already told you where the Doors of Death are. You should not bother with me, I will only get in your way. Like always.”

Nico all but whispered the last part. He sounded sad but baffled at the same time. As if he had really believed that they would leave him here all alone. It pained her heart that he would think that way.

“No arguments, of course you are coming with us. We need to stay together. We can use all the help we could get to find and close the Doors of Death.”

Annabeth smiled at Nico, trying to ease the confusion and worries on the boy’s face. She took his hand (no physical contact be damned, she needed Nico to understand they were not leaving him behind) and guided him towards where Percy was waiting for them, scratching the back of his head and smiling sheepishly.

She glanced back at the son of Hades and saw shock on his face. And also something deeper, more fragile and tentative. Softer. Was it relief?

This was one of the rare occasions when Annabeth could read Nico’s emotions easily. Either he did not want to hide them anymore (which was highly unlikely when she thought about it) or he could not hide them at the moment.

It is probably this place. It affects all of us. Even if Nico is the son of Hades.

Indeed. She also felt more vulnerable here. As if something was constantly eating at her, slowly gnawing on barrier after another, until there was nothing left to protect her. She wondered how long she would be able to resist. How long all of them would be able to fight.

This place is a prison for the most vicious of creatures and Titans. It is like it was designed to torture and slowly kill anything that is unfortunate enough to end up here. Especially mortal demigods who were dragged here against their will completely unprepared.

And unprepared they were. Between the three of them, they only had two swords and the tattered clothes on their backs. No ambrosia or nectar for emergency healing either. Unless either Percy or Nico had something hidden up their sleeve which Annabeth highly doubted.

Talking about swords, where was Nico’s black blade? Annabeth clearly remembered that he used to go around with a black sword that seemed to swallow all light. Now, he had what looked like a sharpened giant bone, a rib of some random monster perhaps. There was only an empty scabbard at his belt, he must have left his sword back on the surface.

That brought Annabeth to a crucial question. Had Nico fallen into Tartarus like she and Percy or had he come intentionally to help them? Judging by his missing sword, she doubted the decision have been intentional.

And Percy had even called him out on breaking the promise to help guide the others to the side of the Doors of Death in the mortal world. How hurt must Nico be right now? She should get Percy to apologize properly once they are out of immediate danger.

Despite everything, Annabeth could not help herself but feel deeply relieved. As she had said, they really needed all the help they could get to defeat Gaia’s forces. There was no question that this side of the Doors of Death would be heavily guarded.

Annabeth kept holding Nico’s hand and offered her free one to her boyfriend. Percy took it without any hesitation and gave her a small smile which warmed her heart. At least they still had each other, even here in the depths of Tartarus. They could do this. They had to. The fate of the whole world rested on their shoulders.

What new is there? Just another impossible quest to finish. A normal day in your average demigod’s life.

Chapter Text

Nico

Nico was first confused, then angry.

Confused because Annabeth was dragging him along apparently wanting him to come. He could understand that she thought they needed his help with finding the Doors of Death, but he had already told them everything he knew.

So why would they need me? I will only get in their way sooner or later. I always fail at things that matter and disappoint people I care about. No wonder everyone always keeps their distance, even my father. It is only when they need me that they accept me for a limited period of time and go away as soon as their problem is solved.

And angry, mainly at himself, because he was feeling infinitely relieved. He would not have to go through this alone again. He had almost not survived the first time, it was even worse now. He knew what to expect and what to fear. Compared to Tartarus, the horrors of even the worst nightmares seemed like a walk in a park.

Any second now, they could be surrounded by monsters and would have to fight their way out. Only to stumble upon more enemies immediately afterwards. It was vicious cycle that repeated itself endlessly. Even defeated monsters would soon come back after being regenerated. They never tired and did not need to sleep. Not like demigods.

Nico was still weak after his first journey through this hell and the following imprisonment. Although his mind had been kept in relative safety by the death trance, his body had been slowly falling apart. He had not had nearly any time to recover before he was back here again. Another long time without food or sleep awaited him. He was not exactly looking forward to it.

This time, I may not make it out alive. And would it really be so bad?

The only thing keeping him from spiralling into darker thoughts was Annabeth’s hand holding his own. He was never fond of physical contact but now he found himself craving it. It provided a sense of companionship and kept the worst of Tartarus’ influence at bay. When he had something to focus on, he found that he was faring better than the first time around.

Perhaps this will actually work?

The Fates must have heard him a decided to mock him.

The next moment, Annabeth stopped in her tracks and he and Percy followed. The sight in front of them took Nico’s breath away. Not because of its beauty, there nothing beautiful down here. No, it was because it was so terrible that he wanted to cry.

They were standing on top of a tall cliff. Below them spread a large plain with Phlegethon snaking around, providing just enough light so they were able to make out most of the horrifying details. Nico shivered involuntarily.

The veins of fiery waters were going around, presenting the horrors of Tartarus. Nico could see the ancient god’s organs in full view together with blistered skin and sporadically growing forests and trees (Tartarus’ hair maybe?). From up high, the regeneration pods where monsters were waiting to be reborn looked small. Though in fact, Nico knew it only too well, they were huge, sometimes housing a full flock or pack of monsters at once.

Compared to the gargantuan body of the primordial god, Nico felt small and insignificant. Like an insect buzzing around a head of a giant. He could be squished dead any moment.

The son of Hades wanted to close his eyes to block the horror away, but his body was not listening to him. It was as if he was being punished for ever stepping a foot in this gods forsaken place. Tartarus wanted him to drown in fear and go insane. Nico was in fact very near that point. Tears stung in his eyes and he had wo willpower to keep them from falling. He just stood there and hoped that it would be over soon, one way or another.

Without the protection of the Mist, he was not sure how he was going to do this.

I hope that Percy and Annabeth are better off. I would not wish this torment even to my worst enemy.

Nico did not know how long it took him to unglue his gaze from the hellish landscape and look at the other demigods. As soon as he did, the pressure on his mind became just a little more bearable. Still terrible, but not completely overwhelming, he could live with that.

Annabeth and Percy were looking down the cliff with seemingly no worry in the world. Well, that was an overstatement. They were worried (probably thinking of a way to get down to the plane) but not to the point of going insane or anything, as far as Nico could tell. It seemed the Mist worked for them at least.

He was pleasantly surprised. Even if he had to bury a slight pang of jealousy. It was not fair, but Nico knew the best that life was not fair. That was a universal truth that applied to the entirety of his insignificant existence.

He would also like not to see Tartarus in all its godly truth. He longed for the time when he had seen a regeneration pod and wondered what it was.

Ignorance is truly a bliss.

With his mind clearer, Nico could finally focus on the most pressing problem.

He had hoped that they would be able to reach Phlegethon easily before anything too terrible happened to them. No such luck of course.

Percy and Annabeth looked worse by the second. They did not say anything, but Nico could see they had trouble breathing. They were both shivering violently and were barely able to keep standing. Their skin was covered with blistering wounds, something Nico did not experience. Perhaps he actually had some immunity to this place because he was the son of Hades? He could not decide if it was a blessing or a curse.

I have to get them to Phlegethon and somehow convince them to drink from it. Percy already thinks I am a traitor and want him harm. I will have to think of a way to show him so he will have no choice but to let himself be healed.

Nico could still feel the sting of Percy’s angry comment. He was not surprised to learn what the son of Poseidon thought about him. He had known that already. It just hurt way more because it was Percy who had said it. One thing is knowing deep down, but it is something entirely different hearing it from the mouth of the person he admired and loved the most.

And Annabeth only keeps me around to guide them. Neither of them will trust me. But I have to get to the River of Fire and convince them to drink. Otherwise, both of them will die and the quest will fail. All because of me.

Nico’s mind was going in circles, always arriving to the same painful conclusions. He hated it.

All the confidence and relief he had felt just seconds ago vanished. He was only a burden after all. He should just stay behind and try to buy the true heroes as much time as he could. No one would miss him anyway. Perhaps he could do one thing right before Tartarus would take him.

Will I be allowed to face Judgement in the Underworld? Will my father finally recognize and accept me after my death? Or will I be eternally stuck in here?

Not that it mattered either way. No one would miss him.

Nico’s hand limply slipped out from Annabeth’s hold. She and Percy were looking down the cliff blocking their way to the River of Fire, discussing how to overcome it. Nico scrubbed viciously at his tear-streaked face, he hoped the other two have not noticed he had been crying. It was embarrassing enough that he could not keep his fears in check, Annabeth and Percy did not have to know how weak he was.

There was no possibility to go around the cliff, it spread as far as he could see. The drop down was frightening. No one would survive fall from this hight, not mentioning the sharp rocks at the bottom. If they were anything like those Nico had already encountered, the slightest of touches teared skin open. If one leaned on them, they cut to the bone. He learned it the hard way.

Luckily, those and other wounds could be fixed by drinking from the Phlegethon. The catch was that they first had get to it. That meant, they had to go down the cliff.

Chapter Text

Nico

It was Percy who suggested the plan.

“You guys, we could get down that way.”

Nico looked over to where the son of Poseidon was pointing. After a second of searching, he saw what Percy meant. There was small ledge on the face of the otherwise smooth cliff. It could be their way down, but Nico remain sceptic. It did not look like an easy climb (more like deadly dangerous). If only they had a rope or something.

Nico was less than enthusiastic about the suggestion, it was a crazy idea. And yet, it was probably their only option.

Annabeth’s thoughts must have been going in the same direction. She and Nico nodded their approval at the same time.

Percy went first, the ever-brave hero. After him, it was Nico’s turn apparently as Annabeth shrugged and made a gesture to go in front of her. Probably because she wanted to keep an eye on him in case he wanted to run away. Nico sighed internally but went as prompted.

Luckily, the daughter of Athena had had the bright idea to wrap pieces of their torn clothes around their hands before their started their descend. It proved to be necessary, just as Nico had feared, the cliff was deadly. The black rocks were as sharp as glass shards and without protection, grabbing onto them would have cost them at least a few fingers.

Nico made sure he would not look down. He concentrated on moving his feet (the ledge was barely large enough to support his toes) one after another. He searched for handholds with his eyes. Each step felt like it could be his last.

Percy seemed to have been having a better luck. He was even joking around. Though it could have also been to disperse tension, Nico assumed. There was nothing funny about their situation and he could not find it in himself to reply. He left the conversation to Percy and Annabeth with him being stuck silently in the middle. Somehow, this position seemed familiar. 

How many times have I tried to be closer to Percy only to find myself stand in Annabeth’s way? Percy does not even know what he means to me. Yet he is pushing me away at every turn. I am the perfect example of an unwanted third wheel. Even here in Tartarus.

With Nico’s morose thoughts came also flashbacks. Memories he had wanted to burry deep inside were suddenly resurfacing.

A young Nico watching Percy with admiration as he saved him and Bianca from a manticore.

Hero Percy who promised to protect Bianca only to come back without her.

Nico participating in the battle of the Labyrinth only to watch how everyone celebrated Percy’s and Annabeth’s achievements. The whole camp forgot all about Nico’s contribution in less than a week and went back to avoiding him.

Nico apologizing to Percy because Hades had betrayed both of them only to have a sword put to his throat. Nico had been so anxious for the son of Poseidon back then, he had not meant to hurt him.

Percy after the battle of Manhattan. The strong hero everyone admired. Nico realized back than that for him, it was more than simple admiration.

Nico leaving Camp Half Blood because he could not stand seeing Percy and Annabeth developing feelings for each other.

Percy and Annabeth walking hand in hand and supporting each other as they made their way across Tartarus.

Nico shook his head. This was not helping. He had to concentrate on climbing down a cliff.

“Are you alright up there?” Percy asked.

Nico have not noticed that the son of Poseidon had stopped and was now looking up at him.

No, not at me. At his girlfriend.

Nico looked up, checking on Annabeth as well. He realized that Percy was right to worry. Her left ankle was shaking precariously and her face was painted with pain. Was she injured? Well, aside for the obvious one. Everyone’s arms were cut terribly even through the clothes protecting them and they were tired.

At least Nico assumed that also the other two were tired. Their complexion looked worse that last time he checked. They did not have much time left.

“Careful!”

Percy’s anguished shout startled Nico. The son of Hades immediately realized what was happening and sprung into action.

Annabeth’s bad ankle (Nico only now remembered that it had been broken back in Rome) gave up under her just when she was reaching for a new handhold. She did not have enough time to grab onto anything. She was now only barely hanging on with one hand. She screamed in pain as the sharp stones cut deeper into her hand. The son of Hades winced in sympathy.

Before he knew it, Nico made a daring leap toward the daughter of Athena, only barely managing to find a handhold himself. With his free hand, he grabbed Annabeth’s flaying one. The next second, He grunted in pain, when the piece of rock Annabeth had been holding onto crumbled away and she fell. All her weight now rested on Nico.

“No! Annabeth!” Percy cried out desperately.

Nico always thought he was strong. After his first time in Tartarus and the jar though, his body was not so sturdy anymore. Annabeth being a few years older, she was taller and bigger than him. She weighed more too. Nico gritted his teeth and held on.

His hand which was keeping them both safe was slipping. It was the one he had injured in the fight with Arachne. It had been bloody even before this and now it was getting harder and harder to keep it in place. He felt sharp pain in his other shoulder. Nico suspected that with the added weight, it was getting dislocated.

There is no time! I am not strong enough to pull her up by myself.

“Come on, climb up,” Nico urged through gritted teeth, “I cannot do this much longer.”

He looked at Annabeth desperately. If she did not hurry, they would both fall to their deaths.

Annabeth’s eyes were wide with fear but she managed to nod. She grabbed hold of him with her other hand as well. This jostled Nico’s already painfully throbbing shoulder. It hurt! He gritted his teeth so hard he was afraid he would break them. He pushed to endure.

It is not about me. I have to save her. She and Percy have to close the Doors of Death.

If felt like an eternity before Annabeth pulled herself up and was able to stand back on the ledge. She was now standing between him and Percy.

Nico moved his now free hand to reach for a handhold, his other hand would not carry his weight on its own any longer. New wave of pain rushed through his shoulder. It was definitely strained, if not dislocated. When get grabbed hold of a rock and put weight on it, it was even worse. He choked down a scream.

Nico chanced a look down the cliff to see how long they still had to go. They were barely halfway.

Annabeth turned to Nico, her eyes still wide with terror and her hair dishevelled. She must have noticed how he winced in pain, her face contorted with worry.

“Nico, are you–“

“It is nothing,” Nico managed to growl through gritted teeth. “Go. The sooner we get down the better.”

Nico saw that she wanted to say more. In the end, she only nodded and turned to continue her descend. The son of Hades followed, keeping back pained groans, every movement was pure agony.

When he finally got down, there were black spots dancing in his vision. His shoulder throbbed so much it was actually a constant piercing ache. He wished they were at the Phlegethon already. It would be very embarrassing if he passed out from pain.

He turned towards the river and stopped in his tracks. His heart broke.

I really hate being the third wheel.

Chapter Text

Percy

Percy watched worriedly how Annabeth made it safely the last few steps on the ledge and finally stood on solid ground.

His heart was still hammering in his chest when he all but run to her and gathered her in a bear hug. He was probably squeezing her way too tight, but he could not help himself. The thought of losing her scared him almost more than Tartarus itself.

Watching her fall and knowing he could do nothing to help her was the worst moment of his life. And that was saying something seeing that he was a demigod, son of one of the Big Three and had already fought and won one war. And was now fighting in a second one. There had never been a lack of terrible moments for him. This took the cake though.

Annabeth patted his back soothingly. She was shivering in his arms. It could have been because they were both still drenched and cold. Not really, it was most likely because of just being saved from a certain death.

“Seaweed Brain, I am fine, I promise. Now, let go, you are crushing me.”

Percy kissed her chastely (could he be blamed if he lingered on the kiss for almost a minute?) before releasing her very reluctantly from the hug. He still held her hand though, not willing to let her disappear from his side ever again. Annabeth must have felt the same, she squeezed his hand and did nothing to pull away.

Suddenly, Percy heard a shuffling sound. His battle instincts went into overdrive remembering where he was.

How could I forget that we are in Tartarus? A monster could have attacked us and we would have not even known it was coming.

Both he and Annabeth swiftly turned around, now prepared to fight off any threats.

Percy had been ready to face the opponent bare-handed and had to stop himself from launching forward. Relief washed over him at the sight.

Thank the gods, it is just Nico.

The son of Hades was standing somewhat awkwardly at the bottom of the cliff, shuffling small rocks on the ground with his foot. His eyes were downturned as if he had not wanted to disturb the tender reunion of the other two demigods. Percy was thankful.

Even more so because it had been Nico who had saved Annabeth.

Percy closed the two steps separating them, Annabeth followed easily. With his free hand, he squeezed Nico’s shoulder. He wanted to show his gratitude. Gods knew that he had not done it enough in the past.

“Thank you so much for saving her when I could not. It means a lot to me.”

The younger boy flinched away, brushing Percy’s hand off his shoulder. He even went as far as to take a step back from him.

Oh, right, he hates being touched.

But Percy thought it was not all. He thought he saw how Nico winced. Not scowled or snapped at him as he usually did. Just winced and pressed his lips together. He also took a sharp breath before making a visible effort to relax. Something did not feel right.

“Gods, Nico, are you injured? Of course you are. I am so sorry. Where does it hurt?”

Annabeth fussed over the son of Hades without ever letting go of Percy’s hand. She did not touch Nico. Either because she did not want to cause him any more pain (now that Percy was looking closer, the boy was all still and uncomfortable) or because she was being considerate of his aversion to touch. It could have been also both reasons at the same time, he did not know.

Nico tried to shrug in reply but winced again. It must have been his shoulder, or both of them, that was bothering him. Percy grimaced in sympathy.

He remembered how he kept Annabeth from falling on another cliff. He thought his girlfriend could consider losing a pound or two. She was kind of heavy when all her weight had to be supported with a single hand. He would never say it aloud, not for the life of him. The daughter of Athena could be scary.

Seeing Nico’s reaction, Annabeth reached for him before she thought better of it and let her hand fall back to her side. The boy glared at her and took another step back, his posture became defensive. Percy saw Annabeth’s conflicted expression. She wanted to help, but did not know how to. Nico reminded Percy of an injured wild animal.

Masking his suffering and in pain, but dangerous. Why had I not noticed this before? There must have been a number of times when I have, even unconsciously, ignored Nico’s pain. No wonder he is always so cold to me.

The son of Hades was definitely not ready to accept their help or voice what was bothering him. Though Percy saw him absentmindedly rubbing his right shoulder. The sword arm then, that was troubling.

“It will heal just fine. You should worry about yourselves, I can feel you being closer to death with every second. We need to get to the Phlegethon now. Let us go.”

Percy was not given time to react. As soon as he was done talking, Nico unglued himself from the cliff (when had he ever gotten to stand so far from them) and started walking, leaving the son of Poseidon behind with growing unease in his gut. Seeing the son of Hades show his back and walking away made him feel bad. It was as if he was being abandoned.

Nico’s expression was hardened with determined. He went around with a good few feet separating them and headed in the direction of the brightest light.

Had he just gotten even more distant? What did I do this time?

It was as if the blooming guilt invited all sorts of unwelcomed feelings into his heart. Percy suddenly felt dejected and tragically alone. His existence was so insignificant he wanted to cry. The very air was looming over him, trying to suffocate him. It was so hard to continue fighting. He wanted to just give up everything. Struggling did not made sense anymore, he would never succeed anyway.

Percy had to make a conscious effort (that drained him of the last of his energy) and breathed out slowly. Every bad thing in the world seemed to become hundred times worse in here. It was crushing his spirit and willpower.

Was this how Nico felt the first time he was here? How had he been able to survive?

Percy looked at Annabeth. In her eyes, he could see worry similar to his. They were walking through Tartarus for barely several hours and they had already had two near-death experiences and were wounded all over. Their skin was one big raw-looking blister and breathing hurt. Everything here was trying to kill them. He was tired. His mind was becoming more and more muddled and his thoughts more and more hopeless and helpless. Luckily, they had yet to encounter any monsters.

Percy was only now starting to realize how dangerous this hell really was.

I have new respect for the kid. I am not sure I can even take a single step right now. I want this to be just a nightmare. I wish I could wake up and forget it.

A small calloused hand squeezed his, bringing him back to reality. Unfortunately, Tartarus was no nightmare. Well, it was, but you understood what he meant, right? Getting out of here would be so much harder than waking up. He was not sure he was strong enough, he felt like this place was slowly breaking him.

He looked at his girlfriend, eternally thankful for her support. He was not going to do this alone and that was all that mattered.

They nodded at the same time. Annabeth’s expression was determined. She even managed to give him a small tired smile. She never looked so perfect. She gave him hope where he had thought he had lost it. He had to keep reminding himself he was not all alone or he would give up and lose his sanity.

We are going to do this together. We will survive against all odds and manage to close the Doors of Death. And then we will get out of here.

Chapter Text

Percy

Percy did not think he could make another step.

This time for real. His knees felt more like melted butter than real fresh and blood. If they were not mutually supporting each other with Annabeth, he did not think they would have even made it this far.

After the long struggle, his knees finally gave out under him and Percy fell to the ground. He pulled his girlfriend with him. They were both heaving as if they had just finished a marathon or two, not as if they had only staggered forward some couple hundred or steps. He felt very pathetic.

“Percy. Percy!”

A voice woke him up from his muddled state. Not fully, but he was at least able to look in its general direction, trying to see who was calling him.

“There you are, Seaweed Brain.”

Annabeth’s hand was gently cupping his cheek. Percy wanted to cry, he did not feel it. Why could he not feel anything anymore?

This is probably not a good sign.

“Nico says we have to drink,” Annabeth supplied next.

It took Percy an embarrassingly long time to reply. He did not understand, what should they drink? His eyes were scanning their surroundings, but there was no water in sight. They were kneeling on a riverbank, but there was not a drop of water (or any other normal drinkable liquid) around. In fact, the river, if he could even call it as such, was just a giant fireplace with flames moving around lazily.

“Drink?”

Percy asked, convinced he had just heard wrong. Surely Annabeth was not suggesting they drank the fire? If she had a death wish, there were many less scary alternatives to go about it.

“Yes, drink. Like, from the river,” it was Nico who spoke this time, his tone urgent and slightly mocking. Before he hesitated: “Sure, it is not one of the most pleasant things to do, but it will at least keep you alive. Come on, it will heal you.”

Percy continued eyeing the son of Hades sceptically. Not that he did not believe Nico, it was just too strange a notion to comprehend.

Nico sighed in resignation: “Look. I get it, you do not trust me, that is fine. But you have to do this. I am sure you can already feel your body shutting down on you. Okay, if I go first, will you believe me then?”

Percy wanted to say that it was not an issue of trust. It was just that he had trouble grasping the notion itself. Drinking fire, really? Would it not burn them alive?

Nico looked even more dejected now. He sighed again and Percy hoped to never have to hear such sadness in his voice. It was breaking his heart.

“Alright, nothing to do about it.”

Once again, Percy had a hard time concentrating. His walls have fully fallen and Tartarus was getting to him. He wanted to think about nice and safe things. He wanted to remind himself that there is life in the mortal world, that this place was not the only one that existed. He only barely managed to keep himself from being completely swept away by despair.

Suddenly, Nico grabbed his own injured shoulder and squeezed it full force. A choked cry of pain escaped his tightly sealed lips and he fell to his knees. He was breathing hard when he lifted his head back up and looked at Percy. His eyes were glistering with unshed tears.

Why the heck did he do that? Why hurt himself even further when we are all already not much more than walking dead corpses?

“See, my shoulder is hurt. It will get better after drinking from the Phlegethon. I swear on the River Styx.”

Percy was shell-shocked. It was bad enough that Nico was so convinced of his lack of trust that he would go as far as to injure himself to prove his point. It was even worse that he felt the need to swear on the River Styx, a promise no mortal nor god could break.

The son of Poseidon wanted to cry too, he knew he had only himself and his earlier angry outburst to blame for all of this. It reminded him of how he had felt after he had told Nico about Bianca’s death.

He did not have time to stop the boy before Nico scooped a handful of fire into his palm. Immediately, air filled up with repulsive smell of burnt skin. The son of Hades winced in pain. Horrified, Percy watched as the boy quickly put the fire to his mouth and drank.

Nico gulped down and promptly grabbed at his throat, then his stomach. His eyes went wide. Then he collapsed to the side and curled into himself in a foetal position. For several seconds, everything went still and silent except for Nico’s measured breathing. He must have been trying hard to manage the pain.

Percy finally found it in himself to move. Turns out fear for a friend’s life is a great motivator even when one feels completely exhausted. He scrambled to reach the boy on his hands and knees. It really looked like Nico was dying. From up close, Percy could see that his eyes were closed and his chest was barely moving.

Panicked, he grabbed the younger boy’s shoulder and shook him hard. Nico’s eyes shot open. He was alive. Relief washed over the son of Poseidon.

Then, he got his heart broken for a second time in span of the last five minutes.

“See, I told you,” Nico said, still wheezing a little. “The shoulder is healed now. You can press harder if you want.”

It was only then that Percy realized he had grabbed the previously injured shoulder. He immediately let go. He did not want the son of Hades to assume he was not trusting him again. Instead, he gathered the younger boy into a tight hug.

“Never do that again, you almost scared me to death.”

Percy scolded half-heartedly. He did not want to Nico to misinterpret his concern as something else, but he really needed him to understand. It was not necessary to go that far to prove a point. The son of Hades pushed him away and scowled at him.

“That can still happen. You have to drink. Now. It hurts in the beginning, but when you drink fast, it gets better soon. You will be left with just a sore throat. And what is that compared to being dead?”

What indeed. Nico is right, he has proven his point. I cannot see any more injuries where they have been visible before. It works. It is quite ironic that we will be saved by drinking fire, but I guess we have no choice. Plus, if I can convince Nico that I trust him, then even better.

Percy did not wait for any doubts to emerge and make him second-guess his decision. He drank.

It hurt.

The liquid fire burned his hands, then his throat when he swallowed. The worst was his stomach. Just as Nico before, Percy curled into a small ball, praying for someone to save him from this agony. It hurt so much he wished he had never touched the fiery water. He could not stop tears from running down his cheeks. He could not tell, but he was probably screaming his lungs out.

He wanted it to end.

He wanted everything to end.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Annabeth never thought she would have to drink fire in her lifetime.

She had watched both Nico and Percy drink first. Both attempts were met with very different results. Nico went extremely still and silent, while Percy had trashed around and screamed for more than a full minute.

She wanted to go help him somehow, but he was kicking and punching at the air too much to be safely approached. It was hard to watch.

She glanced at Nico, hoping for some sign, an advice what to do. The son of Hades was not watching Percy at all though. Instead, he was looking all around with a concerned expression on his face, biting his lower lip nervously. It did not seem like he was worried about her boyfriend at all.

Does he just not care because Percy said cruel things to him? Because he had felt the need to injure himself just to prove we can trust him? I am not sure he trusts us actually.

Annabeth got alarmed when Nico glanced at Percy with something akin to annoyance. He then turned away and went back to surveying their surroundings. He repeated the same action several times. What convinced her that their situation was not good was Nico drawing his bone sword.

She understood at once. It was not that the son of Hades did not care about Percy’s pain, he just knew he would get over it soon. He had drunk too and had been out of commission only for seconds. He was fully healed now, at least as far as Annabeth could see. When she was looking closer, Percy was healing as well, only, her boyfriend was visibly still in pain.

Does drinking from the Phlegethon work differently for him because Nico is more used to it? Or is it a son of Hades thing?

She did not have time to ponder on the question. Nico’s head suddenly shot in one direction and his eyes widened. He gripped his sword tighter.

“Stay here! And try to keep him quiet.” He whisper-shouted before running off.

Annabeth stood frozen on the spot. She could not understand Nico’s behaviour. What was he thinking, leaving them here like this? Or was it because he was done with them and just decided he better face Tartarus alone again? He was strong enough, he had already proven it, but it still did not sit well with Annabeth. No one should be here alone, not even a son of Hades.

She was deciding whether she should try to help Percy (who seemed to be finally calming down and wheezing instead of shouting) or go after Nico. She was scared that the boy would not come back on his own. He had already been worried about being a burden on them, he had said so himself, if not that directly. Annabeth had understanding for his struggles, she had problems with self-esteem standing side by side with Percy at times too.

She only realized what Nico had meant and why he had run off when she heard screaming and screeching from the direction he had been heading to. Tell-tale signs of a fight. Monsters must have finally found them, possibly because of how loud Percy had been just now.

Having no weapon and still being in a pretty bad shape, Annabeth weighed her options.

She could try to wake Percy up and send him to help Nico. That would mean she would stay here all alone, at the mercy of any other monsters. Plus, she had no idea how her boyfriend was feeling, if he was even physically able to fight. That did not seem like the best choice.

She could also go after the son of Hades herself, but the result would be essentially the same. She had not drunk from the Phlegethon yet and was on a brink of a collapse. She could be some help or she could distract Nico and hinder him. It was too risky.

Her best option was to quickly get healed so she and Percy could go together. This way, no one would be left behind, nor would be in too much danger. Sure, the River of Fire was close by, but it could not heal them if they were already dead.

She chose what to do in a matter of a single heartbeat and was ready to execute her plan. She now knew she would be out of commission for a while after drinking. Though she could not gage for how long, could be only seconds like in Nico’s case or could be closer to several minutes as it was for Percy. Or for all she knew, could be also for much longer, she did not have enough information to make a proper assumption.

It will be risky either way. We are in Tartarus, nothing is easy or safe here.

She tapped Percy’s shoulder, hoping he was at least conscious enough to hear her. She would need his help.

“Seaweed Brain, Nico went off to fight monsters. I will now drink too so I can be of some help. I do not know for how long I will be out of it afterwards, but you have to get us to Nico quickly. We cannot allow for the three of us to be separated.”

She thought she heard Percy grumble something groggily. She did not pay it any mind, there was no time to lose.

Just like Nico and Percy before her, she scooped up a handful of fire from the river and put it to her lips. She felt it burning her hand, but she pressed on. She could not be weak now, or she would willingly forfeit her life. She needed to heal that angry blistered skin and various scrapes and scratches. Hell, perhaps it would even help with her sprained ankle.

Once she managed to get the liquid (how could fire be liquid anyway?) into her mouth, she quickly placed a hand over it to stop any loud screams from coming out. They could not have other monsters coming after them, especially when they were already separated.

She was burning.

She was burning from both inside and outside. She had never felt so much pain and suffering in her life. No wonder Percy had been screaming his lungs out. She would have too if she could allow herself to. But she could not. It was hard to hold onto any rational thoughts as was being drowned in wave after wave of agony.

After who knew how long, she finally came to. Or came back to the literal hell they were all trapped in. She felt her hand still tightly sealing her mouth. That was good, she had probably not been screaming too loudly. At least she hoped she had not been.

“Annabeth, Wise Girl, are you with me now?”

Annabeth’s grasp on reality was getting better now. She looked around, assessing their situation.

She felt incredibly better. She had almost forgotten how nice it was to be able to breath normally. Somehow, she was half walking, half being carried by Percy away from the River of Fire. That was good, her boyfriend had heard her and was hopefully going in the right direction for them to help Nico in the fight. Not knowing how long she had been indisposed for was making her a little uneasy.

Talking of fighting. She could not hear any noises anymore. Was it already over?

How is Nico? I hope he is not hurt again. I swear, that boy is not taking care of himself properly. Not that he has or had much choice in this place.

As if answering her worries, Nico emerged from the darkness in front. He was limping badly and supporting most of his weight on his sword, using it as a crutch. He must have been hurt again. As he came closer, she could see new bloody scratch marks through his tattered shirt. The fight must have been intense.

“Nico–”

Annabeth started, not knowing how to continue. There was too much she wanted to tell the boy.

“It is fine. Just a couple of empusai. Nothing I have not dealt with before.”

That does not make it okay. We should have been there to help. He should not have to protect us on his own.

Nico completely dismissed her unvoiced concern and limped by her and Percy. He made his way back to the Phlegethon and drank the fire again. He winced minutely, keeping himself completely silent. He stumbled and then pushed himself into a little unstable standing position, no longer relying on his sword for support.

Somehow, it seemed like he was not affected as much as last time when he drank.

It seems like we can get used to it. Nothing I am looking forward to, but it is necessary for us to survive.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Spoiler alert, you do not get used to drinking from the River of Fire.

The three of them were travelling for what felt like days through the desolate and depressing landscape of Tartarus. At first, Percy had tried to keep up their spirits with jokes, but his heart simply was not there. He soon stopped, probably realizing how futile the effort was. They needed to conserve their strength for monster attacks.

As they were making their way across the vast plain, there were more and more instances when they had to either hide from monsters or fight them. Annabeth did not have a watch, but she was guessing it happened at least once every couple of hours. And the frequency was increasing. Be it not for Nico, she doubted they would have lasted this long without a serious injury.

More often than not, it was the son of Hades who alerted them about impending dangers. Annabeth did not have the slightest idea how he did it. She had almost never heard the monsters approaching first. With the omnipresent darkness, it was hard to see anything clearly, shadows seemed to move as the Phlegethon’s fire was making them dance around. It was impossible to distinguish what was a harmless boulder and what a monster waiting to ambush them.

Annabeth had tried asking Nico, but he would just shrug and reply that he just felt them. He probably had some Underworldly sixth sense or something.

Even with three of them (okay, two in fact, they only had two swords to share), it was extremely taxing to rotate and fight off every single threat. One of them, and Annabeth was ashamed to admit it was usually Nico, had to be always on high alert so they would not be attacked without warning.

She was exhausted, parched and starving at this point. Just like her two companions. Her stomach stopped growling some time ago, now only a blunt ache settled inside. A constant reminder of how empty it was. There was no food anywhere either, not that it came as a big surprise.

Gods, if this is how Nico had felt for days, or possibly even weeks already, it is just too much. The kid does not deserve such pain. None of us does. Dying from hunger would suck, at least we still have a week or two before that point. Or would Phlegethon keep us alive also in this department? More concerning would be lack of water, but this we have. Even if it feels like a sick joke.

Even if they drank from the River of Fire whenever they were too injured or too tired to go on, it never helped them with quelching their thirst. The feeling stayed with them in form of dry mouths and parched throats. Luckily, it was not as if they would die because of it, Annabeth mused, the fire is still a liquid, so we should be fine.

Still, she tried her best to avoid drinking from the Phlegethon. She had hoped that it would get at least a little easier over time, that it would not hurt as much, but no such luck. She and Percy had to keep a hand over their mouths (or something inside to serve as a gag) to stop themselves from screaming loudly. Noise attracted more monsters, they learned that the hard way.

It was only Nico who did not hesitate to throw himself in the line of any teeth or claws when protecting them. He drank to get healed way more often than she and Percy did combined. Each time, he put the fiery water into his mouth almost eagerly and shrugged the backslash off with nothing more than a full body shudder and a wince.

It was getting increasingly concerning. It almost seemed like he was trying to get injured.

Or possibly even killed. With how haunted his eyes look all the time now, I would not put it past him that he stopped caring about getting out of here. That he only wants the slow torture to end.

As disturbing as the thought was, Annabeth could understand where Nico was coming from. She too was doing her best to fight the overwhelming urge to just give up. To choose the easier way out and not to suffer anymore.

Luckily, every time the feeling grew too overwhelming and she felt like she would really throw the towel, there was Percy’s hand in her own, encouraging her to keep going on.

She was eternally grateful to him and returned the favour whenever she felt her boyfriend was on the edge as well.

She had tried to do the same for Nico. She had gone to him and tapped his shoulder or shortly held his hand to let him know he was not alone.

However, he did not seem to appreciate the gestures. He would only shrug or slap her hand away instantly. He was on edge all the time, scanning their surroundings, his senses on high alert. Physical contact of any kind startled him.

Annabeth did not want to give up so easily. She could sense it, the great sadness behind those seemingly indifferent eyes. The longing Nico radiated any time he spotted her and Percy holding hands, supporting each other, or standing back-to-back and fending off monsters. He always stood alone, a good few feet away from them.

I wonder what else I can do. I feel like I have already tried everything and Nico just pushes me away. I get it, he had done this before and he did not have anyone to help back then. But now he has us, he just needs to understand that. And accept our help.

They did not talk much. They could not muster enough energy.

Plus, with the constant threat of being attacked, it was not the wisest idea to help the monsters locate them by hearing. It would have been better if they could stop long enough for a long conversation, but it seemed too dangerous.

It was Percy who finally suggested they should rest. He called in a whisper after the son of Hades who was walking in front of them.

“Nico! How far are we going to walk? We need to rest, sleep a little and get back our energy. We will not be able to fight Gaia’s forces if we are half dead.”

Nico stopped and slowly turned towards Annabeth and Percy. His expression was a picture of disbelief mixed in with resignation.

The daughter of Athena was confused. She could not understand his reaction. What Percy had said was logical, they needed to get some sleep. Sleep deprivation would only make this place all that harder to bear.

“Okay, sure, get some sleep,” Nico agreed tiredly after he had managed to school his expression. “I will keep watch, you can rest.”

It was only then that Annabeth realized one more thing. Nico had not even considered they would rest, he had wanted to push on without as much as a single break. At least that was what she believed deep down.

Poor Nico. I really want to do something for him. It is clear that his first time here is still fresh in his memories. He must have done his best to survive, even if it meant forgoing sleep.

It made sense too, that must have been how he had done it alone. With constant threat of monster attacks, it was dangerous to fall into deep slumber. There was a high possibility a lonely demigod would be ambushed when at his most vulnerable without any means to protect themselves.

Now there were three of them, they could protect each other and get all the rest they needed.

Annabeth went over to Nico and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He flinched but did not slap it away. She was ecstatic, she would take all the progress she could.

“Nico, we will all take turns resting. You can take the first watch, but promise me you will wake one of us after a while so you can get some sleep too. Alright?”

The son of Hades looked at her in utter disbelief again, a different kind than earlier. This time, it was mixed with wonder. After several seconds, as if he needed time for her words to sink in, he nodded.

Annabeth squeezed his shoulder gently and smiled in approval.

They took some time to find a more secluded place surrounded from two sides by huge boulders. They agreed to rest there, at least they would be partially protected.

Annabeth laid down next to Percy and they cuddled together, searching for each other’s body heat and comfort. It did not take long for both of them to be fast asleep.

Chapter Text

Nico

Nico was jealous. For a lot of reasons.

He knew he should not be, that it was only making him more miserable and vulnerable to Tartarus’ influence, but he could not help it. It was stronger than him. He had been holding himself back for so many years, he did not have the energy to fight on.

As he watched Percy and Annabeth sleep without a care in the world, all his painful and dirty thoughts were suddenly assaulting his mind. Drowning him like a tsunami and festering in his very core.

He had seen Percy hugging and kissing Annabeth when they had gotten down from the cliff. He had been jealous because the person who he had a crush on for the longest time was in love with someone else.

He had been jealous because even if his love was by any miracle reciprocated, he would not have been able to parade it out so openly. That would be a sacrilege warranting a punishment. Back in his days, he would have been locked away for a lesser offence than kissing a boy in public. Back in his day, even whispers of someone potentially being gay got you to a mental hospital.

Nico hated this aspect of himself with a passion. He did not choose to like boys, it was not his fault he was just not allowed to be himself. He was jealous of normal people who could discuss their love life and interests openly and without fear of retaliation.

He glanced at Percy and Annabeth, still deep in their slumber, hugging each other subconsciously even in their sleep. He was jealous of them for being able to sleep so soundly, for having such a deep connection that made them whole and happy. Ever since he had lost Bianca, he has been all alone. No one cared what happened to him and no one was there to support him when he was hurting.

Percy and Annabeth were here together, they had each other to lean on. Nico was jealous of that. He had already gone through Tartarus on his own once. And now he was here again, and he still felt the same loneliness. Percy and Annabeth kept to each other and only occasionally remembered he was even here.

No one had even known he had ended up here, no one had cared enough to look for him. He was sure that the rest of the seven, and perhaps the whole Camp Half-Blood and Olympus, knew about their heroes’ disappearance. They were missed. Nico was jealous of them for being recognized when he had been doing his best too, for a long time.

He had been alone for so long he forgot what it felt like to have normal human interactions. Never mind sharing a connection with someone, he would not be able to even talk to them properly. He was jealous of people who had families and who belonged.

Nico did not belong anywhere. As far as he remembered, he had never had a home he could come back to. Not in the Lotus Casino, not at Westover Hall, not at Calm Half-Blood.

He probably had had a home with his mother at one point, but he could not remember, his memories were washed away by Lethe. He was jealous of people who had happy childhood memories and could come back to them when life got tough.

Nico had nothing to fall back on, his life was the definition of misery. Even the goddess Akhlys had said so. He was destined to be miserable and alone. He was jealous of people who took homes for granted, people who had warm and welcoming places to come back to.

He had once thought this could be Camp Half-Blood for him. Oh, how he had been mistaken! The other demigods there never accepted him.

They tolerated him at best, but usually feared him. He was hated for his strange powers and for being a son of Hades. Nico was jealous of all the demigod children of universally recognized gods. Sure, after the war with Kronos, Percy had made the gods promise to recognize and accept even the ruler of the Underworld. The fact that Hades now had a throne on Olympus did not mean that his son was welcomed by his peers in the Camp.

Every encounter with his father left a deep wound in Nico’s heart. The ruler of the Underworld kept blaming him for Bianca’s death and pushing him around, ordering him to betray his comrades. Nico was jealous of demigods who had never personally met their godly parents. At least they could dream about them being any ideal figure they wanted.

They could never become a disappointment to them if they never heard the gods say it aloud. Nico still vividly remembered how his father had wished he had been dead, and had said so right to his face. He was jealous of all the demigods whose efforts were recognized by their godly parents. He had been such a disappointment to Hades, perhaps he should really disappear.

Nico looked down at the sword he was holding. It would be so easy to end everything. To disappear in the depths of this hellish place, never to be found or missed by anyone.

Deep down, Nico knew that having such thoughts was not healthy for him. It was Tartarus toying with him, letting him see everything in the most negative light, taking all his hope away. The knowledge did not make reality any less painful.

Nico’s eyes could not leave the blade. He wondered if anyone would even notice he was gone.

“Mnnn. Blue cookies… Thanks mum.”

Percy mumbled from his sleep. It was so nonsensical Nico turned to look at him, ungluing his eyes from his weapon. He wondered what the son of Poseidon could be dreaming about. He did not seem to be in any pain or trashing around. Based on the small smile he had, it must have been a pleasant dream.

How is that even possible? I only ever had nightmares in here when I could actually afford to sleep. Percy, I have to give it to you, I am impressed. If I can do something for you, anything at all, I will do it gladly.

Nico shook his head slowly. He had once lost all hope. He had lost hope in the darkness and loneliness of that jar. And still, someone came for him and got him out. That someone was Percy. Nico had not been abandoned, even if it had been just because he had been needed for the information he possessed. He had been rescued and he had been needed.

He was still needed. He had to do his best to get Percy and Annabeth to the Doors of Death and to close them. They were the heroes, they had to succeed no matter what and save the world. And Nico would make sure to support them to the best of his abilities as long as he would be able to. He could not give up just yet.

He had a quest of his own now. One that he could not afford to fail in. One, that kept him alive and going. A goal to aim for while he battled with Tartarus and his own dark thoughts.

And monsters.

Chapter Text

Nico

Nico was exhausted and they just kept coming.

Monster after monster discovered their hideout, attacking mercilessly and without a break. The attacks made him forget his dark thoughts and he was grateful for that.

It started small. With just a single dracaena.

Nico heard the distinct sound of a snake body slithering about. He jumped up from where he had been sitting on the ground, keeping watch over Percy and Annabeth. He was immediately on high alert. He just knew they were discovered, he could feel it. He readied himself for combat.

He glanced back at the other demigods. It was not too long since they have fallen asleep. They both still looked exhausted, deep dark circles resembled bruises under their eyes. They had not been faring too well in Tartarus despite the help of the River of Fire. It was physically taxing to exist here even for Nico, and he was the son of Hades.

How bad is it for them? I should have noticed earlier that they needed rest. They cannot go all the way to the Doors of Death without taking breaks and sleeping. No matter how dangerous it is to stay in one place for a longer time. Even alone, I had a clear target on my back, with two other demigods here as well, one of them being a son of Poseidon, we must be shining like a lighthouse, attracting all monsters around.

Nico decided not to wake Percy and Annabeth if he had a choice. He was used to this, he could stay awake and protect the others. And if worst came to worst, he could always wake them up and admit he was once again not strong enough to fight his own battles.

It would be nothing new. I always fail when it matters the most. Just as father said, I am not good enough.

Nico shook his head, refusing to get distracted by dark thoughts. He had to concentrate on defeating his opponent.

The dracaena appeared in his vision not long after. It was slithering towards him, a sneer on its face.

“Oh, I am lucky today. I found three tasty demigods for breakfa–”

She never got to finish her sentence. Nico launched forward and severed her head with his sword. She immediately became a cloud of golden dust and dissipated. He glanced at Percy and Annabeth. They were still sleeping which was good. They needed it.

Nico smirked in satisfaction. He was getting hang of using the sword now. It was in no way as good or balanced as his own Stygian sword, but with practice, it was becoming deadly to any attacking monster.

He barely had time to catch his breath and they were discovered again. This time by a manticore.

Nico’s heart skipped several beats. He had faced a few of those during his last time in Tartarus. They could attack from a distance, shooting thorns from their tail. While not deadly, he wanted to avoid getting hit by all cost. Nico remembered the pain their poison caused and he did not want to experience it again. If he was injured by the spikes, he would most probably pass out before he would be able to make it the Phlegethon.

He hated manticores with a passion.

Not only were they extremely annoying and required a lot of caution to fight against. They were also the first monster ever that Nico had seen. A monster that had set off events ultimately leading to Bianca’s death.

Nico gulped and shrugged himself off his stupor. A single second of distraction could be fatal. He had to protect himself from the flying thorns, and shield Percy and Annabeth at the same time. His attention was already divided.

Just at that moment, the manticore launched at him.

Nico barely avoided a strike of its clawed paw. When he moved in to attack, the monster swinged its tail. It shot several spikes in the direction of the unaware sleeping demigods. Seeing this, Nico immediately changed direction of his movement and managed to alter the trajectory of the spikes just in time, hitting them away with his sword. That left his back open to the monster.

He was flung to the air with brutal force. The impact on the ground was hard, Nico had to stifle a cry of pain. His elbow hit a sharp rock and his whole arm went numb with pain. Luckily, it was not his sword arm.

Gasping for breath, he did not lose a single heartbeat and he was on the offensive again. His attack was reckless and he knew he would probably regret it, but he had no choice. If the fight went on for much longer, the manticore would shoot its spikes again. Percy and Annabeth were too vulnerable. He had to end this quickly.

He slid on the ground to get under the monster’s belly. The move had worked when battling Arachne so Nico decided to try it again. His side burned where sharp grains of sand got imbedded into his skin. The risk and pain were worth it though. The manticore did not stand a chance.

Nico slowly stood up, inspecting his side. The scrapes were bleeding and a little bit of sand got stuck in the wound, but overall, it did not look too bad. He had lived through worse.

He lost track of time after that. Monsters just kept coming one after another, some even in groups or packs. It reminded Nico too much of his first time here, memories kept flashing in front of his eyes, distracting him. He was starting to get lightheaded because of the blood loss. His body was becoming weaker and weaker, making each new enemy all that harder to face.

This will never end. Not until I am dead. I will die here all alone, surrounded by monsters as they tear me apart.

Still, he kept fighting. His determination to protect Percy and his quest kept him going.

I have to hold out. Not for much longer, only until Percy wakes up.

Nico was faintly aware that his thoughts were getting all mixed together. He did not remember what he should do except for fighting. His brain was driven by pure instinct, only supplying simple orders like ‘strike’, ‘dodge’, ‘parry’, ‘do not run’, ‘protect’.

And he listened, he did not know what else to do. His world shrank to the fight at hand, to the next move, to the next breath.

Then it happened. One of the Cynocephali he was fighting got past him. Nico did not remember why that was bad, his body acted on its own. He turned around to chase after it, shouting something. Suddenly, he was incapacitated by new pain in his back and was falling forward.

His vision became blurry. He felt death approaching.

I cannot give up now. I have to keep fighting.

Why am I fighting?

Chapter Text

Percy

Percy wanted a few hours of undisturbed sleep, but of course that was too much to ask for.

He woke up to the sound of clashing swords. Immediately, his battle instincts kicked in and he was on his feet with his sword in hand in a matter of a single second. He looked around alarmed, searching for the attacking monster.

There were three of them, all armed with swords of their own. Cynocephali. Percy had never liked those half dog creatures. They were cunning and way too similar to people for comfort, the only difference being their dog head instead of a human one.

Two of the Cynocephali were ganging up on Nico who had a hard time fighting both of them at the same time. The third one slipped by him and was now running head first to Percy and Annabeth who was just opening her eyes blearily.

“Percy!”

Nico called and turned around to intercept the monster that had run past him. Percy readied his sword, prepared to protect himself and his girlfriend.

He almost missed the first strike. From the corner of his eye, he saw Nico falling to the ground. One of the Cynocephali used the moment the boy was distracted with looking out for the son of Poseidon and slashed Nico’s back open with its sword. There was no sound, no groan or scream of pain (though Percy knew it must have been extremely painful, gods, there was so much blood), Percy feared the worse.

“Nico!”

He did not have time to check on Nico further as the third monster was attacking. He parried the sword just in time. The Cynocephalus was strong, way stronger than Percy had ever encountered in the past.

Could it be that the monsters are stronger here on their home turf? Or am I just too weak? Nico was faring better against all three of them than I am doing with a single one.

Percy could not tell the reason, nor did he want to find out. All that mattered was getting rid of the monster as soon as possible and go check on the son of Hades. He could only hope it was not too late.

He continued fighting, one strike after another, parrying all the blows aimed at him or at Annabeth who was hiding behind him. He cursed the Fates that she did not have a weapon, she was defenceless like this. He worried endlessly that he would not be able to protect her, or Nico.

It was occupying his mind so much he was making stupid mistakes, only prolonging the fight.

Percy was getting out of breath and his sword arm was tired. The poisonous air of Tartarus was making it very difficult to keep his breathing steady. He knew that if he did not end this quickly, he would lose. That was unacceptable.

Suddenly, he saw that the monster tripped over something and staggered. It was only a fraction of a second before it regained its balance again, but it was enough for Percy to disarm it and run his sword through its belly. The Cynocephalus looked at him with surprise before it burst into a cloud of golden dust.

Annabeth launched forward from where she had tripped the monster and grabbed the remaining sword. Luckily, this one did not dissolve into nothingness. With a single look shared between them, Percy knew what to do.

They each took care of one Cynocephalus. This fight was quick and easy. Percy did not have to worry about Annabeth not being able to defend herself and he could go all out without protecting her. Soon, the remaining opponents shared the fate of the first one.

Percy did not waste a single breath and he run to where Nico was spawled on the ground. In a corner of his mind, he noticed that the ground felt different under his feet. Softer.

He glanced down only to see it completely covered in golden dust instead of black sand. The three Cynocephali must not have been the only visitors Nico fought while he and Annabeth were snoozing away, unaware of the world.

Percy finally made it and he kneeled down next to the boy.

He gave a huge sigh of relief seeing that the son of Hades was still breathing. He was still alive and the deep bloody gash on his back could be healed with just a little sip from the Phlegethon. At least he hoped so. There were several other wounds littering the boy’s body, but that one seemed the most severe.

There was one problem, Nico did not seem conscious enough to be able to get himself to the riven and drink. Although his eyes were wide open, they were filled with panic. It did not seem like he was registering anything around him.

“Nico, can you hear me? Can you stand? You need to drink now, your back looks terrible and you are losing a lot of blood. Here, let me help you.”

Percy reached out his hand to help Nico stand up, or to drag him to the River of Fire if he had to. He barely touched the boy when he felt sharp pain in his upper arm.

Despite being half dead, Nico lashed out at him, his breathing speeding up dangerously and more blood gushing out of the wound on his back. His sword almost cut Percy’s arm off. The son of Poseidon hissed in pain and immediately took a step back, clutching at the wound.

Nico must have confused me for a monster.

“Careful, Percy. He is in pain and panicking. He is just protecting himself. We need to take his sword first.”

Annabeth confirmed his thoughts. Lucky for them, it looked like Nico had already drained all of his energy during his first attempt. His sword was no longer half in the air, ready to cut down potential attackers. Instead, it laid down on the ground, the boy’s hold lax on it. His eyes were now half closed, still filled with panic, and his breathing was laboured. They were losing him.

“It is just us, Nico. You are safe. We just need you to give us your sword, alright? Then we will help you heal. You will be fine.”

Annabeth tried to reassure the son of Hades before she swiftly put her foot down on the sword, effectively immobilizing it.

Just as Percy had expected, Nico still tried to resist. He gave the sword a few very weak tugs. To no avail, he did not have enough strength left to pull it away from Annabeth. He became restless, squirming weakly on the ground, trying to push himself up.

The son of Hades kept struggling as he mumbled something under his breath. Percy could not quite make out all of it, but from what he could hear, he understood enough. Nico still thought they were his enemies and wanted to hurt him.

“No, no, no, no… please gods… not this… I cannot die here… the mission… have to complete the mission… have to protect… do not kill me… please… not yet…”

It was hard to hear him pleading this brokenly. A few tears escaped Nico’s eyes as his movements became weaker and weaker. Percy wanted to cry too. It pained him to see the boy like this and to know he and Annabeth were the ones causing him such anguish. Not that it could be helped, they were trying to save his life.

Annabeth looked up and he saw the same pain in her eyes. There were tears running down her cheeks. They nodded at each other. They could apologize to Nico later, his life came first.

Percy was doing his best to be gentle when he wriggled the sword from Nico’s limp hand. The boy whimpered but did not resist anymore. He must have run out of strength.

Alright, here we go.

Percy gave the sword to Annabeth for safekeeping, they were not going to lose a weapon when they finally all had one. Then he gently scooped Nico into his arms and stood up, ignoring the sting in his injured arm. The boy flinched weakly, his hands flaying to push himself away. If Percy was not holding him, he would not have noticed.

“Please… not again… not the jar… no one will come… they have no reason…”

“Sorry, Nico, it is just me. Just hang on a little longer.”

Percy’s tears finally fell down as he turned around and run towards the River of Fire, cursing their idea to rest so far away from it. They should have known better than to leave behind their only lifeline in this place. He was cursing himself for wanting to rest in the first place.

If I did not suggest taking a break, this would have never happened.

Chapter Text

Percy

Percy run as if a life depended on it. It did. Nico’s life did.

Percy’s concern was growing with each second. The boy in his arms was not mumbling anything anymore (which he was glad for, it was breaking his heart with guilt) and he had gone still a while ago. Be it not for occasional gasps for breath, he would have already assumed he had failed.

Moreover, the son of Hades he was carrying weighed barely anything. It should have come as no surprise. Nico had spent who knew how long roaming Tartarus and then had been locked up in a jar, keeping himself alive with only a handful of pomegranate seeds. He had looked haunted when they had rescued him. Still, Percy had not imagined it was this bad.

I am ashamed for being such a jerk during the rescue operation. I was stressed out and angry, but it did not give me any right to think the things I did.

He remembered now how he had been irritated when Nico had tumbled out from that jar. He had wanted to go rescue Annabeth and had silently urged the son of Hades to move faster and be quieter with his pained moans. Now that he had seem just how high Nico’s tolerance for pain was, he knew that back then, he must have been in a really bad shape.

I should have been more understanding. All I could think about was how us rescuing him was a waste of time and a trap. I have even blamed him for getting captured, as if he had any choice in the matter. If he was in this kind of state when he was captured…

I never looked at it from Nico’s point of view. He must have been so scared in that jar, thinking that no one was coming to save him and feeling his death approaching slowly. He had suffered so much, it would have broken a bigger man. And yet, he still agreed to help the others.

It had been extremely selfish of Percy to have demanded so much from the son of Hades at that time.

It did not matter that he had ended up in Tartarus together with them. Percy should have been more considered of his circumstances. It would have been understandable if Nico had refused to have anything in common with their quest and would have wanted to go back to the Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter to rest and heal.

Yet here he was, helping Percy and Annabeth to navigate the literal hell, even going as far as protecting them and sacrificing himself for the sake of completing the quest. The son of Poseidon had nothing but respect for the boy.

Now it is my turn to protect him.

Finally, he made it to the edge of the Phlegethon. As gently as he could, he set Nico down. He did not want to cause him more pain than he strictly had to. He scooped up a handful of the fiery water, ignoring how it burned his skin. He carefully poured the liquid into the boy’s mouth.

Nico swallowed.

Percy sighed in relief.

Nothing was happening. The son of Hades did not look any better or any worse. Percy could not tell if the healing fiery water was doing anything. Had he been too late?

No! That could not be! Nico cannot be gone!

Desperate, Percy scooped the fire one more time, giving Nico another drink. This time, it seemed to work. Nico groaned in pain and clutched at his throat. He coughed weakly. Annabeth intervened and turned him onto his side. It did the trick and the boy started breathing more easily.

Percy was so relieved that he hugged his girlfriend tightly and kissed her on the cheek in gratitude. Without her, he would have not known what to do. Together, they observed how Nico slowly regained consciousness and sat up, visibly confused.

His eyes blinked several times before they focused on Percy and Annabeth. There was still raw terror reflected in them, but it was rapidly fading. Or Nico was consciously locking it inside, not wanting them to see. Knowing him, Percy thought it was the more probable explanation.

“Nico?”

The son of Poseidon cautiously called his name.

He wanted to hug the boy to show him he was not alone. He wanted to explain and apologize for being so inconsiderate back in Rome. He wanted the boy to know that he did not have to take all the burdens onto his shoulders. But he thought better of it. He did not want to repeat the experience from minutes ago when Nico attacked him, thinking he was a monster.

The son of Hades blinked a few times until his eyes focused. His face morphed into a confused and cautious expression. All gone was his previous vulnerability. He was as cold as steel now.

“What is the last thing you remember?”

Annabeth asked, probably thinking they should start from there. Percy agreed with her. She was his Wise Girl, he trusted her plans and suggestions unconditionally.

Nico frowned, trying to remember. He hesitated when answering, his memories coming to him only slowly.

“You two were sleeping and I was keeping guard. There were monsters, and I fought them. One of them got away, I was not fast enough to intercept it. Then I… kind of blacked out, I guess.”

The son of Hades looked at them in alarm. His voice became urgent before turning to bitter with his last words.

“What happened? I am so sorry, are you alright? How did I get here? Thank you, I guess you had to save me again. You should not have to worry about me, you have a quest to finish. I am sorry for being so useless–”

Percy could not listen to him anymore. It hurt to hear Nico calling himself useless when he had protected them for who knew how long just so they could sleep. While he had not gotten any rest at all and had exhausted himself instead.

“Nico!” Percy interrupted his rant. “Do not talk like that. Your information was vital, we would have never known where the Doors of Death were or how to close them. We are in this together, we protect each other. You are no more responsible for the success of this quest than me or Annabeth. We each play a part and we will all get out of this deadly place.”

Nico still looked bitter. It did not seem like Percy’s words were getting through to him. The son of Hades scoffed and pointed at Percy’s injured arm.

“Yes, protecting each other. But I am not doing my part. I promised to keep you safe so you could rest but I could not even do that much. It is no wonder you do not trust me. I only keep breaking my promises and need to be rescued all the time. I could not even help the others as you asked me to.”

“That was not your fault!” Percy did not know what he should say to convince Nico that he was not mad at him in the slightest.

“You did not have any other choice, you fell in here just as we did. That does not mean you have broken your promise. Some promises are just impossible to keep no matter what you do.”

Annabeth chipped in. The son of Hades looked at her with wide eyes. He seemed more open to that argument. While his defences were down, Percy pushed on with the topic that had been weighing on his since they had entered Tartarus.

“Nico, I trust you, more than you know. I do not blame you anymore for what happened in the past. I have let go long ago, but it seems it is still haunting you. I am sorry I was such a jerk back then. I know it is no excuse, it is just that I have been so scared and the prophecy was laying heavily on me. I really am sorry I took it out on you.”

Percy looked at Nico sheepishly. He wanted the boy to accept his apology, but he knew he was being selfish. From what the son of Hades had just said, he was still really upset. Percy would not blame him for keeping this against him for his whole life. He should have apologized properly years ago.

What I told him when we found ourselves stuck in here did not help either. I hurt him, he has every right to resent me for it. I just wish he understood.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Annabeth watched the interaction between Percy and Nico with conflicting feelings.

She hoped that her boyfriend would continue the conversation where she had helped him. He should have continued with reassurances and kind, gentle words. And where was Percy, that dense boy whom she had fallen in love with, going? Of course he had to bring up the trust issue again.

Annabeth shivered against her will.

She remembered again the pained scream that Nico had stifled when he squeezed his injured shoulder just to convince them that drinking from the Phlegethon was safe. It had not been necessary to go that far. Not at all. But she assumed the son of Hades had not seen any other way, especially if he had thought they would not believe him otherwise.

There was so much burden on his shoulders already.

Annabeth wanted for Percy to reassure Nico that nothing of this was his fault, that he should not feel guilty. Not for failing to protect them (he should not have been put in that position at all) nor for assuming Percy had gotten hurt because of this failure (well, he was hurt because of Nico, but she would never tell him).

She sensed that the son of Hades was trying a little too hard to protect them and get them through this hellhole, compromising his own health and chances of survival.

He had not even woken us up when monsters attacked! He could have died fighting to protect us and we would have never known.

Annabeth had of course noticed that the Cynocephali were not the only monsters that had been killed in the place they chose for their break. The floor had been literally covered in golden dust. Nico must have fended off so many attacks while Percy and Annabeth had been having perhaps their last sleep.

And he never once called for help, stubbornly persevering even through injuries and exhaustion. Somehow, I have a feeling that guilt or responsibility are crushing him deep down. He is younger than us and yet, he takes care of us as if we were small children.

Which, Annabeth had to admit, they kind of were, at least in Tartarus. Had it not been for Nico and his experiences with this place, she and Percy could have already been dead. They relied on him heavily. Perhaps too heavily for him to bear. Annabeth would not put it past Nico to feel responsible to keep everything together and get them through here since he is the son of Hades.

They were adding involuntarily to his already heart-crushing burden. And Nico seemed to be cracking under the weight. Both of the present and of the past.

 “I cannot let it go, Percy,” he whispered brokenly, not looking at either of them. “I caused you to be hurt in the past, and even now. That is all I am good for. Hurting people that get close to me.”

Percy did not seem to have a comeback to that. And frankly, neither did Annabeth. She had only the faintest idea of what her boyfriend had been referring to. She did not dare to interfere lest she would make the situation even worse.

It would have been fine if Nico had accepted the apology and both of them could move on, but that did not seem to be the case. If anything, it only accentuated the guilt he had already been feeling.

Annabeth did not like not having a solution for a problem. She always felt nervous and anxious. Just like now.

Suddenly, Percy went for the River of Fire and drank from it. For a second, Annabeth thought that was a very dumb idea, they were in the middle of a serious conversation, running away would not solve anything. But then she understood what her boyfriend was aiming for.

She turned towards a very guilty looking Nico. He seemed a little startled as well, but who would not be if the person they had just been talking to decided to turn their backs to them? Annabeth went to reassure him, waiting for Percy’s backlash from healing to be over.

“Nico, it is not your fault that people get hurt. You protected us, it was just an accident. Those happen in a fight. See, after a minute or two, there will be no sign left of the injury. Percy will be completely fine. And even in the past–”

“It had not been your fault in the past either. Even if I said so at that time. I was a brat. You told me yourself that you trusted your father’s promise to not harm me. It was you who were hurt by that situation the most.”

Annabeth did not get to finish her sentence. Somehow, Percy fought against the backlash to be able to speak. His voice was weak and raspy, but he managed.

That is how Nico is doing it, being able to go on immediately after drinking. The secret is willpower and determination. He just pushes through the pain to remain functioning and alert. I get it now.

Percy said the right words too, Annabeth was proud of him. He finally got it. If they did not reassure Nico’s insecurities, they would lose him. Both figuratively speaking and in reality.

Negative feelings and thoughts were very dangerous here, if Nico remained plagued by them, Tartarus would get to him sooner rather than later. And then, they would lose him either to his inner demons or forever.

The son of Hades did not reply. He continued looking at the hands in his lap and twisting his skull ring around his finger. He still did not believe them, but there was nothing more they could do. Only to repeat the same things over and over again.

Annabeth looked at Percy. He only shrugged his shoulders. He did not know what they were supposed to do either. It was not as if one conversation would erase years of pain.

The silence stretched longer. It was very uncomfortable. None of them were ready to let go nor to change to another topic so abruptly.

“Nico, you should sleep a little. You must be exhausted.”

Annabeth notice that Nico’s eyes kept closing of their own accord and his head kept falling down before he jerked it up immediately afterwards. He was clearly fighting sleep even if he dearly needed it.

Annabeth had already guessed as much, Nico could not have allowed himself the luxury of falling asleep during his first time here. They could at least give him that now.

The boy sat up straighter and looked at her in alarm. He shook his head vigorously. Then he looked around, scanning their surroundings carefully. He seemed to have arrived to a negative conclusion, he shook his head again.

“No, I cannot sleep. It is too dangerous. I was never safe.”

Annabeth knew he was subconsciously referring to his previous time in Tartarus. It was sad to see how Nico still tried to remain vigilant even as he fought against a yawn. He looked like he would collapse the next second regardless of his will. Annabeth still hurried to reassure him.

“You are not alone anymore, we will keep you safe.”

Nico looked her in the eyes, keeping the eye contact for a whole minute. Annabeth was counting. She tried to look sure of herself, reassuring and safe. She did not even dare to blink in her efforts to convince the boy of the truth of her words.

She must have managed it because the next thing that happened was Nico laying down on his side and curling into a small ball.

“Mn, ‘kay. Just a minute.”

It was nothing more than a slurred mumble and Nico was out like a light. He must have been truly exhausted.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Nico slept like a dead. At least for a little while.

The son of Hades looked so small when he was all balled into himself. It could have been endearing at other times, but not right now. Annabeth could clearly see that his muscles were tense. He looked uncomfortable. And he kept twitching from time to time as if he was avoiding something.

Is he having a nightmare?

But Nico was silent and calm, aside for the occasional tremors. Annabeth was considering waking him up for a second. Then, she abandoned the idea, he needed the sleep, whether it was a restful or a fitful one. Anything was better than nothing.

“Do you think he is alright?”

Annabeth turned her head and looked sideways at Percy. They were sitting back-to-back, their swords drawn. Just as she had promised Nico, they were protecting him, ready to destroy any attacking monsters. Luckily, so far, everything was calm. Perhaps too calm.

Annabeth almost snapped at her boyfriend for the stupid question. It was but too clear that Nico was not alright. She was even reassessing her previous opinion that he was taking this whole journey through Tartarus the best out of the three of us.

She stopped herself just before snapping, Percy’s expression was serious, he had something more to talk about. He probably did not know how else to start the conversation.

“Well… He went through a lot. Unless he tells us himself, we will probably never know just how much, but you can see it even now.”

Annabeth felt just as lost as her boyfriend. They were both worried about Nico, but did not know how to help him. If they were not stuck in Tartarus, they would have had more possibilities. Even then though, Nico was so secretive and guarded, he may never accept their helping hand. He needed to understand first that he did not have to do everything on his own.

“Right. I just wish I knew. I told him I let go of the matter with Bianca. The truth is, it is still weighing heavily on me too. I feel kind of responsible that he had run away. He had been a lone-wolf since then.”

Percy went quiet and pensive for a while. Annabeth did not say anything either, she wanted to give him space to come out with his pain. She could help him when he would finish talking.

“You know what he told me when I asked him why he had gone to look for the Doors of Death by himself? That someone had to do it. And since he is the son of Hades, that duty was his to bear, that we had our own quests to focus on.”

Annabeth had not known this, but she was not surprised. The few and far between interactions she had had with Nico since they had met have been awkward at best. She got a feeling the boy was distancing himself from everyone and had always been taking too much onto his shoulders.

“I mean, there was not even a prophecy to guide him. He had no companions. And he fell in here in the end. I cannot even imagine how hard that must have been. And the jar… when we got him out, he looked so broken. I will never be able to erase that image from my mind. He even said he had lost all hope. He must have been prepared to die there, alone, just like that, convinced that no one was coming.”

Annabeth had not been present when the others had rescued Nico. Tough hearing Percy talking about it now in for him uncharacteristically sad voice was bringing tears to her eyes.

Nico was a loner, that she had known, but there was a fundamental difference between choosing to be alone and having no choice but to be alone.

No wonder Nico had long learnt not to rely on anyone.

“Percy…”

Annabeth turned around, sitting on her knees. She hugged her boyfriend from behind, wanting to provide comfort. She could feel Percy’s back trembling as he reached up to rest his hands on hers. She wanted to help him come to terms with his guilt.

She opened her mouth to speak again when a terrible gut-wrenching cry made them both jump to their feet, ready to defend themselves.

They looked around, trying to see where danger was coming from.

No monsters were in sight. There was only Nico who abruptly sat up, scaring both her and Percy. At least it was not another monster attack.

In retrospect, Annabeth wished it had been a monster attack.

If that was the case, she would have at least known what to do. She felt completely out of depth watching the son of Hades look around with haunted eyes overflowing with tears. There was so much anguish in them, much more than a normal fourteen-year-old should ever experience.

He must have had a really terrible nightmare. I should have woken him up sooner.

Annabeth was now sorry she had hesitated earlier.

Nico stopped looking around. Tears spilled from his eyes and he promptly drew his knees to his chest and buried his face in them, as if hiding. It shocked Annabeth, she had never seen the son of Hades cry like this before. It made her wonder what he had seen in his nightmare.

Or was perhaps still seeing.

Remembering how defensive Nico had been when Percy had picked him up, Annabeth threaded cautiously. She approached the boy slowly, not touching him. She kneeled so she would be at his level and spoke in the softest voice she could muster under the circumstances.

“Nico, it was just a nightmare. You are awake now.”

She would have loved to tell him that everything was alright, that he was safe. She could not. None of those statements would be true. They were in Tartarus, they would not be safe or okay until they got out of here. She wanted to reassure Nico, but she could not think of a single positive thing to say. She felt useless.

The boy did not react to her words in any way. He was silent, all Annabeth could hear were gasps for air and quiet sniffling.

He must be keeping himself back, it would be bad if the noise attracted more monsters. It is still sad though that he cannot even freely express his clearly overwhelming emotions. He seems to be in so much pain.

Annabeth reached out her hand, wanting to comfort Nico.

She never touched him, Percy stopped her in her movements. She looked up at her boyfriend. Percy was shaking his head sadly, gesturing towards the sword that Nico was clutching in his hand.

Annabeth remembered at once, it could be deadly to touch the son of Hades when he was in distress and armed. But what else could they do to help him? He clearly could not hear them.

“Nico, can you hear me?” Percy’s voice was urgent instead of Annabeth’s soothing one. “Nothing you are seeing is real, alright? Please, look at me, come back. We need you.”

Annabeth could not say which past of Percy’s little speech did the trick, or if it was perhaps the urging tone. No matter, she was glad when Nico unglued his face from his knees, rubbing it fiercely, presumably to get rid of all the tears before he stood up. He quickly turned his back to them, avoiding eye contact.  

“We should keep moving now. It is not safe to stay in one place for too long here.”

Nico quickly recovered his composure and stood up straight. If Annabeth had not seen dirt smudged on his face from where he had been wiping away his tears, she would have never believed he had been having a crisis just moments ago. It was impressive how quickly he recovered.

Or more like pushed everything down and bottled it up. That is not healthy.

Not healthy, but necessary. Now that the drama was over, Annabeth could hear something approaching. They would be under attack shortly if they did not hurry.

“Alright, lead the way.”

Annabeth nodded to Nico, giving him space to recover a few steps ahead of them.

Chapter Text

Nico

Nico has never been so embarrassed in his life.

Okay, perhaps that was an exaggeration, but it was still pretty high on the list. He could not believe he let himself be so affected by a stupid nightmare to break down in front of Percy and Annabeth. If they have not been already thinking he was weak, they were now.

Why have I ever agreed to sleeping? I did not need it. I made it through here the first time without that. I just passed out when my body needed it, no nightmares there. Then I was in Death trance in the jar, that should be enough rest to last me for weeks in combination with Phlegethon. And on top of everything, I just had to have that nightmare!

From all the things he had faced in Tartarus, he was reminded of his meeting with the goddess of Misery and what she had shown him. Images of his family and people he cared about scorning him and abandoning him were still flashing before his eyes.

He quickened his pace, keeping himself from checking on Percy and Annabeth. He was not able to face them right now.

As if breaking down was not enough, Nico was even more embarrassed it had been Percy’s words that got him out of the backlash. The simple fact of hearing he was needed coming from the son of Poseidon helped Nico gather himself. That, and the presence he had felt.

Monsters were approaching faster than the demigods were fleeing.

“We need to hurry.”

Nico finally turned around and whispered to the other two. He made sure not to look at them. Percy and Annabeth already thought he was weak, now he would also be labelled a coward. The black sand on the ground was never as interesting to look at as right now.

Yes, he wanted to run away. To avoid a fight with monsters (whatever kind they were, he was sure more than one was coming) so soon after his unwanted breakdown. It never ended well when he had fought under these conditions, he risked serious injuries.

I would not mind so much if I was the only one here. But if I am distracted, then it could be Percy or Annabeth who are injured because of me. That would be way worse.

Luckily, Percy nor Annabeth asked any questions. They just followed his lead and started running.

Conscious of the fact that they were easy targets in the light of the River of Fire, he opted to stray a little away from it. Where there was more darkness, their movements would be harder to spot. It was a risky move, but Nico did not feel like they had any other option. They needed to get away fast.

He continued running even after he was all out of breath. His knees were weak and threatened to give up under him. He had strained his already weakened body too much. He fought hard not to collapse.

He heard laboured breathing behind him. It was not coming from monsters though. He had completely forgotten that Percy and Annabeth were with him, he had been too absorbed in his panicky need to escape.

I promised to protect them, yet here I am making them collapse from exhaustion and leading them away from the only source of healing. They are way more affected by this place than I am. Am I an idiot?

Of course I am! I was only thinking about myself. See, that is why no one wants me around, I only disappoint people and hurt them. I have to think of something, and fast, I have to do better.

Nico slowed down in his run. He was extending his senses so much he was starting to feel lightheaded. He was searching for something. Anything really, be it monsters that were too close or a miraculous place for Percy and Annabeth to hide and rest. If he found one, perhaps he could leave the others in safety and go take care of the monsters. That was the only thing he knew how to do.

“Where are we going?”

Annabeth’s voice made Nico jump in surprise. And in guilt. She sounded out of breath and raspy.

Nico would have loved to answer her question, but he had no idea. He was still trying to come up with a viable plan.

They should probably go back to the proximity of the Phlegethon despite the evident danger. Unfortunately, he could still sense a number of monsters in between them and the River of Fire. They would have to fight their way through them.

He gulped nervously and gathered his courage. He finally turned around and chanced a look at the two other demigods.

A huge weight was lifted from his heart. Although Percy and Annabeth looked tired, they were no worse off than they would have been after running madly for a while in the mortal world. Nico could not see any evident blisters on their skin. They also already managed to catch their breath, unlike him.

He did not want to be perceived as even weaker because of his lacking physical fitness. He just pointed in the direction forward. They had to continue this way until they would be able to shift their course to the Phlegethon safely.

“Alright, but where to? We cannot just–”

“Just lead they way, Nico. We trust you.”

Percy never finished his sentence as Annabeth interrupted him. Nico was glad for it. For several reasons.

He still had no idea what laid in front of them, only that it was the direction with the least number of monsters. Percy sounded almost accusatory too and Nico was resting the urge to defensively curl into himself. He was afraid of another angry outburst with harsh words thrown at him.

Because of that, it warmed his heart even more to hear Annabeth say she trusted him. He knew he should not be this happy, she probably only wanted to placate him and did not mean her words seriously, but it still made something inside of him soften and break. His defences were falling when it came to the daughter of Athena. He was not sure that was a good thing.

“Yes, yes, we trust you.”

Percy added as an afterthought while nodding his head. He did not say it with much conviction, more like it was a casual attempt to appease to his girlfriend.

Nico wanted to believe him badly. But he just could not. He could not find it in himself to be so vulnerable when it came to the son of Poseidon. His previous nightmare was too vivid and brought back more bad memories.

A lump formed in Nico’s throat, he felt like crying. There was so much history between himself and Percy. Too much to overcome perhaps. Too much to be able to restore a bond of friendship and trust they had once shared. Too much to form a completely new one.

Nico nodded to himself and turned his back to the son of Poseidon. Taking the first step was the hardest. Somehow, it felt like he was walking away from Percy and it hurt.

He closed his eyes and steeled his heart. Feeling hurt was dangerous here. He should just forget about it and concentrate on the task at hand. He did not have to feed his already strongly negative thoughts that Tartarus was trying to make him believe and act on.

Finding a way from this mess took priority. He could reason and deal with his feelings and emotions after they would get out of here.

Chapter Text

Nico

Nico should have expected that things would not go well for long. When problems struck, he was unfortunately not as prepared as he should have been.

They have been walking for what seemed like hours through the darkness of Tartarus. Time was weird here, Nico could never tell how fast or slow it was running around him. Exhaustion was creeping back in, he knew they would have to rest soon.

From time to time, he was glancing back, checking how Percy and Annabeth were doing. They were faring far better than during their first moments in this place, but it was clear the long walk was getting to them little by little.

It would have been easier to keep an eye on them if Nico was walking behind them or side by side with them. He just could not convince himself to. Every time he saw their joined hands, jealousy and loneliness started growing in his heart. It was too hard to bear so he opted to stay a few steps ahead to be spared the show.

Suddenly, Annabeth and Percy both shrieked in surprise. When Nico turned around, he could not see them. He started frantically searching around with his eyes, not moving an inch. He had no idea what threat he was facing.

Now he was regretting choosing to spare himself a few painful moments when it meant he had put the other two demigods in danger. He could not sense any monsters nearby, but this was Tartarus, anything could have happened. This whole place was a death trap.

“Percy! Annabeth! Where are you?”

Nico called loudly when he still could not find them. He did not care right now that he could attract monsters over to their location. He just wanted to find the others and help them.

No! No, no, no… They cannot be…

Before he was swept away by a flood of his worst fears, he heard hushed voices. They were coming from somewhere below his feet.

“Are you okay?”

“What in Hades is this thing? It looks disgusting.”

“Careful!”

Nico was blindly staggering forward, straining his eyes to find Percy and Annabeth. They did not seem to be in immediate danger, but that could change any second. He had to hurry.

Nico almost fell down as well.

Suddenly, a large hole opened right in front of his feet. There was a small ledge around it separating it from the rest of the ground. That was why Nico had not seen the orange hue emanating from it. Looking down, he made out two small dark figures laying on top of a huge regeneration pod.

Nico’s heartbeat immediately picked up. He knew just how fragile the membranes of the pods could be. One wrong move and Percy and Annabeth would fall right in and wake the one being regenerated. This was extremely dangerous, more than Percy or Annabeth knew.

Nico wanted to call out to them to quickly climb back up before the monster woke up. His words were however stuck in his throat. He recognized the being sleeping inside, already fully regenerated. It was a Titan.

And not just any Titan, it was Hyperion, the Titan lord of the east.

Percy and Annabeth were whispering something to each other.

At least they have enough sense not to shout. But how do I get them to understand that they need to run? Any moment, Hyperion may wake up and that will be the end. We are in no shape to fight him. We do not have support of a god, we will never be able to kill him and send him back to another regeneration pod.

Nico mused on the verge of panic. He was frozen with fear. Not fear for himself, rather for Percy and Annabeth. They knew nothing about regeneration pods.

They did not know that if they as much as made a small hole in the membrane, the pod would explode. Nico learned the hard way that the liquid was like some kind of acid, burning skin and causing blisters. He did not want to imagine what would happen if someone fell into a pod this big, only getting stuff on a portion of his hand had hurt like hell.

Percy moved down in the hole and that was all Nico needed to make his decision.

“Climb up, quick! Off the orange stuff!”

He called out to Percy and Annabeth while getting his sword out of its scabbard.

Several things happened at the same time.

Percy and Annabeth heard him. Luckily, they did not ask anything and started quickly climbing the walls of the hole that was hiding the regeneration pod.

Hyperion was woken up by the loud sound and opened his eyes.

Nico backed two steps to widen the distance from the crater and took off running. He leapt into the hole, his sword at the ready, holding it like a spear in front of his chest. He knew he was being extremely reckless, but he saw no other way. Hyperion had to be killed right here and now, while he was still vulnerable, before he made it out of the pod.

Nico prayed to the gods he knew were not listening for his aim to be right. If he missed, not only would he die, but the Titan would most probably make it out of the pod alive and attack Percy and Annabeth.

It would be my fault that the heroes who were supposed to close the Doors of Death died. It would be my fault that the whole mortal world got destroyed by Gaia. It would be my fault that everyone died.

Nico closed his eyes, suddenly feeling nauseous. It was a lot to carry on his shoulders. 

Whether a god answered his prayer or he finally got a stroke of luck, Nico would never know. All that mattered was that when he made contact with a solid body, he heard Hyperion’s pained shriek.

“Damned demigods, I will obliterate you next time!”

Then, the mass disappeared from under him. Nico was falling into the liquid inside of the now free regeneration pod. Just as he remembered, the acid burned, perhaps even worse that drinking from the Phlegethon. He was sinking deeper.

I hope they made it out alright.

Chapter Text

Percy

Percy had never seen anything so brave and so foolish at the same time.

Together with Annabeth, they hardly made it a few feet above the strange orange blister when Nico came jumping from above. Percy watched in awe as his sword pierced Hyperion’s heart and the Titan disappeared in a blinding explosion.

It took a while for him to regain his vision. When he did so, he immediately became frantic.

There was nothing but a shallow puddle of that orange substance left in the hole under his feet. At the bottom of it, Nico was sprawled in the middle of the remains, completely unmoving. Was he even still alive?

With Annabeth, they started running down the walls of the hole to where their friend was. Percy was praying to all the gods to find him breathing at least. He would have liked to wish for uninjured, but after the explosion they have just witnessed, that seemed highly unlikely.

That kid! Why does this always happen? He gets hurt while saving us. It is just not fair, why is it always him? Does he have a death wish or something?

Percy finally made it all the way down and approached to pull Nico out of the disgustingly looking liquid. As soon as he touched it, his fingers were immediately on fire. Not literally as with the Phlegethon, but they were burning nevertheless.

He had no idea what that orange stuff was. All he knew was he had to get Nico out of it as soon as possible. The boy was covered in it from head to toes.

“Do not touch it, it is some kind of acid,” Annabeth supplied an explanation. All too late.

“But how are we going to get him out if we cannot touch him? He is barely breathing!”

And it was true. Percy was observing Nico carefully and he saw his chest moving in the slightest of ways. If they did not act soon, they would lose the son of Hades. This time for good. It was really not fair that this was happening to him for the second time here already while Percy and Annabeth remained mostly alright. Mainly thanks to Nico’s almost suicidal interventions.

Percy looked at Annabeth, hoping she had a solution. She always had.

His girlfriend was deep in thoughts. Percy could swear he saw ideas rushing through her brain at incredible speed.

“Our jeans! They are strong enough. Hurry!”

Annabeth did not disappoint as the next moment, she was already whisper-shouting orders. Problem was, Percy did not understand. Sometimes, his girlfriend was too smart for him to follow her thought patterns. Luckily, Annabeth was already taking her own advise, the son of Poseidon just had to copy her actions.

They cut the bottom halves of their jeans off and wrapped them around their hands. As soon as their limbs were protected, they pulled Nico out of the puddle with their combined strength. For such a small kid, the two of them were necessary if they did not want to touch the orange liquid that was presumably dangerous acid.

Dangerous acid that was covering every inch of Nico’s body and was soaked into his clothes.

Between the two of them, Percy and Annabeth did their best to wipe the stuff away from the boy’s unprotected skin. It was already fully covered in painfully looking blisters. Percy winced at the sight.

When they got Nico’s clothes off, they breathed a sigh of relief. The skin under them was not so damaged, only in places where the clothes have been tattered. The aviator jacket had provided a lot of protection.

Finally, they carefully carried Nico out of the hole and all but collapsed at his side. He was stripped to his boxers and was still breathing quite heavily, even though it was definitely less so than earlier.

By mercy of gods, the boy remained unconscious. Otherwise, Percy suspected he would have never let them take away his clothes, choosing rather to suffer the acid burns than being naked in front of them.

The son of Poseidon chuckled at the thought. With the tension and adrenaline leaving his body, he was lightheaded and strangely relaxed. It would without a doubt be an interesting experience to see the terrifying son of Hades blush and be flustered like a high school girl.

That would be before he would most probably kill us for causing him such shame. I bet it would be worth it though.

“What is so funny?” Annabeth asked while giving him a side glance.

“Nothing,” Percy grinned, “just imagining how Nico will react when he sees we took off his clothes. Do you think he will be blushing?”

Annabeth was looking at him incredulously.

“Do you realize that he had almost died, twice, to save us? I do not think it is appropriate to laugh at him. It is a pity we cannot wash his clothes so he would not have to be embarrassed when he wakes up. He will probably just want to forget this ever happened. At least if we were close to Cocytus or Lethe, we could do something about it, they have mostly regular water.”

“You are right. Sorry, I was not thinking straight.”

Percy was feeling properly chastised. Annabeth was right, it was not nice to laugh at their saviour.

He wondered when he started to be this inconsiderate. Perhaps he should make it up to Nico by offering him his own clothes. He was not worried about walking thought Tartarus even butt-naked. Not like it would make any difference. There were no other living humans down here, just monsters and Titans.

Titans.

Lethe.

Something was ringing in the back of Percy’s mind at that combination of words. He just could not remember right now.

“We should wait here for a bit, rest a little and see if Nico wakes up. I would love to take him to the Phlegethon, but we do not know the direction. If we try going on our own, we will probably just get lost.”

Percy agreed with Annabeth’s suggestion. They were both tired from saving the son of Hades and from their journey through Tartarus in general. It had been a long time now since they had drunk from the River of Fire. Percy was starting to feel the effects of this place settling back in.

He nodded his approval and they sat back-to-back, each covering a half circle perimeter for threats. There was nothing they could do but wait. It did not sit well with Percy, but it was not like there was any other possibility.

Chapter Text

Percy

At least there was time for a short conversation while they were waiting.

There were a few things about the son of Hades Percy wanted to talk to Annabeth about. He started hesitantly.

“Do you think Nico is actually alright? I know he said so, but… Seeing him all pale and tired, and his ribs are clearly showing. I am worried about him. He had just gotten out of this place and he is back now, it must be hard on him.”

Annabeth’s back was warm against his own. In the chilly air, it was his only comfort. He looked at Nico with sad eyes. To imagine that he had not had anyone to lean on before, to save him when he was injured or dying. No one to share his pains and doubts with.

Once again, Percy felt guilty for not trying harder to convince the son of Hades to stay at the Camp Half-Blood all those years ago.

Annabeth must have sensed his rising distress. She found his hand and squeezed it lightly, making him know she was there.

I am so lucky I have her. Really.

After another moment of consideration, Annabeth replied to him in a low voice laced with sadness.

“I already noticed Nico is not looking good. Not only physically. That could be arranged with some good food and rest once we get back home. I am more concerned about how he is feeling. He seems so lonely.”

“I know,” Percy nodded, “even when we are literally right here, it seems like he is still walking through this place all alone.”

“Yes, I noticed it too. I think he is just used to not relying on anyone. He has been struggling through life alone for too long. It leaves scars.”

Again, Percy nodded to himself. This was the root of the problem. If only he had been more sensible when he had been younger. If only he had kept his promise. Or at least if he had made sure Nico stayed at the Camp Half-Blood after the war. Jason, Hazel and Frank knew him from Camp Jupiter, though apparently, he had not been staying there permanently either.  

So where was he living exactly all these years? After the Labyrinth, I kind of lost track of him until he brought me to the Underworld. Then, we became even more distant. I should have made an effort to keep in touch. He is just a kid.

“Do you think it will ever become better?” Percy asked, dreading the reply.

“With time, maybe. But he first needs to let people in. Being alone and lonely for so long is just too much. He needs to learn to trust people again, to ask for help when he needs it, to expect people to be here for him. And we can help with that.”

Percy’s mind cleared of negative thoughts. He was glad he had Annabeth and her clever ideas. He was excited to help Nico in any way he could.

They were quiet for a while, listening to potential approaching monsters. Luckily, they were still left alone and safe. It must have been just a bad coincidence earlier that the son of Hades had to defend them so much when they had been sleeping.

After a while, Percy brought up another question that was bugging him nonstop ever since they had met up with Nico down here. One that he was getting increasingly worried about.

“Wise Girl, I noticed also something else. I could be wrong. Hell, I would love to be wrong! But… Does Nico seem to you like he has some kind of death wish? I noticed he just keeps throwing himself into the most dangerous situations without any regards for his life. At least it looks like that to me.”

There was a long silence after his question. Annabeth’s back slumped a little against his and Percy heard her changing position. He did not look back, still surveying their surroundings. He could feel that his girlfriend was sad. When she finally spoke, her voice was pensive.

“I do not know, Percy. As a son of Hades, Nico has always had closer to death than any of us. But seeing how he acts here, I really do not know…”

Percy did not say anything to this. It was clear that both him and Annabeth were worried about their comrade. It was however extremely hard to understand the boy whom they had only interacted with a handful of times. They could not pretend they knew what has been going on in his life or what he was thinking.

They could only be worried about him and try to help. If Nico would let them.

The silence that fell around them was heavy. Percy glanced at the son of Hades to see if he was showing any signs of waking up. They were here for a while already, it was getting increasingly dangerous. They would have to decide how to proceed soon, before they would be overrun by monsters.

“We will stay here for a while longer. But then, we need to get moving. I just…”

As if Annabeth could read his mind, she was already a few steps ahead of him. She sounded defeated and tired, Percy did not know what he could do to lift her spirits. It was very hard to keep up their minds in this place. He still tried.

“We are still fine. It could be much worse.”

Annabeth chuckled behind him and it sent vibration to Percy’s back. It helped him relax to hear any kind of happy noise.

“True, we could have for example fallen into the River Lethe and lost all our memories.”

Percy scowled to himself. This was not bringing up the best memories. He had enough experience with amnesia for a lifetime after Hera’s little stunt with the two camps.

Nico would probably think the same. It is unsettling not knowing about one’s past.

“Yeah, the Lethe. Not my favourite. I take Cocytus over it any day.”

Lethe.

Memories.

Titans.

Once again, Percy had a distinct impression he was forgetting something important. It was not just Nico who he associated with the name of the River of Memories.

“What was his name again?”

Percy mused, not aware he was speaking aloud.

“Whose name?” Annabeth asked in confusion.

“The Titan I fought on the banks of the Lethe. Iap– something…” Percy trailed off, trying to recall the name.  “Uh… I can only remember I called him Bob after he lost his memories. I wonder what has become of him now.”

Percy smiled fondly. The terrifying Titan has become one of the most friendly and clueless creatures he had ever seen after being doused in the River of Memories. He hoped Bob was able to stay that way and be happy. They all deserved happiness and a second chance at live.

I am a little ashamed that I have never spared him a thought until now. He thought of me as his friend and yet I abandoned him back in the Hades’ palace without a second thought. I am doing that a lot, huh? With Bob, with Nico… Who else have I abandoned like this over the years?

I wonder how he is faring. I know that the Underworld tends to bring out the worse in people, but I still think Bob is alright. Nico is close to the realm of the dead too and he is still trying his best to help everyone. Apparently, if you are good deep down, you can overcome its influence just fine.

Deep in his thoughts, Percy was startled when a shadow fell over him. His head shot up and both he and Annabeth were immediately on their feet, standing between the creature and the still unconscious Nico. Trouble found them.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Annabeth has been prepared for many things. Meeting a friendly Titan who worried about their wellbeing was not one of them.

“How– How come you are here, Bob?”

Percy was surprised at least as much as Annabeth. The Titan’s sudden appearance shocked them. Even more so because he was wearing a janitor’s uniform with his name sown onto it in big letters and was holding a broom and a cleaner’s bottle in his hands. He was also smiling widely, his eyes full of friendly sparkles.

“Wait, Bob? That Bob?”

Annabeth knew she was blabbering. It was just that she was in such disbelief. Was she perhaps dreaming or having some sort of hallucination?

“Yes, I am Bob, Percy’s friend.” The Titan said matter-of-factly with cheer. “Percy is a good friend. He called, so I came.”

Still completely out of her depth, Annabeth observed how Bob’s gaze shifted from her and her boyfriend to the figure laying behind them. His face fell, he looked sad now. Sad and concerned.

“Owie.”

Annabeth did not have time to react. Bob suddenly went towards Nico. He was so big that the small injured demigod seemed like an ant in comparison.

Annabeth’s heart started beating faster. She had a mostly irrational fear (mostly but not fully at all, the big guy looked very clumsy) that the Titan would squish the son of Hades with his big feet. Nico was still unconscious, the daughter of Athena had no idea what Bob was doing to do to him.

She turned around, resolved to stop whatever was coming.

“It is okay,” Percy’s hand on her forearm stopped her in her tracks, “he is friendly.”

He can be friendly, but it does not mean that he will not hurt Nico by accident simply because of his size.

Bob scrunched down by Nico’s side. He seemed to contemplate something for a moment. Annabeth’s whole body was taunt as a bow string. Especially when the Titan started touching the son of Hades everywhere.

She only calmed down when she realized that where the big hands touched, the boy’s injuries faded until there was no sign of them left. The Titan’s hands worked just like the Phlegethon, hopefully without the painful part. Nico did not stir during the process so Annabeth was relived.

Soon, the son of Hades started breathing more easily and his previously tense expression disappeared as he relaxed. He looked like he was sleeping.

“All better. Nico is a good friend too. He is tired. He will sleep now.”

The Titan stood up and grinned at Annabeth and Percy. Then, he marched towards them and tapped each of them on a shoulder.

At the impact (much gentler than the daughter of Athena have expected), all exhaustion left Annabeth’s body. She felt refreshed, more so than since she had fallen into Tartarus. It was almost as if she was back in the mortal world where breathing did not hurt. Bob’s hands were warm and had a soothing effect.

He was still grinning at them expectantly. It was Percy who found his wits first, to Annabeth’s never-ending gratification.

“Yeah, hi Bob. Thanks for the help. It is really good to see you.”

“Yes, Bob, that is my name. Bob.”

The Titan cheered merrily. He was like a small child that was pleased with a gift it has gotten. He must have really liked the name.

“I am helping. I like helping. I heard my friend calling. Up in Hades’ palace, no one calls for Bob unless they need something. Bob, do this. Bob, do that.”

Annabeth felt her cheeks grow hotter. Her conscience was not clear. She looked at Percy, seeing the same puzzlement in his eyes.

We also need something from him. We would have been in a lot of trouble if he had not showed up. But we did not call for him.

“Then I heard my friend called my name. Percy said, Bob! So I came.”

That explained literally nothing. Annabeth was still extremely confused, but she was not about to question this gods-sent help. It was clear they would have had a really hard time if he had not showed up, especially Nico.

Perhaps he would have even…

Annabeth did not want to finish the thought. The son of Hades had not been in a good shape and they had had no idea how to help him. Now, he was fine (if she dared to trust the words of a Titan) and sleeping peacefully.

Her train of thoughts was interrupted by Percy. Her boyfriend was apparently not ready to let the whole matter go so easily.

“That is awesome. Seriously. But how did you come here? How did you find us?”

“I jumped.”

Once again, that explained literally nothing! Annabeth’s head was hurting. Not because of the poisoned air or exhaustion, but because she was getting so exasperated. She had thought that talking to Percy at times was hard. This took the cake.

She gave up.

As did Percy apparently. Her boyfriend was standing there with his mouth opened and did not ask any more questions. Annabeth had to stifle a chuckle. For once, Percy was experiencing what it felt like to talk to himself. It was hilarious.

“What–”

Percy looked at her indignantly, he must have caught on what had amused her so. He was about to retort, only to be interrupted by Bob.

“Oh, time to talk later. We have to go before they find you.”

Percy and Annabeth scanned the horizon, afraid they would see monsters coming. They saw nothing. For now.

They have already stayed here for far too long. The whole Tartarus must have sensed them by now. Annabeth still vividly remembered how much golden dust there had been when Nico had been guarding them in their sleep. Having three demigods, and two of them being children of the Big Three, in one place was never good. They should really get a move on.

“But where to?” Percy asked, shooting a hopeful glance at the Titan.

“Bob knows a way. Come on, friends! We will have fun!”

Annabeth doubted that, but she wisely stayed silent. Somehow, seeing someone, anyone, being this cheerful and carefree here was very strange. Tartarus was not a place for laughter and positive emotions. Then again, Bob was a Titan, perhaps the same rules did not apply to him in his former home.

There was just one thing, Nico was still unconscious. They would have to either wake him up or carry him around.

Annabeth contemplated their options.

Last time they had tried waking the son of Hades up by force, he attacked them. She supposed it would be no different this time around. On the other hand, if Nico woke up while someone was carrying him, it could end just as badly. Especially in the light of his hatred for physical contact.

What to do? We cannot just leave him here. And we cannot wait any longer either.

Annabeth was spared from the decision. Bob casually picked Nico up and hoisted him over his shoulder, still only in his underwear. The boy’s sword stayed discarded on the ground next to his wrecked clothes.

Nico will not like this when he wakes up. I would not like to be in Bob’s skin when he does.

The daughter of Athena went to take the sword, they would need it. She looked at the pile of wet garments. She did not think they could salvage them. They were probably ruined for good. Unless they found a way to wash the acidic orange goo from them.

“Friends, we need to hurry!”

Bob called out to them, already a good few tens of feet ahead. Annabeth could now barely recognize his figure in the omnipresent darkness. The only lighter spot she could see was Nico’s way too pale skin.

Annabeth shrugged her shoulders. They did not have time to tire themselves with dragging around ruined clothes. They did not even have a safe way to transport them without being burned by the residual acid. It was very unlikely they would find clear water to wash them anywhere in this hell.

But.

She also knew that Nico would be extremely uncomfortable if they did not at least try to save his clothes and thus his dignity. No one would want to roam Tartarus only in their underwear.

In a split-second decision, Annabeth turned the aviator jacket inside out. It was the least destroyed piece of all. She then wrapped the rest of the pile inside it, careful so the dangerous wet parts would be safely tucked away. She threw the resulting bundle over her own shoulder and hurried to catch up with the others.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Of all the things in Tartarus, a rest stop was the most unexpected one.

Ever since Bob mentioned he was leading them to one, Annabeth wondered how it would look like. In her mind, a rest stop equalled an area with toilets, benches and possibly a few vending machines. She almost chuckled at the idea. Of course, nothing like that could be in Tartarus, could it?

Annabeth had a hard time wrapping her head around the idea of trusting a Titan, although one without any memories. She continued glancing at Bob’s back nervously. She was sure that if he decided, he could kill all three of them in a single heartbeat. It was very disconcerting.

Yet, she trusted Percy with her life. If he was not suspicions of the Titan and was even calling him a friend, she decided to tentatively believe Bob. Moreover, it was a fact that without him, they would have probably already been dead. Nico still remained unconscious so they had one less fighter to count on.

Annabeth was increasingly worried about the son of Hades too. The boy was now sleeping for way too long already. With Bob’s swaying steps, she could not tell if Nico was twitching or stirring in his sleep. For all she knew, he could be imprisoned in some terrible nightmare right now and once again, they would not even know about it. She hoped they would arrive to their destination soon so she could check on the boy.

“Here,” Bob pointed into distance, “the rest stop.”

Annabeth tore herself out of her thoughts. She looked to where the Titan was pointing. There was a small depression in the ground, not unlike the one where they had found Hyperion (Annabeth really did not want to think about that right now). On the bottom of it, she saw a ring of broken marble columns.

Is that a shire? In Tartarus? What is it doing here?

“Hermes’ shine.” The Titan specified, as if it explained everything.

In fact, it explained nothing at all. Annabeth was opening her mouth to ask more questions, but Percy was faster.

“A Hermes’ shrine in Tartarus? What is it doing here?”

“It fell from somewhere long ago. Mortal world, or Olympus. Bob does not know. Anyway, monsters stay clear of the area. You can rest here.”

Annabeth was a little alarmed at the information. Not that monsters would probably not attack them here, that was good news. What added to her worries was how the Titan knew the shrine was here. His memories must not have been wiped completely clear.

Annabeth shook her head. She did not want to think about this right now. If she went down this rabbit hole, she was not certain she would be able to get out of it. They just had to trust Bob for now, no use wracking her brain with rescue plans in case the Titan’s memories came back and he became hostile. They could cross that bridge when they came to it.

“Right,” she said with much more conviction than she felt. “Let us go down and rest. We need to check on Nico, he has been unconscious for way too long.”

She exchanged a look with Percy. Her boyfriend nodded in understanding. There was a pensive sheen in his eyes, he must have been concerned about Bob as well.

Or perhaps not. Knowing Percy, he trusts the Titan unconditionally. He is more probably worried about Nico.

They quickly made their way down the slope and into the shrine.

Annabeth did not want anything more than to collapse onto the ground and sleep. The exhaustion that Bob’s touch had chased away was coming back. One glance at Percy confirmed that he was not much better off. They were both mostly out of strength. This place was squeezing them dry way too quickly for comfort.

She pushed her tiredness aside when Bob laid Nico down in the middle of the shine.

Both Annabeth and Percy hurried to him to check how he was doing. The daughter of Athena was relieved to see that the boy was breathing normally, he was truly just asleep. More concerning was that his limbs kept twitching slightly, he must have been having another nightmare.

“Should we…”

Percy trailed off. He was looking at her with a helpless expression. She knew how he felt, she had no idea what the best course of action was either.

They could wake Nico up and risk him lashing out in self-defence, or they could let him sleep until he woke up on his own. That would however mean they would leave him completely defenceless against his nightmares. Annabeth could not decide what would be better for the son of Hades.

There was one thing she was sure of though. Whenever Nico would wake up, he would for sure not want to be mostly naked.

Annabeth shrugged off the bundle of the boy’s clothes from her shoulder and looked at it contemplatively. Nico could not put them back on unless he wanted to risk getting acid burns again.

“I could help.”

Bob’s voice from behind her startled Annabeth. She flinched and tried to cover it by turning around and facing the Titan. Bob was standing a few steps away and pointing his huge hand at the small bundle on the ground.

“I can wash these. Bob does a lot of clothes washing in the Hades’ palace.”

Annabeth was trying her best to get over her shock. She had never considered that even the lord of the Underworld would have dirty laundry. She decided to tuck the information away for the sake of her sanity.

“That… That would be… We would appreciate that.”

She remained shell-shocked as Bob picked up Nico’s clothes and stepped away.

“Hades’ undies…,” mumbled Percy, shaking Annabeth out of her stupor. “Do you think they are all black or does he have also other colours?”

The daughter of Athena could not help busting into laughter. Leave it to Percy to always have the weirdest questions at the weirdest times. How did he even come up with a question like that in this situation?

The tension around them was broken. Annabeth was laughing so hard she had to wipe tears from the corners of her eyes.

“Seaweed brain, you–”

Luckily, she did not have to reply to her boyfriend’s apparently genuine concern. Bob came back right at that moment, handing her Nico’s clothes.

True to his promise, they were washed clean of all the gooey orange stuff and blood. They were still in tatters, but they were infinitely better than nothing. Together with Percy, they quickly dressed the still sleeping Nico.

Annabeth was being cautious of any self-defensive punches, but the son of Hades remained mostly still. He only tried to push her hands away a couple of times. Which was understandable, Annabeth would not like someone touching her in her sleep either. Especially if it somehow fitted into the scenario of her nightmare.

She felt sorry for the boy, still, they were only doing what was necessary.

They had been right to hurry. As soon as Percy buckled Nico’s belt, the son of Hades shot up, gasping for breath. They both jumped up to their feet and backed away in order not to crowd the boy’s space.

Just like the other time, his eyes were wide open and unfocused, still trapped in whatever he had seen in his nightmares. He was scanning his surroundings, his eyes never lingering on anything. He looked panicked and confused. He was scratching his forearms, leaving angry red marks.

And he was hyperventilating too, that was a very bad combination with the toxic air of this place. They had to calm him down quickly before he would hurt himself.

“Nico?” Annabeth asked quietly, hoping to attract his attention.

Nothing.

And then everything happened too quickly for her to make sense of. The boy suddenly leapt half up and hugged Percy fiercely, almost toppling him over. He hid his face in the older boy’s stomach, clutching onto him for dear life.

She exchanged a questioning glance with Percy who just shrugged his shoulders with a puzzled expression. Even confused, he still draped his hands around the trembling shoulders, soothing.

“Nico, little buddy, it is alright now. You are not alone. And…” Percy hesitated for a second, probably pondering what he should say next. “You can cry all you need. We are safe for now.”

At the last words, Nico pushed himself away from Percy just as quickly as he had hugged him before. He scowled and rubbed at his eyes furiously with a part of his tattered sleeve. He was back to being his defensive self, if a little frayed around the edges. And he was angry, spitting out words as if they were venomous.

“I am fine, I do not need to cry.”

By now, Annabeth wondered if he always masked uncomfortable emotions with anger and coldness. He was for sure doing so now because of being embarrassed and flustered.

Percy wisely decided not to react to his little angry outburst. For once, he was being sensible.

Or perhaps he just does not know how to react.

She did not know either.

Chapter Text

Nico

Nico thought he would rather face Tartarus all on his own again than be in this awkward situation with Annabeth and Percy looking at him with pity in their eyes.

“I am fine, I do not need to cry.”

Nico snapped angrily. He did not want to hurt Percy, he was furious at himself. He should not be – could not be – crying. He was already weak, both physically and mentally, he could not go breaking down on top of everything. He was already useless, he did not want the others to see just how much. He could not go around crying like some small pitiful child.

He continued rubbing at his eyes furiously. If he could, he would have just hidden in shadows and spare himself the embarrassment. Granted he would even have the strength to do so.

Unfortunately, that would not go well in here.

Why does this keep happening? I was just fine when I did this on my own. I was able to face the nightmares too. So why am I falling apart when Percy and Annabeth are here?

Emotions were still raging inside of Nico. He had dreamt of the jar again. That had been one of the worst experiences of his life, and he had lived through much. The loneliness and helplessness, the certainty that no one would come rescue him and he would die alone just like that, it was still weighing heavily on him.

He wanted to chastise himself for feeling so relieved and hugging Percy as soon as he could recognize his face. He could not. He could not be mad at himself when the son of Poseidon was his saviour and he owed him his life. He was embarrassed for being so weak, but he could not stop himself from relying on Percy whenever he needed help.

I really need to do something about this fixation. It is no good for either of us. He has Annabeth already. The way they are there for each other…

I am grateful Percy saved me back then, but I cannot rely on him for everything. I cannot just cover behind his back and let myself be protected and pitied. I need to pull my own weight around here. I need to be useful to thank them. Otherwise, they would be better off without me. I am just a burden, a dead weight they have to drag around.

And speaking of being dragged around. Nico observed their surroundings. It was clear they were not in the crater with Hyperion anymore, even if it looked kind of similar.

He let out a breath he did not know he was holding. Both Percy and Annabeth seemed fine. Despite everything, he must have still managed to somehow protect them. But how come he was still alive then? He distinctly remembered drowning in the burning liquid with no way out. Memories were coming only slowly, making Nico more and more confused about the current situation.

He checked his hands, his legs, his torso, he could not find any acid burns.

Had he perhaps just imagined everything? Have they not encountered Hyperion at all? Or had his brain just showed him a vivid nightmare? That could also be a possibility. He had been so exhausted he would not be surprised if he had just collapsed on his feet and had fallen asleep. He must have troubled Percy and Annabeth greatly.

Nico’s head started hurting, he could not say what was reality and what a dream anymore.

Suddenly, he froze.

He did not realize it before, too concentrated on himself. Just a few steps away, there stood a big figure of a Titan partially hidden in the darkness of Tartarus.

Nico reached for his sword, only to find it missing from its scabbard. He panicked even more. Percy and Annabeth must have been taken prisoners because of how useless he had been. They must have been defending him and that was why they had not been able to run away and save themselves.

It is all my fault that the world will fall to Gaia’s armies. I have kept Percy and Annabeth from reaching the Doors of Death and closing them. I have failed everyone. Again.

Nico sank to his knees, feeling completely defeated. He was unarmed. But even if he was not, he was doubtful he could take on a fully resurrected Titan. He was so exhausted he would not be able to swing his sword should he get his hands on it.

He despaired, tears were gathering in his eyes again. He stubbornly fought them, biting his lip till it bled. He did not think he had any right to cry. He had no right to feel even the smallest relief, he should suffer for his mistakes. It costed two lives after all.

Where was one Titan, there were without a doubt more. They were probably just procuring a set of demigod-sized bronze jars for him, Percy and Annabeth. With his weakness and uselessness, he had just condemned the two others to a slow death by suffocation.

Please, please, do not let them die like that. They do not deserve such fate. They are the heroes of the war with Kronos, they will be able to close the Doors of Death. They will prevail and save everyone. Just take me and let them escape.

Nico started praying to all gods he could remember the names of. Percy and Annabeth were important, they were needed. And they were missed. Surely, someone would come and rescue them before the worst came to happen. They had the rest of the seven looking for them. There was still hope, Nico just had to believe it.

The problem was, he did not believe in hope anymore. He had already lost it in his bronze prison. One he was going back to. This time, there would be no one coming to his rescue, he did not have any crucial information anymore.

Nico’s eyes became even more blurred with unshed tears. His nightmare must have been in fact a premonition. He was never supposed to make it out alive the first time, the universe was just correcting its mistake. He should not feel so upset about it.

He should not be this scared.

Nico could not stop himself. He was utterly terrified. Whenever he blinked, he saw bronze walls closing in on him, suffocating him and sucking away all his body heat together with all hope.

At least it would be faster this time, I have no more pomegranate seeds on me.

Or I can just die right here and now. I cannot go back there…

“Still painful? Nico is Bob’s friend. Bob will help his friend.”

A low rumbling voice thundered somewhere above the son of Hades. It was so sudden Nico’s head shot up of its own volition. What he saw shocked him so much he almost stopped breathing.

Yes, it was a Titan talking to him. But not just any Titan, it was Bob. The good and friendly Bob without any memories. The Bob that Nico had spent so many hours talking to in his father’s palace. The Bob who would not hurt a fly, much less someone who he thought was his friend.

Bob.

Nico’s mind was still not working. His mouth was opened wide, ready to ask the thousands of questions he had. No sound came out.

What is Bob doing here? He should be back in the Underworld, not here in Tartarus. How did he get here? How did he know we needed help? Will he be able to protect Percy and Annabeth and take them safely to the Doors of Death? He would make a much better company than me.

The Titan janitor was eyeing him for a second. Then, he must have come to a conclusion.

He put his giant hand gently on Nico’s shoulder and pulled him closer. The son of Hades did not object or made any move to pull back. Bob’s hugs were the best, full of warmth and care. The Titan was the only person that could touch Nico without eliciting a strong adverse reaction. He was his only friend.

The son of Hades melted into the hug. He hid his face in the creases of Bob’s uniform and let his tears fall.

Chapter Text

Nico

It was official, Nico hated crying. His eyes were puffy and stung and his nose was clogged. It was the worst. Well, on par with being seen while crying.

Once he had extracted himself from Bob’s arms, he immediately darted away. He had not responded to Percy calling his name. He just wanted to be alone. Having the two other demigods worry about him was too much at the moment. Especially after he had overacted like that earlier. 

He was now sitting at the very edge of the shrine, his back turned towards the others. His heart was still hammering in his chest and he had no idea how exactly they had gotten here. Or how and why Bob appeared.

If he wanted an explanation though, he would have to go join Percy and Annabeth. He was definitely not ready to do that.

He did not have his sword either and that was causing him to be even more on edge. If he could not defend the others nor himself, what was he even good for? He could just as well stand up and walk into the darkness. Percy and Annabeth would be much better off without him. They had Bob to protect them now.

The Titan also knew where to look for the Doors of Death. He was much better guide than Nico would ever be. He was more reliable and less of a liability to the quest.

Percy and Annabeth are only pitying me so they let me tag along. It is not like they really want to bother with me. They do not even trust me, they are probably just keeping tabs on me in case I go and mess everything up again.

Nico’s thoughts were dark. It was not helping that his already existing worries were accentuated by the influence of Tartarus. He did not care. He deserved to feel miserable for failing everyone all the time and betraying their trust. He was no good.

“Nico, would you like to join us and eat something? We have burnt offerings from the Camp Half-Blood. There is pizza, hot dog, a plate of roast beef, some grapes and even a pack of peanut M&M’s. Take your pick. Or I can leave something here for you if you are not ready to come join us. I can also sit with you to keep you company if you prefer.”

Nico’s morose thoughts dispersed as if by magic. He registered Annabeth’s quiet voice, she was talking from behind him, probably a few feet behind him too. What he did not understand was the message she wanted to convey.

Food? There was no way there was anything remotely edible in Tartarus. What was she blabbering about?

No, this was Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, she would not say anything delusional. It must be Nico’s own mind playing tricks on him. Maybe he was finally going crazy. He would not be surprised, he had not felt anchored to reality ever since he had woken up.

Am I really awake though? For all I know, I may still be trapped in the jar and all of this is just in my head.

Perhaps his fragile mortal mind broke at last from the overwhelming strain and exhaustion. Every second he spent here ate at him. Now there was nothing left, there was no fight nor will in him anymore.

Feeling like nothing mattered anymore, Nico slowly turned around to face Annabeth.

If this was some kind of illusion woven by his hallucinating brain, then it was a very believable one. The daughter of Athena looked completely real, she even had that small encouraging smile she had given him a few times in the past. True to her words, she was holding an assortment of food and was extending her hands in an offering gesture.

“I am not hungry.”

Nico did not know how he should react. He was beyond confused and still felt vulnerable and defensive because of crying in front of her. He did not want to have anything in common with either her or Percy. Or Bob. Nico did not think he would be able to stand even his company right now.

Annabeth’s smile dropped at his words and her eyebrows furrowed unhappily. He was making her worried. Again.

I really cannot do anything right, can I?

Nico wanted to correct himself, but one look at the food made him backtrack. His stomach had been empty for so long that even a single glance caused bile to rise to his throat. He was immediately nauseous. He only barely kept himself from dry heaving, there was nothing he could expel anyway if he started vomiting.

He turned back around, away from the daughter of Athena. When he did not see the food anymore, he felt somewhat better.

“Nico, you should really eat something. Who knows when we will have another opportunity to get any food?”

Now Annabeth sounded even more worried and upset with him. Nico felt guilty. Not only was he useless in a fight and was going crazy, he was also broken physically. Still, he tried his best to soften his voice. Even if this was just a dream or a hallucination, he did not want to be a complete burden.

“You and Percy should share. You need to keep your strength up. It is still a long way to the Doors of Death, Bob can guide you there.”

And I will stay right here, waiting. For what, I do not know myself. Complete madness, waking up, salvation, death… Not that it matters anymore…

The last part remained unsaid. Nico did not want to worry Annabeth any more than he already had. She had sounded upset before, the son of Hades feared she would start berating him for being too weak and for putting her and Percy in danger. Even more so if they only had limited amount of food that they felt obliged to share with him.

Because they were like that, they were the heroes. Unlike Nico, they were actually strong and were able to surpass any obstacles in their way. They were not breaking down and crying because of literally nothing.

“Yes, Bob can guide us. But you are coming with us too, we are not leaving you behind. You need to keep up your strength just as much as me or Percy. Or even more.”

The last part echoed in Nico’s ears nonstop. Even more. Here it was, they thought he was weak and needed to be protected like a small child. They had to look out for him because he could not do anything right. They felt obliged to drag him through Tartarus with them because they were responsible heroes. Because they had the strength to do so.

Or, they thought they had it. Nico knew that what awaited them would require their whole attention. They would not have time to worry about him, they would have their hands full with taking care of each other and trying to stay sane and alive. They did not need him to drag the whole quest down.

“I do not pretend I understand what you have been through or what you are seeing and experiencing currently. It must horrible, and painful. You can talk about it with me, or Percy, we are here to listen. It can help to let your emotions out. You can cry too, it is completely natural. But you do not have to, only when you will be ready. Or when we get out of here.”

“Why will you not leave me alone?”

Nico’s voice was barely above a whisper. He had no idea if Annabeth even heard it.

What she had been saying was too much. He did not want to talk about anything. It was too painful. He just wanted to be left alone. That was the only thing he knew. That was the only thing that felt safe.

Annabeth was saying something more, but Nico did not want to listen. He had had enough. He just wanted to stay here alone and not be a burden to anyone anymore. He felt tears stinging in his eyes again, he did not want to be seen crying.

“Just go away!”

Nico shouted, surprising even himself with the intensity of his rejection. He heard shuffling behind his back, Annabeth was leaving.

Chapter Text

Percy

Percy has already been worried about Nico. Now, he was worried about Annabeth too.

When the daughter of Athena came back from where the son of Hades was sitting scrunched down and balled into himself, there was pain written all over her face. Her eyes were shining, as if she was keeping back tears. Percy knew immediately that the conversation had not gone well.

As if to confirm his suspicion, Annabeth made eye contact with him and slowly shook her head. She looked so sad. Percy immediately stood up and went to give her a hug. He wanted to help her at least in the smallest of ways.

They were both really worried about Nico. The boy was behaving more and more oddly. He has also been distancing himself from them ever since he had woken up and cried in Bob’s arms. It had been odd to see the son of Hades break down, frightening even, but definitely not unexpected.

They had talked about it while Nico sulked over at the edge of the temple. Annabeth had insisted they gave him some space to gather himself before they would attempt to talk to him again. It seemed like now was not yet the time.

Percy did not know what Nico had told Annabeth. However, judging from the way she was clinging to him and hugging him fiercely, it must not have been anything good.

“I do not know what to do anymore. He will not even eat.” Annabeth whispered into Percy’s shoulder. “I get that he wants to be left alone, but I think he really should not be right now.”

That was all Percy needed to understand that Nico must have, again, pushed Annabeth away. And knowing the son of Hades, it had not been done in a tactful of nice way. Anger flared up in Percy’s heart, his blood was boiling.

We are trying to be understanding here and help. But Nico only pushes us away. He hurt Annabeth. It would be easier if it was just the two of us here. It is hard to deal with him.

Percy glared over Annabeth’s shoulder at the hunched figure of the son of Hades. Nico hurt his girlfriend. Again.

He just kept hurting and worrying both of them ever since they had met him in this hell. He was stirring up their emotions and making them run around, saving him. If Percy and Annabeth were here on their own, they could have conserved their strength and possibly already finished this stupid quest and gotten out.

The son of Poseidon let go of his girlfriend and was about to march over to Nico to give him a piece of his mind. He was so enraged he could barely contain himself. The son of Hades was making everything ten times more difficult.

“Percy?”

Annabeth sounded worried. She held him tighter but was now looking directly at him. He could feel her eyes staring holes into him.

Percy’s breath got stuck in his lungs and he gasped, frozen in shock. He was horrified by his own thoughts. This was exactly how he had felt when he had yelled at Nico before. When he had accused him that he did not trust him.

His legs almost gave out under him when he realized he had been about to do the same thing. Or something even worse.

Percy came to his senses, the rage dissipated only slowly as he was fighting to reign it in. His hands were balled into fists.

Have I been about to hit Nico? Did I really want to chase him away completely and leave him to roam this place on his own?

He did not know what he would have done be it not for Annabeth snapping him out of it. This time it was him who buried his face in his girlfriend’s shoulder for comfort. The daughter of Athena hugged him even tighter.

Percy was taking deep breaths, trying his best to overcome the pure horror of what he could have done. Would have done be it not for Annabeth.

His knees gave out from under him. The daughter of Athena caught him and helped him to sit down without actually falling. Percy felt her chest vibrating, she was telling him something, but his brain was not registering her words. He was utterly terrified of himself right now.

Perhaps Nico is not the only one who is slowly breaking down. This place is killing us all in more ways than one.

After who knew how long, Percy could finally think more clearly. His breathing went back to normal and he could feel Annabeth’s hands around him.

“Thank you,” he whispered, his voice hoarse and painful in his throat.

“It is alright, Seaweed Brain, there is nothing to apologize for. Whatever just happened, it was not your fault. It is this place; it messes with our heads.”

Percy felt guilty. Whatever Annabeth had been able to piece from his expression, she was right. She probably did not know the full extent of what he had been about to do, but she could read in him like in an open book. Percy would not put it past her to know everything.

Before he could try to explain or deflect, he has not decided which option he was more inclined to opt for, Annabeth spoke again. This time though, it sounded more like she was talking to herself than to the son of Poseidon.

“It is not Nico’s fault either, he is just hurt. And stressed out and exhausted. He just needs more time.”

This time, it was Percy who did not get the full story. He was not as good as reading in between the lines as his girlfriend, so he did not have any other option but to ask. He hugged back fiercely, protectively. He kissed Annabeth gently to show his support.

“What happened?”

Annabeth shrugged, worry still evident in her eyes: “Nothing much really. He pushed me away. Like before.” After a short pause of contemplation, she added: “But he did not want to eat anything. He said we should divide it between ourselves and have Bob as our guide. It sounded as if he was not planning to keep going with us.”

A dark pit (not as dark as Tartarus itself, but it was not that far of) opened in Percy’s stomach. Nico was not coming with them? How could that be? Was it because Percy had not shown him clearly that he trusted him? Or because he only paid attention to Annabeth and did not talk with the son of Hades so often?

Does Nico still feel lonely? I protected him like Annabeth whenever he was in danger, true. But perhaps he needs more people to talk to as well? Until now, it was mainly Annabeth who was checking on him. And we agreed we would both be here for him.

Percy was ashamed of his previous behaviour. There was so much history between him and the son of Hades, he did not even know where to start from. He had already tried apologizing, he had a feeling it had fallen onto deaf ears. Or at least was not fully accepted. Nico was still treading carefully around him.

I will talk to him again in a while, after he calms down. I do not want to push the whole burden on Annabeth, she looks so exhausted…

“We should leave him alone for a little bit more, I guess. We should eat and rest in the meantime. I will try to go talk to him after that.”

Annabeth gave him a look that he could not quite read and nodded. Hand in hand, they both went back to where the Titan was sitting and grabbed a portion of food each.

Percy knew they should hurry, the rest of the seven could very well be already approaching the other side of the Doors of Death.

Still, if Percy learnt anything during all his quests, it was that they had to rest while they could. They would not be able to face Tartarus if they were falling down from exhaustion. They could probably spare a few more hours to rest to regain strength, they all needed it, not just Annabeth.

Chapter Text

Percy

Percy was gathering his courage. He was overthinking every word he was preparing to say to Nico. He just had to stand up and go talk to the boy.

They finished eating, finished planning their next steps, they have even sent out a notice to the Camp Half-Blood. Now, there was nothing more that Percy could use as an excuse to postpone making good on his promise.

Percy stood up, resolute. They were about to set out and Nico had still not come back from where he was brooding. It really looked like the son of Hades was not about to move from his spot.

There may be something to Annabeth’s worries. Is Nico really not wanting to come with us anymore? He has to! There is no way we will let him face this place alone again. We will all make it out together. No matter what.

Percy has decided that if Nico would not come with them willingly, they may as well drag him along by force. He would not be happy, that was for sure, but he would thank them one day. At least the son of Poseidon hoped that would be the case. He was still not convinced that Nico was not doing all of this because of some kind of death wish.

Percy was also tired of fighting their way through this literal hell. How hard it must be for Nico who had already spent who knew how long here alone?

Yes, there was no way they were leaving him behind.

Percy took Nico’s sword with him. He realized that after the incident with the regeneration pod (Bob had explained everything about those and Percy was determined to never approach one again), the bone sword remained in his possession. The son of Hades has not come back to claim it yet.

The son of Poseidon treaded carefully, not far from walking on tip toes, as he approached the limit of the shine. Nico still sat in the same position with his knees drawn to his chest and his arms and head resting on them.

As far as Percy could say, he was looking into distance. There was nothing the son of Hades could see in the darkness surrounding them. That meant, he must have been lost in his thoughts.

“Nico?”

Percy called out quietly, but it still made the son of Hades flinch violently. Oddly, Nico did not jump to his feet to defend himself, nor did he turn his head to look at Percy. It was very apparent that he still did not want to talk to the son of Poseidon.

Percy noted with a pang of fear that the boy has not taken a single bite out of the food Annabeth had left for him. Why, he could not tell. One thing was certain though, Nico must have been starving, there was no way he was not hungry.

“I brought your sword.” Percy started with the topic he deemed the safest. “Here.”

The son of Poseidon reached out to hand the sword to Nico. The boy remained unmoving. Bothered and uncomfortable, Percy continued talking.

“We need to set out soon. We are taking the rest of the food with us, you can eat on the way. Bob says we need to hurry, other Titans are apparently not far behind. Those may not be as friendly, if you know what I mean.”

Percy chuckled awkwardly to ease the tension. He was feeling very uncomfortable with Nico’s silence. Did the boy even hear anything he just said? Percy was never one for big awkward conversations.

“Come on, we are leaving,” he repeated helplessly, not knowing what else he could say.

Silence seemed to stretch endlessly. Percy and Nico stood and sat there without moving a muscle. They waited.

“I am not coming.” Finally, the son of Hades spoke in a defeated whisper. If Tartarus was not this quiet, Percy would not have heard him.

The son of Poseidon had prepared for such a reply, but when the moment came, he was still shocked. Hearing the words directly from Nico was different than when Annabeth relayed the message. It felt like a confirmation and condemnation at the same time.

“What?” Percy managed a very intelligent squeak. He was startled himself by the sound of it.

“You have Bob now, he can guide you. You do not need me anymore.”

“Of course we need you!” Percy exclaimed. He found back his fire and courage. “And it is not about needing you. We want you to come with us. We are stronger together and we can protect each other, support each other when one of us stumbles. I trust you, and you need to trust me in return. I care about you and I am not leaving without you.”

To prove his words, Percy closed the two feet distance between himself and Nico and plopped down next to him. He meant his words, he was not about to leave the son of Hades alone again. Gods knew that he had failed him enough times in the past.

This finally got a reaction. Nico sat up straight and turned his head, he was staring at Percy incredulously. As if the son of Poseidon just declared his undying love or something instead of simply being strong headed and determined.

Unfortunately, his little speech did not have the desired effect.

“Why would you need me? You would be much better off without me slowing you down. You always have to take care of me, I am nothing more than a burden to your quest.” Nico was now whisper-shouting, long gone were his broken whispers. He was getting worked up. This may or may not be good, thought Percy.

“Nico, you saved us just as many times as you needed help. You got endangered and hurt because of us. Because we were ignorant about this place and you protected us. Without you, we would have probably been killed by monsters or have fallen into that regeneration pod.”

“You knew about these?”

“Yeah, Bob explained. There is a lot that we need to be careful about.” Percy nodded his head. He got distracted for a second but soon remembered the goal of the conversation. “That is not the point though! You are coming with us, and that is final.”

Another, even more incredulous look from the son of Hades.

“Even if I have to drag you around holding your hand the whole time.”

Percy did his best to curl his lips up in a small smile, signalling that he was joking. Only half-joking though, if this was what it took to get the son of Hades to come with them, he would do it.

Nico snorted and glared at him: “Jackson, I am not some damsel in distress. I do not need a chaperone. I can take care of myself.”

“That is exactly my point! We can each take care of both ourselves and of each other. We are stronger together. We can get through this.”

Percy finally saw fire igniting in Nico’s eyes. He was relieved. This was much better than seeing the son of Hades defeated and giving up. He used the opportunity to once again try to give the bone sword back to its owner.

“So, are you coming with us?”

Nico gave him a very long contemplative stare. It was making Percy uneasy being under such scrutiny. He felt a bead of cold sweat run down his neck.

Then, it was over.

The son of Hades took the sword and caressed the blade fondly. His shoulders relaxed as he stood up and put the sword into its scabbard. He looked more aware and alarmed now.

“Bob was right, they are close. We should get going.”

Percy did not acknowledge the pang of hurt when Nico did not even look back at him and marched over to where Annabeth and Bob were waiting. He only sighed. Apparently, he had not been convincing enough for the boy to let go of the grievances between them.

Percy gathered the food that the son of Hades had not eaten from the ground and hurried to follow him.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Annabeth and Bob were just discussing their plan to hide the demigods in Death Mist when Nico and Percy joined them.

The daughter of Athena was glad that her boyfriend had managed to convince the son of Hades to come with them. She really hated the idea of leaving him behind if he did not want to come. He would be easy prey.

Or perhaps not. He had already passed through here on his own once. Perhaps he would be able to do it again. That does not mean that he should have to do it again. I really want to show him that he can trust us and lean on us.

Suddenly, a realization hit Annabeth straight to the face. Nico had trust issues when it came to her and Percy, that was undeniable. But the situation mirrored into Annabeth’s own mistrust when it came to Bob. If their quest was to succeed, they would need everyone’s help, including the Titan’s. It would not help anything if she continued to shun him away for his past. She would have to work around her own fears before she was able to lecture Nico.

Annabeth was not too sure what had set off the son of Hades in the first place. He had been just fine before the situation with Hyperion. But afterwards… Had he had another nightmare? And why had he not wanted to eat anything? Food was a rare treat here, they should all get their share before they run out again.

None of these did seem like a big enough reason for Nico to snap at her and chase her away. Or was it something she had done that had set him off? Annabeth really could not tell.

She pushed her musing over the son of Hades into the back of her mind, opting to concentrate on the matter at hand. That being how to get over an army of monsters and Titans to the Doors of Death.

“Hey, Bob. Good to see you.”

If Nico was surprised by seeing the Titan here, he did not show it. True, he had already met him while Bob had been calming him from his full-blown panic attack and had seen him around afterwards, but Annabeth did not think he had truly noticed. Not in the state he had been in.

It had scared her then and it was still scaring her now. If this is what Tartarus did to you, she was not looking forward to her own experience.

“Hey, Nico. Percy called so I came.”

This time, there was a reaction. Dozen different emotions washed over Nico’s face until he decided on mild amusement.

“I see. Good on you for meeting more friends, hm?”

“Yes, yes, Percy is my friend. Annabeth is my friend. Nico is my friend too. Nico always came to talk to me, I like Nico.”

“I like talking with out too, big guy.”

Annabeth watched the exchange in awe. She wondered how Nico understood what Bob was saying. She and Percy had just given up on finding out how exactly the Titan knew they were here and came to their help.

The son of Hades was also uncharacteristically honest and open when talking to Bob. Annabeth wondered how they had come to know each other. From the conversation, she got that they had spoken on more than one occasions. Has Nico been visiting the Underworld frequently?

“So, how are we going to get to the Doors of Death? Any ideas?” Percy did not seem fazed by the newly discovered information, or simply decided to ignore them. He jumped into the ongoing conversation as soon as he joined them.

Annabeth frowned slightly when she saw that Nico had not eaten anything, all the food she had brought him was now stacked high in Percy’s arms.

“The lady, she can give you Death Mist. For hiding.” Bob had said exactly the same words to her when she had asked earlier. They did not make any more sense for the second time. Annabeth glanced at Nico and Percy, judging if at least they had any idea what the Titan was talking about.

“Of course, that could work. I had not though about it the first time around. It never occurred to me to ask Akhlys for a favour when I met her. She owes me one.” Nico chuckled humourlessly, a wicked and scary grin on his lips. Now he actually looked like an evil Ghost King as his title suggested.

A shiver run down Annabeth’s spine. Seeing the son of Hades like this, she was reminded that he was in fact one of the most powerful demigods out there. Even if he currently looked worse for the wear and she had seen him have a panic attack just minutes before.

“Alright,” Percy was immediately in on the idea, “let us go. We cannot lose time.”

Annabeth wanted to ask so many questions. How would they find the goddess of Misery? How far was it? What precautions they should take to avoid monsters? Should they wait for more food to arrive so they would be more prepared to continue their journey? And what about their mysterious pursuers?

Annabeth could ask, of course. Though she doubted she would get any useful replies. Percy did not know anything more than her. Nico would probably not talk to her or ignore her and glare at her. And if she asked Bob, well, she had a hard time understanding anything he was saying. He was not a good source of information.

It was too late anyway, her three companions were already on the move.

Percy had hastily stashed the rest of the food into his pockets. He looked like he was proud of himself, probably for convincing Nico to come with them. Which, Annabeth had to admit, was a rare feat. She doubted she would have been able to manage it in such a short time. It still hurt to remember how the son of Hades screamed at her to leave him alone.

She was glad they had Nico with them again. She was starting to get strangely attached to the boy. She understood now why Percy trusted him so much when it came to big decisions. The son of Hades seemed very reliable and decisive when it came to it. She just wished she would have understood more clearly where he was coming from.

Annabeth shook her head in resignation. She was feeling extremely ill at ease with so little information to go about. She really hated when she did not have things in her hands.

But in here, I guess that is a luxury. I should probably just get used to it.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

When a son of Hades and a Titan glance at each other nervously, you just know you are in trouble.

 “They are close,” Nico whispered, looking around.

“That they are,” Bob nodded in agreement.

Annabeth watched as the son of Hades unsheathed his sword, stepping slightly closer to her and Percy.

He is trying to protect us again.

Annabeth was saddened by the realization. Even after everything, all the times she and Percy had tried to talk to him, his first instinct was still to protect them. It was heartbreaking. The daughter of Athena would give half her life to know what was going through Nico’s head.

“Should we try to run?” she asked, hopeful they would perhaps avoid a fight.

“Too late!” Percy whisper-shouted.

Everyone turned to him. He was pointing in one direction, Annabeth could see shadows moving in the not so distant darkness. Her boyfriend was right, they could not run away anymore. They could only fight.

Since the monsters were from the direction behind Annabeth’s back, she subtly sidestepped so it would be her who would be shielding the son of Hades with her body. It was a feeble attempt, she knew. During the fight, they would most probably shuffle around a lot. But she hoped Nico would at least notice her gesture, if not appreciate it.

The first bad news was that the monsters were airborne. Second, there were six of them approaching. Two more than in their small group.

As the flying monsters came closer, Annabeth saw they were similar to Furies. But there was way too many of them, there should only be three Furies. Their group was currently in some kind of a dead forest and they were all around them, hissing and shuffling in the trees.

Once again, her need for more information grew. She needed to know who her opponents were so she could fight against them efficiently.

“What are you?” she demanded.

The arai. The curses!

A voice hissed right next to her ear. It made Annabeth jump in surprise. She whipped her head in the direction of the supposed speaker, but there was no one. In fact, she had not seen any of the monsters even move their mouths. They must have been communicating telepathically or in a similar fashion.

This did not sit well with Annabeth. If the arai could speak in their minds, what else they could do? They called themselves the curses too, that did not sound. Not good at all.

“Well, this is new.” Nico murmured to himself from behind the daughter of Athena.

Which in fact was not behind her anymore, speaking from the perspective of the monsters. They were fully surrounded so she was no longer shielding the son of Hades. The four of them were standing in a lose circle, their backs together for protection.

“What– What do you want?” Annabeth tried stalling for time.

To curse you, of course! To destroy you a thousand times in the name of Mother Night.

There was a sharp intake of breath from behind Annabeth. Nico seemed shocked by those words for some reason. She wanted to turn around and check on him, but there was no time left. The arai closed in and she had to stay alert on what was in front of her.

“Only a thousand times? I thought there was something to worry about, but no.”

Percy being Percy, of course he had to rile the monsters up. Annabeth wanted to facepalm in desperation. If the comment came from anyone else, she would have assumed they were in on her plan and were playing for time. But not her boyfriend.

The arai kept closing in on them from all sides. Even with her demigod senses, she had a hard time keeping tabs on all of them. There were simply too many. Ahe did not know if they would be able to make it out alive this time.

“Back off!” Percy warned the nearest monster and pointed his sword at it.

We are arai. You cannot destroy us. We have many curses to share with you.

“I appreciate the offer, but my mom told me not to accept curses from strangers.” The son of Poseidon continued enraging the monsters as the idiot he was.

The arai attacked.

Of course they would. How many times have I told Percy he should keep his mouth shut when it comes to these things? I have lost count. And this always happens. Every. Single. Time.

Annabeth just about managed to parry the claws aimed at her neck. These not-Furies were fast. She heard clacking of swords (plus one broom) against solid matter from around her. The others were fighting as well.

“Do not touch them! They are the spirit of curses!” Nico’s voice rang above the battlefield.

The warning came, unfortunately, too late.

At the exactly same time, Annabeth watched with wide eyes how Percy fell to his knees after destroying one of the monsters. He was still covered in the golden dust that the arai left behind. What shocked Annabeth though was blood quickly seeping through her boyfriend’s T-shirt. Had he been hit?

“Percy, you are bleeding!” Annabeth called in anguish. Despite the mayhem of battle all around them, she still tried to look the son of Poseidon over. “Oh, gods, on both sides.”

The daughter of Athena had seen Percy injured many times. Never this severely. He was impaled through his chest. This was a mortal wound if she had ever seen one.

Vengeance. A curse of the slain . You have spread so much death. Feel the pain you inflicted and suffer, Percy Jackson!

The arai cackled and mocked just as they continued attacking them. Annabeth did not know what to do first, if she should defend herself, or Percy, or if she should be doing emergency first aid.

“Bob!” Annabeth called for help, panicking.

Both the Titan and Nico drew closer, covering more ground around her and Percy. The daughter of Athena fell to her knees, wanting to examine the wound. There was no more blood spreading from it, which could be both good or bad news. Her boyfriend could have internal bleeding.

“If you kill one, it gives you a curse.” Through the mist surrounding her brain, Annabeth hardly heard Bob’s explanation.

For once, it was quite clear, at least combined with what the arai had said themselves. If they killed even one of them, they would get injured, but probably not killed. They wanted to play with them, they wanted them to suffer.

“But if we do not kill them…” Annabeth whispered more to herself than to her companions.

“They will kill us anyway,” Percy confirmed what she had been fearing.

The son of Poseidon was now back on his feet and already fighting his next opponent. Annabeth was still shaken. She stood up more slowly and rejoined the battle, trying her best to both kill and not kill the arai.

They were losing. And that is when things went from bad to worse.

Out of the blue, Nico fell to the ground with a soft grunt. He went completely still, touching his face. Annabeth briefly wondered, what curse he had gotten. Gods knew he must have killed hundreds, if not thousands of monsters.

Bob and Percy seemed to notice that the son of Hades was down. The three of them made a protective circle around him in a silent agreement. They would not let him go down first, if they were going to die, they would all die together.

Chapter Text

Nico

Nico had not taken his own advice not to touch the arai. He fought bravely, until he could not.

He had ignored a dozen or so gashes, bruises and open wounds that he had gotten every time his blade sent another arai to a new regeneration pod. He had ignored a persistent headache, a burning pain in his stomach and acid burns all over his skin. He had also ignored it when he had tasted blood in his mouth from whatever injury he had accumulated there. He could not move his tongue to investigate which probably had something to do with it.

Then, there were things that were harder to accommodate and were impacting his ability to fight. When his sword arm cracked and remained broken, it was still fine, he just used his other arm to hold his weapon. He was luckily equally skilled with both arms.

And then, there were curses that he just could not ignore.

As he slashed another monster, he suddenly could not see anything anymore. It slowed him for a moment, he was disoriented. It was like someone has just switched off a light switch of the whole Tartarus. He wondered which monster could have cursed him with blindness, there were too many to choose from. Every single being in the Labyrinth could be the culprit.

In a way, it was relieving. His brain was celebrating not having to process horrible pictures of the primordial god it had been getting. It also sharpened Nico’s other senses instantly, his body was making sure he would survive with what he had left.

On the other hand, it made Nico terrified. He could no longer see the rest of the attacking arai. He could only hear them, which was not ideal since he could only too easily mistake Percy, Annabeth or Bob for monsters. At least he still had his other senses, he could tell in which direction monsters were. But that was all.

Nico was now fighting more carefully. He slowed his movements and was double and triple checking himself before making a strike. He did not want to injure the others by mistake. His bone sword would probably not be fatal to Bob, but it was a different story when it came to demigods.

This approach was not ideal by the long shot. He was not as agile as he wanted and the arai were managing to get a few good strikes in with their claws. Which, Nico learnt only too late, also caused him to accumulate more curses.

He wondered how the others were doing. Hopefully better than him. When he was like this, he barely could take care of himself, never mind protecting Percy and Annabeth. His only comfort was that Bob was with them, the Titan would help the demigods in Nico’s stead.

The son of Hades would have already left the battlefield so he would not hinder there be it not for Percy’s earlier threat. The son of Poseidon had said that he would drag him through Tartarus by holding his hand if he had to. It had taken all of Nico’s willpower to not blush at that statement. If Percy truly went on with the idea, the son of Hades would never be able to hide the fact he had a huge crush on him.

Nico was not prepared to come out to Percy. Or anyone else for that matter. Everyone already had many reasons to hate him. He did not need to add being gay onto the list. It was disgusting even to him, he could not imagine how anyone else would react. And he did not want to find out.

So, in order to hide his shameful secret, Nico stayed and fought to the best of his abilities. Even when he felt like he could not stand on his feet for a second longer. Even when he had a broken arm and was completely blind. Even when he felt like loneliness was crushing him and the voices of the others were getting further and further away.

Have they finally gotten tired of me? Are they leaving me behind? I knew it. And after everything Percy and Annabeth said. Liars.

But Nico could not even be properly angry at them. He had been the one who had pushed them away first. He had outlived his usefulness, he should be discarded and abandoned now. It was only right.

Nico suddenly lost all will to fight. He left out a long sigh and let himself fall to his knees. His hands rested limply next to his hips. He also let go of his sword. He did not care if a monster came by and killed him. He almost hoped it would.

He was so alone it physically hurt. He wanted the pain to stop.

He laid down and curled into a foetal position, as if it could so anything. He had never felt this lonely, not even when he was all on his own in the Labyrinth. Being blind reminded him of that place more than he dared to admit. He touched his eyes, nothing. He could not hear anything, his mind was in high alert for the smallest sounds despite his decision that he would no longer resist his fate.

Without most of his senses (or all of them? He really could not tell), he was completely isolated from the outside world. He was only left with his swirling thoughts that kept torturing him.

You are weak. Useless. You cannot even protect those that matter to you. Failure.

It was just a fluke that you survived Tartarus before. You have not yet seen the true horrors.

You could not reach the Doors of Death before and will not do so now. You should have just rotted away in that jar.

You are just a burden on others. It is better that you die here now.

Even your father does not want you around. He wanted you to die a long time ago. He liked Bianca better.

Percy and Annabeth have each other. Bob even came to Percy’s aid. He never showed up when you were here, all alone, suffering.

Disgusting abomination. How low you have to be to be lusting after someone who already has a girlfriend? You will destroy their happiness. They will hate you.

You will never be loved. You do not deserve it. Everyone hates you.

Nico pulled his hands over his ears, trying to stop the voices in his head. Of course they did not. They were his thoughts. They were part of him. So just protecting his ears would do no good. He could no longer even feel his hands touching his hair.

He was trapped in his head with no way out. He deserved it, it was for the best.

Something pushed at one of his hands. When the son of Hades did not move, his leg was prodded next. Then his side. It was a weird sensation to not truly feel it, just being aware of the force that was moving Nico’s body according to its own will.

Finally.

Chapter Text

Nico

It turned out that Nico was not as alone as he had thought.

To his never-ending surprise, Nico actually came to again at some point. He did not have the faintest idea how much time had passed or what had happened while he had been unconscious. The only thing he knew was that he was not dead yet. Probably.

The first sensation he could feel was that something heavy was sitting on his chest. The weight was not restricting or trapping him. It was actually… comforting? It was vibrating too which was proving to be very soothing.

For a few moments, Nico revered in knowing he was not utterly alone. If that something (someone?) on his chest was moving, it must have been alive, right? And not completely hostile if he was still alive.

A weight that the son of Hades had ignored until then was lifted from his shoulders. This one was not physical though, it was the weight of his loneliness. It had probably been accentuated either by one of the curses from the arai or by the sensory deprivation he had experienced. Possibly by the combination of both.

Now that he knew he was not completely alone, he could breathe again.

It was laughable really. He had been ready to die because of feeling lonely and abandoned, but now he was willing to live because there was something or someone living that was by his side. Very peculiar.

Nico was not given more time to examine that feeling closer. He was not sure he actually wanted to. He was used to being alone, living around others but not with them. The current urge to not be alone anymore was overwhelming.

Nico was getting his senses back one by one.

He started feeling his body again. Not only the vibrations on his chest, he could also feel someone touching his hands. This time, he was certain they were humans, or at least something humanoid. The hands, only a little bit bigger than his own, were warm. They were squeezing him tight, almost to the point of it being painful.

Nico wondered whose hands they could be. The only humans far or wide were Percy and Annabeth, last time he checked. So, unless his situation changed, it had to be one of them. Nico felt tears gathering under his closed eyelids. He had never been so grateful for being touched. Subconsciously, he squeezed the hands back.

With great effort, Nico opened his eyes. And he was stunned for a good minute. Although his vision was blurry, he could definitely see now. It looked like the curse causing his blindness have been lifted one way or another.

His tears fell, making the worst of the blurriness dissipate. He exerted another great effort to look around and assess the situation. And he was surprised once again.

He was staring right into green eyes. The ‘thing’ on his chest was actually a cute small calico cat. Not a monster, but a normal kitten. It was curled there comfortably, purring. That was what has been causing the vibrations. When it saw that Nico was awake, it stood up and stretched its legs lazily. Then, it jumped off of his chest to where he could no longer see it.

The son of Hades did not know what to make of all this. He decided to continue assessing his situation.

One look around helped Nico confirm that his hands were indeed being held by the other demigods who he was travelling through Tartarus with. Percy and Annabeth had a hold of one of his hands each. The son of Poseidon was laying down next to Nico in what seemed to be a giant rustic bed of sorts. His eyes were closed, he must have been sleeping.

The son of Hades turned his head to the other side. Annabeth was sitting there. She had Nico’s hand in both of her own, her forehead was pressed to where she was holding him in a gesture of a silent prayer.

Suddenly, Annabeth’s head shot up and she looked at the son of Hades with wide opened mouth. When she saw he was awake, her eyes became teary and she smiled at him. Her mouth was moving. She was saying something, but Nico could not hear her. It seemed like not all of his senses were working properly just yet.

Annabeth continued chatting away as she reached out one of her hands and gently pushed some stray hair out of Nico’s forehead. He could feel her touch and he leaned into it, surprising both himself and the daughter of Athena. It felt so good to know he was not alone. That someone was here with him, making sure they stayed by his side and cared for him. He had not experienced something like this in years.

“…not alone. We will stay with you, just do not leave like you were trying to.” Nico’s ears finally started registering Annabeth’s voice.

The son of Hades opened his mouth to reply. To say something, anything really, since he did not have a clear sentence in mind. But all that came out was an intelligible groan. His throat was dry and he could still not move his tongue.

Annabeth must have realized at least part of the problem because she turned her head around to call someone: “Can we have some water, please?”

A giant hand approached from the side, holding a cup. An actual cup. The daughter of Athena nodded in thanks and accepted it without letting go of Nico’s hand. Someone grabbed the son of Hades from behind, nearly scaring him to death. They pulled him a little up so he would be half sitting against a wall of something soft, most probably pillows or alike. Nico gave out un undignified yelp, Annabeth gently shushed him.

“It is fine, it is just Bob.”

Nico relaxed. He still did not know where they were, but if Bob was here and Annabeth was calm, he figured there was no reason to panic.

The daughter of Athena put the cup to his lips and tilted it gently. Nico took a small gulp, preparing for the worst. In this literal hell, there was nothing even remotely enjoyable to drink. However, he was shocked for the third time in the span of several minutes. What he drank was not some disgusting liquid or fiery water from Phlegethon or any of the other Underworld rivers. It was water.

Water? Where in the name of Hades did they get any normal water in Tartarus?

Nico was not about to complain. He gulped down the whole cup hastily. Too hastily. He started coughing and Annabeth took the cup away to wipe the water he had coughed out.

“Slowly. There is more if you want. You have been out for quite a while, I imagine you are thirsty.”

Nico laughed drily. That was a huge understatement. He could not even remember the last time he had drank anything even remotely normal. Had Hazel given him some water when he had been rescued? Or was that just Nectar? Could it be he had really not had any normal water since before he had started his (failed) quest to find the Doors of Death?

“More…” Nico finally managed to get both his voice and his tongue moving, articulating the word carefully.

In the end, the son of Hades had drunk two more cups of water. He had also been offered some kind of broth, but this, he declined. Even if it smelled heavenly (he was glad to have all his senses back now), the thought of food was making his stomach turn. He was afraid he would throw up all the water he had just drunk.

His thirst finally quelched, Nico sank deeper down, resting. His stomach was no longer crumping unhappily and the bed was warm and cosy. There did not seem to be any immediate threats to his life, nor the lives of the two other demigods. And best of all, he was not alone. Annabeth had not let go of his hand once. Nico felt safe.

That was something that did not happen all that often. And for sure not since he had left camp Jupiter who knew how long back. Nico’s eyes started closing. He fought back, but he was fighting a losing the battle. The tipping point was when the kitten from earlier curled back on his chest and continued purring. Soon, the son of Hades was sleeping like a baby.

Chapter Text

Percy

Percy was determined to leave all explaining to Annabeth. Of course he could not keep his mouth shut.

When Percy woke up, he was immediately fully awake. He looked around, confused. He remembered what happened before he had lost consciousness. He had collected way too many curses, including a nasty one involving being poisoned by gorgon’s blood, while he had watched over a defenceless Nico.

Even thinking back, he had no idea why the boy had collapsed so suddenly or of what had happened afterwards. Or why a skeletal kitten had showed up and had snuggled to the son of Hades, refusing to leave him by any means.

Someone, most probably Bob, must have transported both him and Nico to where they were. Luckily, Annabeth soon explained everything while he sipped hot broth from a bowl. The situation felt so normal, that it was surreal. Percy had a hard time believing they were still in Tartarus. One look out of a window convinced him of the reality.

As soon as the son of Poseidon finished his broth, Nico slowly opened his eyes with a quiet sigh. It was so different from the other times he had woken up. Percy wondered if there was not something wrong with him. Not that he would like for the son of Hades to jump up because of terrible nightmares, but this seemed almost too peaceful.

Nico sat up, a little awkwardly because Percy and Annabeth were still holding his hands and Small Bob insisted on sitting in his lap. They managed in the end.

“Would you like some broth?” Annabeth offered immediately.

The son of Hades shook his head and avoided eye contact. Percy’s heart dropped. Unless he had missed something, Nico had not eaten anything since they have fallen into this hell. The son of Poseidon wanted to object.

“Just some more water, please.” The son of Hades cut him before he spoke a single word.

“Of course,” Annabeth hurried to reassure with a smile.

Percy’s heart swelled. Even since he had woken up in this house for the first time, the influence of Tartarus on his has greatly decreased. He hoped it was the same for the others.

At Nico’s quiet demand, Bob stood up from where he had been sitting on a giant chair and brought over a cup of water. Percy observed how Annabeth took it away from him and helped Nico drink so the boy would not have to lift a finger.

Well look at this. Annabeth has not even taken such a good care of me.

Percy was pouting. Deep inside, he knew he was being immature. First, the son of Hades had gone through so much already, he deserved someone to fret over him and take care of him. Second, Nico had not had anyone since Bianca had died. It was their turn to be there for him. And third, it was not like Small Bob would react kindly if either Annabeth of Percy let go of the boy’s hands. The kitten was sweet and all, but when it came to it, it could become feral.

The boy drank his fill and asked the obvious question: “What happened?”

Just as they had agreed ahead of time, it was Annabeth who started explaining: “When we were battling the arai, you suddenly collapsed. You were awake, just completely unresponsive. Bob tried to heal you, but there were too many curses on you.”

“I remember that,” Nico whispered. A shudder run through his limbs at the memory it must have brought. “Those were pretty nasty monsters.”

Percy could not agree more: “Yeah, if I never see those creatures again, it would be too soon. I never wanted to know what gorgon’s blood tastes like.”

Nico looked at him with something akin to horror. Percy hurried to reassure, waving his hand dismissively: “I collapsed and Bob brought us all here. I am fine now, Damasen is a really good healer. He rocks.”

“And where exactly is here?” The son of Hades asked with suspicion. He was looking around, probably assessing how dangerous of a situation they have gotten themselves in.

“Damasen’s home. We are safe here for now, we can rest. He is–” Annabeth wanted to continue with her explanation only to be interrupted by Bob.

“Damasen is a friend. He is a good Giant.”

At that, Nico only nodded his head and gestured for Annabeth to continue talking. Percy lifted his eyebrows in surprise. He would never understand the guy. How was he not shocked by any of this? Or was he simply so used to weird stuff happening that he no longer got surprised?

After a second of consideration, Annabeth really continued her tale: “The battle was looking pretty bad. You and Percy were down and there were way more arai than me and Bob could handle. That is when the kitten showed up.”

Annabeth gestured towards the cat nested in Nico’s lap. As if the kitten knew they were talking about it, it lifted its head up and looked at the son of Hades. Then, to Percy’s utter astonishment, it snuggled closer to the boy and started purring loudly.

That little… When I as much as tried to touch it, it hissed and scratched like a devil. It would not let itself be separated from Nico and would attack us when we were not holding onto him. Perhaps they have some Underworldly connection to each other?

“Bob named it Small Bob.” The Titan exclaimed proudly.

At that, Nico extracted his hand from where Annabeth was holding it and went to pet the kitten. Percy was about to shout that it was not a good idea, but Small Bob did not attack. It only laid in Nico’s lap, enjoying the attention. The purring got louder. The son of Poseidon did not get it.

“How come it is not attacking you now?” He asked Annabeth with bewilderment.

His girlfriend shot him a look and pointedly ignored his question. She opted to continue talking with Nico.

“As I was saying. We were badly outnumbered and then this guy showed up. It transformed into a skeleton sabretooth tiger and was done with all the arai in under two minutes. It then snuggled to you and refused to leave you while Bob carried you and Percy here.

And as for Percy’s question, I have no idea why it is not attacking me anymore. When we have tried to get him of you, Nico, it scratched and would not settle down until we were by your side and holding onto you. Not that we would not do that even without Small Bob insisting, but it took some shuffling around to come here.”

We will never abandon you,” Annabeth ended in a much more serious tone than the rest of her explanation.

The son of Hades stopped petting Small Bob and looked up. His eyes first went to Annabeth, then to Percy. Then to the hand Percy was still holding. There was a long silence.

“Not that I do not like holding hands, but this is kind of…” The son of Poseidon laughed awkwardly while scratching the back of his head. “Do you think you can tell your buddy there,” he gestured to the kitty, “to not attack me if I let go?”

Nico let go of Percy as if it had burned him and quickly withdrew his hand. The son of Poseidon was trying not to feel offended by that reaction. He glanced down at Small Bob and breathed a sigh of relief. The kitty was luckily still calm and not attacking.

“Sorry about that,” Nico mumbled, looking down. His cheeks turned a little red. Or was that just an illusion created by reflection from the fireplace?

“No problem, man,” Percy dismissed the apology.

Chapter Text

Percy

“THE SEA GOD’S SON! HE IS CLOSE!”

They were out of the door as soon as they heard their pursuers. Damasen had packed them some supplies ahead of time, so they just took everything and hurried away from the swamp. Percy really did not want to come face to face with Polybotes any time soon. Preferably never.

The five of them (including a kitten) run as fast as they could in the darkness and on uneven terrain. Small Bob was running next to Nico, sometimes making him almost trip. Until the son of Hades has had enough and shooed the kitten away by telling it to go ride on the Titan’s shoulder.

Percy was surprised to see Nico being so gentle with the little creature. Sure, he had not seen it scratching and fighting, but it was still pretty odd. The son of Hades was never this patient or kind when it came to interacting with people. Did he have a soft spot for creatures from the Underworld? It would make sense, it was his father’s domain.

But why is he always so harsh when it comes to people? He can do it, he knows how to, I just saw it…

Being back in the chilly, dark and desolate plains and forests of Tartarus, Percy dearly missed the solace of Damasen’s hut. It had been just a short reprieve, but it had greatly eased both his body and his soul. It was hard to come back to the hellish landscape and the omnipresent feeling of dread.

And yet, it was as if Percy had never left. His senses were so overloaded, he was so exhausted again. It was as if nothing but Tartarus had ever existed in the first place. And as if nothing else would ever exist for him.

Was this how Nico had felt when he had fallen back into this place? He had spent what, two hours in the mortal world, and he was immediately back here. How is this all not affecting him?

No, that was not true. Percy remembered the injuries, the nightmares, Nico’s recklessness, his disregard for his own life, his tears. Tartarus was without a doubt affecting the son of Hades, very much so. So why had Nico not said anything to his two companions? Why keep everything bottled up until it burst out with a vengeance? Percy did not have to ask that question, he knew. He had only himself to blame for Nico’s lacking trust in him.

The son of Poseidon shuddered. He blamed it on the cold.

“Stay focused. We are getting close.”

Nico’s voice snapped Percy out of his train of thoughts. He was right, they had to focus. The son of Poseidon wondered, when exactly had his mind wandered and he had been only mindlessly putting one foot in front of the other. They were no longer running. They were barely walking at the speed of a snail.

“Man, this place is worse than Cocytus.” Percy complained half-heartedly. He found it hard to gather energy for basically anything.

He felt Annabeth’s hand slipping into his own, letting him know that she was there: “We will get through this. All five of us.”

Percy looked at his girlfriend in absolute awe. He had no idea where she was finding so much strength to go ahead and cheer him up. And not only him, he realized. On the other side, Annabeth was holding Nico’s hand and he in turn was holding Small Bob, Bob the Titan was standing behind them, his giant hand on Nico’s shoulder. Like this, they seemed like a real team.

Yeah, we can do this!

He looked at Annabeth and gave her and the others a small, tired smile: “Of course we will, all of us. Piece of cake.”

Nico and Bob gave him incredulous stares, the daughter of Athena just rolled her eyes. It seemed like Percy had not been able to lift their spirits much. Well, too bad. Feeling strangely ashamed, the son of Poseidon started walking again, leading their small group. They kept holding each other for support.

Percy doubted he should be the one leading the way, he had no idea where they should search for the goddess of Misery. Still, he stubbornly continued tugging at Annabeth’s hand, urging all of them to walk. He decided that it was as good a direction as any to go towards where he felt the most desperate and miserable.

They arrived at the edge of a small clearing between dead trees. Percy stopped dead on the spot. He was too terrified to continue walking.

In the middle of the clearing, there was perhaps the most repulsive and pitiful creature he had ever seen. Skin and bones, no meat or hair at all. She was sickly pale and the teeth she was baring at them (or was she smiling? Horrifying) were all yellowed and rotten. She was weeping pitifully, as if her entire family including all cousins, nieces and pets died in some terrible accident.

“We are here,” Bob said solemnly. And completely uselessly, Percy knew who that creature was just from a single look. The goddess of Misery in flesh.

From the corner of his eyes, the son of Poseidon saw how Nico clenched his jaw, squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. Before anyone could stop him, he extracted his hand from Annabeth’s hold and stepped forward, right into the clearing.

“Stay here,” the son of Hades warned them in tight voice, “I will take care of this.”

Percy was frozen with a scream on the top of his tongue. He did not want Nico to jump head first into another dangerous situation just to help. Just so he and Annabeth would be spared whatever horrors would now come. He knew that the son of Hades was doing it for them again, he had said he had already met with Akhlys before. 

Percy took the first step towards the clearing, his hand outstretched to pull Nico back. Suddenly, a barrier of darkness emerged from the ground. He retracted his hand from the icy cold wall. There was no way they would be able to pass through, it seemed solid enough.

Through the shadows, he could see Nico reaching the centre of the clearing. His steps were confident and his voice did not waiver when he addressed the goddess of Misery: “We meet again, Akhlys.”

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Annabeth wanted to scream. Why did Nico had to go face the goddess of Misery all on his own?

Nico headed towards the centre of the clearing alone. He had snatched his hand from Annabeth’s before she had any time to react. Through a wall of darkness that either he or the goddess of Misery erected, the daughter of Athena could see and hear everything.

“We meet again, Akhlys.”

“Indeed, son of Hades. We meet again.”

The goddess of Misery stopped wailing loudly and only sniffled and hiccupped now. It was clear that she was interested in the encounter. Which Annabeth took as a bad omen. When a god, much less a goddess like Akhlys, takes interest in a demigod, it can only end in tears and blood. At least Nico sounded confident enough, but it was too small of a comfort.

“You have seen all my misery last time. I believe it has greatly entertained you. Now I ask of you to help conceal us in your Death Mist.”

Annabeth had to cringe. It was good that Nico was confident and was not cowering in fear in front of Akhlys, but this was too confident. One should respect gods, not offend them when they are asking for a favour.

Akhlys luckily did not kill the son of Hades on the spot. Instead, she stared at him for a solid minute without any of them moving. It was extremely unnerving. Annabeth had to put a calming hand on Percy’s shoulder so he would not do something stupid. He seemed ready to launch himself at the wall of darkness and go to Nico’s rescue.

At last, Akhlys spoke with something akin to amusement: “You ask me for a favour, son of Hades. Have you asked last time, I would have granted it. But now, you are not perfect anymore.”

Nico seemed to have flinched at her words. Only slightly, but since Annabeth was focusing all her attention on him, she noticed. She could only see his back, it was somehow getting smaller and smaller. Or was the goddess of Misery in front of him growing bigger? There was a loud meowl as the son of Hades probably squeezed Small Bob too tightly to his chest.

“How come? I do not feel any different than last time. I am sure you can still get your fill.” Nico spoke still confidently, but this time, Annabeth could hear first signs of his voice cracking and fear sneaking up on him.

“Nico!” she called urgently, not caring how Akhlys would react to her interruption.

Unfortunately, it looked like her call was not heard. Or at best ignored as neither Nico nor the goddess of Misery acknowledged it. Percy next to her tried to pound on the shadowy wall with his fists, only to take them back with a hiss. They were frostbitten. Bob quickly helped heal them.

All of this, Annabeth barely registered from the corner of her eyes. She was way too worried for the son of Hades to care about anything else right now. The wall was encircling the whole clearing as far as she could see, there was no way they would be able to enter without getting seriously injured or killed. They could just watch helplessly.

“Last time, you were perfect. Alone and scared. Now though…” Akhlys stopped in contemplation. Her eyes landed on Annabeth and the others. The daughter of Athena felt a chill run down her spine. She shuddered. “You have them.”

Nico flinched, visibly this time, but to his credit did not turn around. For the better or worse, he was still trying to protect them.

His reply was hurried as he tried to divert Akhlys’ attention back to himself: “Leave them alone, you can take all you want from me.”

“Hmmm…” the goddess of Misery was contemplating the offer.

Annabeth held her breath. She did not know exactly what Nico was proposing, but she had an idea. And she did not like it. Not. At. all.

“Alright, I accept. Do not regret your decision later.”

The next moment, shadowy figures appeared in the clearing. The wall of darkness around it became more transparent. This was supposed to be a spectacle for everyone, not just Nico. Annabeth’s heart was hurting for the boy. The shadowy figures started acting out different scenes.

Nico was standing with his sister. “I hate you, Nico. I always hated you, you were always a burden to me, so clingy and naive. I am finally going to have a future now.” Bianca said with face contorted in hatred. She turned her back and run off to join the Hunters of Artemis.

“You little traitor,” Percy hissed with clenched teeth. He was holding his sword to Nico’s neck and glaring at him.

Nico was walking through the Camp Half-Blood. Everyone was looking at him with fear and hate. “He is the son of Hades, so scary. I hope he will leave again soon. I get nightmares when I know he is so close. We do not need him anymore, he should take a clue and disappear.” The campers were whispering to each other.

Percy was holding Annabeth’s hand, they were both seething with rage. “Why did you jump in here too? You were supposed to lead the others to Epirus. You betrayed my trust again. And why? Just because you already went through Tartarus once and want to prove that you are an even bigger hero by doing it twice? Do not make me laugh!”

Nico was sitting in a jar, balled into himself, trembling and gasping for breath. There was a single pomegranate seed on the bronze ground.

Nico was slashing at monsters. They were injuring him one after another. He was fighting and they just kept coming. He was alone and exhausted.

Percy and Nico were standing next to a river. “Just go back to your father, you little traitor. You will do less evil down here.”

Nico was walking away from a stack of Mythomagic cards. Minos was by his side, whispering into his ear: “I am the only one who understands you, son of Hades. I will help you bring your sister back. Let me guide you as your trusted mentor.”

Nico was glaring at his father, completely besides himself: “You promised not to harm Percy! You cannot keep him locked up in a dungeon! You promised…” Hades was sitting in his throne, visibly bored: “Well, you should have made me swear on the River Styx, boy. You should learn your lesson. You are no good to me like this.”

Nico was walking through the fields of Asphodel. Hazel was sitting by a tree. Nico was overcome with grief. “Bianca…” he sobbed brokenly. He had wanted it to be his other sister.

Nico was kneeling in front of his father’s throne. Hades was looking at him with disappointment: “It would have been better if you have died. I do not have any use for a useless son like you. You are weak. Bianca was much better, she should have been the one to live.”

“You knew about both camps. Why did you not say anything? You cannot be trusted, we should have just left you there instead of risking our lives.” Percy was glaring at Nico with contempt after he had just been rescued from the jar.

Percy looked at Nico and gave him a Mythomagic figurine of Hades. “Bianca is gone.”

A lightning struck a hotel room. Nico and Bianca were shielded by a wall of darkness. When it dissipated, they saw their mother’s corpse on the ground. Hades looked directly at Nico: “It is all your fault. You should have never been born.”

Nico was being held by shadows in front of a faceless dark figure. He was frozen by pure and undistilled terror. “You are confused, child. Those who are confused end up with me. I see your true nature. You belong here, into the darkness, with us. We will welcome you. I will help you see the truth. I will make you choose.” Nico did not say anything. His head fell down, he could not breathe, he believed this was his end. Then two giants appeared. “Can we borrow this demigod?” they asked. The goddess agreed nonchalantly: “Take him, he will find his way back to me eventually. Then, he will have to choose.” Nico was unceremoniously stuffed into a bronze jar. Complete darkness enveloped him.

Percy and Annabeth were kissing. Nico was standing close by, looking at them with longing. They turned to him: “You are weak and useless. We should leave you here and continue the quest on our own. You are just a burden, we always have to save you. Just drop dead already so we do not have to deal with you any longer.”

Annabeth could not watch any longer. She was crying for Nico. What Akhlys was doing was too cruel. Not only was she obliging the son of Hades to relive all his terrible memories and fears (Annabeth was fairly sure that some of the scenes were not real or had not happened as shown, they were only fears that were festering in Nico’s heart), she was also showing them to her, Percy and Bob. Without the boy’s consent.

“Nico!” she tried to snap the son of Hades out of this hell again. It was not working. She stepped forward to go to him, only to have to step back before she got frostbitten by the wall of darkness.

Someone next to her screamed in rage.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Annabeth had never seen a Titan doing anything more heroic.

“Leave Nico alone! No one hurts my friends!” Bob screamed next to her and raised his broom.

Then, he made an incredible jump over the wall of darkness. It was easily three times as high as the Titan, but he still managed to get over it. He did not even stumble when he landed on the other side. He held his broom at ready and charged toward the goddess of Misery.

Akhlys only looked at him with boredom. “Do not forget your end of the deal, son of Hades,” she remarked, speaking to Nico.

“Bob, I am alright. Stand back, I can deal with this.” Nico stopped the Titan in his tracks. His voice was so weak and sad. He sounded broken. Then, he prompted Akhlys: “Do what you must. But remember your end of the deal too.”

The goddess of Misery was nonchalantly cleaning dirt from under her fingernails. “Hmmm… But you have already broken your promise. I did not have nearly enough fun. You said I could do what I want. I want to see true sadness and misery. You are not suffering much, you are not even wailing.”

“Alright.” Annabeth heard Nico take a deep breath in the following silence. She had a feeling he was preparing for something terrible. “Do you worst. Bob, let her do what she wants. We have to get the Death Mist by any means.”

“No!” Annabeth cried, to no avail.

The son of Hades let go of Small Bob. His now empty hands fell to his sides, clenched into fists. He was trembling. Akhlys smiled: “This is better, I can feel it. You are suffering now.”

Bob was standing at the edge of the clearing, just behind the wall of shadows. Annabeth could not see his expression but if she could judge based on his slumped shoulders, he was not happy at all. He was the closest, yet he did not make any move to help Nico. He was listening to his request instead.

The daughter of Athena could only look in horror as more torturous scenes started playing again. She wanted to avert her eyes, but she could not. It was as if she was being forced to watch, as if Akhlys was also enjoying her suffering, not only Nico’s.

Nico was looking at Percy’s and Annabeth’s backs and their joined hands as they were disappearing off into distance. He scrunched down on the ground and wept.

Chiron and Nico were standing at the border of Camp Half-Blood. The centaur was pointing into the forest, away from the Camp. “Nico di Angelo, we can tolerate much, but this is going over the top. It pains me to say. You are no longer welcome in Camp Half-Blood. Please leave immediately. We cannot have the other campers disturbed because of your… preferences.”

Percy looked at Nico incredulously: “You have a crush on me?” Then he smirked and his expression became cruel and full of disgust: “That is so sick. Like really? Having a crush on a guy? Disgusting. Do not ever come near me again, you hear! Just disappear!”

Hazel was sitting on a bed in the Hades cabin at Camp Half-Blood. She was crying with a hand over her mouth. Suddenly, she bolted out of the room: “Nico, how could you. I thought you were my brother. But this? Did you really think I would be alright with you being… something so unnatural? I do not want to be associated with someone like you, do not ever show your face in front of me!”

Nico was being cornered by some older teenagers wearing clothes from different era in a dark back alleyway. The teenagers were sneering at him. One of them spat to his face. “Yo, what ya’ doin' here? We ain't wanna see no dirty faggot on our block.” They started beating and kicking him, Nico fell to the ground, protecting his head.

There was a senate meeting in session. A lot of people were sitting in circle around a small platform, pointing their fingers. “Freak! Disgusting! Monster! Chase him out! We do not want him here! He is scaring the kids!” Nico was standing on the platform, his eyes glancing around like a deer in headlights. Jason was speaking: “Nico di Angelo, Ambassador of Pluto and honorary member of the Senate. By unanimous vote of the Senate, you are hereby banished from Camp Jupiter and stripped of all your ranks and privileges. Leave now or face a death sentence.”

Annabeth was screaming at Nico who was holding Percy’s hand: “We were so happy together! Why did you have to destroy everything? Give Percy back, you disgusting traitorous gay! I hate you!”

Hades was radiating rage as he stood up from his throne in the Underworld: “You are no son of mine! No son of mine is a gay. Abomination! Do not ever show your face in the Underworld again!”

Nico was sitting in Tartarus, alone. “I am a monster. This is the only place I belong in. I can no longer go back to the mortal world, nor the Underworld. No one wants me there. It is better I die right here.”

It looked like Nico could not take the torture any longer. He sank to his knees and covered his face with his hands. He was weeping.

For a long moment, no one moved nor spoke. It was Akhlys who breached the silence, she looked almost happy: “Well, this was quite entertaining. I do not think I could give you any more suffering, son of Hades.”

At her cue, the wall of shadows finally disappeared. Annabeth was stunned for a second, she had thought that it had been Nico who had put it in place to sacrifice himself uninterrupted. Now that she knew he had been trapped the whole time, with his deepest secrets being put to light against his will, she was feeling even worse.

Annabeth started running towards Nico. She could not have helped before, hopefully she would be able to now. Though deep down, she was afraid of the son of Hades rejecting her. She had seen herself in the visions and it was not making her more confident. She would have never realized just how deep the boy’s pain run, how overwhelming were his fears.

She was not the first one to make it to Nico’s side. When she arrived, Small Bob was already sitting in his lap, squeezed between the son of Hades and the Titan. Bob was hugging the boy, letting him cry.

The daughter of Athena was not sure there was any place for her in that hug. Probably not, given what she had just seen. Nico was not too fond of her apparently. She was the one who had stolen his crush. It was still hard to wrap her head around.

Annabeth was not one to judge, it would just take time for her to come to terms with the sudden (forced) revelation. She was angry at Akhlys for showcasing Nico’s secrets like that. This was not right. She knew that if she was in Nico’s shoes, she would be mortified. She wanted to give the son of Hades some space, his cries were breaking her heart.

Instead, she opted to focus on the goddess of Misery. Akhlys was now glaring at Nico, Bob and Small Bob. She did not seem happy nor amused anymore. It was probably because she wanted to see more suffering and not the son of Hades being comforted right in front of her. Annabeth stepped in between the group on the ground and the goddess.

“Now it is time for you to make good on your promise,” the daughter of Athena reminded Akhlys. She had a growing suspicion that they were all just entertainment for her, nothing more. She did not want to help them.

“Why should I? The Death Mist is not for helping. It is the very breath of Tartarus, it should not be given out so freely. Ask for a more sensible gift. As for my promise, the son of Hades here had not learned his lesson well, he should not believe gods so readily. He should have made me swear on the River Styx.”

True to the daughter of Athena’s worries, the goddess of Misery looked at her disinterested, she was trying to peek over Annabeth’s shoulder, presumably to see Nico. Hearing her phrasing, the boy’s breathing hitched even more, but his cries got quieter. Was he forcing himself to calm down?

Nico stood up suddenly: “Oh, I have learned my lesson well enough., I do not trust gods. In the past, I have been too weak to do anything about my father’s broken promise. I still am weak. But you, I can deal with.” The tone of his voice became graver, making Annabeth shudder. He was the Ghost King, alright.

“Give us the Death Mist of face my wrath.”

Chapter Text

Nico

Nico did not want to talk about anything. The least of all to Percy.

He just wanted to get the Death Mist and find the Doors of Death. And then, preferably disappear. Doing those things in a different order starting from the latter was also fine. Just as soon as he made sure that Percy, Annabeth and Bob were safe.

They now knew everything about him, his every dirty secret. But he still did not want them to suffer because of it. He did not want to be the cause of their death. He had to stay strong for just a little longer. He had dealt with Akhlys before, he had known what he had been getting himself into. It was just that last time, his memories were only replayed in his head, not broadcasted to the whole Tartarus.

“Give us the Death Mist of face my wrath.” Nico demanded, doing his best to not break down again.

He made sure he was not looking at anyone except for the goddess of Misery. He did not feel strong enough to face the others. Small Bob’s soft fur in his arms as he was petting the kitten was the only thing that kept him sane and level-headed enough to talk. Rage, shame and fear were mixing in his heart, he was not sure what he would be capable of doing if Akhlys refused.

Nico made a gargantuan effort to push the shame and fear deep inside, under a solid lid. Like it were the emotions who were trapped in the bronze jar, not him. He was still feeling like he was suffocating. Even the whole expanse of Tartarus was too small for him to not feel trapped. The jar would have still been too big to hide his frightened and embarrassed self from the world.

He was too vulnerable, too fragile, with all his secrets out in the open. He did not want to know what Annabeth and Bob were now thinking about him. How they were looking at him. And he especially did not want to experience the look on Percy’s face. The son of Poseidon must be so disgusted by him.

Nico took a deep breath, focusing on the goddess of Misery with a lot more intent. He could not allow himself to let his emotions and fears get the better of him. He had already fed Akhlys enough misery and suffering. He was not about to give her more.

The situation turned into a staring contest. None of them were willing to step down or lower their expectations and demands. Tension was palpable in the air. It was Annabeth who stepped in just before it came to a death match.

“Yes, it will be fun.”

“Fun?” Akhlys asked in disbelief, her eyes narrowing. She was at least intrigued.

“Sure,” Annabeth pressed on, probably wanting to strike when she saw the opportunity. “Just imagine it, if we fail, you will get to gloat to our restless spirits for all eternity. Would you not enjoy it to tell us ‘I told you so’ and see us regretting ever asking?”

Nico finally understood where Annabeth was going. “And if we succeed, you will be able to enjoy the suffering of all the monsters down here. We will close the Doors of Death and cross Gaia’s plans. They will for sure be suffering. A lot of wailing and moaning to keep you entertained for a while.” He added quickly.

Akhlys was contemplating their words. Finally, she slowly nodded to herself: “I do enjoy suffering. Wailing is also good. It does not matter to me much whom it is coming from.”

“Then it is settled,” Nico hurried to get this over with.

He could feel eyes burning holes into his back. It was Percy. Nico wanted to be as far away from the son of Poseidon as possible. As soon as possible.

“It is not so simple though,” Akhlys was just shy of cooing at them. Nico immediately knew that he would not like what came next.

“The Death Mist comes at the moment of your death. Only then you will be able to be hidden from sight as you travel. It shrouds mortals in misery as they pass on to the Underworld. It is a dangerous and agonizing process. Are you sure you want to go through it before you actually have to?”

Nico’s voice was determined: “We have to now. There is no other option.” He could not stifle a sudden chuckle of dark humour: “It will be like a rehearsal for the real thing.”

“Alright then, follow me,” Akhlys relented. She got up from her seat and pointed toward where the forest was the densest.

Nico shuddered. He did not sense anything good coming from that direction. Which, all things considered, was probably fair. The goddess of Misery had just said that the Death Mist was the breath of Tartarus. That was a very disturbing notion in itself, the son of Hades did not need to be spooking himself out even more.

Determined, Nico followed Akhlys out of the clearing and into the forest. He made sure he was walking first as not to have Percy and Annabeth asking to any questions. He knew that only Bob would leave him alone and he was eternally grateful for that. And Small Bob too, of course. Nico was finding great comfort in petting the small kitten and knowing that it was the only one that would not judge him in any way.

He strained his ears, making sure that the others were following too. They all needed the disguise. Nico could hear two sets of footsteps behind him. Only two. He glanced over his shoulder, realizing that Bob was not one of them.

Percy pointed it out first: “Where is Bob?”

Akhlys did not even turn around as she cackled: “He cannot take this path, only mortals can. Now come on, little fools, experience the Death Mist.”

“Where did you send him? Is he alright?” Percy pushed on.

Nico wanted to facepalm. Did the son of Poseidon not feel how dangerous this situation was? Of course, the son of Hades was also worried for his Titan friend, but this was not the time nor the place. Curse Percy for riling up the goddess of Misery herself.

Does he want to have everything miserable in his life served to him on a golden platter? Had he not seen what Akhlys did to me? For a second time. I know he is dense, but really?

The goddess of Misery did not deem it necessary to trouble herself with an inquisitive son of Poseidon. Nico was secretly glad for it. He would not wish the suffering he had just gone through onto anyone, much less the guy he had been crushing on for so many years.

Let us not think about that right now.

Akhlys continued walking undisturbed.

Chapter Text

Nico

At first, Nico almost missed it.

A thick fog descended all around the small group. The son of Hades was observing it wearily. This was new, he did not know that there could be fog in Tartarus. Or was that the Death Mist?

Probably not. I cannot sense anything unnatural or death-related from it. I would expect the Death Mist to be more, well, deathly.

At some point, Small Bob seemed to have been done with the fog and jumped out of Nico’s arms, changing into his skeleton form. The son of Hades was immediately missing the calming soft and warm presence. He could still feel him close by, so there was that. Without anything to busy his hands with, Nico felt vulnerable again. He really hated feeling like that.

He was missing Bob’s presence too. With the Titan by their side, the son of Hades did not feel so helpless and desperate. Bob could protect Percy and Annabeth in case Nico failed (yet again) to do so. If the Titan was here, Nico would at least be able to go out without much worries.

His head was pounding and it was very hard to keep focus on a single thought. The scenes that Akhlys had brought to light again were flashing before Nico’s eyes, merging together and creating a truly terrifying mix of misfortunes and misery. No matter what the son of Hades did, he could not snap out of them, they just kept coming back.

Tears were stinging in his eyes and he refused to let them fall again. He had cried enough for a life time already. He was still extremely embarrassed for letting himself break down where Percy and Annabeth could see him. He did not want to be viewed as even more of a nuisance than they already thought.

Plus, he also did not want them to see what Tartarus could do to them. The son of Hades was doing his best to shield them, to protect them.

He worried if the Mist that was clouding the true appearance of the primordial god was still working for them. He really hoped so, if one of them, or both, broke down, he would have no idea how to console them. It was only lucky that the scenes Akhlys had shown them only involved separate situation, and not many of them in Tartarus itself. They did not have to know how horrifying the place really was.

When they arrived to edge of a cliff, Nico was so deep in thoughts that he almost fell down. The fog was so thick he could not even see the tip of his own nose. It was also distorting sounds so he could not tell how far Percy and Annabeth were behind him.

Just to be sure there would be no incidents or accidents, he called in no particular direction: “Careful, there is a cliff.”

His warning was drowned by Akhlys’ voice: “We are here. The verge of final death where Night meets the void below Tartarus. Here, you are closer to nothingness than any mortal has ever been. Are you scared?”

Yes, I am.

Nico had never sensed anything like the Death Mist. Usually, when he could feel death approaching a mortal, he would get a tingly feeling and there would be ringing in his ears. This, this was on a completely different level. Even worse than the battle of Manhattan, and he had thought that had been overwhelming.

It was as if Nico was connected to every person and monster ever alive and could sense their approaching deaths. His knees were weak from the strain of the Death Mist on his mind. If he stayed here too long, he would be sucked right into the foggy void below the cliff. The son of Hades closed his eyes, hoping this would be over soon.

There was also another reason he did not want to linger. Akhlys mentioned the void below Tartarus. Nico could only think of one being that resided there. Chaos itself. Another primordial being that could probably just turn in his sleep and instantly kill whole armies of demigods. Not only three already scared and weakened children.

The son of Hades pointedly avoided looking down from the cliff into the void below. If he could see Tartarus for what it was, he was terrified he would also be able to see Chaos.

That was why he noticed only too late that the mist from the abyss was coming out onto the cliff and started to wrap itself around him, Percy and Annabeth. He only realized what was happening when he felt icy cold touch on his bare skin. Now, the mist was enveloping him up to his waist and kept rising.

This was the Death Mist.

It was even thicker than the normal mist they have encountered on their way here. It was swirling almost lazily, but when Nico dared to move his hand and tried to get it off him, it kept clinging to him.

It was as if he was shadow-travelling, only he was stuck between the shadows and was not able to get out. The son of Hades felt his body was not completely solid anymore. He was on a verge of panic.

Will I disappear into the shadows if I stay in this state for too long? Will the Death Mist even work on me? Is it effective on children of Hades? Perhaps I am too close to the Underworld for it to have the same effect on me as for other mortals?

His mind has already been in turmoil, now squalling voices in his head joined the chaos. They were cries of those who were currently passing to the Underworld after their death. Nico had not been wrong, now he was connected to every living being, or more precisely, every dying being. The ringing in his ears was getting unbearable. There were so many.

He glanced at Percy and Annabeth in alarm, they were not doing any better. The Death Mist had already engulfed them whole. Though they probably did not feel any of the other effects because they were not children of Hades. Lucky them.

Then, Nico finally realized what was happening. This was exactly what they had come here for. This was what would give them an edge over the monsters, their shield.

Chapter Text

Percy

Percy was trudging behind Nico, his mind in utmost turmoil.

Ever since the son of Hades had walked alone (again) to meet with Akhlys, Percy could not calm down. He watched the scenes played in front of him with rising horror. He knew he had done and said many not too nice things, mean even at times, to Nico, but he had never in his darkest dreams imagined that the boy would have seen them in this light.

Nico is right not to trust me. After all I have just seen, I have really done a number on him. It was because of me that he had spent years upon years isolating himself and afraid to trust anyone. My actions have chased him away from the Camp and from normal people and demigods alike. And yet…

And yet, Nico did not hate him. At least according to the rest of the scenes. He had been running away from him for an entirely different reason. One, that Percy had a very hard time to come to terms with.

The son of Poseidon knew that many campers had had a crush on him at some point in time. Some even approached him to tell him directly. Those were however only female campers. It was hard to believe that also male campers could be in the same shoes. Especially Nico.

Percy was trying to decide how he felt about it. Seeing a guy having romantic feelings for him, even wanting to stay by his side instead of Annabeth, it was seriously weird. And even weirder was that Nico was apparently repulsed by the idea himself.

Can it be that he just cannot help himself? But why is he so scared? There are many couples at Camp who…

It finally hit Percy. Nico had never spent so much time at Camp to notice. And if he had been already attacked for his sexuality before, of course he would be cautious. According to the memories shown, the son of Hades had been betrayed by more people than just Percy. That would not help him in having a positive and trusting mindset when it came to people in general.

Percy wanted to cry. This was all his fault. He had been the one to betray Nico’s trust first and consequently caused him to run away. Multiple times. It seemed like it was only the boy’s love for the son of Poseidon that Nico kept coming back time and time again. That he had made himself vulnerable to be betrayed and shoved away again and again.

This is making so much sense now. I am sorry, Nico, I should have shown you earlier that I cared and not only wanted to use your help. I get it now why you think that I only ever take advantage of you and discard you when I cannot get anything more from you. That is why you keep talking about being useless and just waiting to be abandoned again. It is all you have ever gotten from me.

This time, Percy was crying for real. The guilt was suffocating him. He wanted to apologize to Nico, on his knees if that was what it would take. The last thing he wished for was that the boy continued suffering and throwing himself in harm’s ways because of him.

The son of Poseidon reached out his hand towards Nico. He stopped dead in the middle of motion. It was not his hand. At least, it did not look like his hand. He could barely feel it, it was too light, more like a piece of tissue paper than true flesh. It was blurry at the edges and moved like smoke.

Is this the Death Mist?

The so of Poseidon was so out of it that he only realized the danger they were all in when Annabeth shouted: “It is a trap!”

Percy’s battle instincts kicked in immediately. He got his sword out and aimed it at the goddess of Misery. He was pissed off. Akhlys had tortured Nico with revealing his inner fears publicly, Percy could still hear the boy’s broken sobs while he himself had been frozen in place by shock. And now the goddess betrayed them? Betrayed the son of Hades? That was too much.

Percy slashed at Akhlys with all the righteous anger he had inside. Nothing happened. The sword just passed through the goddess of Misery like it was not solid. Which, Percy realized just a second too late, it was not. Just like his hand, his sword had turned into smoke and would not affect anything in the physical world.

Percy swore internally. How were they supposed to defeat a goddess when they could not even touch her?

“You cannot fight me, demigods! Did I forget to mention that you are nothing but shadows before death now? Perhaps if you had time to get used to your new forms… But of course I will not give that to you, why would I? I fear your fight with Misery will be quite one-sided!” Akhlys laughed at them.

She snarled and sprang to attack Percy. The son of Poseidon raised his sword in an attempt to block the blow, but he already knew it would be futile. As the goddess of Misery had said, he did not know how to fight in this misty body of his. He closed his eyes and hoped that his end would be quick even if he did not deserve such mercy after making Nico miserable for so long.

“Percy!” The two other demigods’ screams merged together.

When nothing happened and no pain came, the son of Poseidon opened his eyes. His jaw dropped in shock. Nico was standing in front of him, blocking the blow with his sword. Percy had never seen something so heroic in his life. He was barely able to move his new smoky body, but here was Nico who was fighting as if nothing was more natural for him.

Perhaps it is actually. He is quite familiar with shadows. Maybe this is just like second nature to him.

The son of Hades fought bravely, but he was still standing against a goddess, even if a minor one. Percy was doing his best to try and get used to his new body as fast as he could. He had a feeling that if he and Annabeth would not join the fight quickly, Akhlys would win and kill all three of them.

Nico was losing ground, and fast. He was purely on the defensive and the goddess of Misery was making him take one step back after another. Percy saw how the boy’s hand that was holding his sword shook. Now that he was looking more closely, Nico was actually trembling from head to toes. He was also gasping for breath pretty acutely. He was not in a good shape.

And Percy’s body would still not listen to him. Was he about to let Nico down again? The son of Poseidon screamed in rage and charged forward at the fastest pace he could muster at the moment.

Chapter Text

Percy

Nico was retreating towards the cliff. Percy did not know if he was doing it on purpose or if he was being forced in that direction. Either way, it could only end badly for the son of Hades.

Percy was cursing how slow his pace was. It was more as if he was swimming in a swamp. The air felt way more viscous and he had to fight against it on every step. It reminded him of the time he was drowning, and not in a good way. His muscles were burning from the strain. Which was nonsense because right now, he did not have any real muscles that could be strained, just a bunch of shadows and mist.

“Hahaha,” the goddess of Misery cackled maniacally, “is this all your wrath is worth of, son of Hades?”

Percy watched in horror how Nico took one last step and was standing right on the edge of the cliff. Just one more inch, and he would fall. The son of Poseidon tripled his efforts to run. He forgot all about his sword, he was ready to throw himself to meet Akhlys’ next strike. He was praying to all Greek and Roman gods alike to let him be solid enough to stop the goddess’ claws.

“I will kill all of you slowly. I will cut you to pieces as a sacrifice to Night.” The goddess of Misery was shrieking in outraged delight.

Adrenalin was already coursing through his veins when he saw Nico stumble and fall backwards. His heart stopped. The mist swirling under the cliff’s edge sent tendrils upwards. They reached for the son of Hades as if they were welcoming him. Nico started to blur even more, dissolving into the Death Mist.

“NOOO!!!” Percy cried as he jumped forward, determined to catch the younger boy.

His hand came to contact with the son of Hades. It looked like the son of Poseidon would be able to catch him just in time. Then, to Percy’s horror, his hand passed right through the mist that was now the boy’s forearm. Nico was falling.

“Nico!” Annabeth screamed as well. To no avail, she was too far away to do anything to avoid the inevitable.

A dark, cat shaped shadow passed Percy on his right. He only registered it from the corner of his eye, it was so fast. Could it have been Small Bob? It snatched Nico from the air and suddenly, they were both gone. The son of Poseidon had no idea what just happened, only that the son of Hades was not falling off the cliff anymore. He prayed that the boy was alright.

There was no time for him to muse over where Nico was, he had bigger problems. Akhlys had no one to focus on anymore and turned towards him. Her face was contorted in a mix of hatred and sorrow. Percy shuddered at the combination, it was especially eerie. What shocked him even more was that the goddess of Misery was crying.

“A slow death!” she screamed. “A death from a thousand poisons!”

Fat dark green tears were coming out of Akhlys’ eyes. As they made their way down her cheeks, they were fuming and sizzling angrily. It was then that Percy remembered that she was also the goddess of poisons.

Surprised, Percy took a step back. Only to stumble because the ground was not flat anymore. He looked down. He was surrounded by a sea of poisonous flowers, leaving him only a very small clearing to stand safely on. He was cornered.

From far away, Percy heard Annabeth calling his name. He chanced a quick look in that direction. His heart froze again.

The daughter of Athena was stepping back into the forest. Flowers were sprouting from the ground all around her, reaching for her like living beings. Percy had never been strong in school subjects, but even he could recognize several ones that were deadly poisons when merely touched. From others, colourful liquids were leaking down and forming puddles on the ground, no doubt poisonous too.

We are going to die here.

Akhlys was standing in the middle of this mayhem, clearly enjoying herself. The ground around Percy bubbled and burned in contact with what must have been a mix of deadly poisons. The steam was tickling the son of Poseidon’s nose, making him lightheaded. It was hard to remain standing. The goddess of Misery was approaching him at a slow pace, enjoying his helplessness and suffering. The poisons cleared away from under her feet as she walked.

“You will feed the eternal darkness,” Akhlys went on with her threats. “You will die in the arms of Night.”

Percy was cursing Tartarus and its lack of any water source that he could use to turn the tides on the goddess. He refused to die like this, he refused to let his friends die like this. If only he had but a single drop of anything liquid.

That is when it hit him. There was so much more than a single drop all around him. True, it was not clear water, and definitely not salt water of his father’s domain, but beggars could not be chooser. Percy reached out with his powers and smirked in satisfaction when the poison heeded his call.

“What are you doing?” Akhlys asked. Suddenly, she did not look so sure of herself anymore.

As she should.

“Poison,” Percy pointed out, “that is your specialty, right? How about you get a little taste of it yourself? You like suffering, do you not?”

The words sounded strange to his own ears. Perhaps if he was in a better mindset, less angry, less scared, less smoky, less… everything, Percy would have been horrified by what he was about to do. Like this though, there was only one thing he focused on. Causing misery.

The son of Poseidon did not lose a single moment. In one swift movement, he made the sea of poison change its direction and proceed to encircle the goddess of Misery. Now it was her who was trapped and Percy was approaching through a way he cleared so he could walk on clear ground.

The son of Poseidon thought that it would be much harder to command a liquid that was not actually having all that much in common with sea. It was however so easy it was a little scary. Percy did not have time to fully contemplate on the consequences, he was on a mission. The poison was now just a single inch shy of touching the goddess of Misery.

“Percy, stop!” a cry disturbed the son of Poseidon from the last attack.

Annoyed at the interruption, he turned to the person who was calling him. It was Annabeth. His strong and smart girlfriend who was looking at him with eyes full of anguish. She was terrified.

Of him.

It felt like a cold shower. Percy’s mind immediately cleared and his rage receded. Now he too was terrified by what he was about to do. He let the poison fall to the ground, relinquishing all control.

A shadow came in from a side. This time, the son of Poseidon could see what it was. It was Small Bob in his sabretooth tiger skeleton form. And riding him was a shadowy Nico. The former kitten snatched Akhlys into his jaws and threw her good twenty feet away. She immediately scrambled away and then started running.

“Some things should never be done even if you have the power and opportunity. There is only a thin line between good and evil. If you cross it, you can never go back again.” Nico spoke gravely. He was not looking at Percy, but it was clear who the intended receiver of the warning was.

The son of Poseidon was staring at the son of Hades in astonishment. Both because he was really happy to see Nico alive and well (or as well as one could be in Tartarus) and because it seemed he was speaking from experience. Percy was not sure he wanted to know more. He knew he had gone too far, but his friends stopped him just in time.

Annabeth went running to the son of Poseidon, hugging him fiercely: “Please, Percy, never… never do something like this again. Please…” She was trembling, clearly still shocked and scared.

Percy hugged her back, trying his best to sooth her by rubbing the small of her back where she did not have her backpack: “I will not, I promise.”

Suddenly, temperature around them dropped. It was notably darker than a few seconds prior. An even darker figure rose from the depths under the cliff.

A voice thundered from the direction of the void, making all three demigods jump in surprise: “We meet again, Nico di Angelo, son of Hades.”

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Annabeth wanted to run. Run as far and as fast as she could without looking back. This was bad.

A huge lump of darkness rose from the void under the cliff. It started forming a human looking figure right in front of Annabeth’s shocked eyes. It was a good forty feet tall, intimidating and scary.

The daughter of Athena had never seen darkness so complete, it was as if it was absorbing all light from its surroundings. Which was saying a lot seeing that everything in Tartarus was dark already. She thought that if she touched it, it would suck her in too. The figure finished its formation except for its face.

Annabeth was looking at it with terrified expectations. It could not be anything but horrifying. The face remained blank though, only a hole of darkness. Looking at it physically hurt. The daughter of Athena felt she was being swept off her feet and pulled towards it.

She recognized the dark figure immediately. She knew it from Nico’s visions and put two and two together. Akhlys was saying she wanted to sacrifice them to her mother. To Nyx, the goddess of Night. They were in serious trouble now. Annabeth would have known even without having seen what this particular goddess had done to the son of Hades during his first time in Tartarus, how terrified he had been of her.

And still was apparently. Nico scrambled (more like fell really) down from Small Bob’s back in an attempt to get as far away from the goddess of Night as he could. Which was not far really. He was trembling like a leaf and his hands and knees did not support him. He ended up just sitting on the ground, fixing Nyx with terrified eyes. Annabeth could tell he was panicking even from several feet away.

“No, no, no, no…” Nico kept mumbling under his breath, clearly more to himself than to anyone else. “I do not belong here, I do not. I belong… I belong to…”

His voice broke at the same time as Annabeth’s heart. She had seen the boy’s visions, she knew that he thought Tartarus was the only place where he actually belonged. It was just sad. She wanted to call out to him, to convince him that he was not a monster, that he did not belong here among the darkest of creatures known to men. But she held herself back.

She noticed that Nyx’s full attention was on Nico. She appeared to not even acknowledge her and Percy’s presence. It was safer if it stayed like that. If they all became the goddess’ targets, there would be no escape. Like this, she could think of a plan how to get them out of this situation.

“You cannot even say it, child,” Nyx spoke as kindly as a caring mother, “I see you are still confused and you fight against your true nature. I told you last time, I will make you choose. Come with me, Nico, join the ranks of my children. I will take care of you. I will give you a place to belong to.”

The goddess of Night reached her hand toward Nico in an inviting gesture. Annabeth’s gaze was still focused on the giant dark figure when she heard a choked whimper. The son of Hades was breaking down, perhaps permanently. There was only so much one person could take until they were damaged beyond repair.

“That is good, child. You do not have to fight anymore. Come. Make your choice.”

Tendrils of black smoke erupted from Nyx’s hand. They were snaking towards Nico. This time, Annabeth chanced a look at the boy.

The son of Hades was completely still, like a statue. He was possibly not even breathing anymore. His eyes were two pools of pure terror as he was staring right at the goddess of Night, not daring or not being able to blink or tear his gaze away. One of his hands was slowly rising from the ground, reaching for the dark tendrils. He was trembling so much that his hand was dancing in the air with wild gestures.

Annabeth wanted to scream at the son of Hades. She wanted to let him know that he did not belong in the darkness of Tartarus, that he was not a monster, that he did not deserve to end up as Nyx’s child. But her voice was stuck in her throat. She was terrified of the goddess of Night too. So was probably Percy as neither he said anything or moved.

Even if Annabeth was not the person on which Nyx was focusing her whole attention, she could still feel the pressure. She could not imagine how hard it was weighing on Nico. The cold stare was looking straight at the son of Hades, the air around them was freezing below any acceptable level. Annabeth could not move now even if she wanted to.

A quiet meowl tore through the expectant silence like a cannon shot and echoed because of the cliff walls. It startled everyone except for Nyx.

The goddess of Night seemed only mildly annoyed as she turned her burning gaze towards Small Bob: “What do we have here? Did you get a pet, son of Hades? I am a lenient mother, you can keep it if you want.”

The daughter of Athena briefly wondered about the physics behind a skeleton sabretooth tiger being able to meowl. She soon gave up. This was Tartarus, of course things did not made sense here. She was getting tired of this notion, but she still could not get used to it. It was rubbing her the wrong way, she was going crazy.

The meowl however worked wonders.

With the weight of the gaze of the goddess of Night being shifted from him, Nico seemed to be able to move again. He glanced at Annabeth. His eyes were still full of terror, but there was determination in them too now. Somehow, the daughter of Athena was able to understand his plan.

In a matter of a single heartbeat, she decided. Either they would die right here, or they would try to escape. She knew which option she would choose, any day. Faster than ever, she grabbed Percy’s hand and reached for the son of Hades.

Nico was moving way slower, probably still recovering from Nyx’s icy glare. One of his hands was touching Small Bob’s hind paw and the other was outstretched towards Annabeth and Percy. The daughter of Athena grabbed it without thinking. She trusted that the son of Hades could do it, that he could get them out of this situation despite being the one most affected.

 Nico’s body was becoming mistier. His eyes urged Annabeth to hurry, he was starting to fade into shadows. The daughter of Athena mobilized all her remaining forces and grabbed at his hand.

For a moment, it looked like her fingers would miss. Nico’s arm was not nothing more than a faint shadow. Annabeth sent a desperate prayer to her mother. Then, her own misty hand made contact with something solid just before the son of Hades shadow-travelled away.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Annabeth had heard about shadow-traveling from Percy before. Now, she experienced it herself.

She immediately decided that she hated it. When they emerged, the daughter of Athena immediately fell to her knees, high heaving. In her smoky state, there was no way she would throw up, but she would have like to. Perhaps it would have helped to stave of the aftereffects of the shadow-travel. Next to her, Percy was not faring much better.

Her ears were still full of screams and growls of unknown creatures she had heard while she had been dissolved into shadows. Several times during that time, she felt something or someone tugging at her clothing and calling her over with her name. It had been profusely disturbing. She had only held to her sanity thanks to Nico’s hand never letting her go. In turn, she had made sure to do the same for Percy.

Annabeth looked around. She felt relief flood over her, they were lucky there were no monsters in their immediate vicinity. They were in no shape to fight. None of them.

Percy was still breathing hard, looking pointedly at Nico. He was no longer heaving, just clutching at his stomach. If dead people (they were disguised as corpses, Annabeth noted for the first time) could get green in the face, he would have for sure been.

The son of Hades was curled into himself, sitting with his knees pulled all the way to his chest. In his hands, he was cradling Small Bob in his fluffy kitten form. He was breathing really fast, bordering with hyperventilation, and gasping for breath at the same time. Annabeth was not certain he was actually getting any air into his lungs.

Nico was sitting with his side facing the daughter of Athena so she could not see his facial expression. She could only guess based on his overall posture. The boy was still very much terrified and panicked.

And probably also tired. Percy told me how shadow-travelling usually exhausts him. Plus, he had not eaten anything since we had fallen into this hellhole. Will he be alright? Or was this the last straw?

Annabeth was really worried for the son of Hades. Although she did not know the full extent of what had transpired between the goddess of Night and Nico, it must not have been good. She had been only a bystander and she had still almost lost her mind.

“Nico, are you–” Annabeth did not get to finish her sentence as Percy spoke at the same time.

“Are you both okay?” The son of Poseidon did not give them any time to reply and started asking more questions: “What was that, Nico? This did not feel like your normal shadow-travelling. Is this place interfering with your powers? Where are we? And where is Bob? What had happened back there with Akhlys? Was what we have seen true? Do you really have a–”

“Percy,” Annabeth shushed him urgently. She placed her hand over his mouth to stop him from asking anything else.

This was the first time the son of Poseidon spoke since Nico had gone to meet the goddess of Misery. Annabeth understood that he had many questions, she had too. This was just not the time to open this particular Pandora’s box. She was afraid that if they kept pushing, the son of Hades would fall apart completely.

“Nico?” Annabeth whispered in her most soothing and calm voice. It would not help anyone if she started to freak out too.

The son of Hades shuddered. There was no other sign that he even acknowledged her and Percy’s presence. It looked like he had closed off completely. Annabeth was at the end of her wits. She was not on her home turf here, she only had the vaguest idea about how to comfort someone so far gone.

In the end, she decided to jump into it head first, no reason to be stalling around. Monsters could come at any given moment, they were still in no condition to fight. Small Bob could probably hold a bunch of them off for a while. But Annabeth did not want to take the kitten from Nico, he looked like he could use all the comfort of petting the soft fur.

“Can I sit next to you?” She asked, hopeful to get at least some reaction this time.

The son of Hades did neither accept her offer or reject it. He only continued petting Small Bob and swaying from side to side. If it was because he was trying to find his bearings, wanted to comfort himself or was too tired to remain sitting up, Annabeth could not tell.

After what felt like a whole eternity and more, Nico shrugged slightly. The daughter of Athena was delighted. She had not thought the boy would accept either her or Percy anywhere near himself. This seemed like a huge improvement to his previous panicked fits. She accepted the trust gratefully, reverently even.

Slowly, she approached the son of Hades and sat a few inched from him, imitation his position. Nico did not flinch away, he only tensed. Then, he sighed and let his shoulders relax slightly. Annabeth took it as a good sign. She noted how his beathing kept being fast and shallow, luckily, he was not bordering hyperventilation anymore.

Now that she could see his eyes, she was sad that they were so empty. The boy was looking at Small Bob, but the deep dark wells seemed unseeing, most probably lost somewhere in the past.

“How are you doing?” Annabeth asked carefully. She purposefully avoided any questions that could lead Nico to think she was assuming anything.

The boy only shrugged. It was clear he was not ready or able to talk right now. The daughter of Athena could understand him. She could see herself in his shoes, afraid of an avalanche of personal questions she would have to answer. She had no intention to pressure him.

“I see,” Annabeth continued, keeping her voice smooth and low. “Thank you for what you did back there. It was very brave. You saved us.”

Another shrug, this was becoming a trend now. The daughter of Athena did not mind. She could tell the boy was listening and that was all she asked right now.

“Did it drain you a lot? Percy told me that you get really tired after shadow-travelling.” Nico flinched at Percy’s name. Annabeth decided not to mention her boyfriend anymore during this conversation is she could help it. “Is there anything I can do?”

She almost asked if the son of Hades wanted to eat something. She stopped herself just in time. That question would mean she was assuming something. It could send Nico over the edge and push him to close off.

She waited for a long while. Silence stretched between them, it was not the uncomfortable kind. Annabeth was glad that the son of Hades was no longer so guarded around her. He was also breathing normally now, that had to be something.

Has Nico finally started trusting me? Or is he just so vulnerable right now that he cannot help it? Is he so exhausted he does not have the strength to push me away or keep me at arm’s length? Be it as it may, I am just happy he is open enough to listen.

From the corner of her eyes, Annabeth saw how Percy was opening his mouth, probably to start asking his questions again. She shot him a glare and he closed his mouth. The daughter of Athena understood that her boyfriend was confused and on edge after seeing that Nico had a crush on him. This was however no time or place to bring it up. Not yet.

Nico shuddered next to her again and Small Bob nuzzled closer to him. Annabeth marvelled at the small kitten, it always seemed to know when the son of Hades needed it the most.

She gathered her courage and offered: “Would you like a hug?”

Nico did not reply verbally. He did not have to. As soon as she asked, he tentatively leaned closer and rested his head on her shoulder. Their arms were touching in the most fleeting of proximity. Carefully, Annabeth slowly extended her hand and put it around the boy’s shoulders in a half hug. Nico did not protest. Her heart swelled with warmth when he snuggled a little closer.

Then, to Annabeth’s surprise, the son of Hades turned his head and buried his face into her tattered T-shirt. Soon, she felt it getting wet. She kept silently holding the shaking, way too bony shoulders.

Chapter Text

Nico

Nico was crying. Again. He wanted to hide in the Underworld so no one would see him. The irony of it was completely lost on him right now.

At least this time, he was crying out of relief. They had managed to get themselves hidden in the Death Mist (though they nearly got killed). They had been able to escape Nyx (at least for the time being but he did not want to think about that right now). They had not dissolved into shadows while shadow-travelling (Nico had no idea how he had managed that jump in the first place). And, Annabeth was not asking any questions (for now).

Nico had not thought it possible for him to shadow-travel in Tartarus. He had not dared to do so during his first time here. It seemed way too risky. He had not wanted to do it this time either, but he had been so overtaken by panic at seeing the goddess of Night that he just did it by instinct.

The son of Hades had just grabbed everyone and run. It had not even occurred to him at that moment that Nyx had been completely focused on him and had not even seemed to have seen the others.

The experience was not pleasant at all. Nico was still exhausted and his head was hurting. He felt like he would pass out any second. The effects of the Death Mist were not making this any easier. And yet, he had somehow managed to grab his three companions at the last second and lead them through the shadows. He had barely found an exit.

I will not do this again. Next time, it can very well kill me if I do not find a way out of the shadows. I can kill Percy and Annabeth too. I would be a murderer. And a traitor to the whole mortal world because there would be no more heroes to close the Doors of Death.

Nico shuddered at that. It was one thing to get lost in the shadows and let himself dissolve into them. It was another thing entirely though to lead someone to their death like that. Shadows were his home, his solace (not those in Tartarus, but in general yes). But to others, that would be the worst nightmare. He did not want to condemn anyone to such fate.

Better not think about it anymore.

Unfortunately, there were only so many other topics that he could think about. Nico was avoiding any direction that would lead towards his terror of the goddess of Night and the choice she was making him take. He was even starting to see her point, perhaps he really belonged right here, into the place where only monsters and demons resided.

Nico shuddered again, forcefully pushing his thoughts to the very back of his mind. If he could, he would forget them altogether.

He felt Annabeth’s hand tighten around his shoulders. He had almost forgotten that he was still leaning into her and crying on her shoulder. It was strangely comforting to have someone who would sit silently with him and let him process his emotions. It was rare, very rare for him. Only Bob had sometimes done it for him. Otherwise, Nico had not had anyone for years now.

The son of Hades was slowly calming down. His terror of Nyx was subsiding now that he could no longer feel her burning gaze on himself. Being like this, hugged and comforted, accepted, he could almost forget that the encounter ever happened.

Surely the goddess of Night would not purposefully chase after them? Last time, she had just handed him over to the Giants without a fight. She believed that Nico would inevitably find his way back to her. The son of Hades had proven her point. He could only hope that she would be waiting for him also this time and not actively seek him out.

Remembering his last encounter with the goddess of Night, Nico could not help himself but to be reminded of what Akhlys had done to him. How she had shown all his shameful secrets and suffering to Percy and Annabeth.

Nico knew that the questions were coming. There was no way Percy and Annabeth would not ask anything after witnessing his deepest fears. Especially the son of Poseidon. The daughter of Athena had managed to silence her boyfriend temporarily, but there was simply no way he would not breach the topic of the crush again. 

The son of Hades dreaded those questions. He had never intended to admit his crush even to himself, much less to Percy or any other outsiders. The goddess of Misery had been right. She had wanted to cause him suffering and she had.

He was terrified of what Percy and Annabeth thought about him now. Being gay was something he had yet to come to terms with himself. It was disgusting and unnatural. Back in the day, he would have been locked up because of it, drugged and forced to change his orientation. For all he knew, it was still the same even today. He should not, could not, have a crush on a guy and have anyone know about it.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Annabeth’s quiet voice disturbed the son of Hades from his thoughts.

Nico snorted. There were so many things the daughter of Athena could want to talk about.

She was supposed to be smart, no? Then she should know that he would not give her any reply if she did not specify what she wanted to know. He may not give her a reply even if she did though. Annabeth was being nice to him, sure, but there were still parts of Nico’s past that he was not ready to reveal or comment. Well, most of his past actually.

He was not sure he was allowed to not agree to discuss it anymore. The phrasing of Annabeth’s question suggested as much, but it could have been just out of courtesy. She was a daughter of Athena after all, she would have not chosen this particular formulation if she did not want to give Nico an opportunity to reject her. Right?

Nico was grasping at straws, but he decided to trust Annabeth. Slowly, without dislodging his head from her shoulder, the son of Hades shook his head.

He was pleasantly surprised, when the daughter of Athena actually accepted: “That is alright. We do not have to talk about any of this. Unless you will want to in the future, in that case, we will be glad to listen.”

Annabeth’s kindness and understanding brought new tears back to Nico’s eyes. It was rare that someone respected what he wanted and not wanted to do without him fighting for it. Others would usually just demand things from him and then leave him without a second thought. The daughter of Athena did not. She was sitting here with Nico, being all considerate and warm-hearted.

“Right, Percy?”

There was a short pause during which Nico’s heart almost jumped out of his chest with anxiety. Would the son of Poseidon listen to her? Annabeth could be accepting and kind, but what about Percy? Surely the son of Poseidon had many more questions than her. He had just learned that a guy had a crush on him after all.

“Of course,” Percy exclaimed with way too much cheer for Nico’s liking. This was a serious question, not something to be taken lightly. “I may have been surprised, but I will not push. You can tell us on your own time. We are here for you, Nico.”

And that was it. Now the son of Hades was so stunned he did not know what to do. Could it really be that they would not pry into his fears? Not even Percy? Not even because they now knew he was gay and wanted to essentially separate them? Not that he would ever be so selfish to do so, but still. This could not be real, could it?

As if there was not enough good news, Bob’s voice suddenly called from not too far away: “Friends! I found you.”

Chapter Text

Nico

They all reunited again, that was good. But Nico was not in the best condition.

After he had finally calmed down and had managed to unglue his face from Annabeth’s shoulder, he found the two other demigods and the Titan smiling at him. He still could hardly believe that they had let him off the hook so easily. He was waiting for the other shoe to drop, only it never did.

The daughter of Athena kept hugging him around his shoulders and he could not find it in himself to push her away just yet. Even shrouded in the Death Mist, her body was still warm and comforting. It did not look like she minded either. She hugged him easily without betting an eye. Her posture was relaxed and easy.

“Where are we?” Percy asked looking at Nico.

The son of Hades shrugged. He had no idea of their whereabouts. When he had shadow-travelled, his inly thought was to get away, he had not had a destination in mind. But since Bob was here, they could not be lost too badly.

“Little ways,” the Titan replied easily. Not that it made too much sense since he had not specified where they were little ways away from.

Percy looked confused. He was opening his mouth, probably to ask additional clarification questions, when Annabeth cut him off. “Where we are is not that important as where we need to go. How do we get to the Doors of Death?”

Nico felt his cheeks redden. He had not actually made it all the way to the Doors of Death last time. He did not know where exactly they were or how to get there. Some guide he was. He was starting to feel useless again.

Luckily, Bob saved him from the embarrassment of having to admit his ignorance: “You need to pass through the Mansion of Night.”

Nico froze. This was becoming a complete disaster. He could not go back to that mansion, not in a million years. Not even if it meant that he would stay stuck in Tartarus forever. Not only could he not face Nyx again, her mansion was what broke him last time.

“What mansion?” Percy asked innocently.

“Seaweed Brain, have you not been listening to a word Akhlys had said? Mansion of Night, in other words Nyx, the goddess of Night, Akhlys’ mother.”

“Oh,” the son of Poseidon was stunned. Then, he admitted sheepishly while scratching the back of his neck: “That actually makes sense. Thanks, Wise Girl.”

Nico abruptly pushed himself away from Annabeth. He was shaking his head vehemently. “No, no, no. Impossible. That cannot be the only way.”

The others looked at him in alarm. They must have picked up on his desperation and rising panic.

“Nico? What is wrong?” Annabeth asked carefully, kindly.

Too kindly, it made something inside the son of Hades break. He was fighting a sob. He did not want them to see, he did not want to admit to his fears. But words slipped out of his mouth against his will: “I cannot go back there. Please… I just cannot…”

He was whining and begging, he knew it. Yet, there was no way he would ever go back. Even if Bob said it was the only way. Even if Percy and Annabeth wanted to chance their luck in that horrible mansion made out of living insects. Even if the son of Poseidon threatened to lead Nico by his hand again. There was just no way.

“Oh, Nico…” Annabeth went to hug him again. The son of Hades dodged her touch and huddled more into himself instead. He cradled Small Bob in his arms as if the kitten was his last lifeline. And perhaps it was.

The daughter of Athena did not seem offended by having been rejected. She turned to Bob instead: “Is there no other way?”

Nico lifted his head to look at her. He was surprised that she was taking his little temper tantrum this nonchalantly and was still caring about him. Then again, she was used to dealing with Percy, so perhaps it should not come as such a big surprise. She was patient. When the Titan spoke, the son of Hades looked at him instead, immediately intrigued.

“A longer one, yes,” Bob nodded his head, visibly not too happy with the idea. “A way around. With a river.”

Nico grimaced, he had had his fair share of encounters with rivers in Tartarus. He liked none of them. Each one seemed worse than the other. He did not know which one they would have to face on the longer way around as Bob called it, but it was still a better option to him than to see Nyx again. Everything was better than meeting the goddess of Night.

“That is awesome!” Percy exclaimed. “Should we take this one then? Personally, I did not like Nyx much. I could go without a house visit.”

Even if the son of Poseidon said it like that, he was looking straight at Nico. Percy must have known just how weak the son of Hades was. Nico’s mood went sour, he knew that he was a burden to the quest, but he did not like for it to be pointed out to him like this.

“Yes, let us take the longer one. If we hurry, we should still be able to make it to the Doors of Death in time before the others arrive to Epirus.”

If they arrive went unsaid. Without a guide, they could not be sure that the rest of the seven would make it there. And when. Nico felt a pang of guilt, he should have been that guide. Percy had asked him to be, and he had betrayed his trust by falling into Tartarus. It was inevitable really. But the son of Hades still vividly remembered how the son of Poseidon angrily shouted at him. 

“Nico,” Annabeth addressed him so suddenly he jumped, “by any chance, can you feel where the others are?”

Nico pondered the question. He could feel when people who were close to him died. He also knew when they were in danger of dying if they were not far from where he was. He had never tried sensing someone’s whereabouts. Could it actually work? Perhaps if it was someone really close to him, like his sister…

“If it was Hazel, then maybe…” The son of Hades trailed off uncertainly.

Nico concentrated hard. He even closed his eyes to help himself focus. He filled his mind with thoughts and memories of Hazel and their times together. He searched for her. Perhaps it was because he had never tried before or because of the Death Mist, but after a few seconds, he actually felt something.

It was like a little tug. Like the feeling of a possible exit when he was shadow-travelling. He followed the tether until he found its origin. It was indeed Hazel. Or at least her life force, her vitality. Nico sighed in relief, his sister was safe. He concentrated even harder, he had to find out where she was.

It worked.

It actually worked. Nico could not believe it.

Once he found Hazel, it was actually pretty easy to tune himself to Jason and Frank. He knew them from Camp Jupiter. Although they have never been quite close, he still could feel their energy. They were fine too. As for the others though…

“They are in Croatia.” Nico exclaimed triumphantly. “They are getting closer. At least Hazel, Jason and Frank. I cannot sense the others as I have met them only once…” he added afterwards, feeling apologetic because he could not confirm that the whole crew of Argo II was fine.

“That is so cool, man,” Percy seemed enthusiastic hearing about Nico’s new found ability.

It can be useful, so of course he is.

Annabeth smiled at the son of Hades but her mind was already in analytical mode. “They are closer than I thought. We should hurry or we will miss them. We need to close both sides of the Doors of Death, is it not what you said, Nico?”

The son of Hades nodded: “At the same time too. Otherwise, it will not work and the Doors will stay open.”

For a second, Nico was afraid that Annabeth would suggest taking the faster route through the Mansion of Night. It was the logical choice, there was no time to lose. Even if time was a relative notion in Tartarus.

The daughter of Athena must have sensed how tense Nico was. She spoke reassuringly while nodding in his direction: “We will take the longer route. We will just have to hurry.”

“Yes, Bob will lead his friends. The longer route is nice. Safer.” The Titan was as willing to help as ever.

Chapter Text

Percy

They took the longer way around.

Percy was still dumbfounded by everything that had happened over the last few hours (if it were actually hours). Seeing Nico’s memories and understanding how the son of Hades saw the world was very enlightening. With understanding should also come acceptance, but he had a hard time in this area.

Percy was mulling in his head over the fact that Nico had a crush on him. He had so many questions with no way to ask them. Sure, they were no longer fighting for their lives. Or they were, and would as long as they remained in Tartarus, but there were no immediate threats. It felt almost like a walk in a park. Perhaps too quiet.

Percy stayed silent not because of being attacked. No, he was quiet because Annabeth kept glaring at him every time he opened his mouth. And the daughter of Athena could be scary. There were times when the son of Poseidon would pick a fight with a vicious monster over having to face his girlfriend. This was one of those times.

It did not help that the daughter of Athena had promised Nico they would not pry. They were now trailing after Bob, the three of them in line, holding hands. Percy could barely believe it. The son of Hades was actually willingly holding hands with someone. It would have been awkward if he had picked the son of Poseidon, but luckily, Nico was conservative enough to only take Annabeth’s hand. Percy was not sure if he was glad for it or if he should feel offended.

Better not get angry in this place. The times I had, I had almost lost my mind. This place is amplifying any negative emotions. I do not want to blow up at Nico again.

No, he for sure did not want that. He had seen it in the boy’s visions just how affected the son of Hades was at Percy’s every comment. His mind only kept the bad side of things and further twisted them.

His brain needed something else than brooding over things he could not control. If the son of Poseidon could not talk to Nico, he could at least try starting a conversation with their other companion. Annabeth still shoot him a hard look but did not stop him.

“So, Bob, how did you and Nico get close?” Percy ignored his girlfriend glaring at him. If he did not talk like now, he would go crazy.

I am actually really curious about it. Last time I have seen Bob, we were in Hades’ throne room in the Underworld. Back then, Nico simply promised that he would watch him.

How had it come to the Titan wearing a janitor’s uniform and being so close to the son of Hades that he could hug the boy and let him cry? There must have been a story there.

Bob was only too happy to reply: “Nico helped me. He talked with his father and got me a job. Cleaning. Repairing. Helping. Bob is really happy. Nico came to visit often. Nico is a friend. He told Bob that Percy is a friend too. Bob has so many friends now.”

Percy sighed internally, he had wanted to hear a story to distract his mind. But the Titan’s way of speaking was way too simplistic. Nico had been right when he had said that anyone who as much as touched the water from the River Lethe would become like a newborn baby.

I guess it is a small miracle that Bob is speaking as well as he is, given the circumstances. He probably has Nico to thank for this as well. I cannot imagine that Hades or Persephone took time to actually talk to a former Titan.

Not that I do not like the guy. Despite everything, he had jumped to Tartarus just to help us. Not everyone would have done the same. Actually, now that I think about it, probably no one would do something this foolish and brave at the same time.

No one except for Nico. The thought flashed through Percy’s brain like lightning. Even if it was probable that the boy had fallen into Tartarus less than willingly, he still deserved his admiration. No matter what, the son of Hades was here, protecting them and helping them. If it was not for him, Bob would not think of Percy as a friend and would not have come. And where would that leave them?

The Titan turned to the son of Hades, Small Bob perched on his shoulder hissed unhappily at the sudden need to balance himself. Bob smiled widely: “Thank you, Nico.”

“Yes, thanks, Nico, really,” Percy chimed in. He was trying his best to convey just how grateful he was to the boy. Although his gratitude was coming from a different reason, it was no less sincere.

“Thanks, big guy,” the son of Hades replied, apparently doing his best to return the Titan’s smile. “I like being your friend too.”

Instead of stopping there and closing back into himself again, Nico continued speaking, filling some of the holes in the story.

“When…” he hesitated, probably not wanting to say if, still hoping. “When we will get out of here, I will come back to the Underworld with you. We can play catch with Cerberus again, if you want. And talk, tell each other stories. I love hearing about what hilarious situations happen in my father’s palace. The incident with Furies in Persephone’s Garden was pretty funny.”

“Yes, yes, funny. Even if your father did not laugh.” The Titan agreed nodding his head vehemently.

Both Bob and Nico laughed at the shared joke. It had been years since Percy had seen the son of Hades smile freely, never mind laugh. Not the humourless laugh he would use to mock people or retort sarcastically when approached, but a genuine happy laugh.

They both stopped talking after that and went back to scanning their surroundings for any threats. Small Bob perked up when he was no longer jostled around and was keeping watch too.

Percy wanted to know more. It had been way too long since he had seen Nico having this much fun. It was as if his ten-year-old self came back a little. He missed the carefree enthusiastic kid. Again, guilt started burning in his chest. It was all his fault that the boy had become like this, a stereotypical gloomy son of Hades.

The son of Poseidon sighed, earning himself another glare from Annabeth. He shook his head slowly, letting her know that he was not about to ask anything more. The silence was getting on his nerves. He wanted to break it, but he feared his girlfriend’s reaction. And Nico’s too. The boy had yet to talk to him properly ever since their meeting with Akhlys.

Instead, it was Nico who broke the silence first: “We have company.”

Indeed. It looked like things had been going too smoothly for it to last.

Chapter Text

Percy

The three ugly women were even harder to fight than back in the mortal world.

Percy had already encountered empusai Kelli and Tammi during the war with Kronos. He had not liked them then, and he did not like them now any more. They were no longer in their human forms, they probably did not see the need because they were in their home territory. It only made them uglier. There was also a third one that Percy did not know. Not that it really mattered.

The son of Poseidon took out his sword. Three empusai were formidable and tricky opponents. They may have a hard time even if they were four on their side. Annabeth, Nico and Bob did not follow suit, Percy wondered why.

“This is not good. They regenerated quickly,” the son of Hades mumbled.

Percy was confused. He and Annabeth had killed Kelli a while back already, during the battle of the Labyrinth. He would not say that was considered ‘quick’. The son of Poseidon shot Nico an incredulous look.

“What?” The son of Hades retorted with his usual bite to his words even when they were mere whispers. When had he gone from the vulnerable kid to the snarky one again? Percy must have missed the transition. “I just killed them.”

This time, it was the son of Poseidon who received an incredulous look. It looked very misplaced on Nico’s dead corpse face, but he was still able to catch it. “We killed them a while back,” was all he managed.

Nico rolled his eyes, unimpressed: “Yeah, sure. But you killed them in the mortal world. I mean, I fought with them here in Tartarus.”

“When?” The question left Percy’s mouth before he could think about it. They had been together the whole time, how come he had not noticed?

Then, the son of Poseidon actually did think things through. He realized that Nico could have killed them during his first time here. Or even during this time, it was not like they had been together exactly the whole time.

It could have been before he met with me and Annabeth. Or when we were out because of drinking from the Phlegethon, he had disappeared on several occasions then, always to fight monsters and protect us. Or even when we were sleeping…

Gods, Nico protected us so many times and I have not thanked him for even a single one.

Percy got lost in his thoughts so he nearly missed Nico’s hissed reply: “Shut up, Jackson. And put your sword away, otherwise they will–”

Just then, the three empusai took a step closer to them. “Jackson? Percy Jackson?” Kelli asked, visibly confused.

“Both of you shut up,” Annabeth whispered urgently.

The son of Poseidon looked at his girlfriend with hurt in his eyes. She sounded way too harsh for his liking. “Annabeth?” he asked, hoping for some explanation.

That daughter of Athena and Nico still had not drawn their swords, were they mad? Could they not see the three empusai in front of them? It could not be that they have both given up on life and did not even want to defend themselves anymore, right?

“The Death Mist–” Annabeth tried to explain hastily.

Percy realized his mistake too late. He had forgotten all about the Death Mist and how it was supposed to shield them from monsters. Unfortunately, it was still Mist, no matter which kind. And once one knew what they were looking for, the illusion was broken. They had just given themselves up to the empusai because of their bickering. And because Percy had drawn his sword which no habitant of Tartarus would probably do upon a normal friendly encounter with their fellow monsters.

“Percy Jackson, indeed.” Kelli all but cooed, clearly not fooled by the Death Mist anymore. “What do we have here? Three little lost demigods. You are far from home, children.” She laughed diabolically, all amicability disappeared from her voice. “But it is actually good for us. I will not have to return to the mortal world to destroy you!”

Nico scoffed, again in that dark amusement of his: “I killed you once, I can kill you a second time. Which one of you wants to go first?”

“Oh, no, you will not, son of Hades. We will not make the same mistake again!” Kelli screeched loudly.

It was an ear-shuttering sound. It physically hurt to listen to it. Percy let go of his sword and blocked his ears in a desperate attempt to lessen the pain.

He looked at his companions. Annabeth seemed no better off. She was also blocking her ears, her face contorted in a grimace of pain. Though she did not let go of her weapon. Bob was standing still, unperturbed. As a Titan, he was probably not affected by monsters. Small Bob was all puffed up, hissing.

Nico was the only one who actually did anything productive. He only winced and charged at the empusai. Percy had no idea how he was doing it. His own knees were weak and he was about to pass out. Then again, he had seen how formidable the boy’s pain tolerance and determination were.

Or he is purely driven by survival instincts. That is also possible. He had been fighting for his life alone for so long. He probably never had the luxury of hesitating in battle. He would have been killed, he had no one to watch his back.

Percy was not given time to marvel and feel sad for long. The empusai were not kidding. They had fought Nico before and lost, they were apparently not taking any chances with a sword fight. As servants of Hecate, empusai had one very annoying ability, their charmspeak.

“Oh no, you do not!” Kelli laughed and then used her secret weapon on the son of Hades: “Stop. Do not attack.”

At the same time, the other two empusai shouted: “Stop!”

The triply amplified order shot through the thick air like a whip. Nico did not have any other choice but to follow it to the letter. He stopped in the middle of a movement, his sword still raised high. The empusai cackled evilly. They knew they had the upper hand now.

Percy was still shaken from the screeching. Despite his headache and weak knees, he still picked up his sword and run to help the son of Hades. The monsters however would not let him.

Kelli levelled him with a nasty look: “All five of you will not move until I say so.” Everyone stilled, even Bob. Charmspeak was working on him even if the screeching had not. “We will have some fun now.”

A cold chill came over Percy. When a monster, especially one that wants to destroy you because of a personal vendetta, told you they wanted to have fun, you were in trouble. What empusai considered fun would most probably be torture for the demigods. He desperately tried to move, but he was not able to go against the order said in charmspeak. They were doomed.

Kelli marched slowly, almost lazily, to Nico. She had a dark glint in her eyes, she was enjoying herself. When she was only a foot away from the boy, she stopped. Percy wanted to warn the son of Hades to run, but he was completely powerless. He fought his hardest and it was still not enough.

Kelli tapped Nico’s chest with her long index finger. Right where the boy’s heart was, a drop of blood appeared, the monster scratched him with her nail.

“Why do we not play a nice game of ‘get to know each other’? I see right through you, son of Hades, I know what you are most afraid of.” Kelli laughed even harder now, the other two empusai joined in. “Yes, this will be so much fun.”

“Each of you will tell the others what you really think about them. You go first.” she ordered and pointed at the son of Poseidon.

Suddenly, Percy found out that he could speak again. He was not happy about it.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Annabeth was furious at herself for not seeing earlier what Kelli had planned.

She should have known that the empusa was extremely vengeful towards her and Percy (and apparently Nico too no matter how that happened). She should have known that Kelli would not play fair and would use her charmspeak. She should have known the second they had seen the monsters. The Death Mist should have covered them, but of course they had blown their own cover too.

This was all a terrible chain of coincidences, and now they were trapped. Tartarus was so vast, what were the chances that they would meet monsters they had some history with and who wanted to take revenge?

Annabeth was frozen in place and could only mutely watch as Percy turned towards her. She knew for a fact that her boyfriend did most probably not have anything too terrible to tell her. She was not so certain when it came to Nico or Bob. Percy had a twisted past with both of them.

“Annabeth,” the son of Poseidon started solemnly, his eyes were begging for forgiveness, “I hated you at first. I hated you because you were smart and strong, you had more experience than me, and you were a little petty.”

The words stung, but not as much as they could have. Luckily, this was something that Annabeth and Percy had discussed long ago. Still, the reminder of their first quest together was not pleasant.

“We went through thick and thin together and slowly I fell in love with you. I love you Wise Girl, with all my heart.”

Annabeth was on the verge of tears. Percy, her always so sweet and attentive, although silly and outright stupid at times, boyfriend. She did not know what she would have done without him. She loved him too. Not that she could say it right now, the charmspeak would not allow her to open her mouth.

The daughter of Athena briefly wondered how Nico was feeling about this. In the vision they had seen, it was clearly one of his greatest fears that Annabeth stole Percy from him. How was the son of Hades feeling when hearing that his crush was in love with someone else?

Then, Percy smiled at her before he turned towards the Titan: “Bob, I was not always truthful with you. I am not sorry I was the one who made you lose your memories, you look much happier like this. I am happy you consider me a friend. I think the same about you.”

Bob looked pleased to hear such praise. At least it looked like that to Annabeth, it was hard to gauge the Titan’s reaction when all he could do were miniscule movements of his facial muscles. He was trying to smile, so hopefully he would not blame Percy for bathing him in the River Lethe and causing his amnesia.

Last in row was Nico. Annabeth could see tears in his terrified eyes. She pitied the boy. She had seen what he thought of Percy and for sure the son of Hades was expecting the worse. Annabeth could only hope that what would come out of her boyfriend’s mouth would not break the boy permanently. Percy’s voice was full of pain when he addressed him.

“Nico,” the son of Poseidon started. The son of Hades flinched despite the order Kelli had given him. It was both impressive and infinitely sad. “You are like a little brother to me. I feel so bad for not protecting Bianca and causing you to run away from Camp, from safety and home. You had to endure so much because of me…”

Percy’s voice broke and he had to take a steadying breath to gather himself.

“You always did the impossible, you helped even when no one thanked you for it. I only ever accused you of being a traitor and hurt you for trying your best to keep me alive. I trust you with my life. Hades, you even went through Tartarus all alone just to give us the slightest chance at defeating Gaia.

You are one of the strongest people I know, if not the strongest one. There are no other demigods as unselfish as you. I admire you very much for it. But I am also scared for you because of that. You already went through so much, and all alone. I wish you would let us help at least sometimes. You are not alone anymore, when will you realize it?

I know I have not treated you well in the past and did not give you many reasons to trust me. I regret that. I hope we will be able to mend our relationship in the future. I would hate to lose you.”

It looked like Percy was finally done talking. It was a very long monologue. Annabeth had not known just how much her boyfriend cared for Nico and how much he was beating himself for what happened to the younger demigod since Bianca’s death. She wanted to give both boys a huge hug.

Annabeth looked at Nico to see his reaction. She was hopeful that the son Hades would believe Percy when he was speaking under the effects of charmspeak. If anything could sooth the boy’s heart and smooth his fears, it was the words that Percy had spoken with sincerity. At least Nico would know he was trusted.

Unfortunately, the son of Hades did not react as Annabeth had hoped. His eyes were wide open and he was shivering. Was he scared of what was still coming? Or was it something else? The daughter of Athena could not tell.

She waited for the empusa to prompt the next person to talk when Percy spoke again apologetically: “You really are like a little brother to me, Nico. I saw that… I mean… What you…”

The son of Poseidon was struggling, visibly flustered. Annabeth was starting to realize what he was about to say. She was silently begging him to not go into that territory. It could erase all the positive impact of his previous words.

But she was of course hoping for too much. Whether it was Percy’s own will or Kelli’s order forcing him, he still said: “I like you, Nico, just… not like that. Sorry.”

The daughter of Athena wanted to slap her boyfriend now. It was bad enough that Nico was unsure about his sexuality, he did not need to be rejected before he even had the opportunity to come out to them and propose himself. She was cursing Akhlys and the empusa for their cruelty. The son of Hades did not deserve that, no one did.

As if Percy’s brain realized what he had just done, he added hastily: “But I am not bothered that you have a crush on me. Or, well, I am, but not because you are a guy. I just love Annabeth way too much and you are my little brother so… “

“I really hope you will be able to find someone else you like in the future,” Percy finished lamely and looked like a kicked puppy. On the contrary, Nico’s expression was unreadable.

The three empusai snickered and cackled. They were clearly enjoying themselves. They had not liked the nice words and praises Percy had sung, but they revered in the rejection part. This must have been what Kelli had planned all along, to have them suffer and embarrass themselves before they killed them, like light entertainment before the main course. Annabeth despised them.

Then Kelli turned to her and gestured: “Your turn now, Ugly.”

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Annabeth realized what Kelli’s charmspeak was capable of when it was her turn to talk.

She for sure did not want to say aloud half the things that left her mouth, she was simply forced to. If it was the same for Percy, she was no longer surprised that he had sounded so reluctant. The only reprieve she had was that she could choose whom she talked first to. Choosing the smallest evil, she turned towards the Titan.

“Bob, I did not trust you in the beginning, and partially, I still have my doubts. You are a Titan, an enemy that we had to fight before. If you so decided, you could probably destroy us in a matter of seconds. You would not even have to lead us to any traps, you are strong enough on your own. Honestly, I am scared of you.

But I am also extremely grateful to you for choosing to come here and helping us reach the Doors of Death and protecting all of us. Especially Nico, I do not know how to help him. I am trying to believe you only have the best intentions, I really am.”

Annabeth could feel her cheeks blushing. She very much did not want to admit to not trusting the Titan. What if he got offended and decided to leave their group? Of course, if they actually managed to survive this ordeal. Or even worse, what if he got so enraged that he would kill them himself? It was true, Annabeth was terrified of Bob.

Deep down, she felt ashamed of herself. Her logical and rational brain would not let her stop doubting the Titan’s intentions. It was not helping that they were in the literal hell, his former home. Even if he had no memories now and had been working in the Hades palace for almost a year, the daughter of Athena needed more proof. She was not one to blindly trust her emotions usually, it only led to dangerous situations.

Annabeth quickly turned to Percy so she would not have to see the Titan’s reaction. With her boyfriend, she could tell him everything she had in her heart while looking him in the eyes: “Seaweed Brain, I love you, I love you with all my heart. I am so happy my mother has not killed you and have by default approved of our relationship.

You can be a scatter-brain and stupid sometimes, but I love your outlook on life. How you never let yourself despair and always try to do the right thing. How loyal you are to your friends, and how brave, even if it often leads you onto dangerous paths. Who would jump into Tartarus just to follow their girlfriend? But I still love you nevertheless, even if you annoy the living hell out of me at times.”

Percy’s eyes were shining as bright as if he had just gotten a Christmas present, he had wanted the most. He opened his mouth to say something, but of course nothing came out. Annabeth saw him ball his hands into fists, he must have been pretty frustrated that he could not react to her confession.

For a confession it was. She had never told him this clearly or directly that she loved him. They of course had had many discussions on the subject when they were making out, but nothing this sincere or open. Annabeth blushed even deeper. This was not her style at all. Well, the whole concept of love was not her style to be exact, after all, love was not reasonable nor could be described in any rational terms.

Right now, Annabeth wanted to hug her boyfriend so badly. She wanted to thank him for jumping into Tartarus with her and refusing to leave her alone. Only, she could not. The empusa’s order was so strong it was making her turn away from Percy and face Nico.

Annabeth could see pure terror in the eyes of the son of Hades. He must have been preparing for the worst. Truth to be told, the daughter of Athena was not sure herself what would leave her mouth. She had so many thoughts about Nico, both good and bad, what did she consider the one and only truth?

“Nico,” she started hesitantly, not wanting to talk at all. She did not want to hurt the son of Hades when he was already so vulnerable. It could help in the long run, true, right now though, it would only hurt him.

The boy’s body swayed in a way that suggested he wanted to take a step back from her, or run away altogether. The empusa’s charmspeak was stronger, he was frozen to the spot, not able to even shield his ears no matter how much he wanted to. He looked pitiful really. Annabeth did not know if their relationship would ever be the same after this.

“There is no doubt you are strong, but you are making too many mistakes. You do not let people close and you do not try to get close to anyone. You are a loner and no one really knows what to expect of you. It does not help that you do not stay at the Camp, not all people there think you are a freak or scary. You never gave them a chance from the beginning.”

Annabeth saw tears gathering in Nico’s eyes. She dearly wanted to stop talking. She meant every word, but it did not mean that the boy understood them in the same way she wanted him to. The daughter of Athena could tell that the son of Hades was reaching his breaking point, fast. Ony, she had no idea how to help him. Words continued coming out of her mouth of their own accord.

“I do not like that you made Percy promise to protect Bianca and then have been mad at him when he could not do anything about her death. She had chosen to sacrifice her own life, it was not Percy’s fault. You should not have blamed him for it. He felt extremely guilty about it even without you blowing up at him and running away. We searched for you for months!”

By now, Nico’s tears were overflowing despite his best efforts to blink them away. Annabeth had never wanted to tell him any of this. Yes, she had been, and still partially was, mad at him for making Percy go through so much guilt. The son of Poseidon always cared very much about people close to him, even if he knew them for less than a day.

Deep down, the daughter of Athena could not completely forgive Nico for making her boyfriend’s burden even greater than it already was. He had had to deal with the whole Titan war, the Great Prophecy and now another war. He had lost so many people important to him. Not that Nico had not lost much too, it was just not the same. Percy never blamed anyone but himself for all those deaths.

He did not need to add to that because of thinking that the son of Hades had run away because of him. He did not need to worry about him so much that he would lose sleep over it and almost get killed. Percy did not deserve to be snapped at every time Nico and him met.

Annabeth knew herself that she was not being fair. The son of Hades had had so many things going on in his life too. He had been hurt and betrayed. He had almost died so many times. And, since Bianca, he had never had anyone who would care for him when he was hurt. However, this was of his own choosing, it was not like no one wanted to be there for him.

This was what was making Annabeth the angriest, Nico was too focused on his misery and did not want to see any other way. He was trying to protect himself, but the way he chose was detrimental to everyone involved.

“You always run away from problems when they concern other people. You go off, not caring that someone may be worried for you or wants to help you. You shun everyone away too much. If you just stopped running for once, you would see that we want to help you, that we want to be there for you. There is a place for you at the Camp, you just have to come claim it and face any opposition head on. If you always stay in the shadows, you will never know light.

Get it through your thick skull, you dumbass. Not everyone is out to betray you and hurt you. You just do not let people in, you do not trust anyone. You are alone, because you make yourself be alone. Some of us actually want to be your friends! You just not let us.”

Annabeth finished her little speech all out of breath. She has not noticed until now just how emotional and worked up it had made her feel. Nico was one of the most mysterious and cryptic people she had ever met. She really did not know that she had all this inside when it came to him.

Chapter Text

Nico

Nico was so flabbergasted that he did not know what he should do.

He was crying. Again. How many times was it now? But those were not sad tears, at least not entirely. He was crying because of what Percy and Annabeth had said. He had never known that they did not hate him as much as he had been convinced they had. If anything, did they actually somewhat like him? Were they really offering help?

Or was this simply another trick of Tartarus to break the son of Hades down even more? Had the empusa’s little game made Percy and Annabeth to speak lies instead of truth? Nico had a really hard time grasping what was happening.

Kelli did not give him any time to gather himself though. She was laughing madly at his misery. She was on par with Akhlys, if not even worse. Perhaps it was a game to her. To make Nico believe that Percy and Annabeth wanted him around only to laugh into his face when she would release the spell and make them admit they had lied. If that happened, the son of Hades was not sure he would ever be able to recover.

“Your turn next, son of Hades. Make it good now.” The empusa nudged him, causing another drop of blood to appear on his chest. Nico did not even feel it, his emotional turmoil was too strong to be caring about any physical discomfort.

His body was moving against his will, much to his growing horror. He did not want to say anything to Percy or Annabeth. They would hate him even more. They would abandon him here to die all alone. He had been fine with such a fate before encountering the empusai. But now, after hearing the other two demigods speaking about him in not completely hateful fashion (no matter if he believed those words or not), he could not find it in himself to not want to be in their company. He was not strong enough to face Tartarus alone.

And perhaps I do not want to either. I really do not know what to think right now. Why did they have to say all that?

Nico was now facing Annabeth. His mouth opened on its own and he could suddenly talk again: “I was jealous of you for a long time, Annabeth. I felt like you took Percy from me even if I was too much of a coward to actually ask him out myself. That is why I have run away from the Camp, I just could not continue looking at you two together.

But since then, I was able to see how strong and wise you are as a person. Without you, Percy would have had much more trouble with all his quests. So now, I am grateful that you are by his side. If it was me, I would have never been able to help him this much. You are smart and kind, and even if I am still jealous of you at times, I admire you a lot.”

Nico gave out a huge sigh of relief. He had been afraid of what he would say, luckily, this was not too bad. At least he was not shouting and screaming at the daughter of Athena. He had conflicted feelings when it came to her, but he did not truly hate her.

His cheeks heated when he opened his mouth again. Apparently, this was not everything the charmspeak was about to make him say. He knew what was coming and he avoided looking at Annabeth, he was thoroughly embarrassed.

“Thank you for not leaving me behind when we fell here. I was really scared I would have to do this alone again. I am not strong enough to survive a second time, it was already a miracle once. You talked to me when I chased you away and it made me happy. And you hugged me and soothed me when I needed it the most. You are really nice, Percy is lucky to have you.”

Then, finally, the awkward moment was over and Nico stopped talking. He was not used to talking so much or saying too many nice things about people. He was wary of basically everyone, he never knew when they would change sides and betray him or be mad at him for whatever reason and distance themselves from him. Or was it really him keeping people at arm’s length like Annabeth had said?  

Nico also did not like to confide in people, he had done it in the past and it had only been used against him. Minos had manipulated him for a long time because he had told him everything about himself. Had he not done that, had he not been a trusting fool, he would not have to suffer so much in his life. Others would not think he was a traitor if they did not know what exactly he was thinking and feeling.

It was safer this way. Lonely, but safe.

Lost in his thoughts, he barely registered that he was now looking at Percy. Blood froze in his veins, this was what he was afraid of the most. The son of Poseidon already rejected him. Was he about to be cross with him and accuse him to his face for hurting his feelings? Was he even hurt? It was all too fresh, he had no time to process either having proposed (having been forced and showcased) or his crush’s unsolicited reply.

“Percy, I liked you ever since I first met you. I thought you were so cool fighting with a sword against monsters and protecting me and Bianca. It was as if Mythomagic came to life and I loved it. I trusted you more than anyone else. You were a true hero to me until…”

Even when under charmspeak, Nico’s voice still broke. He could not force himself to talk about his sister. It still hurt so much, even after years. He swallowed down tears that were threatening to start falling again. He was tired of crying like a small child. He was a demigod, someone who had survived the Labyrinth, who walked through Tartarus alone, he was not so weak he needed to cry all the time. He could not.

“I do not blame you for Bianca’s death anymore, I learned that holding grudges only brings pain to everyone. I am sorry for what I did to you back in the Underworld, it was not fair of me to be so selfish and betray you like that, even if it was involuntary. You must hate me, and that is alright. I know you have a hard time trusting me, I understand that. I sometimes do not trust myself either.

So, you should not feel bad because of what happened between us. There is just so much history… I like you, you are my hero and the strongest demigod I know. You will accomplish great things. I want to help you however I can to make it up to you for everything. I do not want to hold you back. I was not being fair with you, you were a kid back then too.”

Nico realized at that exact moment, that his feelings towards Percy were truly more admiration than deep romantic love. His love was mostly platonic, he never wanted the son of Poseidon to kiss him or anything couples usually did. More like to be there for him, for the son of Poseidon to be interested in him, to acknowledge him. Nico wanted to be a hero like Percy Jackson, to be his close friend.

And the son of Hades for sure did not want to hurt his friend. He remembered how nicely Annabeth and Percy were talking about each other. He could see they were really in love, they needed each other. He was fine alone, it was so unnatural and disgusting for a boy to love another boy. He simply could not steal the son of Poseidon from his girlfriend and demand him to start liking him. That would be too selfish. He could not let it happen that Percy would be perceived as gay.

It would never be accepted. Nico would never be accepted. So, it was better if he buried his feelings deep in his heart and never let them bloom into something more. He would not be able to bear it if Percy really looked at him with disgust and resentment. They could be friends, but nothing more.

That is, if Percy ever forgives me for betraying him. He said he trusts me, but I still have my doubts.

With heavy heart, Nico finished addressing the son of Poseidon: “I will not bother you with my crush anymore, I promise. I do not know if it is even possible at this point, but I would like us to at least not be complete strangers. You probably do not want to do anything with me, but I just cannot let go entirely. I am sorry.”

Nico refused to look at Percy, he did not want to see hurt or rejection on his face.

Chapter Text

Nico

Nico’s heart was crying when he turned away from Percy.

His mind was at ease though. It was excruciating to come to his conclusion. Excruciating, but necessary. For now, only Annabeth and Percy knew about his sexuality, he wanted it to stay like that. If it meant to stay in the closet for the rest of his life, so be it. He was already an outcast, he did not need to be ostracized further.

I lived like that until now, I just need to keep up the pretence. How hard can that be?

Nico shook his head (or tried to, he still could not move according to his own will). He had to stop thinking about that topic. It was too painful and it was distracting him from the real problem at hand. How were they going to get out of this situation?

There was no way he was able to go against the empusa’s charmspeak. He was way too weak for that. And judging by the fact that neither Percy nor Annabeth were visibly resisting, neither could they. That only left one option: Bob.

Bob was a Titan. If he wanted to, he could definitely turn the empusai to dust. The real question was, how should Nico tell him that they were not good monsters? He knew that after Bob’s memory was erased, he was very impressionable and easy to manipulate. He had tried to never do that. The Titan was good now, kind even, he did not deserve to be treated badly. It was just that his outlook on the world was lacking in some areas. Only when it came to protecting his friends…

This time, Nico actually looked at the person he was talking to and he did his best to smile. It was not too hard, he liked Bob. For a long time, the Titan was his only friend. The only person he could come to when he was hurting and who never judged him. They shared many hours of pleasant conversations and leisurely activities. When Nico was with Bob, he never needed to keep his guard up. He was eternally grateful for that and he wanted the Titan to know.

“Bob,” Nico smiled more warmly, happy that the charmspeak was letting him, “you are my one and only friend, my best friend. I do not know where I would be without you, you saved me in so many ways you cannot even imagine. It is not important who you were, it only matters who you want to be. If you want to be a good Titan or a bad one. I just wish I would not lose my friend. You mean so much to me, Bob.”

The Titan grinned back. He seemed happy. Nico was glad that there was at least one person he had not hurt with his words. He regretted what he had told Percy and Annabeth. True, it was all because of the empusai, but they still did not deserve to be spoken to so harshly. What if they would not let him follow them anymore? What if they changed their opinion once the charmspeak would be broken?

Right at that moment, Bob roared: “Nico, Annabeth and Percy are all Bob’s friends! I will not let anyone hurt my friends!”

Before anyone, including the demigods and the monsters, could react, the Titan swung his broom and obliterated two of the empusai to dust. His strong desire to protect his friends must have broken the charmspeak that had been chaining him. Just as Nico had hoped. Now that he was no longer frozen, he unsheathed his sword and made quick work of the last one as well. Everything was over in seconds.

Exhausted both body and soul, the son of Hades let his knees buckle under him. His attempts at fighting the charmspeak had sucked his strength just as much as his bad conscience over what he had told Percy and Annabeth. He did no longer want to run away and separate from them, but he did not want them to crowd him either. He needed some space to gather himself before he was ready to face anyone.

Luckily, it was Bob who reached him first. The Titan caught him before he could hit the ground and gathered him in a bear hug. Nico could barely breathe. And yet, he smiled to himself. It was so good to have at least one friend who did not want to leave him no matter what. Small Bob jumped on Nico’s shoulder and nuzzled into his cheek.

Oh, how the son of Hades loved that kitten! It always seemed to know exactly when and how to comfort him, just like Bob. He did not care from where Small Bob came, he was just glad that he decided to stick around. With him in his arms, Nico almost felt strong enough to face Percy and Annabeth.

And it was high time that he got ready. The two other demigods were now getting out of their daze and coming closer. The son of Hades shuddered involuntarily.

“What I just said, Nico,” Percy started, making him cringe. Of course, the son of Poseidon had to bring it up again. The son of Hades knew what was coming even before it was put to words. “I am really sorry I cannot return your feelings, you know… like… like that. But we can be friends! I would really like that! I am sorry I hurt you and made you think that we cannot.”

Well, this was not exactly what Nico had been expecting. He unglued himself from Bob’s hug and looked at Percy in astonishment. Could it really be? Had the son of Poseidon been telling the truth when under the effects of charmspeak? But that would mean…

Nico did not want to go to that territory. Getting his hopes up never worked in his favour. He trusted the words when it came to Bob, but with the two others, it was much harder. He had known so many broken promises, deceitfulness and empty words. What sounded too good to be true usually was.

It is not that I do not trust Percy in general, just about this. My crush is unnatural, it must be bothering him a lot, but he does not want to hurt me.

“I understand,” Nico did his best to keep his voice neutral and his face expressionless.

“Do you?” Percy looked doubtful.

Apparently, the son of Hades was not able to convince him. Nico cursed himself, was he too shaken to be so bad at pretending? He used to be a master at dismissing uncomfortable topics. But now, where had his skills disappeared to? He really did not want to continue this conversation.

Annabeth stepped in with her quiet and soothing voice of reason: “Nico, we really are not bothered by your sexuality. I get that back when you are from, it was not accepted, but it is much better now. We will not shun you or…” The daughter of Athena hesitated minutely, her eyes filling with sadness as she finished the sentence: “Beat you because of it. The world is more accepting these days. You are not disgusting or a monster to us. We do not hate you.”

Despite his best efforts, Nico’s eyes filled with tears. Again. What was it with him lately? He wanted to believe Annabeth, he wanted it so much it hurt. This was his biggest insecurity and here she was, just casually soothing it and turning his world upside down.

But can it really be true? Did the world really change, or is she just trying to comfort me? But why would she? She had just screamed at me when under charmspeak, she must hate me. Even if… Even if she said she just wanted me to let them help? I am so confused.

Indeed, Nico was confused, very much so. He did no longer know what he should believe. What he knew though, was what he would like to believe. Perhaps it was alright to trust Percy and Annabeth’s words.

“If anyone else found out–” Nico started, still half unsure.

“If anyone else found out from Camp, both of them actually, you would have that many more people to back you up, and to unleash the fury of the gods on anyone who gives you trouble.” Annabeth stated with absolute confidence. “We are here for you, Nico, you are not as alone as you think. You just have to try to see it.”

Here it was again. Saying that he was not alone. Saying that he should let people in, should let them help, should lean on them. That was something very dangerous that Nico had long learned to avoid. Hearing that he could now, that it was safe, it was making his chest ache. He wanted it so much. He hated being alone all the time. Sometimes, it was fine, but not all the time.

I do not want to be lonely anymore. I want to make an effort and try.

“Okay,” Nico’s voice was nothing more than a choked whisper. He was being emotional, he knew, but his heart was overflowing with so much, it was hard to keep himself together.

“Okay, I will try,” he repeated just a little louder.

Chapter Text

Percy

Percy was glad that the hard part was behind them, Annabeth was so good with words. He loved her.

“Thank you,” his girlfriend smiled at Nico and for once, the boy kept eye contact.

Hopefully, the son of Hades did believe them in the end. Percy could understand his insecurities, he himself sometimes felt similar. Not when it came to his sexuality, but in other areas, especially when it came to Nico. He had not been sure if he could trust the boy so many times in the past, but he was happy that he did end up coming back to him every time. This made it worth it.

A long silence stretched after the heavy conversation. No one wanted to break it, or they did not know how. It was true, it was hard to think of something to say now. Everything was already said.

“Alright,” Percy declared with more cheer than he was actually feeling, “who wants to eat something before we continue on our way? I do not know about you, but I am starving.”

As if to confirm his words, just at that moment, Percy’s stomach growled loudly. There was an astonished pause before everyone, including Nico, bust out laughing. The son of Poseidon would feel embarrassed if it was not for the fact that he had accomplished what he had wanted. All awkwardness and tension were gone now.

“That is a good idea,” Annabeth agreed with him easily, “let us eat a little while we can. We need to keep our strength up.”

Percy and Annabeth started rummaging in their backpacks (which survived all the ordeals and battles miraculously unscathed). It was quite a unique experience. Much like themselves, their backpacks’ appearance had been changed by the Death Mist. They looked like tattered old sacks. Percy mused that it was probably something that a zombie could carry around.

It was hard to get used to their changed appearance, but he was slowly getting used to it. Still, seeing his girlfriend as a dead body was quite unsettling. Not even talking about Nico’s new look. The son of Hades resembled a dead body more than ever, not that he has had far to that since the beginning.

They finished pulling out all sorts of delicacies, or what could be considered delicacies in a place like Tartarus. They still had rests of what they had gotten at the Hermes’ temple in addition to provisions provided by Damasen – mostly dried meat and a few vegetables (who knew where he had cultivated them, the son of Poseidon probably did not even want to know).

It was only after Percy and Annabeth had spread everything in front of them for everyone to choose their favourites that the son of Poseidon noticed that Nico had not moved at all. The son of Hades had not even removed his own backpack, much less gotten any food out.

Percy stared at him in bewilderment: “Nico, what is wrong? You are not eating anything?”

The son of Hades gave him only a side eye as he mumbled dismissively: “I am not hungry.”

Percy’s eyebrows shot sky high. He could not imagine that the boy was not hungry. The son of Poseidon had eaten several times since they had found themselves roaming through Tartarus and he was already feeling ravenous again. There was just no way the boy, who had up to Percy’s knowledge not eaten anything since meeting them, and most probably also before that, was truly not hungry.

“Nico, you have to eat something,” he started augmenting, “I have not seen you eat anything since–”

“I just do not want to eat. Is it that so hard to understand?” Percy was interrupted by the son of Hades.

This time, Nico was staring angrily at him, it was causing the son of Poseidon goosebumps with how cold it was. Percy felt like he had just overstepped a boundary that he had not known was there. He opened his mouth to continue the argument but he was interrupted again, this time by his girlfriend.

Annabeth spoke in a quiet, soothing tone. She must have been trying to calm the son of Hades down: “Is it that you do not want to eat, Nico, or that you cannot?”

The son of Hades stared at her with eyes just as cold as when he had glared at Percy. For a while, the son of Poseidon could feel a silent battle unravel. None of the two was willing to look away first. Annabeth’s kind worried eyes against Nico’s cold hard ones.

At last, the son of Hades must have given up. He turned his head away and mumbled almost intelligibly: “Cannot.”

Annabeth’s eyes melted even more and they became teary eyed. Still, she spoke as logically and argumentatively as ever: “I understand. Those could be beginning stages of starvation. I do not know how long it has been since your last meal. What I know though, is that if you do not eat anything at all, you will only be feeling worse and worse as time progresses. If you are physically able to, you should try to eat at least a little bit, even a few bites are better than nothing. As long as you do not make yourself sick.”

Percy winced. He knew his girlfriend could sometimes be a know-it-all. It was in her nature and it had gotten them out of many serious situations. The son of Poseidon just did not think that now was the best time for lecturing the son of Hades. The boy would for sure snap back at her and close off entirely again.

Annabeth was speaking kindly, but Nico looked more and more bothered as she continued. Still, Percy was actually amazed because the son of Hades did not snap back or give a biting remark. He seemed to be listening and considering.

“We will not force you, Nico. It is your call. But what I said earlier stands, we want to help you. You do not have to bear everything all alone anymore.”

To Percy’s even bigger shock, this actually did the trick. His mouth almost fell down in surprise when the son of Hades quietly but meekly replied: “Okay, I will try.”

“Great!” Annabeth exclaimed loudly. Too loudly, she made Nico cringe. She realized her mistake and lowered her voice: “Sorry. What do you want to try? I think something easy on the stomach with high energy–”

This time, the son of Hades did not let the daughter of Athena rumble on. He reached out quickly and took several M&M’s. He eyed them for a second and then popped one into his mouth. He was chewing extremely slowly but it did not bother anyone. The rest of them started eating as well, only with way more gusto.

Chapter Text

Percy

Nico insisted that he way fine, Percy did not believe him.

After they finished eating, in Nico’s case nibbling on his meagre handful of M&M’s, they continued walking. Percy was getting exhausted again. While Bob’s touch was effective at healing most of the effects of Tartarus on their bodies, it could do nothing about them getting tired. He wanted to sleep, get some rest and help his mind recover from the horrors his eyes were seeing. His exhaustion was more psychological than physical.

Percy’s worries only kept growing too. The three demigods were again walking hand in hand, silently supporting each other. Nico and him were each holding one of Annabeth’s hands. The son of Poseidon was shooting glances once in a while to see how the son of Hades was faring.

Now that Nico actually admitted he could not eat but ate anyway, his complexion looked strangely even more haunted. It did not seem like the M&M’s were agreeing with his stomach. From time to time, the boy even covered his mouth and closed his eyes briefly, gulping heavily. Percy was afraid that he would throw up.

The son of Hades also stumbled on his feet a lot and he could only thank Annabeth for keeping him standing. Their pace was getting slower and slower.

Not that they could help it when this place was literally killing them just by being there. Still, Percy could not help but be worried about getting to the Doors of Death in time. He had a feeling the rest of the seven was progressing far faster than their sorry little group. It did not help that it was impossible to say how quickly or slowly time was passing in Tartarus. They could have been walking for days, just as well as for only several minutes.

Finally, Percy could not take the tension anymore and he asked the son of Hades hesitantly: “Nico, how far are the others from Epirus?”

The boy was just having another gulping fit and he did not react. It even seemed that he had not heard the question at all. The son of Poseidon stopped, making the others follow his example. Annabeth looked at him questioningly.

Percy repeated his question again, waiting for the son of Hades to look at him as well: “Nico, the others, how far are they?”

The boy blinked several times, very slowly. Percy was confused. Was he trying to blink away sleep or something? It certainly seemed that way.

“Nico, are you alright?” Annabeth asked, getting worried too.

The son of Hades shook his head, more in a way to clear his thoughts than in response to the inquiry. There was for sure something wrong. It was just that the boy was once again not telling them anything. Percy felt his irritation rising and had to make a conscious effort to keep his anger in check.

I do not want to snap at Nico again. It is not his fault, it is this place… It is making me more irritable. And it is affecting Nico even worse, him being the son of Hades and everything. I just want to get out of here quickly and see the sun, feel the wind on my skin and wash all this grime in warm Mediterranean Sea. I almost forgot how the world outside of this hell looks like…

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Nico turned towards Percy, asking in confusion: “What?”

Taking a deep breath (which was not such a good idea, it almost made him choke on the poisonous air), Percy patiently repeated his question for the third time: “How far are the others from Epirus? How much time do we have left?”

Nico blinked again, but luckily, he seemed more aware. Only seemed apparently, as when he spoke, he was not making too much sense at first: “The voices, they are too loud. There are so many of them, so many are dying. The Death Mist…”

Percy was alarmed at once. The only explanation that he could come up with was that someone (or more people apparently) of their friends were dying. Images of every one of the seven flashed before his eyes, conjuring terrible situations in which they died.

“No…” Percy whispered, unable to believe it was true.

Annabeth let go of his hand and briskly grabbed the son of Hades by his shoulders, turning him to face her. “Nico, what are you talking about? What about the Death Mist? And what about the others?”

Her urgent tone finally snapped the boy from his half dreamy or delirious state. Percy could not quite tell which one it was. Nico blinked faster now and shook his head again.

He spoke more coherently now: “It is the Death Mist. It is making my senses for death sharper, it is like I can hear the voices of everyone who is dying. There are so many…” Nico took a grounding breath before reassuring them: “The other seven are fine, they are approaching Epirus now, we need to hurry.”

Percy did not know what he should be more worried about. The fact that the others were fine but very close to their destination, so possibly they would not be able to meet with them in time. Or Nico’s way too casual admission that he could hear voices of dying people. Now the son of Poseidon understood why the boy had been so distracted, it must have taken him a serious effort to even hear him and Annabeth.

He truly was the one who was suffering the most because of this place. Percy could not even start to imagine how overwhelming and exhausting it must be to not have only his own thoughts in his head. He was admiring Nico even more for how strong the younger boy was. Even when completely overwhelmed, he still kept pushing on.

The son of Poseidon was just sad that Nico had not said anything until now. He was not sure how they could have helped him, but at least they could have shared the burden of knowing.

“I am fine, you guys,” the son of Hades tried reassuring when confronted with Percy’s and Annabeth’s worried eyes.

I know I said I would trust Nico with my life and not doubt him. But in this case, I just do not believe him. He is downplaying everything again.

“Nico has owie?” Bob asked out of the blue and stepped closer to the son of Hades.

Nico did not even have time to glare at him and the Titan already touched his shoulder. The difference was not much, but it was still very much noticeable. The boy’s slumped shoulders straightened ever so slightly. His skin lost a little of that deathly paleness and he was suddenly breathing more easily.

If he did not see the immediate change, Percy would not have noticed how far Nico’s condition deteriorated again. He made a mental note to check on him more often. And not believe him when he was saying he was fine. He clearly was not.

Nico smiled tiredly at Bob and patted his huge hand: “Thank you, big guy. I really am fine now.”

Percy still had his doubts, but seeing how proud and content Bob looked, he could not voice them aloud. At least his worries were a little more soothed when Small Bob jumped into Nico’s arms, snuggling there. The son of Hades started stroking him absentmindedly and his eyes cleared some more.

“Alright, we should hurry if the others are close,” Percy prompted with a small chuckle, “we would not want to miss our date, would we? It will be really uncool if they will have to wait for us to show up late and miss all the fun.”

Chapter Text

Annabeth

The river was both deep and vast, there was no way they would be able to cross it.

They continued walking for what felt like days. Rationally, Annabeth knew it was not the case. Otherwise, they would have gotten hungry again, right? But Tartarus was seriously messing with her sense of time. It was harder and harder to remember that any other place beside this existed. Or that anything besides wandering endless plains was real.

“Careful!” Percy suddenly shouted and yanked Annabeth’s hand, making her stumble back.

The daughter of Athena was able to concentrate on a single thing: putting one foot before the other. She was so exhausted by the lack of any external stimuli that it took Percy’s warning to get her to stop. She looked down with eyes wide with fear, she had almost walked off a high cliff and into raging waters below.

Only when she stopped, did she realize that the usual eerie silence of Tartarus had been replaced by wailing whispers.

Help me! I am innocent!

I did not do it, it was just an accident!

No more! Stop! It hurts!

Murderers!

Annabeth shook her head, willing herself to not listen. She knew what waters were raging under her feet even before Nico pointed it out aloud: “The River of Pain. The ultimate punishment for damned souls. Do not listen to those voices.”

You killed them. You killed them all!

Murderer!

It was hard to ignore them. Annabeth’s mind was getting flooded with horrifying images of all monsters she had ever killed. It was overwhelming.

“Do not listen to those voices,” repeated Nico through gritted teeth. Frankly speaking, Annabeth could not tell if the son of Hades was saying this to her and Percy or if he was trying to convince himself.

The daughter of Athena looked at her companions. Percy had a pained expression and haunted eyes. Annabeth knew he had killed many more monsters than her, it must be so much worse for her boyfriend. Nico endured as stoically as ever, but the daughter of Athena could tell he was suffering from how stiff his shoulders were and from how tightly he was holding onto her hand. The only ones who did not seem affected at all were Bob and the kitten on his shoulder.

As so many times before, Annabeth was at a complete loss. Her usually sharp brain that she had grown to rely on, could not solve this mystery. Looking at both sides of the long fissure in the ground, there was no way they were getting over the River of Pain. It was way too vast to jump across and was too dangerous to go down the cliff and walk across it.

We are so close to our destination! But this one, I do not think we can overcome. I cannot see any way how to go about it. We lost.

Her heart was falling into despair just as Percy asked the obvious: “How are we going to get to the other side? The Doors of Death are that way, right?”

Bob and Nico nodded in unison, but otherwise stayed silent. Neither of them had a solution to the problem at hand. Annabeth was at a loss as well.

They all stood there in defeated silence for a while. The daughter of Athena was trying her best to gather all her wits and find a way out of this predicament, but the whispering voices from down below were not making concentrating any easier. She was angry at herself for being so helpless.

“I guess there are no bridges around here, are there?” Annabeth asked finally. Gods, she sounded like Percy now. That was not a good sign.

Though her statement seemed to have at least entertained Nico. The son of Hades snorted. It broke Annabeth out of her trance-like state. Her tired mind supplied an image of a bridge made out of all sorts of materials found in Tartarus. It was hilarious and scary at the same time.

Uselessly, the daughter of Athena got stuck on wondering how such a construction could even exist, it went against all laws of physics. Not that those were working all that well in this hellish place. She was getting distracted from the real problem.

“I could shadow-travel us to the other side,” Annabeth was saved from her unproductive thoughts by Nico’s pensive voice. “If I go with you one by one, I think I can do it without too much danger.”

“No way!” Stopped him Percy right off the bat. “You told me shadow-travelling drains you too much. You already did it once. Even if this is just about twenty feet or so, going back and forth will still be too much. You are in no shape–”

“I am not useless, Jackson! I can do it!” Nico was suddenly seething with defensiveness and rage. Annabeth could tell that he had just taken the comment as a personal offense. And with what the daughter of Athena now knew about him, this was actually playing into one of his greatest fears.

“Nico, calm down–” Annabeth tried to mediate the situation.

Only to be cut off by the son of Hades again: “I knew it, you do not trust me after all. So much for your nice words. I–”

This time, it was Percy who would not let boy doubt them. He was only shy of actually shouting to get through to the son of Hades: “Nico, we trust you! I was just worried about you.”

This finally seemed to have made the boy realize their true intentions. Just as quickly as the rage engulfed him, it also disappeared. Nico was left standing with a slightly apologetic expression.

“Sorry,” he whispered while avoiding eye contact, “I should not have jumped to conclusions.”

“It is fine,” Annabeth placated gently, “as long as you understand. We really trust you, but if there is any chance, we are going to find another solution, we are not letting you take all the burden alone. You have already done more than enough. You should rest as much as you can. You may still need to use your abilities when we are at the Doors of Death.”

“Okay,” Nico agreed hesitantly. At least he was listening to Annabeth and talking calmly, that was a definite improvement. “But what other way is there?”

Well, that is exactly the question. How are we going to do it? We cannot waste much time on this, we have to get to the Doors of Death fast or we will be too late.

“Meowl,” came insistently from behind Annabeth.

She turned around swiftly. She had expected there to be a monster, and she was relived it was just Small Bob. He was in his giant sabretooth tiger skeleton form and was nudging insistently at Nico’s shoulder, pushing its head under his arm. The son of Hades petted him absentmindedly, most probably in an attempt to calm him down. It continued meowling more and more loudly. As if it was trying to tell them something.

It took Annabeth an embarrassingly long time to put all the pieces together: “Small Bob will take us across. He is big enough to have no problem with a twenty or so feet long jump. If we go in groups, it will be no problem.”

Small Bob looked at her and his empty eye sockets seemed suddenly very expressive. “Meowl!” he loudly confirmed that she had understood his plan correctly. Annabeth minutely wondered, just how intelligent the kitten was.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Looking back, Annabeth should have perhaps accepted to take the risk and shadow-travel to get across the River of Pain.

After decrypting what Small Bob had wanted them to do, Nico started scratching the sabretooth tiger skeleton under its chin (or where a chin would be if it was not just a jaw bone). The boy looked strangely proud of the creature. He must have adopted it like a pet together with Bob.

Small Bob purred at the ministrations and Nico smiled. Annabeth was left open-mouthed with shock. She had never seen the son of Hades make such a sweet expression. Sure, the boy had smiled several times in the past at her, but never like this.

He is truly close to that monster. I wish he would open up like that to us as well.

“Are you certain?” Nico asked quietly, still petting the sabretooth tiger skeleton. “Will you be alright with Bob too? I can still take him, you know.”

Small Bob meowled in protest, he sounded offended. Annabeth could still not figure out how he was even making any noises, never mind offended ones, when there were no lungs to supply air nor any vocal cords to produce sounds. She wanted to slap herself. It was extremely unhelpful for her to keep getting sidetracked.

Why cannot I just accept the fact that things in Tartarus simply do not make sense? There is no benefit to me torturing myself with trying to figure this place out. The effort would be much better spent in planning our way out of this hell. Sometimes, I hate my brain.

 Annabeth shook her head to get herself out of her morose headspace. She would not help anyone by dwelling on things out of her control (though she dearly wished she could control everything).

She must have missed some part of the conversation between Nico and Small Bob. The son of Hades was now nodding, apparently accepting whatever the kitten had proposed. She was confused about what agreement they had reached, but since Percy was not protesting, she guessed it did not involve any shadow-travelling.

Or at least she hoped so. She was very worried about Nico, especially because he had not slept, had only eaten a few M&M’s and looked like he could keel over any second. She wondered for how long he would still have the strength to push forward on willpower alone. Not much longer, that much was clear.

Then again, Nico surprised me so many times already. I really hope we all get out of here in one piece.

“Percy, Annabeth, you go first.” The son of Hades prompted, pointing at Small Bob’s back. He wanted them to mount the sabretooth tiger skeleton.

Annabeth would not say this was her weirdest experience yet, but it was close. She and Percy got onto the skeleton’s back and grabbed onto its ribs. Small Bob did not lose a second. He took a few steps back and run. He leapt into the air only when his front paws were touching the edge of the cliff.

Annabeth’s heart was racing like crazy. Her stomach was trying to stay on one side of the fissure while her body was being taken to the other side. The waters under them raged as ever, loud, dangerous and unforgiving. Annabeth closed her eyes, praying to all gods who would listen that Small Bob’s aim was not off.

Percy, the idiot he was, was screaming happily. As if this was some attraction in a theme park and not a life-or-death situation. Annabeth could not believe him. She was scared out of her mind.

The impact on the other side was hard. All her bones rattled and she lost her grip on one of the ribs, making her almost fall off. Luckily, Percy reacted quickly and steadied her while Small Bob made a few more steps to decrease his speed before stopping. The daughter of Athena could not get off quickly enough. She was of course grateful to the creature for getting her safely across the River of Pain, it did not mean though that she ever wanted to repeat the experience.

She would have never though she would say this, but she was glad to be back on solid sandy ground. One knew that they were getting crazy when they did not mind being in Tartarus and just being glad they were on solid ground somewhere.

“That was awesome!” Percy exclaimed, clearly still overexcited. Annabeth would have to have a word with him sometime soon. There was something seriously wrong with his brain. With hers perhaps too at this point, but it was largely beside the point right now.

“Thanks, little guy.” The son of Poseidon scratched Small Bob (who was still a giant tiger) under the chin, like Nico had done seconds ago. “Who is a good kitty. There, there, does this feel good?”

Was it really just a few seconds? I cannot tell anymore, it felt like we had been flying for hours. I think I am seriously getting crazy.

The sabretooth tiger skeleton purred happily and nudged at Percy. The son of Poseidon stumbled on his feet but laughed like a maniac and let the creature nuzzle against his stomach. Small Bob’s head in this form was easily as big as Percy himself so he had troubles not getting knocked off his feet. Not that he seemed to mind.

“It is fine, it is fine. I like you too. You can stop now.” The son of Poseidon placated, giving Small Bob one last pet. “Go get the others now, alright?”

The daughter of Athena observed, still wide-eyed and unsteady on her feet, how the skeleton nodded and was off once again. At last, Annabeth’s knees gave out and she sagged to the ground. This time, Percy was not quick enough to catch her, he had been staring in the direction of the other side of the River of Pain. How he could see anything through the omnipresent darkness was completely beyond the daughter of Athena.

Percy only turned to her when he heard her hit the ground. He immediately kneeled beside her, checking her over for any injuries: “What is wrong, Wise Girl? Are you alright?”

Annabeth waved off his concerns: “I am fine. I just do not enjoy crazy sabretooth tiger rides like you. Just give me a second.”

The son of Poseidon nodded hesitantly, but gave her the space she needed to catch her breath. It was official now, Annabeth positively hated sabretooth tiger rides, and possibly any rides at all after this experience.

She only managed to pull herself together when Small Bob reached their side of the River of Pain with Bob sitting on his back. The ground shook upon the impact. Much like her boyfriend before, the Titan was grinning widely, visibly thrilled. He jumped off his ride and the ground shook again under his considerable weight.

The tiger shifted back into its furry kitten form almost immediately afterwards. He yawned widely and came to Nico, jumping into his open arms where he snuggled into a ball and promptly dozed off. Carrying all of them must have tired him out. Or he was just acting as any other kitten, Annabeth had no way of knowing which case it was.

“Thank you, Small Bob. We need to do this again later. It was great.” Bob praised the now sleeping creature. “But we have to go now, we are really close. Careful.”

In silent agreement, they continued on their journey towards where the darkness was the most pronounced. Towards the very heart of Tartarus.

Chapter Text

Nico

The army surrounding the Doors of Death was way bigger than Nico had expected.

In fact, it was way bigger than any army had the right to reasonably be. Even the Titans’ army during the battle of Manhattan had been only a fraction of these forces, and that was saying something.

If these monsters made it out into the mortal world, there would be no stopping them. No matter how many demigods would come together (if both Camps managed to get over their differences and come together), they would have no chance in hell to defeat it.

Their small group stopped just within sight of the first outpost and hid away behind a cluster of rocks. Nico was crestfallen and desperate. He had dared to harbour a miniature hope that they would be able to close the Doors of Death, but there was simply no way.

There were too many monsters for any plan to work. Even if he, Bob and Small Bob attracted attention of some of the monsters, Percy and Annabeth would still not be able to get all the way to the Doors of Death without getting killed. It was not even a possibility that they would try to somehow fight the army, they would get overwhelmed within seconds.

This is it. This is the end. We failed. I failed. I was not able to help in the end. We will all die here sooner or later. We could run, but we will get caught at some point, or we will simply die of exhaustion if we are not. There is simply no possibility how to get out of this.

Nico slumped to his knees, completely defeated. They had gone through so much to get here. So much blood and so many tears were shed. So many sacrifices were made and so many deathly situations narrowly avoided. All for naught.

The son of Hades came to his senses when someone shook his shoulders insistently. Slowly and very reluctantly he lifted his head to look at the assailant when the shaking did not stop even after a while. It was Percy. Nico was staring at him with empty eyes, he could not fantom what the son of Poseidon could want.

“Are you alright?” Percy asked the obvious question.

And got the obvious answer. The son of Hades nodded. He did not trust his voice not to break with all the emotions he was feeling. Despite believing Annabeth and Percy for a little while because of their nice words, his usual dark thoughts were taking over now. He had failed them, yet again. He marvelled that they had still not blamed him and abandoned him.

The opposite seemed to be true though. The other two demigods and Bob were looking at him with concern in their eyes. Did they still not think the worse of him? How was it possible when Nico blamed himself for their failure?

There was suddenly another steadying hand on his back, a giant one. “No more owie,” the Titan rubbed his back gently (for a Titan).

Annabeth’s face came into view and she stated as if it was the most natural thing: “Whatever you are thinking, stop. This is not your fault, you could have not known. We just have to find a way how to go around them.”

Nico opened his mouth, but no words came out. He was completely flabbergasted. How come Percy and Annabeth were so calm about this? Did they have some plan up their sleeve? Was Nico just so blind he could not see it?

No, it is more probable that they did not see the sheer number of monsters around the Doors of Death. I can sense them very well, but it is hard to see with just one’s eyes. That must be why they still have hope.

“There is a whole army, we will never be able to get to the Doors of Death.” The son of Hades finally managed to get out.

This time, Annabeth looked mildly disturbed as she exchanged a glance with Percy: “An army? I thought it was just this group in front of us… How many can you feel, Nico?”

The son of Hades tiredly replied: “More than I can count. More than during the whole battle of Manhattan.”

This seemed to have finally gotten the message across. Percy and Annabeth exchanged another glace, horrified this time. Small Bob stirred in Nico’s hands and he petted the kitten to calm it down. It helped him stay grounded.

“So, what are we going to do? Any plans? How do we get to the Doors of Death to close it and get out of here? I do not think they left one side conveniently unguarded perhaps?” Percy’s attempt at humour was weak at best, but at least it meant he had not lost all hope like Nico.

The son of Hades just shrugged, he had nothing for the son of Poseidon. Even shadow-travelling would not solve anything in this case. The monsters would spot them as soon as they emerged from the shadows.

“We will just walk through. They will not notice you.” Bob said as if nothing was inherently wrong with that statement.

“How come?” Annabeth was intrigued. After a second, realization dawned on her: “Right, the Death Mist. But will it work? The empusai and the goddess of Night,” Nico shivered at the mention, “knew who we were.”

“That was in Nyx’s realm.” Bob provided half of the explanation.

“And the other time it was because of Percy‘s big mouth.” Nico completed thoughtfully.  He was starting to see where the Titan was coming from.

The son Poseidon looked sheepish at the reminder: “Yeah, sorry about that. That was my bad.” Then he turned to the Titan: “But how come you can see us, Bob?”

“We are friends,” was the only reply he got.

After several seconds of awkward silence, Annabeth concluded: “Well, this is probably as good as it gets. And we do not have another plan…”

“If Bob can see us because we are friends, then there will be no problem. We do not have to worry we will bump into any friends here.” Nico facepalmed when Percy tried another joking remark. The son of Hades was starting to really question if he would ever be able to get used to this. It was exhausting.

“Yes, that is good news!” Bob just rolled with it, unconcerned. “Now, let us go. Death is close.”

This one made Nico chuckle in dark humour. Though the Titan had most probably not thought of joking, his remark was genuine. It was more of an omission than anything else.

Annabeth was not as amused as the son of Hades was: “The Doors of Death are close. Let us watch the phrasing.”

It only made Nico chuckle all that harder. He just could not help himself. After the despair and tension he had just been lived through, he needed to let go of some steam. And honestly, the interaction actually was funny. Even if the threat that Bob’s words would come true was real.

Chapter Text

Nico

Walking through an army of monsters as if it was a leisurely stroll in a park, was a new experience.

A first, Nico had been nervous (bordering with terrified) that they would be spotted, but no one paid them any mind. The army behaved as if they were simply not there at all. Monsters were fighting between themselves, sharpening their weapons, sitting around and talking about what they would do once on the surface, or simply sleeping. It was both weird and disconcerting.

Annabeth’s hand in Nico’s was sweaty and trembling. The son of Hades felt the same even if he would not admit it aloud. If anything went wrong now, they would be dead meat in under a second. The monsters would for sure not pass over an opportunity to stretch their limbs and kill a couple of demigods while waiting for their turn to pass through the Doors of Death.

Unlike Nico’s dim expectations, they actually made it all the way to the heart of the army undetected. They now saw the Doors of Death in its full glory.

The son of Hades felt them before he saw them. He could not say if it was because his relation to death was highlighted by the Death Mist still curling lazily around his body, or if it was because of his connection with the Underworld in general and who his father was. One was sure though, if he could, he would never want to approach so close to something so deadly.

Yet, Nico persevered and tried to hide how much his own hands trembled and his breaths were coming in choked huffs. The voices of dying people and monsters in his ears had long become deafening. No amount of shaking of his head or attempts at covering his ears was helping. This was the literal hell, what he had lived before was just a plain starter course compared to this.

The son of Hades felt Annabeth’s eyes on him. She squeezed his hand more tightly. She must have been worried about him. Nico made an effort to look in her general direction. His vision was swimming even without the Death Mist making the others’ silhouettes shadowy and ever-changing. Nico’s head was hurting just from the sight.

He shook his head. He wanted to convey that he was fine and they should not worry about him. He would do what he must to push through this, no matter how uncomfortable or painful things got.

Nico’s eyes finally spotted a large dark rectangular shape emerging from the darkness. The Doors of Death were smaller than he had expected. It was not making sense, they were not to be used only by humans but also monsters, so its size should reflect that. It was just one of the things in Tartarus he should not ponder too hard about, the son of Hades decided.

Still, the pitch-black lined Doors seemed massive, looming over the demigods and making it hard for Nico to breathe.

The fact that the Doors of Death were actually an elevator did not surprise Nico in the slightest. If the way from the mortal world to the Underworld could be one, it made sense that the reverse direction would work in a similar manner. It was just skipping the Underworld part and offering a direct ride out from Tartarus.

Just what we need.

The only difference was that these particular doors were chained to the pulsating flesh of Tartarus’ heart. Nico instinctive knew that the black chains should not be there. No one should restrain the force of nature that the Doors of Death were. They were never intended to be used in such a vile way. In fact, they were probably never intended to be used at all like this.

A large group of monsters was just approaching the Doors. Two Titans guarding it – Hyperion and one other that Nico did not know the name of – and they were gesturing to the group to step inside. The elevator doors closed together with a crack so loud it shook the ground. The son of Hades wobbled on his feet, it was as if Tartarus itself stirred under him. It terrified him to the marrow of his bones. A jet-black lighting tore through the sky, making the air bristle.

We have to get out of here quickly. The invasion has already started.

A sudden realization hit Nico like a train. He had not focused on it before, too distraught to care, but he could no longer ignore the feeling now. The rest of the seven had entered the House of Hades. There was no time left for hesitation. They had to free the Doors of Death from its chains and use it to get back to the mortal world. This was their one and only chance.

Subconsciously, Nico hastened his steps. He overtook Percy and Annabeth and was now the one leading them. They were so close to the exit. Bob’s heavy footsteps kept their pace just behind them as they made a beeline for the Doors of Death.

Nico did not have any plan in mind. Not how to defeat the Titans guarding the Doors nor how to cut the chains without being detected. And certainly not how to use the Doors of Death to get back to the mortal world. The son of Hades was just being urged by the more and more pronounced tug in his chest. Hazel, Jason and Frank (and by extension the rest of the seven as well) were in danger, the premonition of their deaths was growing by the second, choking Nico and pushing him to run faster.

The son of Hades ignored monsters turning their heads in their direction. The disguise the Death Mist was providing to the demigods must have still been in place, because it seemed that only Bob’s behaviour was being noticed. The Titan waived his hand dismissively when someone called after him. They continued running.

Another jet-black lightning cut through the sky. The ground beneath their feet shook so terribly it made Nico trip and fall. Luckily, Annabeth and Percy caught him just in time so he did not smack his face into the flesh of Tartarus’ heart. The son of Hades was grateful to them.

“What are you doing?” Percy hissed in a whisper when his mouth was right next to Nico’s ear.

The son of Hades only shook his head and started scrambling to his feet. There was no time for explanations, not when his sister and they others were in danger. Percy and Annabeth however did not take notice of his urgency. Or they did not care. Either way, it came to the same outcome in the end.

Percy refused to let the son of Hades go, keeping him firmly in place despite Nico’s best efforts to tear his hand away from the iron grip. Bob stood over them now with worried expression. The son of Hades saw that they were attracting attention of the monsters now. This was no good.

“Nico, talk to us, what is happening?” Annabeth had noticed nothing of the starting commotion around them and opted to question him.

The son of Hades sighed, trying to tamper down his growing unease and quiet the screaming voices of his sister and the rest of the seven.

“We need to go, now,” he whispered urgently. The others are already inside of the House of Hades. They are in danger. We need to close the Doors of Death and get out of here before it is too late.”

This seemed to have finally convinced Percy and Annabeth about how dire the situation was. They looked at each other and nodded in some kind of silent communication. Then, they pulled Nico to his feet and helped steady him.

Suddenly Bob spoke in a hushed voice, addressing Small Bob on the palm of his giant hand: “You must understand how it works first. Each time the Doors open, they try to teleport to a new location. Thanatos made them like this so only he could find them. But now they are chained. The Doors cannot relocate.”

“Alright,” Annabeth said, “we need to cut the chains somehow. I guess that would close them after use?”

Nico just nodded. She got the gist of the problem quickly, there was nothing he could add. Nor was there any time to linger around. Monsters were coming closer to question Bob, they had to move now or they would be delayed. And possibly also discovered and killed.

In silent agreement, they all started running to the Doors of Death again. It was not far anymore.

Chapter Text

Percy

Miraculously, they made it all the way to the Doors of Death without anyone interfering. And that is when Bob stopped them for a second time.

They were approaching from behind the backs of the two Titans guarding the Doors. Percy had literally no idea why they had not spotted them yet, but he was not complaining. Nico had led them here so quickly that they had not even had any time to discuss a plan of sorts. Cutting the chains seemed easy enough if their swords would be up to the task. But doing so without the Titans noticing, that was another story entirely. Never mind using the Doors afterwards.

Percy shivered. He really did not want to end up stuck here forever. Annabeth must have picked up on his rising anxiety and smiled at him encouragingly. Or at least he thought that was what she did, it was hard to pick up on her exact expressions when she looked like a dead body because of the Death Mist.

Yes, the Death Mist, Percy realized. Would it hold? Without its protection, they would have already been dead.

“Our camouflage, will it disappear if we do something aggressive. Like cutting the chains?” Percy asked with concern.

“I do not know.” Bob replied at the same time as Nico said: “Probably.”

Well, is Nico not a true sunshine, Percy thought sarcastically. At least the Titan was letting them keep their hopes up. The son of Hades had just shut them down. The son of Poseidon wondered why the boy was suddenly so prickly. He too was worried about the rest of the seven, but he was not being a brat about it.

Calm down. I need to calm down. It is Tartarus messing with my head again. I cannot get angry, not now.

“What?” Nico hissed when the son of Poseidon gave him a look. “I cannot wait to get rid of the stuff. It is making my death senses ten times more sensitive, it is a bother.”

Percy somehow doubted it was just a bother. He had seen Nico struggling because of the Death Mist, among other things. If he was being so eager to throw their disguise away, it must have been outright tormenting him. The son of Poseidon was sorry for the boy, being a son of Hades was never easy, but it seemed to be outright a curse when travelling Tartarus.

“Bob,” Annabeth whispered towards the Titan, “you will have to distract them so we can sneak to the chains and cut them. Then, we will make a run for it and go through the Doors.”

Bob looked pensive. Nico asked him worriedly: “Will you be alright, big guy? I can come with you to do the diversion.”

“That is not it.” The Titan shook his head. “There is one problem. Once you are inside the Doors, someone must stay outside to push the button and defend it for twelve minutes. Or the journey will never finish and you will be lost forever.”

Percy’s heart froze. This was such a shocking revelation that he could do nothing more than stare at the Titan in utter disbelief.

This is not how things were supposed to be! We should have gotten out, all of us. We cannot leave someone down here. But we cannot stay here either, even all of us together, we would not survive long. This is impossible…

“What do you mean the journey will not finish?” Leave it to Annabeth to always ask the most logical questions. Her inquiry helped the son of Poseidon snap out of the shock.

“You do not want know,” Nico replied darkly. A chill run up and down Percy’s spine, he had a suspicion that the son of Hades knew exactly what would happen. And it was nothing good, that was for sure.

“I bet…” the son of Poseidon murmured more to himself than to anyone else.

“But twelve whole minutes…” Annabeth was thinking deeply, “that is…”

Impossible. The last word remained unsaid. If even the daughter of Athena could not come up with a plan, they were truly and fully screwed. Was now the time to start despairing?

I will hold the button,” volunteered Bob and Nico at the same time. If they had prepared beforehand, they could not have been more in sync. As soon as the proposition left their lips, they looked at each other, astonished.

“No, Bob, you cannot mean that,” Nico was objecting. “You told me how much you wanted to see the sky and the stars again, this is your one and only chance.” The Titan opened his mouth, probably to counted the argument, but the son of Hades was not yet done: “I will be alright. I can raise armies of undead soldiers, I can protect the Doors the best until you are safely in the mortal world.”

Percy frowned. It was true that Nico was strong and could summon entire armies. But the son of Poseidon did not like it in the slightest to have to leave him here all alone to protect the Doors while the rest of them would be gone. How would the son of Hades get back to the mortal afterwards?

And who knew if his powers would even work in Tartarus? This was an enemy territory through and through. It was entirely possible that Nico would not be able to use his powers here properly or would be stopped from getting out. The earlier shadow-travelling had for sure not felt normal.

The son of Poseidon opened his mouth to protest when Nico added: “And I can get back with shadow-travel afterwards. I will be fine.”

Percy had never heard a bigger lie. If the son of Hades could have shadow-travelled out of here as freely as he just hinted, why had he not done so the first time he was here? If he had had a way to run away, he would not have gotten captured. The son of Poseidon knew for certain, this was just another instance of the boy trying to sacrifice himself for them. And Percy would not have it.

“No!” He objected fiercely. “It will not work. And even if it did? How can you be sure you will be able to make it out of here? You could barely shadow-travel away from Nyx, and this will be even harder.”

“Do you think I do not know?” Percy was surprised by Nico’s exasperated but sad tone. “It will be hard, yes. But I think I can pull it off. Once you get out, you can tell Hazel to act as a tether for me. She will know what I mean. That should help me concentrate and pinpoint your location. It will help with the jump.”

This sounded somewhat better, but Percy was still not convinced. It was way too risky. He did not want to lose Nico, not like this. Not when there could be another way.

But is there? Logically thinking, Nico is the only one who can possibly get out of here on his own without the Doors of Death. That is, if he is telling the truth and Hazel can somehow help him. This is it, is it not? This is the moment I need to decide if I trust him or not. This is the moment when I can show him, I believe in him.

Chapter Text

Percy

The plan sounded feasible, but Percy still had his doubts.

Not because he did not trust Nico, he trusted the boy with his life. No, it was more because there were so many things that could go wrong. The son of Hades was already weakened by his prolonged stay in this hellish place and by being imprisoned for days in a jar. Sure, Nico could summon whole armies, but if he was injured or if even a single enemy got too close to him… Percy did not want to think about the consequences.

If anything goes wrong… I am not sure I would ever be able to forgive myself for not being the one to stay behind.

“What if a monster gets to you first? Or what if you will be too tired after defending the Doors and will not be able to shadow-travel anymore?” Percy asked as a last resolve.

The son of Poseidon was ready to propose staying behind, even if it would cost his own life. He knew that Nico would already have a hard time shadow-travelling himself alone. If he tried with additional baggage, it was almost certain that it would be fatal. But Percy could stay behind and make sure both Annabeth and Nico, and Bob and Small Bob too, would make it out of this hell alive.

The son of Hades did not get the time to reply. And frankly, Percy did not even know if he would have. Nico was watching him sceptically and somewhat angrily. The son of Poseidon wondered what was the boy’s problem.

“I will stay with Nico and protect him.” Bob stated as if it was a universal truth that no one could argue about. The kitten meowled, it almost sounded like it was agreeing with the Titan.

For a moment, the son of Hades looked like he wanted to cry, but then a small genuine smile spread on his lips: “Thanks, Bob. I really appreciate it. I will make sure to get both of us back to the mortal world safely.”

“I know,” was all that the Titan had to say.

Oh.

Oh.

Percy understood at once. This was true trust. Even when he had decided that he would trust Nico, he had not done a very good job of it. No wonder the boy could never truly trust him back and believe his words. It had been the son of Poseidon who had always not believed in and not trusted Nico enough, not the other way around.

Percy immediately felt ashamed of himself. He had hurt the boy so much and he kept doing so even now. He should have not doubted his abilities. He had seen firsthand what the son of Hades was capable of. He had witnessed Nico’s resilience and determination. There was no need to dwell on this any longer. The boy knew what he was doing, Percy had to trust him in this.

It will be fine. Nico has changed since the moment me and Annabeth met him here. He is more open and trusting. And he is not throwing himself in the line of fire with a death wish anymore. At least I think so. Now, when he does step up to protect us, he is also thinking about his own life and wellbeing.

Now, he can say that we will all get out of here one way or another. He is no longer prepared to die without a fight. He is willing to survive.

“Alright, it is decided then.” Annabeth summarized. “Let us get to it so we can close the Doors of Death and Thanatos can reclaim them. Death will assume its natural course and monsters will lose their shortcut to the mortal world. That is the only way we can ever defeat Gaia.”

The daughter of Athena turned towards the son of Hades with an encouraging smile: “We will see you on the other side, Nico.”

Percy looked at his girlfriend in astonishment. It seemed that the daughter of Athena understood everything about trust way before he himself did. Or perhaps she had known all along and it had been just the son of Poseidon who had misunderstood everything. That was the more probable alternative. He should listen to her more often.

“First things first,” Percy agreed as well, “let us cut those chains.”

Everyone nodded and turned their heads towards the eerie set of elevator doors.

Percy watched as Bob confidently went to meet Hyperion and Krios, the guardians of the Doors of Death. The two Titans seemed bored, that was in their favour. They would hopefully not look too closely behind their backs where the chains were. Nico followed in Bob’s footsteps, still camouflaged by the Death Mist and thus invisible to the monsters.

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other. They shared a long meaningful moment and then kissed. It was long but very chaste. They did not know what would happen in the next few minutes, they could be discovered and die. It could be that this was their last chance to see each other.

Slowly, Percy and Annabeth crept towards the back side of the Doors of Death. The son of Poseidon heard Bob starting his diversion. The Titan talked with his siblings and kept their attention on himself so Annabeth and Percy would have enough time to deal with the chains. He was giving them an opportunity, they should not waste it.

The son of Poseidon tuned out Bob’s and Hyperion’s little brotherly banter. He could not get distracted now. He had a job to do.

Percy went to the anchor hook on the right side, Annabeth took the left. They quietly reached their respective destinations and looked at each other. They had to time this right, they only had one try. Both of them were standing above one hook, their swords at ready. Annabeth held out three fingers, ready to give a countdown. Percy waited.

The elevator dinged and the cabin opened on the other side. Percy could tell because Tartarus (at least its very small portion) was suddenly bathed in warm yellow light. Something inside of him tightened with grief and longing. The light reminded him of the mortal world and it hurt. The son of Poseidon wanted to be back home, he wanted to go back to Camp Half-Blood.

Percy internally scolded himself. He needed to concentrate right now, or he would never be able to see his family again. They had to prevail, no matter what. He stared at Annabeth without blinking, afraid he would miss her signal.

Finally, it came. Percy’s hands had just started to become numb. He adjusted his hold on his sword and watched Annabeth count down, mouthing each number.

Three.

Two.

One.

The swords came down in perfect unison.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

As soon as they managed to get through one crisis, another one was already looming over them. Typical.

Annabeth silently counted down from three and looked at Percy to assure herself that her sometimes a little dim-witted boyfriend understood. Luckily, there seemed to be no problems as Percy was ready, his sword in his hand.

Three

Two

One

Annabeth mouthed carefully and then their swords came down onto the chains binding the Doors of Death. She gave out a small sigh of relief when her weapon cut through the strange black metal-like substance with ease. She had been mildly worried if they would be able to destroy the chains by mortal means.

Her relief was short-lived.

As soon as the chains were cut and crumbled to black dust, the ground beneath her feet shook. Annabeth had to spread out her hands to keep her balance. That was when she noticed that the Death Mist was slowly dissipating.

Just great. Of course everything had to go to Hades at the same time. Will we still be able to make it through the Doors of Death or is it already too late?

TITANS. LESSER BEINGS. IMPERFECT AND WEAK. I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL FOR YOUR LACK OF RESPECT!

Too late apparently. A thunderous voice made everyone, demigods, Titans and monsters alike, stop what they were doing and look up. In front of the Doors of Death, a giant figure was forming out of thin air. Annabeth could feel it all the way to the marrow of her bones, this thing was evil.

She glanced at Percy and saw him looking at the newcomer with pure terror. She turned back, doing a double take. If the son of Poseidon was not mindlessly charging in, she knew he must feel it too. They were no match for that all-powerful being. It was Tartarus in a physical form.

Annabeth watched both in awe and absolute horror how Tartarus’ helmet dissolved Hyperion and Krios into dust and sucked them in. It all happened so quickly the daughter of Athena got a whiplash.

He can destroy us just as easily, if he wants. He has been trying his best all this while and he had not even been paying attention to us. What do we do? There is no way we can defeat him. At most, we can hope that he will ignore us long enough to run away. But what about the Doors of Death? Even if we somehow manage to get inside, how can Nico and Bob possibly last for twelve minutes against something like this?

Annabeth was not given the luxury of uninterrupted panic time. It had been a foolish hope to think that Tartarus would not notice them. He was looking at each demigod present in turn, evaluating, thinking, judging.

THIS FORM IS ONLY A SMALL MANIFESTATION OF MY POWER, LITTLE DEMIGODS. YET, YOU STILL TREMBLE AT THE SIGHT OF ME. PATHETIC. IT IS BENEATH ME TO INTERFERE PERSONALLY WITH YOU.

Tartarus’ eyes pierced Annabeth like sharpened lances. She could feel that the primordial god’s manifestation was talking directly to her. He deemed her insignificant, he could kill her with a snap of his fingers. But he did not deem her worthy of even that much attention. The daughter of Athena did not know if she should feel relieved or offended.

Next, Tartarus turned towards Percy. Annabeth was silently praying for her boyfriend to remember her warnings for once in his life. If he accidentally riled up Tartarus, they would all be goners. He was even worse than Gaia.

PERCY JACKSON, I KNOW YOUR NAME. THOSE THAT COME HERE OFTEN CURSE YOU. THEY WOULD THANK ME FOR DESTROYING YOU.

Sagely, Percy remained silent. He did not react to Tartarus’ taunt. Annabeth had to remember to praise him if they managed to somehow survive this ordeal.

AND NICO DI ANGELO, SON OF HADES. I HAVE HEARD MUCH ABOUT YOU, MANY WANT TO CAPTURE YOU. YOU HAVE PROVEN RESILIENT THE FIRST TIME, BUT YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER COME BACK. I CAN NO LONGER STAND BY AND WATCH YOUR PROGRESS. BE HONOURED FOR YOU WILL BE DESTROYED BY TARTARUS HIMSELF!

Annabeth had not noticed that all the monsters on the plain had gathered around them during the god’s small speech. At the last words, they started cheering loudly, startling her badly. They were out for their blood.

The daughter of Athena glanced at Nico. She was worried that, much like when they had encountered Nyx, it would become too much for him to have to face Tartarus himself. She was surprised when she saw the son of Hades actually grinning widely. Had the boy finally gone mad?

Nico was holding his rib sword at ready and pointing the sharp end at the primordial god. He looked so sure of himself that he either must have been truly mad or he was a very good actor. Annabeth was frozen to the spot, speechless and trembling with fear, yet here was Nico di Angelo, laughing into the face of death. She did not know what she should make of this.

Tartarus made a thundering sound that the daughter of Athena could only interpret as laughter. He was more amused than anything else. It could be both good and bad news.

LITTLE DEMIGOD, YOU DARE TO OPPOSE ME? I WILL SAVOUR YOUR DEATH SLOWLY.

To Annabeth’s horror, Nico laughed loudly again and sneered: “Come at me, I do not fear you.”

That was it, the son of Hades had gone mad. There was no doubt in Annabeth’s mind that no one of sane mind would taunt a primordial god, much less one like Tartarus. They would be asking for death.

I thought Nico was doing better. I thought that he wanted to get out of here with us. I trusted him when he said he would be able to shadow-travel to safety after the fight was done. Why is he trying to die again?

But then, the daughter of Athena realized what the son of Hades was doing. Nico shot her a glace and then shifted it towards the Doors of Death. He wanted Percy and Annabeth to get away.

The daughter of Athena would not stand for it. She did not want to let the son of Hades sacrifice his life to preserve hers. She willed her body to shake off the terror induced stillness, she had to go help the boy.

Finally, she managed to take half a step. Bob was faster though. The Titan was already standing by Nico’s side, his broom suddenly taking a form of a golden spear. He was ready to fight.

“Begone!” Bob roared, almost on par with Tartarus’ thundering voice. “You have no right to meddle.”

MEDDLE? I AM THE LORD OF ALL CREATURES OF DARKNESS. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE. AND I WILL DESTROY YOU FIRST!

Tartarus’ mask started to suck Bob inside, much like the primordial god had done to Hyperion ad Krios before. Annabeth opened her mouth to scream. She did not know what exactly, she just wanted to distract Tartarus and save Bob. Unfortunately, no sound made it past her lips, her body was frozen in fear again.

WHY DO YOU NOT DISINTEGRATE, PUNY IAPETUS? YOU ARE WEAKER THAN YOUR BROTHERS, YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!

It was the first time that Tartarus stopped sounding confident. It was clear he was taken aback by Bob not dying. As was Annabeth. She could not understand how the Titan was resisting, she only hoped he would be able to continue fighting.

Something tugged at the hem of the fur pants Damasen had gotten her. The daughter of Athena looked down immediately. It was her battle instincts leading her movement, she did not want to unglue her eyes from the tense scene before her.

The creature that was trying to get her attention was luckily not attacking. It was in fact not even a monster. It was a skeleton of some small mammal. It was standing on its hind legs, his head high in the air. Annabeth could see it sniffing nervously, if it would have any flesh.

With one of its front paws, it was tugging at her pants, with the other, it was pointing insistently towards the Doors of Death. Nico must have sent it when Annabeth had not reacted to his subtle urging before. It was a reminder that she and Percy had to go, the distraction Nico and Bob were providing could only last so long.

“It is because I am Bob.” The Titan replied easily, keeping the conversation going. “I chose to be more than Iapetus. You do not control me, I am not like my brothers.”

WHAT!

Three things happened at the same time just then.

Chapter Text

Annabeth

Three things happened at the same time just then, making Annabeth’s head hurt a little.

After Bob’s comment, Tartarus roared in outrage and attacked. Small Bob jumped down from his shoulder and immediately changed into a giant sabretooth tiger skeleton, it was ready to fight alongside its master.

“Also,” Bob petted the sabretooth tiger skeleton on its side with his free hand, “I have a good cat. And good friends.”

This seemed to have been the tipping point for Tartarus. The primordial god roared again in a wordless rage and he launched forward. Small Bob hissed furiously and Bob and Nico gripped their weapons tighter.

DEMIGODS AND TITANS? YOU ARE ALL WEAK. JUST DUST UNDER MY FEET, SO UNLIKE MY STRONG CHILDREN. I WILL DESTROY YOU!

The daughter of Athena watched in mute horror how Percy shrugged off his own personal guiding skeleton and run to join the battle. She averted her eyes, there was nothing she could do. She did not want to see her friends dying.

She quickly opened them again when another loud war cry echoed over the plain. It started as nothing more than a cry in a distance, but it was getting progressively closer. Fast.

Annabeth looked wide-eyed at the newcomer. She had not thought it possible. Despite the situation, she smiled.

Damasen was riding a Maeonian drakon and fast approaching. His ride was spitting acid as it slithered through Gaia’s army, sowing death in its wake. The giant was holding a drakon-rib lance that he used to get rid of any remaining monsters. He charged right into the midst of the battle with Tartarus, standing side by side with the rest.

The new opponent surprised the primordial god. There was no other explanation Annabeth could come up with for Damasen managing to get in a clear strike to Tartarus’ shoulder. Gold ichor was now covering the tip of the spear.

The battle stopped at once. Eerie silence descended onto the plain as everyone was carefully eyeing and sizing their opponents, debating what their next move should be.

The small skeleton by her feet was now tugging at her pants so fiercely they were getting ripped. It was time to go. If she did not take this opportunity, there may very well not be another one.

Annabeth gathered all her courage and wits and started slowly sneaking towards her boyfriend. They had to use the Doors of Death now, both to close it and to go help the rest of the seven. Nico had said they were in danger a while back, the daughter of Athena could only pray they were still safe. They had to go on with the plan they had agreed on.

“Hello, Father,” Damasen greeted the primordial god almost cordially, “did you want to see me? I am one your children you are so proud of. Or did you want me to be more war-like?”

Tartarus roared in displeasure and charged blindly at Damasen. The giant raised his spear and the drakon spat another geyser of poison. Bob and Small Bob were not far behind, all attacking the primordial god at the same time.

Only Nico did not take part in the charge. He spun on his heel and grabbed Percy by his hand. He started dragging the son of Poseidon towards the Doors of Death despite his trashing and protests. Annabeth quickly followed and she reached them just in front of the open elevator door. Ground around her erupted and hundreds of skeletons sprouted from it, shielding the demigods from the worst of the battle.

Nico shoved Percy inside and urged the daughter of Athena to join him. Annabeth did not hesitate. She all but jumped in and got hold of Percy who clearly wanted to run back out.

“Let me go!” he shouted in a frenzy. “We have to help them!”

Annabeth spun her boyfriend around and cupped his cheeks in her hands. She looked deep into his eyes and he calmed down immediately, returning the intensity.

“Percy, we cannot. Tartarus cannot be fought, not by us. We have to close the Doors of Death and go help the others, they need us too.”

Annabeth did not wait for her boyfriend’s reaction and looked above his shoulder, crossing eyes with Nico. The son of Hades was standing a little to the side, where the button of the elevator was. He was surrounded by a wall of skeletons, it seemed he was able to keep himself safe. At least for the time being.

“Nico, do not forget, we will meet you on the other side.” Annabeth reminded the son of Hades of his promise.

Nico only nodded courtly and then pushed the button. The doors closed. The last thing Annabeth saw was a small sad smile that the son of Hades had when looking at her and Percy. The daughter of Athena prayed to all Greek and Roman gods alike that they would get to meet again soon.

With Percy, they both sat down with their backs propped against the cold metallic walls of the elevator. They were in for a long ride.

They sat in silence, both probably equally exhausted, relieved and worried. Annabeth could barely believe that they had truly managed to leave Tartarus (well not yet, not until the elevator ride would come to a successful end, but at least they were away from the toxic air and mind-torturing landscapes). At the same time though, she was extremely worried for those they had left behind.

Even if it had been their plan from the start, it was not making leaving their friends any easier. Annabeth continued praying for Nico’s, Bob’, Small Bob’s and Damasen’s safe return. She had no idea if the son of Hades would manage to save all of them, but she had unwavering faith in the boy. He had proven just how resilient, determined and strong he was.

I believe he can pull it off. If anyone, then it will be him. Just as soon as we manage to tell Hazel about the tether thing. I really hope she will know what to do.

Annabeth forcefully pushed away any hint of doubts. There were so many things that could still go wrong. It was unnerving.

She did not even realize when she has started nodding off. Percy’s head ended up on her shoulder and she leaned onto him in turn. Suddenly, her body was giving up on her, exhaustion and terror catching up with her in a single moment, making her unable to lift a single finger. She could barely breathe as the air started to get cleaner.

The elevator ride seemed to be lasting forever. Finally though, the door opened with a hiss, revealing a dark place full of echoes of a battle. Annabeth wondered if something had gone wrong and they appeared back in Tartarus.

By that point, her mind was so hazy it was hard to form a coherent thought. Everything was spinning. It seemed like a demigod’s body had a hard time managing the transition to mortal world. The daughter of Athena could not keep herself sitting upright anymore, her and Percy’s bodies slid to the side. Her vision filled with black smoke as she fell head first from the elevator.

The next time Annabeth managed to open her eyes, she still felt completely out of it. She had no idea where she was (still in Tartarus or had they made it to the mortal world?) or what was she doing there. Her thoughts were all jumbled together, she was feeling sick.

A girl’s face appeared in her field of vision. The picture was swimming wildly around but after a little concertation that accentuated her headache, Annabeth could tell it was a young girl with dark skin, gold eyes and long curly brown hair.

She looked vaguely familiar. If only the daughter of Athena could remember.

Hazel.

It took an embarrassing long time for her brain to supply a name. And an even longer time for it to connect the dots.

“Hazel…” Annabeth rasped through her parched and uncooperating throat. She wanted nothing more than to sleep right now, to let go and rest, concentrating and thinking hurt. But she had a feeling this was important. Even if she could not quite remember why. “It is Nico… he needs a tether.”

Upon saying those words, Annabeth’s world darkened once again and she let herself slip into unconsciousness that welcomed her.

Chapter Text

Nico

Nico discovered that twelve minutes can sometimes as well be an eternity.

The son of Hades pushed the elevator button and watched as Annabeth and Percy disappeared from his view. He breathed out a huge sigh of relief. Finally, they were gone from this hell. He almost managed to save them. Although the hardest part was yet to come.

His brief moment of not paying attention to the battle made a huge difference. Somehow, in between the time he had grabbed Percy and now, it was not just Damasen and Bob battling with Tartarus. The monsters from Gaia’s army started fighting too. Unfortunately for Nico, he was the target of their attacks.

Or, more precisely, the protective army of skeletons that he had summoned. Now, he just had to hold on for another twelve minutes and everything would be fine.

Not exactly. Annabeth and Percy expect me to meet them on the other side. They trust me to be able to keep my promise this time. And Bob is relying on me too, I have to stay strong.

And that was actually the biggest problem. Despite his previous confidence, summoning the skeletons had exhausted him. Even when Tartarus was in his physical form and was not paying attention to Nico, this place was still interfering with his powers. Every small thing was ten times more draining. As it stood, the son of Hades was starting to doubt he would be able to shadow-travel at the end.

His knees felt weak and the finger that was pushing the elevator button was getting tired as well. Nico gritted his teeth and focused on the task at hand. He had to protect the Doors of Death at all costs.

He ordered the wall of skeletons to draw closer, solidifying their ranks. No monster could get through. The son of Hades would not be able to fend it off, especially because he would only be able to fight with one hand and could not take a single step from where he was standing. It was too risky, one wrong move and Annabeth and Percy would be lost forever.

Time passed torturously slowly. Nico’s brain and body were itching to join the battle, not just observe it. He had never been a very patient person and he was finding it extremely difficult now to be just an observer.

His skeletons were faring pretty well, even if he had to continuously summon new ones to take place of those that got destroyed. Gaia’s forces were overpowering them too quickly for Nico’s liking. It only served to drain his forces more, but it was not like he could stop.

His sense of time was not working anymore, he could not tell how many minutes (or just seconds?) had passed since the elevator door closed. He could only stand and persevere.

He looked over the heads of the skeletons and the hordes of monsters. At the end of his field of vision, limited by the omnipresent darkness of Tartarus, he saw the three giant figures, plus one drakon and one sabretooth tiger skeleton, exchanging blows. The battle was fierce, he could tell even from afar.

Are they winning? Are they losing? I cannot really tell, they are too far away. How will I even manage to get to them when it will be time to shadow-travel? I am not confident I will be able to walk in a bit. This is more tiring than I anticipated…

Nico wondered minutely if he should send some of his skeletons as reinforcements for the Titan and the giant. If they lost and Tartarus would come for the son of Hades, then all hopes would be lost. There was no way Nico would be able to fight the primordial god.

There was just one positive side to all of this. Seeing Tartarus in his physical form actually helped the son of Hades take some strain off of his mind. He could still see the landscape around him for what it was without any camouflaging from the Mist, but now he could distract his mind from that picture. Being able to put a face (even if Tartarus had a helmet so its face was not really visible) to the primordial god, let his mortal brain rest.

After a second of careful deliberation, Nico let go of the idea of sending off his guards. Bob and Damasen seemed to be doing fine for now. The son of Hades could not summon any more skeletons if he wanted to still be able to shadow-travel. And he could not diminish the numbers of his protectors or he would be killed by the monsters.

I feel so useless right now. I cannot do anything but press a button while everyone else is risking their lives.

Nico was becoming more and more lightheaded. With each monster killed, there was a new one taking their place. He could not manage a whole army on his own, that was pure madness. But that was what he had to do if he wanted to give Annabeth and Percy, and by extension the rest of the seven, any chance of survival. He could not fail this time.

He was no longer shrouded in the Death Mist so his connection to the death was not as pronounced. He could no longer feel where the others were. It did not however affect his sense of knowing when any of the people he cared about were in danger of dying.

His ears kept ringing insistently. Everyone from the seven was in mortal danger while he stood here leisurely, just holding one stupid button. Pathetic.

Still, Nico refused to let go. He had never been able to finish his mission. He was not about to fail this one. More than one life was depending on him.

The son of Hades felt his forces steadily depleting. He swayed on his feet, utterly exhausted. He shook his head, trying desperately to gather himself. He could not fail, not now, not when he was so close to succeeding for once.

Annabeth’s and Percy’s faces appeared in front of his eyes. The daughter of Athena was reminding him again: “Do not forget, we will meet you on the other side.”

Nico gritted his teeth tighter and shuffled his feet to find a steadier position. It would really be pathetic if he fell down and let go of the button by accident. The others were counting on him, he could not let them down. He realized, not for the first time, that he wanted to get out of here.

But it was too little too late. Another spell of exhaustion rushed over him as more skeletons were destroyed and summoned. Before the son of Hades knew it, his eyes closed, his knees gave out and he was falling.

Chapter Text

Nico

It really pays off to be respectful to the dead. It is also great to have friends who are ready to lend a helping hand.

Nico was falling. His body decided that it could not hold on any longer and in moment of the greatest weakness, his previously locked knees gave out. His head was unexpectedly clear, probably because of the pure terror he was feeling. The son of Hades was acutely aware of his finger slowly slipping from the button.

He could not do anything but to cry in outrage and despair. He failed. He failed again, like always.

Bony hands grabbed him so unexpectedly that he yelped in surprise. There was a pair under his armpits and another hand steadying his finger on the button.

Nico looked up, his vision bleary, but also clearer than before. There were two skeletons standing by his side, helping him. They were clicking their teeth at him as if they were… smiling? Cheering him on? The son of Hades could not really tell, it just looked like they were helping him and that was all that mattered.

Nico knew one thing though, he had never ordered them to support him like this. They had come on their own. And not only the two of them.

The rest of the skeletons seemed to have doubled or even tripled their efforts in protecting him. Less of them were now falling down, helping Nico conserve his forces as he did not have to summon so many anymore. Small Bob was also helping immensely by jumping around and taking out one monster after another. When had the sabretooth tiger skeleton gotten here?

“Thank you, guys,” Nico whispered in overwhelming gratitude. His emotions were so great he did not know what to do about them.

The son of Hades had never expected the skeletons to be so loyal, it warmed his heart. The two who were holding him up clicked their teeth again. Yes, they were definitely smiling now. What did he do to deserve such good companions?

“Thank you,” Nico whispered again. He was lacking words to express just how grateful he was. This was all he could say.

He was gathering his forces now that he could. He needed to be ready to shadow-travel as soon as the twelve minutes were over. He was not concerned anymore about how he would reach Bob and Damasen. The skeletons would help him, or he could ride Small Bob like before.

He had so many friends who were defending him now. Ha had Annabeth and Percy too, they were going to ensure that his jump would not be his last one. He really needed Hazel to act as his tether. Otherwise, he would stay stuck in Tartarus forever. Or, probably not all that long, because he would die soon.

Just days earlier, Nico would have never let himself trust someone with his life. He had learned the hard way that he had only himself to rely on. After what he had been through with Annabeth and Percy though, he believe they could be trusted. Hazel of course as well, she was his sweet little sister so there had never been a doubt there.

The sound of the elevator tore him from his musing and he almost started crying in relief. This must have meant that Annabeth and Percy were safely back in the mortal world.

The skeleton holding his hand to the button let go without being prompted to. Nico watched wide-eyed how the Doors of Death shuddered in their foundation and disappeared. It was done, after many sacrifices, they were finally closed.

Despite the relief, there was no time for celebration. Everything was not over yet. There was still one thing left to do: get out of this hell.

Bob and Damasen must have noticed that the Doors of Death disappeared because Nico saw them running full speed towards him with Tartarus on their heels. The remaining monsters from Gaia’s army were being scattered around with just a few swings of spears and by the strong tail of the drakon.

The son of Hades knew they only had one chance. There would only be a few moments between Bob and Damasen reaching him and Tartarus attacking them again.

“Small Bob,” he called and the sabretooth tiger skeleton jumped to his side at once. In the middle of its jump, it transformed back to its furry kitten form and landed seamlessly in Nico’s hands.

The son of Hades started preparing to shadow-travel. There were no shadow around, he would have to use Tartarus’ once he got to him. After all, he could not use the shadow of anyone he was travelling with and the shadow needed to be big enough to hide also Bob and Damasen. So, Tartarus it was. While not the best solution, it was the only one Nico had.

The Titan and the giant got to him in record time. They surrounded him, each one from one side, and protected him from the rest of the monsters. With one more silent grateful “Thank you,” Nico let the skeletons rest.

He positioned Small Bob on his shoulder. The, he grabbed Bob and Damasen by their pants (the only part he could comfortably reach) and watched out for Tartarus’ approach. The primordial god’s shadow preceded him and as soon as Nico could, he pulled everyone into it.

Immediately, the son of Hades felt immense pressure trying to keep him in place. Tartarus must have realized they were trying to flee and was not happy about it. If he was still the boy from before, Nico would have probably been lost right then and there.

He was not the same person who fell into Tartarus however. He knew he was not alone anymore. There were people who believed in him, who trusted him to get out of this hellhole. It gave him immense strength.

Nico fought Tartarus with all he had and finally, he was able to take a step forward. Then another one. And another.

The progress was slow and painful, but it was definitely there. Nico could not tell where he was going and which way an exit was. All he could do was to fight to get away from Tartarus himself. As for the direction, he had to wait for Annabeth and Percy to find Hazel.

I hope they do that soon. I will not be able to keep this up for much longer.

At that exact moment, Nico felt a slight tug deep inside his heart. They managed it, this was the tether he needed. It will guide him out of here, as long as he did not give up or run out of strength. He could go back to his sister and get Bob, Damasen and Small Bob to the mortal world too. There was no way he was leaving them behind.

The son of Hades fought all that harder now that he had a direction he could follow. The barely noticeable tug soon became a steady pull, helping him on his journey through the shadows.

At one point, he was stopped by a sort of wall, probably a boundary between Tartarus and the mortal world. For a split second, Nico panicked that they would not be able to get out after all. The wall kept him back despite the tether’s pulling. He was trapped.

But then, as suddenly as the wall appeared and stopped him, he overcame it. Nico did not have to fight for the next step anymore, the tether was now pulling him so strongly he was all but flying through the shadows.

“Nico!” Hazel’s voice came from a distance.

A first, the son of Hades heard only his sister calling him and pulling him towards herself. After a moment though, Annabeth’s and Percy’s voices joined her. Then Jason too was calling Nico’s name. And Frank. And Reyna…

There were so many voices guiding the son of Hades that it was a piece of cake to emerge from the shadows next to them. Exhausted, he let go of Bob and Damasen and stumbled forward, his knees refusing to support him. Strong arms caught him before he hit the ground. He lifted his head with difficulty.

Hazel was smiling at him with tears in her eyes: “Welcome back Nico.” She was surrounded by the rest of the seven, coach Hedge and Reyna. They were all visibly relieved.

I am back. I made it. They all helped to get me here, I could have not done it without them.

“Hi, Hazel,” was the only thing the son of Hades managed to say before darkness finally overcame him and he closed his eyes. He fell into much deserved sleep.