Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus - the House of Hades

Nico XI

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Sorry about the length, guys- but its the second update in one day! Woo! I'm proud.

Please, if you read this story and like it- fan me! There's loads of Percy Jackson stuff i've got coming up!! Bit of an advertisement, I know. Lame. I'll just...leave.

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Nico was fast asleep when a bang woke him up.

He sprung out of bed, grabbed his sword and stuck his head out the door. Nico was well aware of his terrifying bed head; in fact he secretly hoped that, if there was an intruder, they would be sorely scared by the horrific sight.

The corridor was dark, but after all his time in the Underworld, Nico was good at seeing in the dark. He saw someone large and burly, clumsily making his way down the corridor.

Nico drew his sword and met the visitors throat.

"Who are you and what do you want!" Nico whispered courageously.

"Hey, dork! It's Frank, get your sword, out my face!" Frank whispered back angrily.

Nico withdrew his sword, embarrassed. "Oh. Hey, Frank."

Frank just gave him that look.

It was then that Nico noticed the vial that Frank was clutching tightly to his bosom.

"What's that? And what are you sneaking about doing?" Nico quizzed.

Frank brushed his questions away, irritated, "Go away! It's personal..." He trailed off, and Nico thought his eyes lit up. He knew what that meant.

"Oh hell no." Nico muttered. Frank pulled him into his room and closed the door.

"Okay." Frank paced the room. "You wanted to know what's going on. Prepare yourself."

Nico shrugged, thinking, it couldn't be that bad? Then again, Frank was a nice guy, and he was snooping around with what looked like memory dust. How do I even know what that is? He thought.

"Consider me prepared."

"Right, so, um. The other night, I heard Jason talking to someone in his cabin the other night, and it turns out Gaea's been, uh, trying to tempt him. So, like, Mnemosyne summoned me in my dreams and gave me this memory dust to rid him of any temptation." Frank summed up.

Nico nodded. "I'm in."

Frank grinned. "Okay. You take the vial," He placed it into Nico's hand, "And do whatever is required. Goodnight."

He began to walk away, but Nico cleared his throat.

"Frank Frank, Frank." He tutted. "This was your task. Not mine."

Frank had a look of shame on his face. "Well I'm not exactly stealthy, am I?"

Nico met his gaze. "Alright, well, I'll help you with your situation, but you owe me one."

Frank nodded gratefully.

Nico was a shadow. He felt himself adapting and unconsciously dodging wonky floorboards and loose bits of rug. Quickly and with agility, he was soon outside Jason's door.

This was the part he had no clue about how to handle. Did he have to blow it over his eyelids, or make him eat it? Nico decided to do both.

Quietly, he clicked the door open and stepped inside, making zero noise. He kind of felt bad doing this snooping and shimmying, but it was necessary. Plus, he earned a favour from Frank.

Uncorking the vial, he stepped closer to Jason's bed. To make things easier, there was a glass of half-drunken water. Nico shook the vial over the top, and to his horror, the shimmering dust settled over the top. Not knowing what to do, he stuck his finger in and churned it around until the mixture was combined. Drying his finger off, he sprinkled it lightly onto Jason's eyes. To Nico's relief, the powder disappeared instantly. Great, he thought. Some sign of effectiveness.

As he turned to leave, he noticed a photo on Jason's bookshelf. It was a very frayed image of a beautiful woman, fluffy hair piled on top of her head. She wasn't wearing makeup, but Nico imagined she usually did. Then he realised, it was Jason's mom. He wondered what it was that Gaea was tempting him with.

"Nico?" Jason's voice came, confused, from the bed.

Nico gulped. He slowly slipped the near-empty vial up his sleeve, hoping Jason didn't catch sight of it. "Oh, hey...Jason. My bad, thought this was Hazel's room."

Nico laughed nervously. "Well I'll just...go..." He stepped closer to the door.

"Right, no idea why you were in here, but could you help me?" He smiled awkwardly.

"Uh...sure. I guess." Nico shuffled and stepped back.

"I was having this dream. And then it stopped. I can't even remember what it was- i've never had that before whilst talking to someone before. In a dream, I mean."

Nico thought it was odd that Jason would choose to tell him about something personal. They had never really spoken.

"Maybe it was just a normal mortal dream," Nico suggested, "Mortals wake up all the time and forget about what their dream was."

Jason nodded, convincing himself. "Yeah, maybe. Thanks, Nico."

"S'alright." He backed away and left.

Before he walked out the door, he could swear he saw Jason take a long look at the glass of water.

"Frank?" Nico whispered, tapping quietly on his door, "Open up."

The door opened slightly and revealed Frank's nose.

"Hey, Nico." Frank half-snored.

"I got it done, Frank, but Jason woke up. I'm sure he suspected-"

"Dude," Frank interrupted, "Sleep."

Nico nodded. "We'll talk tomorrow." He walked back to his cabin and tucked away Mnemosyne's vial in his underwear draw. Nobody would ever go in there, if they valued their life. After that, he lay on his bed and waited until his alarm clock went off.