Oneshot Collection

The Struggles of Silence: Nico

Here goes; my first non-kotlc oneshot! This one is gonna be PJO, from Nico's POV, so if you haven't read the books (including Heroes of Olympus) then this contains mild spoilers for Nico!

Here we go-

The words echoed through his head, but they didn't make sense.

"What do you mean, he's gone?" Nico demanded, fear coursing through his body.

"He just... disappeared." Thalia's face was tight, her lips pressed together. "We've been looking for a week. Annabeth said he kissed her goodnight and went to his cabin, but he was gone in the morning. We've asked his mom and Paul, and they have no idea."

"He wouldn't just... leave," Nico said, ignoring the twinge of pain that went through him hearing about Annabeth and Percy kissing. "Was he taken?"

"Impossible," Thalia spat. Nico knew she wasn't angry at him, but he almost took an involuntary step backward before remembering himself and holding his ground. "The camp couldn't let anyone in; the borders are strong, and there was no hint of any forced entry. Whatever happened, Percy left himself."

"Or a god took him," Nico reminded her. "They could teleport him out, they're allowed in camp."

"The gods are silent. Why the heck would they take Percy? He's the special one, remember?"

Nico knew Thalia was a little bitter that she hadn't been the one of the prophecy. Even though it was her choice not to age so she wouldn't have to face it, and she was the new leader of the Hunters.

He understood.

Maybe bitterness was a family trait.

But at least Thalia was the daughter of Zeus, the right hand of Artemis. She was accepted. She had friends and family and-

Nico pushed his wordless anger out of his mind. There were more important things to focus on.

"No one has any idea? He didn't leave on some kind of quest?"

"He's not the type, Nico. Percy may have the curse of Achilles, but he knows better than to leave camp without telling Sally or Annabeth." Thalia gripped his shoulders, and Nico flinched out of her grasp automatically, moving away from the contact. "You were kind of our last hope. Have you seen anyone? Has Hades said anything?"

Nico wished Hades would speak to him, but even the Lord of the Underworld had chosen to shut his trap. The one time Nico didn't want his father to leave him alone and stop bothering him about his potential and how much better his sister would've been, he vanished.

So he shook his head. "I'll keep my eyes out for him."

Thalia nodded, her face falling with disappointment.

Just like everyone who talked to him.

...

Before:

"Remember this route." Hades never liked to elaborate, but this was a little vague even for him. Nico go the sense that he was walking through an endless tunnel, even though the space was wide open in the daylight.

No one paid attention to the skinny, dark-haired kid and the middle-aged, pasty-skinned man leading him around the city. In fact, they paid so little attention Nico was starting to wonder if they were invisible.

"Here." Hades stopped so quickly and smoothly that Nico almost smashed his face into his father's back; which wouldn't have exactly upped his points with the unforgiving god. He stopped himself just in time.