The Girl With the Diamond Blade- Nico di Angelo x Reader (Percy Jackson Fanfic)

Chapter 15

As you pushed aside the doors to DOA Recording Studios, you didn't know what you were expecting. Maybe a creepy, dramatic space, with green accents and the River Styx flowing through it like that one Disney movie.

DOA Recording Studios was none of these things. 

The interior of the lobby was normal. Bland, even; the walls were a dull steel gray, and the carpet of the same shade looked like it needed replacing. There were dozens of chairs, like a hospital's waiting room, filled with slightly transparent people that looked to be waiting. They looked to be from all kinds of time periods; you spotted an ancient Greek man in a tunic sitting up straight in one chair, and a woman in a poodle skirt from the 1950's dozing in another. You were saddened to see that most of the inhabitants of the chairs were, in fact, children.

In the front of the room stood a raised podium. Behind it stood a tall, elegant man with chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blonde hair, cut close to his scalp. He wore thick sunglasses and an expensive-looking Italian suit with a silver name tag, and a black rose pinned beneath it. The man glanced over the lobby until his shaded eyes landed on the two of you.

Nico took this as a sign and walked towards the podium, grabbing your elbow and gently tugging you behind him. As he walked up to the man, he lowered his sunglasses, peering down at you with empty, despair-filled eyes that sent a chill through you.

"We need passage into the Underworld," Nico demanded. You read his name tag, seeing the name Charon engraved in it. This was Charon, the ferryman of Hades. Charon's soulless eyes glanced back and forth between you and Nico for a few moments, then settled back to Nico.

"It wouldn't be pleasing to Hades if he finds out I left his son on the banks of the Styx," Charon said in a British accent that fit his elegant appearance. "However," he continued, eyes moving to you, making you squirm under their empty gaze, "I cannot say the same for her." You groaned in annoyance, and pulled out your last four drachmas.

"Here," you said forcefully, all but slamming the coins onto the counter. "We need in. Now."

Chiron's mouth curled into a subtle smile. "Quite feisty for a daughter of Athena," he commented. "Follow me," Charon said, adjusting his name tag and stepping down from the podium. You followed him to a set of doors with the words "NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING." He held open the doors for you and Nico. You felt the boy bump your shoulder with his. 

"I guess there are some advantages to being a Hades kid," Nico said, making you chuckle. Charon then led you to an elevator, steel on three sides and glass on one. You stepped into the enclosed space, noticing Nico visibly shudder. You added "doesn't like enclosed spaces" to your mental Nico list.

What? It's not crazy. It's logical.

Charon pushed the down button and the elevator began to descend. After watching metal elevator shaft for a few seconds, it turned to rock, and then you were greeted with a fantastic aerial view of the Underworld.

"Whoa," you breathed out. There were so many colors and details to take in, but the first thing you noticed was a huge structure in the middle, made of obsidian spires and looking quite ominous. Which, in comparison to the rest of the Underworld, was saying something.

The elevator landed solidly on the ground and you noticed that Charon wasn't in the same form that he was in a moment earlier. He now wore a dark cloak, and his form had become pale and almost...skeletal. He led you and Nico towards a large boat that was tethered on the banks of a great, glowing green river.

Nico motioned to you to get into the boat, and you did, making absolute sure you wouldn't fall in. The vibe the green waters gave off did not make you want to go for a swim. Nico sat down across from you, not exactly seeming comfortable, but like he was familiar with his surroundings. Duh, you thought to yourself, this is practically his domain.