Death's Son (Even After Death)

Chapter 4

They sent the blood tests off as Percy entered with Almaji. It was a happy reunion, an upbeat one. The boy didn't let go of Nico for hours after. He cried, cried too much, but they were tears of joy. Finally.

When the blood tests came back, the happiness died out of Will. He stared at the paper, stared until his eyes were raw. He couldn't be reading that...no...it was impossible...

"What does it say?" Nico asked, having been helping Almaji with his homework. It was almost dinner time, them still in the infirmary. "You look scared."

Will walked over to him, his footsteps heavy. "Um...remember the joke you made, about the chlorophyll in your veins?...you were right."

Nico frowned in confusion. "I'm a plant?"

Will shook his head and let out a soft sigh. "It isn't a joke. I don't know what to do about it and I don't know why it isn't affecting you."

"That's a good thing, then." Nico shrugged. "If it isn't hurting me, then just leave it be."

"It isn't natural, Nico." Will explained. "Something happened to bring you back. Something weird. Can you think of any god or goddess that would help you?"

Nico laughed. "Really? Only Anubis and my father. They aren't one for plants."

"We're missing something..." Will ran a hand through his hair. "I'll have to talk to Annabeth. She and Percy are staying for the weekend, at least."

"I still can't believe that they have an apartment together." Nico mused. "They're really sticking together for life, huh?"

Will pulled Nico to his feet. "Come on, dinner. You aren't getting away without eating. We can talk to Annabeth there."

Nico smirked. "Doctor's orders?"

Will huffed. "Of course."

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They ate dinner at the Hades table, screwing the rules that nobody seemed to bother with anymore. After going through so much, people wanted to be with their friends while they could, in case they died next week. Chiron understood. He didn't say they were allowed to, but nobody was ever redirected back to their original tables.

The years Nico had been dead, nobody dared step near the Hades table. Weeds had grown around its legs and the old wood needed a good cleaning. Nico sat between Will and Almaji while Annabeth and Percy sat in front of them.

"How do you feel, though?" Annabeth asked. "I mean...it might not be dangerous if a diety put it there."

"Are we sure this isn't a diety that hates me?" Nico asked, caused Almaji to start laughing. The boy looked to be around ten, having had a large growth spurt since Nico was gone. His hair was to his shoulders, his eyes were alight with life. He looked like any other preteen boy.

"I'll be looking through the books tonight and I'll have Reyna send over any if they have anything to do with this." Annabeth drummed her fingers against the table. "Maybe I'll find something."

Nico frowned after a minute of silence. "Wait a minute."

"What? Do you remember something else?" Annabeth asked.

Nico shook his head. "I just thought. How'd you get the borders back up? What happened? Who took the fleece?"

"Oh," Annabeth ran a hand through her hair. "Some Egyptian god or something. We got some help from your...or Anubis'...friends."

"Carter and Sadie?"

She nodded. "Those are the ones."

"Damn..." Nico sighed. "I missed something big, didn't I?"

"You could call it that." Will shrugged. "I hated staying at Camp Jupiter. They're so...uptight."

"And you couldn't be their main doctor?" Nico teased. "Oh, it must have been so horrible."

"Hey, you were the one just chilling with the plants." Will shot back.

"Chilling with the plants? I was dead!" Nico huffed. "And I didn't even get to go to my father! I went to stupid Anubis and now he's not in my head anymore and I can't..." Nico's smile faltered as reality smacked him in the face. "I can't talk to Anubis anymore...for good..."

Will wrapped an arm around Nico's trembling shoulders. "Hey, it'll be okay. We'll figure it out."

"I'll miss him," Nico buried his face in Will's shoulder.

"I know," Will stroked that dark hair. "But we'll figure it out. We always do."