The Ghosts of Millennia

Nico Tried to Kill Me With a Hammer

CHAPTER SUMMARY

The Underworld crew journeys to the Gates of Dusk. Death Eaters attack King's Cross. Alabaster opens up about his past.

BEGINNING NOTES

Chapter Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Content Warning: Cursing, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Rape (mentioned only)
Word Count: 4841

Both my betas are off this month due to finals, so these next two chapters won't be beta read. I'm sorry if there's a downgrade in quality, but I hope I did okay.

And all the characters are owned by J.K. Rowling, or Rick Riordan.

Credits at the end.

____________________PERCY____________________

After an hour on Daedalus's moving walkway, Percy understood why Hades would forbid his servants from using it. He felt like he was fourteen again, wandering through the Labyrinth. Even though nothing had attacked them, the dark tunnel made him claustrophobic. He could tell all his friends, minus Nico, felt the same way.

"How much further, Nico?" Thalia asked.

"Not positive," he admitted. "I'm not taking us anywhere specific, but I want to find a door as far from Elysium as possible."

"So what you're saying is, we're lost."

"I refuse to answer that question on basic principle."

They reached a dead end. "You were saying?" Thalia muttered.

Nico glared at him. He found a small, glowing Δ on the wall in front of him, and pressed it. The Δ sunk into the wall; a keypad appeared in its place. He punched a code into the keypad, and the wall slid open. " You were saying?" Nico shot back to Thalia.

"Passwords and everything," Blaise mused. "Fancy."

Nico bit his lip to keep from smiling. "He runs a professional business." He got seven blank stares all at once. "Hercules T.V. show? The episode where Medusa gets a job in the Underworld?" Nico rolled his eyes. "Blaise and Hestia get a pass, but the rest of you? How have half-bloods not watched this?"

"I didn't even know there was a T.V. show," Percy told him.

Nico shook his head in mock-sadness. "A million times better than the movie."

Lou cracked a smile. "Does Hades know about that movie? Do you think he'd be insulted he's villain instead of Hera?"

"Yeah, but James Woods was, hands down, the best thing about that clusterfuck," Thalia argued.

"Someone has to show it to him," Will declared. "Neeks, when he captures you, promise me you'll show it to him."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Nico mumbled.

"You've been captured so many times that I'm pretty sure Princess Peach, Lois Lane, and Robin the Boy Wonder are saving you a seat in their dungeon," Will teased.

Nico put one hand to his heart, the other to his forehead, and gasped like a Southern belle. "You wound me, sir!"

"The Mnemosyne really did wipe your memory. You're a cross between the 1930's and a ten-year-old."

"Excuse you, William. I'm fine."

"Maybe don't say that while you still sound like Mario."

Nico pushed Will to the ground, but Will, with lightning reflexes, grabbed Nico's hand. They both landed on their butts, laughing hysterically.