"Luke!" I jumped on him nearly tackling him to the ground but he regained his balance and hugged me back. He pulled away just to see my face and instantly kissed me. Of course I kissed back. :3 It was passionate and gentle, I have felt this longing in my stomach, and I just realized. This is the first time we actually kissed.
We finally pulled away after an eternity. I didn't even noticed I was crying until he brushed his fingers across my cheeks to wipe them away.
"You're okay! Thank the Gods." I let out a sigh of relief.
He chuckled and breathed deeply, "I'm fine. I'm just glad you're here."
I placed our foreheads together, and he kept his hands cupping my face.
"I'm sorry for making you worry about me, Clamhead." Luke let out.
I pulled away and wiped my tears, just in time for the skeleton to stand back up again.
"This ain't over, the leader will have you, Y/n." The skeleton said.
"Of course, you know my name. Did Nico tell you that too?" I rolled my eyes, finally gaining my confidence back.
"You're name, is famous, Y/n. The half-blood that has survived through blessings of the two Olympian Gods. The demigod that has crossed different Gods as well, including her own father."
Luke stepped forward and got to battle stance, but I faltered.
"I.. I never even saw my father! I never crossed him!" I defended.
Luke's gaze on me were sympathetic and worry. I hated him looking at me like that when he's in such a worse state than me. I should be worried about him, not the other way around.
The skeleton laughed, though it sounded like he was gargling water down his throat, which he has none.
"Perhaps a mail might reveal everything."
I didn't have time to process what he said because out of nowhere, a shadow jumped from above. I didn't need to see his face, I knew him, but his glare was more wild and his clothes hung loosely on him, like he lost another 10 pounds for the past 6 hours.
"Y/n..." He whispered but due to the place being nearly deserted, we could hear him loud and clear.
Luke stood in front of me, glaring at Nico's bent figure, "I won't let you touch her."
He chuckled humorlessly, "What makes you think I'll let you win just like that?"
"Nico, stop!" I yelled, "Why are you doing this? This isn't you!"
"Oh haha! Rich coming from you, you've never-! Not once-! Took a second to even know me! How would you know this isn't me?!"
His palm was out but it was cdunched like he was trying to raise something. The griund shook and the earth started splitting into two, he's calling the undead.
Luke stood his ground and held my waist.
"He's strong now." Luke hissed. "He must have drank some of that spiked punch as well."
I looked at him confused, "Spiked punch?"
He looked at me as Nico still tried to rip open the earth.
"Yeah it's a long story."
I took a quick glance of Nico and his skeleton warriors struggling to climb up.
"I think I only have this time. Talk to me."
"Well, Percy and the rest of the gang are in some sort of potion. They follow Nico's rules, but a few of them haven't taken the punch and they helped me get to you here. One of them was Percy."
My brain calculated. Spiked punch. There has to be a way to reverse it.
If Nico drank the spiked punch as well, I have to find out what it is. Maybe there's a way to heal him.
I was snapped out of my thoughts ehen a skeleton beneath me grabbed my foot. I shrieked.
"Get away from her!" Luke kicked the skeleton's face making him fall back to the ripped ground.
"We have to get out of here." I said.
Luke wasted no time. He grabbed my hand and dragged me out to the open. We both ran as fast as we could through the forest, Luke was running not far from me, I didn't know where we were going but he looked like he knew very well.
"Luke!" I yelled.
But he kept on running and running, I ran just as fast as him too.
I looked behind us and there were skeleton warriors already running after us, and they were fast. Luke called me and pointed up ahead.
"A cliff!" He said.
My wits started calculating. I saw a vine hanging on a branch just a few trees from us, I jumped on a tree trunk and jumped to the next tree until I was able to reach the vine.
I grabbed it and swung, I grabbed Luke as I was about to pass by him and then we swung to cliff.
He held the vine just like and held my waist, just when we thought we would make it, the cliff was actually one of the openings Nico did and now they climbed the tree from where our vine grew and cut it.
Luke and I screamed as we were about to hit the wall side of the cliff. To which, we did, I almost lost balance but I was lucky enough to grab hold of a rock.
Luke was on a small platform the cliff made he was safe atleast. He slowly stood up, careful enough to not slip.
I took a glance below and there were skeletons desperately trying to climb up, but are failing miserably, only some made it to the top.
He looked at me worriedly, "You okay?"
I nodded, not trusting my voice. I'm still pretty shaken about the fall and nearly falling to our deaths. Luke looked above him and I followed his gaze. We weren't that far from the top, and the skeletons below us were working fast to climb up to reach us.
"Climb!" Luke yelled.
I didn't protest. We both climbed up, my side was steepeder and fewer rocks which made it hard to climb, but Luke had it worse, his side was muddy due to the roots of a giant tree near him with water dripping from it. It could be nice to make use of that water, but I have my full concentration on my climbing or I might slip.
We both managed to reach the top, our top halves laid on the top breathing heavily.
"We made it." Luke breathed.
But he spoke too soon, the ground we were lying on started to crack. I looked to Luke and we both reached out for each other but the ground broke.
"AAAAHHH!!" I yelled.
Strongs arms came to catch me, but they were also thin. I looked at the person who was swinging back to the other aide of the cliff.
"Nico?!"
We landed and he immediately cuffed my hands with something cold and it was vacuuming my wrists. I struggled but Nico held my hands in place as we faced the cliff.
The dust cleared from where Luke and I fell, and my eyes searched desperately for a blonde guy probably falling to his death or hanging on for dear life.
"Luke!" I yelled.
There he was, crouching while holding his hand to a person who helped him up.
Nico clicked his tongue, "I knew he was too good to be true."
"Percy!" I beamed.
Luke and Percy faced me with determined faces and swords in each hand. There was shuffling on the tree behind them and Annabeth appeared with a crossbow aimed at us.
"Let y/n go, Nico! You can't make her love you like this!" Percy yelled.
"Believe me, she will. It's just a matter of time." Nico yelled back.
I laughed humorlessly, "This is seriously a deal-breaker."
Nico ignored me to turn us around. Jason was there with a sword, he was in battling stance as he faced Nico seriously.
"Nico, this can still end peacefully. Just let Y/n go." Jason said carefully.
Nico laughed heartily, "Back off, Son of Jupiter. I am the Son of Hades, nothing ends peacefully with me. Deaths, heartbreaks and tragedy is written all over my birthright. Come to think of it, we're demigods, it always ends that way."
Everything Nico said hit me like a lightning bolt. Deaths, heartbreaks and tragedies. All negative emotions overflowing in Nico's system, perhaps that's what he took advantage of the potion he used in the punch. He used a potion that focuses on ones negative emotions and follow his command, like he said his birthright has a hold of these emotions so naturally they would follow him.
It all makes sense now, and there's only one way to cure him.
I looked at Annabeth who could almost read my mind when I nodded to her.
Her eyes widened, "Y/n, NO!"
Everyone's attentions turned to me including Nico's. His surprise caused him to weaken his grip slightly on me, but it was all I needed to break free.
But instead of attacking him or kicking him in the groin. I grabbed his face and kissed him.