The moment Nico materialized in the Underworld, he set to work.
"I want all of you," he said to the couple dozen of ghosts he had called for, "to gather information on anything peculiar going on in the Underworld. Ask around if there are souls that seem out of place."
"Yes, my king." They bowed before vanishing.
After a moment, Nico summoned more ghosts and a few zombies to do a check of the less inhabited areas of the Underworld. Once they had left, promising to report to him as soon as they found something, Nico made to gather information on his own. He knew just the person to go to.
Being the Ghost King, Nico was allowed where very few others could go. This meant if he wished to visit the Fields of Punishment, Fields of Asphodel, Elysium, or even the Isles of the Blest then he could. Of course he could not stay too long before his father noticed him there, as living souls were technically not allow in the places reserved for the dead, but ten minutes to talk was more than he needed (he had found out this was the limit after getting into an engaging conversation with Charles Beckendorf and Silena Beauregard).
When he appeared on the green overlooking the lake in Elysium, many souls either greeted or bowed to him. Normally he would be kind and spend a few minutes telling them news from above, but he didn't have time. He needed to find Luke Castellan.
It wasn't too hard to locate the son of Hermes. Despite aiming for the Isles of the Blest, Luke had ended up near the end of the list of those who needed judgement to obtain such a wish. He would be reborn sooner or later, but until then he made the best of his time in Elysium with a certain son of Nemesis.
"Well if it isn't Nico di Angelo," Luke said with a welcoming smile stretching onto his face. Ethan Nakamura was sitting beside him in the dining pavilion, eye-patch long since removed because his death had healed the eye that had been blinded so long ago. "I haven't seen you in quite some time. The last time you had visited it was for advice on what to get Will for his birthday."
Nico scowled at the teasing grin on Luke's face halfheartedly. "Whatever, Castellan."
"He did like it though, right?"
"Yeah, he did." He admitted before becoming serious. "However, I do not have time to chat today. I was issued a solo quest and am most likely trying to rescue two souls that do not belong here in the Underworld. Have you heard anything about this? Perhaps there is rumor of living demigods wandering around?"
Shaking his head, Luke turned to Ethan with a frown. "There aren't any living souls down here, but didn't we hear someone talking about there being a couple of immortal beings appearing out of nowhere?"
Ethan nodded. "A newcomer did mention many souls were gossiping about something concerning Tartarus. Apparently there was a flood of activity there some time ago."
"When did you hear of this?"
The black-haired demigod shrugged. "Sorry, but I don't remember when exactly. Time is hard here."
"It's okay, I understand." Nico stared at the ground as various thoughts raced through his head. The news meant he had to turn his search towards a place he most definitely did not want to venture too close to. However, he couldn't send ghosts or zombies in his stead since they were more susceptible to danger. Their souls would be ripped apart if they got too close to Tartarus, and Nico would not have that on his conscience.
Luke, noticing the dark look in Nico's now pained eyes, rose from his seat so he could place a hand on his shoulder.
"I suppose you already know the dangers of getting too close to the pit, huh?" The blond guessed after a moment of silence. "Well, my advice is to think happy thoughts as silly as it sounds. Tartarus will try and mess with your head to get you to jump. While looking for these immortals, since it sounds like that's who you're rescuing, remember that. Thinking of a memory that ties you to the world of the living, to those you care about, does a lot against evil."
By the end of his speech his voice was soft, and Nico felt he understood the betrayer of Kronos a little better. It had been one memory that allowed him to overcome the control of Kronos and kill the titan, ultimately ending the Second Titan War.
"Thank you, Luke. I'll remember that. Thanks for your help too, Ethan."
The scrawnier boy smiled. "No problem. It's nice having someone to relay information from above, so it's the least I could do to keep an ear on what is going on around here. Just stay safe, alright?"
"Of course," Nico replied before waving goodbye.
As he slipped into the shadows he noticed Luke kiss Ethan on the cheek, causing the later to scoot away shyly. The development between the two had been slow to come by, neither of them realizing their feelings for each other went farther than mere friendship for quite a long time. Nico had been filled in on their little love story by Silena during one of his visits, but it actually didn't surprise him much. The way Ethan had stuck by Luke, becoming a traitor, doing anything for him, betraying Kronos himself to save Luke from the titan's control— it was obvious Ethan cared for Luke deeply. Luke, despite having crushed on Annabeth and Thalia (or so the rumors said), became aware of Ethan's infatuation with him as they stayed together in Elysium. Now, almost three years later, they were dating.
It's nice to have another homosexual couple to talk to, Nico thought to himself as he shadow traveled to an area just beyond his father's palace. It was there he quickly summoned those who he'd sent out in search for information and told them they were free to go as long as they had nothing to report.
"King Nico," one of the ghosts floated over to the son of Hades before bowing. "There has been report of the janitor that had gone missing from the palace of Lord Hades. Witnesses say they saw him run into Persephone's garden before heading back towards the entrance to Tartarus."
"Bob?" He voiced aloud before he could stop himself.
The spirit gave a small nod. "I suppose so, my liege. Did my information help you at all?"
Smiling tightly, Nico thanked the ghost before sending it on its way. He knew what he needed to do, and innocent souls didn't need to get involved.
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
Damasen was normally a formidable opponent. He was an immortal giant, the bane of Ares, and could only be killed by a god and demigod working together. This is what saved him from being destroyed by Tartarus after engaging the primordial in battle. However, because he could not be killed it also made his fate more tragic.
While Bob had put up a great fight, holding the elevator button for Percy and Annabeth as well, the titan had eventually been vanquished by the pit. Sure he had to wait over a year's time to reform afterwards, but sometimes death, even temporary death, was a blessing.
The giant took whatever Tartarus threw at him for weeks. Damasen was cut up, burned, crushed, tortured for days on end. At first it was due to anger caused by the demigods escaping. Later it was because Gaea had been defeated. Tartarus and those on Gaea's side reduced the only good giant to pieces, literally. It was only after the monsters grew bored that he began to piece himself back together.
When the titan had finally reformed, Small Bob waiting for him on the plains of Tartarus like a loyal pet (which it was), Bob sought out his friend. Despite being dead for over a year he remembered fighting alongside the giant like it had been minutes prior.
Bob found Damasen physically broken. The damage done to him by monsters, titans, and Tartarus itself was taking forever to heal. A giant's body usually healed at an incredible rate, but after months of constant regeneration it seemed his powers were reduced drastically. It was all Damasen could do to keep from turning into a pile of giant mush.
This didn't stop Bob, however. He had jumped into Tartarus after all, so after searching for months he naturally found a way out. Bringing Damasen with him was obvious to the titan, but things took a turn for the worse. Their escape hadn't gone unnoticed.