A/N: U r all going to hate me. Plz try not to kill me. welp, read on...
_________________________
Alex's POV:
Capture the flag was about to begin, and Alex could have cared less, until he got his next message from Tartarus.
The mission was simple. Guard the border, don't let the other team in. Alex was on the red team with Hermes/Mercury, Apollo, Hades, and all the minor god's cabins. Being invisible, Nico and the Stolls decided to bestow him the incredible position of border patrol. Which was neither defense nor offense, but rather boring.
Canyon Rivers from the Apollo cabin was going to sneak into enemy territory to find the flag since he was the stealthiest. Then he'd come back to the border and alert Nico or Alex to whichever shadow point was closest and they'd get the flag and shadow travel back right before the border.
The shadow points were a bunch of pins on a map where the two had studied so they could effectively shadow travel to them without getting caught. Connor suspected the points 6-9 would be where the flag was hidden so as soon as the conch horn blew, Canyon was up in the trees, climbing nimbly into enemy territory.
Cameron was on offense, the left flank so Alex didn't see her much, not like he actually cared. It was obvious she liked him, but Alex was just trying to do what his patron asked.
Border patrol was quiet, especially since he shared it with Nico di Angelo, who was hiding in the brush, watching carefully. Since Alex was invisible, he stood in plain sight, waiting until he would be able to sneak up and kidnap the di Angelo kid.
Yeah, kidnap. That's what Tartarus told him to do, that's how he would become the Ghost King. Alex smiled faintly, the thought reminded him of children's fairy tales. Those stories were accurate, the longing for power was greater than humans can understand until put in a position. Tartarus had told Alex that Nico would be a threat, he would play a pivotal role in The Last Stand. Whatever the heck that meant, all Alex knew was he would soon be the official King over Ghosts.
"Hey," Alex finally said, turning visible after thirty minutes had passed. Nico and he had taken out several campers by now and Alex decided to strike up a conversation.
"Hey," Nico said tersely back, his steely brown eyes locked with the border.
"You sure you're up for shadow traveling? It wouldn't hurt to just let Canyon tell me."
"I'm fine, Mors," Nico snapped.
"Yeah, yeah, alright. Just wouldn't want anything to happen to you. Everyone would be devastated."
"Whatever."
"Look, Nico," Alex approached the hedges Nico was hiding behind.
The demigod looked up and by the strange expression on his face, Alex realized he must've turned invisible by accident. Quickly correcting his wrong he said, "Can't we sort out our differences? I feel like we got off on the wrong foot," Alex held his hand out, beckoning Nico to take it and stand up.
"Wrong foot? You nearly stabbed me because you thought I was a monster," Nico looked unimpressed, not even acknowledging Alex's hand.
"Well, it was an accident. I'm sorry," He shook his hand a little, trying to get the di Angelo kid to grab it. How hard was this going to be?
"Yeah right," Nico muttered.
"I just want a truce. A mutual agreement? Come on, we don't have to be enemies."
The Italian hesitated, Alex's heart rate increased. Then, slowly, Nico grabbed Alex's hand and they collapsed into the shadows.
Shadow traveling while grappling the son of Hades wasn't something Alex had accounted for. Nico growled and tried to punch and kick him, but it was useless in the dark. His threats were lost in the ocean of cacophony roaring in their ears and eternal darkness surrounded the two until they appeared in the thickest part of the forest.
It was pitch black and the canopy of trees allowed no light. Everything was covered in shadows, darkness, and trees. The trunks were as thick as automobiles, and their roots were about the height of a dining table. Meaning you had to crawl over them to get anywhere if you could even see where you were going that is.
"What the Hecate?" Nico stumbled in the roots, his hands reached out blindly but he mine as well have no eyes for all the help they served him.
"Welcome to the deepest parts of the forest," Alex said, mustering all his courage to act tough. "Enjoy your stay, I'm sure it won't be long till the monster's scent you," Alex smirked, even though Nico couldn't see it.
"Deepest. Wait, you filthy little-"
"Uh uh uh. No threats, I have no time. Can't have you ruining everything with The Last Stand. You won't be standing no more," And with that, Alex jumped and dove headfirst into the thick shadows, returning to the forest as if nothing happened.
He appeared right where he had left, the underbrush. Canyon was coming close to the creek, a 10-foot long blue flag in hand. Will Solace was covering his retreat as he yelled orders to the two Nemesis kids and Victor's, who were screaming taunts at Percy and Jason.
Then, behind Alex, he saw Frank with their silver flag, Hazel was in hot pursuit but her cavalry sword was out of reach.
Canyon and Frank sped up, trying to be the first one over the creek, Chiron was there, anticipation clear in his face. Alex figured he ought to do something.
"Serve me," He declared, using his Stygian crown to help summon half of a hundred skeletons that immediately slowed Frank down. He started to fight his way through them but Hazel had now caught up.
Then, Frank bunched up the flag, tied it to his arrow, and drew it back in his bow.
Alex's heart pounded as he tried to get the skeletons to stop him. They did their best, but it wasn't enough. With an echoing twang, the arrow rocketed out of its bow and towards the enemy's territory.
"Catch!" Alex shouted, creating a skeleton right at the borders who caught the arrow by its tail.
The flag was hanging over the creek, it turned a shimmery color of red with crossed spears. Alex realized they had lost, but then, he noticed Canyon was standing near him, his skin literally radiating light, eyes pure white and a golden flag in hand. He was panting hard and looked really nauseous, already being pale, his skin took on a greenish tint. The flag had a huge sun in the middle.
Confusion gathered in his face as Alex tried to catch his breath. His skeletons collapsed back into the dark and Chiron trotted over, already having blown the conch horn.
Immediately, everyone swarmed the old centaur, demanding to know who had one. When Chiron said it was a draw, the Victor twins burst into an argument and everyone else complained. Will clapped Canyon on the back, congratulating his brother and cheering loudly. He was still glowing and Chironw as watching him carefully, Alex recognized the look. he was analyzing him. The Stoll brothers broke through the forest shortly, demanding to know what had happened then whooping louder than everyone else when they learned they hadn't lost.
"So Canyon here has the power over light?" Connor asked, beaming as he examined their flag, which was also glowing.
"Yeah, it's really rare. I didn't really think children of Apollo were born with the gift, but then again, Leo was born with fire powers," Will said brightly.
"So how did I teleport?" Canyon asked him.
Alex tried to keep his eyes from widening, but this was not good. If Canyon could light travel, then his powers possibly matched Alex's. And the last thing Alex needed was another person who was close to his equal. Maybe that's why Tartarus had told him to watch the new twins. He'd foreseen Canyon's abilities.
"I'm not sure," Will admitted. "Probably the blessing of Apollo, though I don't see why he would give it to you during capture the flag. Either that or..." Alex's heart raced. If Will figured out how powerful his brother was... "I'm not sure. But has anyone seen Nico?"
Somehow, those words brought relief to Alex, even though he should've been more worried. The other campers shook their heads and said no.
"He sprinted off that way, I think he sensed the enemy and went to defend the border," Alex lied easily, and the others believed him.
"He should've been back by now then," Will murmured.
Alex smiled, Will's OCD would be the death of him. The blond demigod sprinted off in whatever direction Alex had pointed in. Maybe both of them would be dead by the end of tonight.
Nico's POV:
Being double crossed was bad enough, but now... Nico had a new definition of pain.
Nico stumbled forwards, immediately getting caught on a tree root and scraping up his palms. Ugh. he really needed to get himself out of this. The Italian closed his eyes, imagining where he wanted to end up, not by the creek, with Will. but he wasn't sure where that was, so friendly territory would be fine.
Everything turned dark, he was shadow traveling, it was working. Only problem: he couldn't reform. Nico looked down at his hands through the dark, they were turning into wispy vapors and floating upwards. His heart raced a mile a minute, his eyes wide, Nico tried to reform. Physical he egged himself on, squinting his eyes shut as he attempted to find something to latch him onto the mortal world. Cupping water through a strainer must've been easier than trying to form a physical self because Nico was panicking. Suddenly, in a flash of white and the strength of an Onagers projectile, Nico was launched out of the tree's shadow and blasted to a tree from the pressure.
Relieved to be alive, he coughed, trying to get his bearings.
He tried to catch his breath. His back must've had several splinters in it, but he didn't mind. Being alive was such an incredible, wondrous feeling, he never wanted it taken away again.
Now flat on his back, Nico stared up at the darkening sky.
Oh gods... he was lost. He couldn't get back. The thought seemed to just resonate with him. Looking up towards the sky, or where he hoped was the sky, Nico sent a silent prayer to his father. The shadows must've rejected him just as his dad had. They weren't going to help him anymore.
And Alex. Nico grit his teeth thinking about the kid. He was manipulated and twisted, evil and cruel, and... Nico would've thought worse things when a low growl interrupted him. The brush shifted and with sight worse than a blind man's, Nico knew he was in trouble. He had to start moving towards somewhere safe.
Nico wondered if he could try shadow traveling again. Just thinking about what had happened earlier made Nico's heart race, his pulse thrumming in his ears and fingertips. Sweat began to trickle from his forehead and down his back. He needed to get out of the forest. The monsters would easily find him, and he was a weak target. this was real.
Stumbling lost for hours, he crawled over the thick roots until his fingers were dirtier than the Hephaestus kids. He had gotten nowhere. he had no clue where he was now, and if he was going farther away from camp or getting closer. He wanted to curl up and let the monsters take him, but he couldn't. Leaving Will behind was not fair, he couldn't do it. Not after finally admitting his feelings for him.
"Please father, show me the way," Nico said, talking to the darkness that surrounded him. Suddenly, his heart began to race, it was before, but even faster now. Sweat poured down his back and with his eyes wide, Nico tried to look for an exit. He was alone. He was trapped in darkness... trapped in the bronze jar.
Curling up into a more defensive ball, Nico whimpered, he could already hear the voices of Ephialtes and Otis. They echoed around, sending tingles down his spine.
"So boring brother, I want a dramatic death! All he does is sleep and hibernate!" Ephilates grumbled to his brother, and it was all Nico could do not to spill his tears.
"Well if the others do ever show up, we will have a dramatic death. Several," Otis promised.
"But I want a death no-ow," The giant whined and Nico's breathing became jagged and rough.
"Don't worry, he will die soon."
The words echoed in the eternal, endless black. Nico's sobs wracked his body, torturing it with violent shake sand coughs. He was trapped, he was dying, he had no hope.
With limbs that felt like led, his vision turned black, which was exactly the same as it was before. Nico did the only sensible thing he could do. With another strangled cry, he shoved himself into a death trance. It was risky as he didn't have any food or pomegranate seeds, but with most of his life force extinguished, the monsters wouldn't be able to smell him.
His overly alert senses began to shut down, a final ragged breath and he was dead.
Forget everything Nico had said earlier about waking up being horrible. Waking up from a death trance without any food was infinitely worse. The pain was the most excruciating thing Nico had ever felt in his life. He'd rather be in Tartarus then in his current disposition. Just making his finger twitch was as hard as rolling Sisyphus's boulder for an eternity. Nico blacked out several times and with each blackout, things only got worse and harder. The pain he was suffering through was indescribable. If he had to try, he might use words like tormenting, savage, unbearable, insufferably intolerable, et cetera. Nico wasn't sure he even knew what pain was before this. Tartarus seemed small even. Nico chuckled through his torture, it was hollow and he passed out right after from the excruciating pain it caused him. When Tartarus was small, his mind must be really messed up.
The only reason Nico was able to think relatively clearly, was from the pain. It was a constant, sharp, and searing. It forced his conscience to stay in one place, focusing on the hurt that was destroying his body. Otherwise, Nico was sure his thoughts would be scattered, wisps of smoke curling from a campfire.
Trying to reach the ambrosia in his coat pocket took what Nico assumed was hours. He had to move agonizingly slow, or else he'd blackout from the sharp racking pain. Then his arm would go slack, he'd wake who now's how long later and have to try again, even more exhausted than the last attempt.
When he finally got the ambrosia to his mouth, he sobbed. large, watery tears of relief spreading down his face as he tried to chew the square. Every time the food touched his teeth, Nico wanted to scream out in pain, but restrained himself, swallowing his desperate cries and the godly food.
As it went down his throat he was reminded of his mother. Her special lassongana she would make when she was especially happy about something. After the dip in the river Lethe, Nico had his memories brainwashed from about nine and under. Now that he was growing older, they were beginning to come back. He figured it was because he was a child of Hades, the Underworld's rivers just didn't affect him as powerfully. Part of his ADHD brain wondered if he chose rebirth, would he remember his old life? The thought sent a shiver down his spine, which caused a yelp of pain to emit from his mouth, bringing him back to his present situation. He was going to die.
"Send me some help, or directions, anything, please!" He croaked raspily to the sky. No response. Nico didn't expect help from Zeus, the god had tried to kill him once, executing hundreds of people in the process, including Nico's mother, whose dead body he saw in front of his own eyes when he was young.
After four more squares of Ambrosia, Nico began to feel a fever coming on. He had known it was risky to eat more, but he had to, and now he could successfully stand without passing out or screaming from the indescribable, unreal pain.
It must have been morning now, because the sun filtered through the canopy leaves, giving a dim light. Enough for Nico to see his situation was hopeless.
After hours of stumbling, crying, sniffling, and stifling pain, Nico was ready to give up. His stomach was more hungry than ever. He was starving because of his death trance, literally starving. The son of Hades could tell his body was beginning to break down his extra fat (Which wasn't much) and use it as a last resort. It was only a matter of time before his muscles were next and then he would be dead. He could already feel himself weakening worse.
Just when Nico was about to lay down and allow himself to greet death, he felt every hair on the back of his neck stick up. Something was about to happen. He drew his sword, waiting.
A low, ferocious growl came from behind him. Before Nico could fully process what was going on, a large hellhound appeared.
Black as night with blood-red eyes and a vicious snarl made up of a slobbering tongue, foaming mouth and razor-sharp teeth. The hellhounds claws were more like talons, and the dog was at least twelve feet tall double Mrs. O'Leary's size. That was the first sign to Nico that this was not Percy's tamed pet. Along with the fact it was eyeing Nico murderously as if he would make a very delicious demigod snack.
It lunged at him, snapping its jaws as Nico ducked and it crashed into a tree, making a loud crack like the sound of thunder when lightning was close.
"Easy there!" Nico rasped, one hand in front of his chest, trying not to show any threatening signs.
The hellhound didn't seem convinced, especially because Nico's Stygian iron blade was set in his other hand. The hound charged again, barking and growling while Nico raised his blade to defend himself.
It easily caught Nico off-balance, biting into his blade like it was a dog toy. Good news: Hellhounds can't actually bite through Stygian iron. Bad news: Hellhounds don't dissolve by the blade unless seriously injured, and biting the blade apparently didn't count as that.
Nico was thrown upwards and landed flat on his back, coughing up blood as he blinked the white spots of pain out of his vision. his ears were ringing like telephones and it hurt to breathe, yet he was gasping for air through the immense pain. Through his splotchy vision, he could make out the hellhound looming over him.
That's when he realized it. Zeus had listened to him! Or at least this was his way out of the forest. He could have the hellhound shadow travel him, as Alex had done. Nico tried to prop himself up, but he choked on blood, everything was so painful, he could feel his consciousness fading out.
No. He thought. I will not go down by a creature of the Underworld, he is my brethren. Nico forced himself to his feet, his blade back in his hand he stared at the hellhound. Though he was weak, exhausted, and terrified, Nico was intimidating. Rage was coursing through him, rage for Alex who had gotten him here, his father; who betrayed him. Rage for his life and the mess it had been, rage at himself for almost giving up and causing Will pain, rage for Tartarus, and the giants. Gaea and Octavian. Rage for Talos, who killed Binaca, and for every other horrible thing that had happened to Nico in his short life.
Dark hair in his murderous eyes, blood seeping out of the corners of his mouth as he shook with a combination of rage and pain. Skeletal hands began erupting out of the ground, making the dog whine. They grasped each of the monster's legs and the hellhound whimpered and tied to break free but the dead were stronger. Nico wondered what had happened here. The fact skeletons were here, meant others had died in this very forest. The thought sent a shiver up Nico's spine but he couldn't dwell on it.
With blood flowing out of his mouth, Nico climbed aboard the hellhound, taking rattling deep breaths. He would have to time this just right or else more demigods could be injured, or worse, killed.
"Half Blood Hill," He said to the dog in a ragged voice, it was shattered but sharp, like broken glass.
The hellhound obeyed, surprisingly, and they shrunk into the shadows.
Nico figured the hellhound just wanted to be free from the skeletal grasps it was in. As soon as the two materialized on the hill near the Athena Parthenos, Nico stabbed the monster in its chest and the dozen foot tall black dog began to crumble to dust. Nico fell to the ground, careful to throw his sword so it didn't stab him.
"Sorry Mrs. O'Leary," He muttered through violent coughs, his own blood staining the grass. With one final heave, he lost consciousness, Will calling his name fading into the background.
This time when Nico woke up, he felt so relieved he could pass out again. He was on a cot in the infirmary, Will was smiling from his chair next to him. The pain was all gone, and now he was only stiff and sore. After everything he'd been through in the woods, Nico would never, ever complain again.
Nico sat up easily, despite Will's protests. Staring into those blue eyes, he knew he was safe, he knew that he was in good arms. And so he spread his arms, allowing Will to hug him.
When they finally pulled out, Nico's eyes were tearing up. He couldn't help it. the forest had brought back his worst memories.
"Shh, everythings okay now, you're fine now," Will said softly, his hand over Nico's, careful not to disrupt the IV.
Nico nodded, not sure he could speak without spilling his tears.
"You scared me real bad there."
"Sorry," Nico croaked, truthfully, he'd been really scared as well.
"It's fine. You're safe now," Nico realized that those words were very rare for demigods to hear and be able to fully believe them. But with Will by his side, he wholeheartedly believed them.
Even though he was hooked to an IV, sitting on a cot in the infirmary, bandages wrapped around his torso, and his lungs aching, he felt safer than he had ever felt in his life. Even when he was with his mother.
"I almost gave up," Nico's voice sounded more brittle than he wanted it to. "I almost gave in. I almost let myself... and you, leave you, hu-"
"Shh," For the second time Will shushed him, pulling him into another warm embrace, his dazzling blue eyes awakening Nico's fanboying mind.
"Relax," Said a voice on the far cot. Nico recognized it as Piper's and then realized she was trying to charm speak him.
After so many near-deaths, he allowed it to work its magic. Relaxation settled into him, causing his body to slouch into Will's side. Will repositioned themselves so he was sitting behind Nico, hugging him tightly, but not too much so it didn't trigger his claustrophobia. it was perfect. Will was perfect.
Will had Piper charmspeak Nico into rest and Hazel took Will's seat next to his bed. She gently ran her fingers through her brother's hair, he grimaced, still on the brink of sleep. She continued though, and Nico fell asleep quickly.
A/N:_______________________________
Yooooo, wasup ya'll?
What're your thoughts on Alex so far? Eh, ya like him? Don't you like him?
QUESTION: Have any of ya'll broken/sprained/twisted etcetera a limb/muscle?
A: I haven't. I'm what my parents call the 'good' child because I'm apparently the safest Lol. My whole family has a club for surgery and injuries and I'm the only one excluded. Haha
Comment your answer below ;)