Chapter Text
She took her time, savoring every moment it took to descend the hill. The earth was warm and trembling beneath her, the cries of strife and death like music to her pointed ears. Almost as magnificent as the sound of the bone drums behind her, almost as serene as having her children behind her. Having them there to witness a mother's wrath. Having them there to get their first real taste of the delicacy that was revenge. Having them there to fill each and every one of them with hope and pride in knowing they will have aided in changing their lives forever.
Pride filled her own chest at knowing that soon, so very soon, her children would have the futures they deserved. Could exist in a world without fear for their lives, without pain in their ichor drenched hearts. That even though their father, her husband Typhoon, had been taken from them— by these savages fighting amongst themselves like wild animals— they were still worthy of life, still loved by the true, rightful ruler of the earth.
It had taken little to convince her to join the cause; and with Gaea’s promise for a bright future for her children, she had gathered her most beautiful, her most lethal, and made her way here— to this unholy land. To this Camp and its inhabitants who had taken everything from her. Everything but her children. No matter how many of them those Greeks murdered, slaughtered, she still made more— with tears in her eyes and blood of the fallen coating her clawed hands.
So she made her way down the rolling hill, power thrumming in her immortal veins, and smiled. It was a surprise of course to see the Roman’s there, but it did not matter. Not when she outnumbered them with the thousands of her most beautiful children.
A demigod in the sky shouted down to the army below, and even from this distance where even she could barely make out the speck in the sky, she relished in the sound of desperation.
Her smile only grew.
Demigod blood was all Gaea required. And for her children, for her husband, for herself… Echidna would not fail.
Percy sunk Riptide into the small chink in a legionaries armor, removing it so quickly to parry another’s strike that an arc of red splattered through the air from his blades edge. Celestial bronze and imperial gold collided with such force that the sound echoed through his bones, revibrating to his very core. The power inside seemed to open an eye at the sensation. Percy bared his teeth, pushing the enemy blade and his inner power down.
The reserve water in his armor was long since depleted, the battered leather now lighter and there was a nasty gash that ran mid-thigh all the way down to his shin from when a Roman he’d felled had drug the point of her gladius down as she’d fallen. But he did not waver. He did not limp. He was deaf to pain, deaf to everything but the steady presence of Annabeth and Jason beside him— the daughter of Athena alight with purpose and strength. Whenever the power bucked inside of him, like when he’d earned the laceration that was still seeping red, he would find Annabeth’s eyes and no matter how many soldiers she was battling, no matter how focused she was on delivering new strategies to the other head counselors, she would meet his desperate eyes and nod with a comforting smile. She was there, she was fighting. He reined his power.
Despite the cry of protest from his wounded leg, Percy readied his knees to feign right and lacerate the unguarded inner thighs of the Roman before him. Before he could initiate the sequence, Percy— for the first time since stepping into the battlefield— faltered.
Faltered and stilled, nearly dropping his sword because a burst of something cascaded over the land like a glittering wave of embers. Gasps all around him from both armies, lowering of weapons, removing of helmets, furrowing of brows, faces of every color and shape contorted in confusion. Eyes wide, he looks around and sees every demigod on both sides pausing, weapons limp in their hands as something deep inside him— a crack that had been there the day he was born— fused together.
But then it hit him— a different sensation— so hard that Percy nearly lost hold of his powers as they bucked against his core. He let out a muffled cry and strained to grab hold but it suddenly went quiet, no longer thrashing wildly. For the first time since he’d discover it, the writhing thing inside him was calm. So calm that despite panting from exertion and the pile of bodies strewn at his feet, Percy could finally breathe.
He looked around, eyes wild and frantic, nearly falling over his own feet as he staggered to find—
There.
Their eyes locked and this time Annabeth— who he’d forgotten was beside him— had to grab his red stained leather armor to keep him standing. Parthenos behind him, Praetor beside him, the Prince of the Underworld had done it.
Nico was home.
Percy didn’t care who heard as he let out a strangled cry. The son of Hades, looking half to death with exhaustion, couldn’t hold back the smile as he spotted his brother. And though an entire battlefield spanned between them, Percy somehow knew those gold flecked onyx eyes were filled with tears as were his own.
Nico was home.
His brother was alive.
The moment felt like a lifetime but it had merely been seconds and too soon did Jason take to the sky and let out another bellow to the now unified army from high above before landing back beside Percy. Echidna was gaining. Without the archaic feud clouding them, both armies turned as one to face the true threat.
Percy went completely still, Riptide half raised, as that killing calm settled over him once more and filtered information to him as he scanned his surroundings before meeting Annabeth’s eyes that were just as wide. The daughter of Athena had a harsh line etched across her jaw, sweat and grime at her brow like a halo. Those grey eyes flashed as her mind took in every detail. Because Nico and Reyna had landed the furthest from the invisible barrier of Camp, and the closest to the marching Goddess of Monsters with her endless ranks of beasts. Jason, Annabeth, and Percy were midway on the field, Piper a ways to the right and Leo to the left, but Hazel and Frank were even farther behind. Before the fighting had paused, Percy had caught flashes of Frank— a fury of fur and fangs, feathers and talons around Hazel, doing whatever he could to limit her exertion so she’d be ready to transport Nico and Reyna.
But the son of Mars had nothing on Percy as the Greek whipped his head to Jason, a feral intensity in his desperate sea green eyes as he practically snarled, "Can you get to them?"
It took Jason a moment to find words. From the moment Octavian’s body hit the grass, becoming the first blood, the first casualty of battle, the son of Poseidon had become one with his truest self and Annabeth beside him. Even as Jason had been lost in the guilt and shame of killing his own, he hadn’t been able to shake the image of Percy’s face when Larry, the newly proclaimed leader of the Roman legion, had disregarded any notion of unity. Couldn’t shake the image of the grin, the wild untamable smile on Percy’s lips that hadn’t left until moments ago.
And when Echidna had first crested the hill, the fighting had stopped but only for a heartbeat, then it had gone straight back to the feud that predated them all despite the ever encroaching goddess of monsters. With every scream and last breath from the Greek ranks, Jason had noticed the smile on Percy’s face slip more and more into a clenched jaw and that killing calm. Ferocity burned brightly in those eyes like poison and from what Jason had been able to glimpse while fighting his own opponents, Percy’s movements had only grown more precise, more accurate. Not even the bleeding gash on his left leg had slowed him. Nothing had made the son of Poseidon stop, no Roman, no weapon, no god given ability, until the Parthenos arrived. Until Nico arrived. It was the only reason Jason was able to meet Percy’s striking gaze, unsettling and more charged than a bolt of lighting. Breathing heavily, sword arm beginning to ache with the beginnings of exhaustion, Jason shook his head. "Even if I could, there's no way for me to transport them both."
Together, the three turned to Hazel. She was nearly at the border of Camp, the complete opposite end of the field from the Parthenos. And they were in the middle. Percy bit out a curse, “Do it."
Jason nodded with determination unlike he'd ever had before and launched into the sky. And Percy put aside his differences and prayed to every god in the sky that Jason was fast enough. Fast enough to get Hazel to them before Echidna reached the travel weary pair who even from the distance Percy could see were swaying on their feet.
Annabeth watched Jason take to the sky before flicking her gaze to the ever encroaching beasts. An endless sea of teeth and fangs and claws and growls still marching to the beat of the bone drums. If they chose to charge now, there would be no hope. The demigods would be overwhelmed in seconds. She bit her lip, tasting metallic power and salty sweat.
"He's not gonna make it," she breathed, glancing to the sky, to Hazel, to the Parthenos, to Echidna. "It's too far."
And at the hopelessness in her voice, the fear and agony in each word, Percy’s heart skipped a beat. And then another. And then he was running. Running towards the far reaches of the field— pushing armored demigods out of the way. Running towards thousands of beasts— feet sinking in the mud. Running towards a goddess even the gods themselves feared— chest heaving with shattered breaths, wounded leg shrieking with lashes of agony.
Running towards his brother.
As Reyna emerged from the folds of space, the song of shadows was drowned out by the symphony of war. Clashing of Celestial Bronze and Imperial Gold, shouted commands, screams of pain, last breaths— so many sounds, so much pain exploded around Reyna that the Praetor winced. But then she quickly turned to Nico and her heart nearly burst with relief. He was breathing, he was alive. The hollowness of her core told Reyna she was utterly spent, nearly every drop of her strength sapped. Dangerous, it was a dangerous edge she teetered on; burnout would ravage her if she completely drained herself. It had taken more than either of them had anticipated to make the final jump. But it was worth it. They’d made it.
She sent a prayer of thanks to her mother and another to Hades himself and then they were scrambling, getting free from their harnesses and drawing their blades as they took in everything around them. The Greeks and Romans were fighting, but that wasn’t what stopped her breath.
No, it was the sight of Echidna, goddess and mother of all monsters, descending the hill that stole the air from her lungs. The beat of a thousand bone drums deafened her. The true enemy was advancing, and yet the hundreds of demigods were still warring amongst themselves.
Before Reyna could even look for the Seven in the chaotic fray of bodies and metal weaponry, the Parthenos at her back let out a burst of shimmering light like embers of a wildfire. The shock wave struck each Roman and Greek as that ancient rift healed within their spirits. Reyna gasped at the sensation and around her, despite the sounds of battle, could hear others do the same as. The fighting ceased, and in the strange calm— like a collective sigh of relief— that overtook the land, Reyna saw the Seven across the field.
She could just barely make them out, but it was them— bloodied, sweating, chests heaving, but alive. They were alive. Reyna could barely make out Jason, Percy, and Annabeth's forms as they huddled close in conversation, not a moment later did Jason take to the sky, launching himself through the air to the other end of the massive field. And with her mind still hazy from shadow travel, it wasn't until Percy began racing for them with what looked to be a very crimson coated leg, that everything became clear to her. Nico realized it too. Hazel must be at the other end, must have gotten separated from the others.
Reyna turned her back to the demigods and took in Echidna's army. And when she turned back once more, taking Nico’s hand in her own, it was Latin that burst from deep inside her, followed by Nico who repeated her words in Ancient Greek. And for the first time in millennia, the two armies turned as one, lowering their weapons from their fellow demigods and towards the seemingly endless ranks of monsters.
Echidna charged, and like a wave of glittering death in the morning light, the sea of beasts with her.
All they had wanted was to save their two worlds, but around them, everything was falling apart.
Too many, there were just too many. And Reyna was tired, so tired she could barely think past the fog in her mind and the ache in every fiber of her body. There were hundreds of demigods, but thousands surged behind Echidna, the first of them finally reaching the demigod ranks.
Nico was barely standing, back facing her— shirt tattered revealing bruises that were now darker than the blade he raise in a scarred hand. He was exhausted, so gods damned exhausted that he could barely stand on weak legs, barely quell the shaking of the sword in his trembling hands, the Stygian an impossible weight.
He risked a glance behind him to see Jason had barely made it to Hazel, hadn't yet begun the long flight to he and Reyna. In the air, from this distance, Jason was no more than a speck, Hazel the same. Percy was running for them, Annabeth close behind, but when they got there, what would they do?
Nico was completely and utterly spent, every second shadow traveling weighing him down, every hour of sleep deprivation clinging to him and he knew Reyna was just as tired— it was a feat that she was even standing after all she'd seen. The song of shadows hadn't been kind to them. But the monsters paid no mercy as they surrounded he and Reyna. If they lunged now, all they’d done, all they’d sacrificed to get here would be for nothing. But the creatures, snarling and drooling with the promises of blood waited. Waited and parted a path for their mother who took her time slithering towards the Parthenos, towards Nico and Reyna, towards the demigod army.
They were trapped. There was nothing left to do, nowhere else to go. No gods were coming to save them.
Nico looked out at the unified army of demigods, looked further to the rippling barrier and Camp Half-Blood beyond. The demigods were not only outnumbered, but exhausted from the battle they’d waged against each other. And when he turned back to what lay ahead, a feral instinct coated his veins— Nico wasn’t going to let a single one of them be hurt by Echidna or her creatures. This was his family he stood before. And if there was anything Nico had learned in his life it was that there was always more he could give. And that there were no lengths he wouldn’t go to for the sake of those he loved.
Echidna was so close now, prowling through the ranks that surrounded them that he could see the points of her teeth as the goddess smiled.
Every muscle in Reyna’s body tensed, already planning out what would be a futile last stand against the goddess who neared with each passing heartbeat— acceptance settled in her core; today was as good as any to die. She looked beside her at Nico, parting her lips to give one last command for him to get behind her and run, but the words perished on her tongue.
Because he was already looking at her, and his scarred features begged for forgiveness. And Reyna could barely breathe as she saw pain and regret in his eyes— pain not from his wounds or exhaustion. The silence radiating from him was all she needed to hear…. Reyna knew without words what he was going to do.
Her throat, still echoes of blood coating it, would not cooperate and it was all she could do to mouth out a single word, a shaking arm reaching for him. The silver skull ring on her finger glinted in the sun.
No
NO
But he smiled at her— soft, strained, pleading— a smile of desperation.
Don’t worry. Everything will be alright. I could never hurt you.
Reyna shook her head, her braid flailing as wild as her wide eyes. Yet still Echidna stalked towards them, the trunks of her snake limbs scraping against the grass as the circle of monsters around them tightened in anticipation.
Nico di Angelo was no one’s prey.
Nico closed his eyes on it all— on the snarling beasts trapping their weary bodies, on the statue behind him, and the best friend he never thought he’d have beside him. Nico closed his eyes and walked slowly— for time moved strangely here— through the chasm of his mind. Eyes closed, he raised an arm, movements slow as he felt, reaching out, through his mindscape for that forbidden wall.
He could hear screams, desperate and pleading though muffled as if he were underwater. The pleas were Reyna's— he’d know that voice even if he were deaf— but he didn’t listen, not when they’d turn to dying rasps if he didn’t do this.
There.
His palm spread against the surface that violated his skin on contact with something like frostbite. He shuddered, pulling the hand back that burned with otherworldly cold.
Distantly, he felt a pressure in his chest give way— the thin barrier of shadows he’d set up around them failing as he felt the immortal claws of Echidna rake through them. Exhaustion finally giving way to the touch, Nico heard the metallic grinding of Reyna unsheathing her weapon.
Eyes still closed as he braced himself for what he needed to do, Nico hesitated at the sensation of something sharp against his throat. But it wasn’t talons, it wasn’t teeth, it wasn’t monsters or Echidna. Distantly, his wounded arm stung in remembrance as he recognized the metal pressed against his jugular. Imperial Gold.
“Stop… don’t do it, Nico… you… you promised.”
There was desperation in those ragged words, louder than the growling around him. The blade was cold as it pulsated in tandem with his jugular, but it was nothing compared to the sub zero surface that he’d splayed both palms on. It was invasive, painful in a way he could never explain. The cold stripped him of everything he knew, everything he was.
Echidna must have hesitated, confused as to why a legionnaire had her weapon to the demigod’s throat. Or maybe because she sensed what Nico was doing. What he sought to unleash. Or maybe time had stilled, maybe all the universe had paused to witness what came next.
Nico forced his eyes open, not to the battlefield, but to his mind.
With nothing but grey surrounding him and a mirror-like polished floor of onyx beneath him, the wall spanned as far as he could see. It’s surface was transparent enough for him to see the darkness held within. Trapped, just like he was. Tendrils of fog, blacker than the darkness between stars, crashed against the other side and he could feel the pounding of it from beneath the dying flesh of his hands.
The glass seemed impenetrable, and it would have been if not for the words of Ancient Greek that flowed from his lips.
Eímai étoimos na se polemíso I am done fighting you
Írtha na diekdikíso to genéthlió mou I’ve come to claim my birthright
For a moment, nothing happened. The black fog froze, every tendril suspended mid-air. Nico fell to his knees as exhaustion stuck his soul, but his palms remained on the wall, afraid if he let go all would be lost.
The chattering of monsters ceased, Reyna’s pleas died in her throat, Nico could hear nothing but the glass as it shattered.
Shadows speared for Nico in a torrent of darkness and when it collided with his body, embracing him as it was absorbed, Nico felt nothing.
No exhaustion, no burning, no fear.
And when the screams began anew, they were not from Reyna.
Agony ravaged through him with an intensity that threatened to blind him as it seared his nervous system and boiled the crimson of his blood as golden ichor rushed to consume it. Nico welcomed the blinding pain, willing it to build despite the screams that tore from his throat to the point he could taste that crimson liquid power. There were other screams too, other pleas and two hands around him. They begged to him, to the gods that wouldn’t listen, to the earth itself. But he didn’t stop. He could do this. Pain was his oldest friend, agony his lifeblood, screams his native language.
The darkness built within him and he could no longer feel the hands on him as they jolted from his sub zero skin. And without their warmth, he lost himself to the torture. He could see nothing, couldn’t hear his own roars, couldn’t remember what it was like to be anything but this. He couldn’t hold on any longer, hadn’t the strength to control such raw power.
Mistake
This had been a mistake
But it was too late.
Glass wall shattered, volatile power coursing through his soul, Nico threw his head to the sky, mouth open, teeth bared as he roared. With one final scream to rattle the sky, he let go; let go of all he had, all he was. And as shadows exploded from his body, Nico became one with the fractured darkness.
Every muscle in Nico's body tensed to the point of strain, Reyna watched as his entire body seemed to sigh with relief as it calmed and even the stress lines in his face disappeared. And it was all she could do to watch in horror as Nico's eyes flew open— eyes that of obsidian orbs, blacker than the night as shadows choked and overtook the whites of his eyes.
Nothing mattered, nothing existed— not even Echidna who’d swiped through his barrier of shadows and was now staring down at Nico with hunger and confusion in those red eyes— as Reyna reached out for him. His skin was so pale it was almost glowing, and those eyes were so black they seemed miniature voids. The gold flecks she’d come to find such comfort in were nowhere to be found. But he didn't look at her, he didn't look at anything. And when she parted her lips, palm almost against his, the space in front of her exploded.
Fog and darkness erupted before her, sending her flying.
Reyna staggered, struggling to rise as the unnatural silence berated her ears. She could hear her heart beating, hear each and every breath, hear the blood rushing through her veins. Too quiet, it was too quiet. She blinked into the fog but it did no good, the darkness was so all consuming it was as if her eyes were closed. Blindly, she reached out and took a few steps into the shadow choked air. She let out a cry that deafened her upon tripping over a corpse, a Roman she'd taught in one of her combat lessons just last year. Reyna jolted at the gash at demigod's head— reminding her of the wounds Maria di Angelo was killed by. A strangled sound escaped her own lips as the daughter of Bellona looked back up and the now pitch black darkness had taken form.
The song of shadows.
Nico had brought it to the battlefield, he had wielded it. But it wasn't a scene from his own memories as when she lent him her strength during jumps, no. She was sitting on the floor, her sister holding her tightly. But it was her father, her father yelling and screaming while waiving a loaded gun in their direction, that had elicited the yelp of fear. The image flickered, as if Nico were having trouble containing the effects, as if he were trying to shield her from it. And when the image left, the sound of gunfire still rang in her ear, revibrating against the returned silence of darkness. On trembling legs, she rose and stumbled in a direction she thought was where Nico had been. Her dry throat was raw as she called out to him.
“NICO? NICO?!”
She began to run, falling over the uneven ground, colliding with demigods that she could not see through the blackness. But she did not stop running, didn't stop picking herself up from the ground as she continued to fall, didn't stop to worry about the mud and gore coating her limbs and palms. Didn't stop, didn't stop, didn't st—
"Reyna!"
It wasn't Nico who she collided with, but Hazel and Jason. The potent darkness cleared ever so slightly, becoming that of dark grey fog, enough for her to make out the two demigods’ features.
"We have to find him," Reyna whispered through haggard breaths as she swayed on her feet. Jason reached out to steady her but she flinched at the touch. She felt raw, she felt hollow; fear seized her heart and the silver skull ring on her finger that Hazel and Jason’s eyes flicked to with raised brows was bitingly cold on her finger. She had to find Nico, had to find him, had to— it suffocated her, the fear that washed over her in unrelenting waves.
“What about Echidna?” Jason asked warily, “Her army?”
Hazel gave them both a grim look that told them all they needed to know. Instead of answering, she jerked her chin sharply left and said, "He's that way."
They took a moment, no more than a heartbeat, to look at one another. Took only that long to show the fear and guilt and pain at what they might find. And when that moment ended, the three nodded. And together, guided by the daughter of Pluto, the three ventured into the roaring silence.
Tears unwillingly streamed from Percy's eyes as he pushed the rip in his leg to the limit. He could feel Annabeth close behind him and he focused on the labored breaths as he tore across the field.
Close, they were so close. He could see Nico and Reyna more clearly with each bounding leap.
It all happened so suddenly. At first he thought it was sheer exhaustion and adrenaline that caused him to hallucinate that when Nico opened his clenched eyes, they were completely black. But when Nico tilted his head back to the sky and loosed a ravaged scream that for some reason called to the power deep within Percy, he knew it was real. And when darkness burst from Nico like the mushroom cloud of an atom bomb, Percy froze. He couldn't see.
Annabeth, his mind screeched. Percy whirled around to where she'd been behind him mere seconds ago, but all that met him was darkness. Pitch black, dark as night until…
Gods
Oh gods
Percy fell to his hands and knees, sinking in the gore that was the earth beneath him. The cursed powers within him returned to that silent calm as they'd been since seeing Nico, but the quiet in his body gave way for nausea to overpower his senses. Because the darkness had morphed into a scene from the deepest pits of his memory, horrors he'd kept locked in the farthest catacombs of his mind. The arms he used to brace himself against the ground wracked with tremors as he emptied the contents of his stomach and then he collapsed, curling in on himself as every ounce of energy left him. The sharp pain in his leg crippled him as he shook, shivering against the coldness of the memory that continued to play out in front of him like a 3D movie.
He had to get up, had to find Nico and Annabeth, had to make sure they were okay, had to kill Echidna and save his Camp, had to…
Percy's limbs refused to obey, frozen with a terror he thought he'd long since buried.
It wasn't Tartarus that he saw. Wasn't memories of the land of unbridled hell that he was trapped in. No.
What the shadows pulled from his mind was so much worse.
Because at least in Tartarus he'd had his powers and training from Camp Half-Blood. At least in Tartarus he'd had Annabeth at his side.
The vision was made worse, made all the more real at the spikes of pain radiating from his leg. Because it was a similar sensation to the very first time Gabe Ugliano had ever broken one of Percy's bones.
It had been all Percy's fault, at least that's what Gabe had said. It was Percy's fault that his femur was broken, his fault that Gabe had to be bothered with hauling his 'sorry ass' into the beat up hunk of metal he called a car and drive him to a hospital when Percy's screams had gotten 'fucking annoying'. And when Percy had awoken from surgery in massive amounts of pain because Gabe had pocketed the orange bottle of pain-killers, Gabe had been quick to remind Percy that it was all his fault.
Hey, shithead if you'da just coughed up the 20 bucks, we wouldn't be here right now. Damn kid, your mama's gonna be all sorts 'a pissed at you. You know what this hospital bill is gonna cost her?
$20. It was because of withholding $20 that eight year old Percy didn't even have which had resulted in his step-father grabbing the nearest thing— a piece of metal tubing leftover from the plumber who'd been there the other day to fix their kitchen sink— and striking him with it. Again. And again. And again.
Laying curled up on his side in the mud, Percy wasn't sure when the images stopped playing, he wasn't sure when the pitch black shadows gave way to a soft, muted grey. He didn't know, couldn't tell, because in his mind it was still going.
He could still see Gabe threatening to kill him if he said a word of this to his mom. Could still hear his mother's rambling, tearful words as she asked what happened.
Arriving to school the day after was always an ordeal. People would ask what happened. He told so many lies he’d had to start writing them down in a journal so as to not repeat any when the teachers berated him. Because if they found out, if anyone found out, Gabe would kill him. And when that had stopped being so threatening, Gabe had shifted to saying he'd kill Percy's mom. That had kept him quiet.
"Ran into a sliding glass door," he'd say to the mirror in his room before going off to school, rehearsing the lie as it burned on his tongue. "Fell down the stairs," he'd say the week after. And they laughed, all of his fellow classmates. Not being rude, not with ill intent; the idea of him being so dumb, so foolish to have fallen down the stairs and broken his femur was just so hilarious to them all. So Percy went with it.
The teachers would say he was nothing but trouble because he always did whatever he could to be carefree. Doing 'dumb stuff' made people laugh, made them smile. And more importantly, it had distracted him.
That had been Percy's first kill. Not a Minotaur, but himself. Every time Percy went to school with bruises hidden under his clothes or a new form of cast or sling, every time Percy told his friends and teachers that it was all his fault— that he'd done something clumsy or stupid or daring— he killed a piece of himself. The other demigods had been baffled when he'd first arrived at Camp at how skilled he was with combat, how comfortable he was with death. What they didn't know, what no one but Annabeth and Nico knew was that by the time he passed through the gates of Camp Half-Blood for that very first time, he was already a warrior.
Percy
A voice drifted to him, but his memories were too loud. The sound of his step-father yelling and his mom screaming, the sound of his own crying as he was locked in the hall closet with bruised ribs.
PERCY
He knew that voice. It sounded desperate, afraid. But Percy didn't move, didn't uncurl himself, didn’t open his eyes. If he saw Gabe standing over him, he'd vomit again.
"PERCY!"
There were hands on him, strong calloused hands gripping his shoulders, solid arms wrapping around him. Percy's racing mind faltered. Not once in his entire life had Gabe hugged him.
His eyes flew open.
Annabeth
Annabeth was holding him. She was here— trembling, eyes wild from what the shadows had shown her, but she was here.
"A-Annab…"
"Shhh, I know… I know," there were tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked at him, a warm smile breaking through her anguish because he was okay. Percy was here. She'd trekked through the fog, screamed through the suffocating darkness, and found him. Annabeth wished they could sit like this, him in her arms, and recover from what they'd both endured, but this was far from over. She brushed his grime matted hair aside and clamped down on the bile rising in her throat at the sight of his wounded leg.
"Can you stand? We need to find Nico."
At the mention of his brother's name, Percy bit down on the pain and jerked to his feet unsteadily. Annabeth was instantly there, lifting one of his arms around the back of her neck to keep his weight off the bad leg as tremors shook his frame.
Now that the pitch black darkness had diluted slightly to grey, they could make out muffled screams of the other demigods as they called out to one another. Percy and Annabeth had just joined in, crying out for any sign of Nico or the others, when without warning the fog began to recede. Darkness seeping into the earth as if the ground were a sponge, Percy gripped Annabeth tighter.
As they stumbled forward— tripping over corpses of the fallen demigods and weapons, slipping in the mud, passing through similarly disoriented demigods— the fog continued to recede. They looked behind them and could see heads then shoulders then torsos of their friends, their family. Faces white with nausea and horror from whatever those pitch black shadows had shown them in those flickering moments, but they were alive. Greeks and Romans helped each other to rise, holding each other up as they all looked around with confusion. That invasive silence still lingered, though interrupted by the now hushed whispers and clanking armor of hundreds of demigods all struggling to their feet.
Percy and Annabeth halted and looked back to where they'd been headed. The darkness clung there, that void of darkness still in the air like a wall of smoke. Percy staggered forward but Annabeth held him back.
A voice called out their names, more a strangled plea than anything.
A ways to their left and just as far from the still lingering wall of pitch black, Percy saw Reyna, Jason, and Hazel as the fog slipped away to reveal their frames. The Praetor looked burnt out as she was held up by the other two Romans as Percy was by Annabeth. But there was something in Reyna's eye that sent spikes of unease through Percy. Unbridled horror. Percy tried to swallow, but his throat was like sandpaper. For it was the look Reyna pinned Percy with that pieced the mystery together. And when realization struck him like the sword that had drug down his leg, Percy found it hard to breathe. Reyna watched his expression, watched it dawn on him. She gave a slow nod. A nod that confirmed his worst fears.
Annabeth saw it too. Her eyes darted up to meet Percy's. She had made the others swear to secrecy, to not tell her boyfriend how alike he and Nico truly were. But Percy knew. That look from Reyna, that nod. He now knew.
The God Killer's jaw clenched, brow furrowing. Silent as the void before them, he stared back into that lingering darkness. Stared at the reality of what had happened. Because Nico, his brother, was a God Killer too. The proof was in Reyna's gaze, in her posture, and in that unspeakable darkness so close yet so far away.
"Percy," Annabeth started, trying to find the words to explain the painful clarity dawning on his features. "Percy, listen to me… Nico… he… he's a—"
"You knew." Percy looked to his left, realizing for the first time how the others of the Seven— even Piper and Frank as they joined the other three, panting from the long trek across the battlefield— looked horrified though not entirely shocked or surprised. It was with knowing looks they glanced at one another before turning wearily to Annabeth, to Percy who were a shouting distance away. From the distance, Percy couldn't hear the mumbling whispers, but saw every ounce of shame and worry etched in their features. Percy barely registered the shudder that went through Annabeth as he glared at them all then down at her with betrayal. "You all knew."
"I didn't want you to—"
He wasn't listening. Could hear nothing over the raging silence radiating from the darkness and the shrieking of his own powers as they scraped inside him like polished blades on raw ice.
"He's in there," Percy half snarled to Annabeth's firm grip around his waist. But she didn't let go, even as he tried to thrash against her with a desperation that made his silent powers strike against his core, causing his rage to falter. Shoulders hunching over as he folded in on himself, he brought a hand to clamp the pressure in his chest. He winced, clamping his eyes shut and focused on her supportive arm and the bolts of pain shooting up and down his injured leg. The powers settled down as quickly as they’d awoken.
When he opened his eyes, squinting, and looked down to Annabeth, she was no longer watching him. Percy followed her wide eyed gaze. His mind, his powers, his blood froze.
Because the darkness yards away had begun to clear, the Parthenos once again visible. And beyond it, where the thousands of monsters had been marching behind Echidna…
Percy broke from Annabeth's touch. Too weakened by the scene, she released him.
He brought a hand to his mouth, limping heavily as he staggered past her to look out at the field now blanketed by light grey smoke. All around them, the other demigods were having similar reactions— but only demigods. Because the others…. the thousands of monsters who had trapped Nico… and Echidna herself…
"Oh gods," Percy got out, muffled voice wavering with horror from behind his palm.
Annabeth had no words for the sight before them, no emotions other than shock and terror. The pounding of her heart deafened even the voices in her head as silence rang between her ears. Because the field— other than gasps from the hundreds of demigods behind her— was completely silent.
Deathly silent.
It seemed as though not a single blade of grass was saved from the savage touch of red. The dirt beneath their feet had been turned to mud from the rivers of blood that soaked the earth. But it wasn't demigod blood. It wasn't the mixed blood that Gaea had demanded.
Annabeth couldn’t escape the stench of gore, even had the metallic taste of liquid agony on her tongue. And the bodies… Annabeth had seen battle, had seen war but this...
She thought such things could only exist in Tartarus. And by the look on Percy’s lethally pale face and wide eyes, she knew he was thinking the same thing; knew his mind was flashing images from their time in that land of death. Percy’s hands began to twitch, breaths ragged as he turned to her in horror, needing to see her eyes, to feel the warmth of her palm, to know that this was reality. That he wasn’t trapped in one of his night terrors. That he wasn’t back in Tartarus. Annabeth gripped his shaking hand firmly in support, and they anchored each other to the present. Although she was too scared to even speak, Annabeth mouthed to him I’m here .
Together they looked to the field once more.
To see the endless sea of mangled bodies, of jagged bones ripped through the muscle and flesh of every creature in sight. Despite her knees going weak and Percy's hand being the only reason she was standing, Annabeth forced herself to look out at the massacre. And then to Echidna.
The Goddess of Monsters
The being even Zeus himself feared…
Her mouth was parted in an eternal scream, shattered jaw unhinged, the flesh around her mouth split and ragged. Each tendril of her snake-like limbs was contorted at unnatural angles, white protruding at every corner and turn of the appendages. What looked like ribs at the goddesses chest were cracked open, sticking out through her green-tinted skin, revealing her insides through the tears like windows that each rib had created as they'd emerged. Ichor poured from her body like a fountain, seeping through each rip of her decimated form, dripping from the jagged bones like stalactites.
It made her stomach lurch and heart falter but Annabeth took in the sight. All of it. And, most likely due to shock, it took her a few heartbeats to notice something.
This wasn’t battle
This wasn’t slaughter
This was annihilation
“P-percy… Percy,” her voice was strained, as if even her throat refused to voice her realization. Percy didn’t take his eyes off the scene, only nodded once, lips pressed together in a thin line. Because he saw it too.
How the bones that were raised out of the bodies they belonged to, like crimson stained white flags of surrender, were all pointed to one spot. As if called by a magnet, they were all aimed at one thing, standing in the center of it all.
Nico
The earth beneath his feet was soaked through with blood, the field before him spanning with bones and gore. His friends, his camp, they looked out at it all with horror laced amazement in their eyes. But they were okay. They were all okay.
Despite all he had just done, the amount of lives he had just so brutally ended, that heightened power he had set free still thrummed in his veins. He felt catatonic. He felt volatile. He didn’t know how to control it, didn’t know how to keep it from overwhelming him. He felt like he had when his powers first began to evolve, when he’d first started lessons at Camp Half-Blood. Maybe with training… but there wasn’t time… he was losing his hold even now. His ears rang and he could hear nothing but the voice in his own head.
More, the urging voice wasn’t that of a cruel beast, or a hidden monster— it was his own.
You can do so much more than this
Let go.
He turned, dazed and thrumming with power, to see if Reyna and Percy were okay but as he pivoted, something caught his eye. He stilled. Impossible, it was impossible yet one last beast burst from the dense treeline, tearing across the corpses of its brethren towards Nico.
The power refused to settle in his veins; the shards of darkness slicing him from the inside, fighting for release. And yet, he contained the writhing thing, because through it he could see deep into the soul of the creature racing towards him. Time slowed, and Nico could see every collision of claws against mud, the ripple of muscle and fur from the impact of each bounding stride that caused the gore to splash in its wake. Nico pivoted and tried to steel himself in anticipation for the flash of pain of releasing only a small amount of power capable of killing the beast. He could feel the power searing his veins as he called for it, and just as he made to release a tendril of darkness, he paused.
As if compelled, Nico suddenly found himself unable to move.
All he could do as it neared closer and closer with each bounding leap was stare into those eyes. And see himself. Because through the tired irises of the beast almost to him, Nico’s power was drawn in, forcing him to peer into the creature's soul. And at the center of all that emptiness through a haze of red fog, he saw… himself.
The discovery cost him, delaying his reactions as he jolted back to reality just barely in time to spear the beast with a shard of power as it was suddenly upon him, with a roar that nearly made Nico’s ears bleed. And as it fell to the ground, the last casualty of the God Killer, Nico was the only one to hear the whine it let out through blood stained teeth.
Percy’s throat was sore from screaming— screaming alongside the others as a massive creature pulled itself from the decimation, rising from beneath the corpses of its brethren by the treeline, and bounded for Nico. Nico, who was standing completely still as he looked out at the carnage, unaware of the monstrous being that neared him with each massive stride.
“TURN AROUND,” they all screamed as one, the campers behind them joining in. Because Nico was too far for any of them to get there in time to help, and most didn’t dare after what they’d just witnessed him do. No matter how loud they yelled, Nico did not turn. It was as if he were deaf to it all. But still, Percy tried.
“NICO!”
From beside him, Annabeth could see the true terror in Percy’s eyes as he gauged the distance and was struck with the realization that though much closer than he’d been before, there was no way he’d reach Nico or the threat in time.
But then he stopped screaming, and stilled his entire body, fingers twitching as they hung beside him. With horror as she realized what he meant to do, Annabeth seized his wrist. The screaming around them rose as the monster neared Nico who was now turned towards it, yet doing nothing as its maw opened to release a hellish cry. But Annabeth looked deep into Percy’s eyes, unafraid to hold the desperate gaze, to see the power rumbling within his own body, and stop it all with a soft shake to her head. Having been sedated for days and the buildup of power coursing through his veins that she knew was an effort to keep at bay… there was no telling what would happen if he released it. The devastation before them had been horrible enough, they could endure no more. What if he ended the lives of the demigods around them, or even Nico instead of the monster?
Percy closed his eyes, looking down in shame before pinning that lethal glare back on the monster. Annabeth didn’t think he was breathing.
Nico had turned, his back now to them all, and the beast was 30 feet away, 20, 10…
And finally, when the creature was almost at Nico’s feet, it raised a massive paw— gore dripping from its serrated claws— and Nico shot a tendril of darkness into what must be its heart. The monster collapsed, no match for the spear of shadows and became one with the dead, falling beside its still bleeding mother’s body.
The Greek and Roman demigod’s screams ceased, and despite all of the death they had just witnessed, everyone took a breath of relief. The silence broke as cheers erupted from the unified camps. Another war won. And though the casualties weighed heavily in each survivor’s heart, it was a staggering relief to see so many alive. For once, it wasn’t the demigods who had been decimated; a first for both camps. The Ares campers released victory cries and all others embraced each other, some checking one another for injuries. The Seven were reunited as the others ran for Percy and Annabeth, a tight embrace wrapped them all, even pulling Reyna in as well.
When they finally parted with hysterical laughs and grins all around, Percy suddenly froze. He looked around at his family's relieved faces— hints of adrenaline and fear still woven into their features— but smiles nonetheless. But something was wrong.
Annabeth noticed Percy still once again. Her attention speared for his hands, but when she saw no movement, she looked up and followed his gaze. To where Nico was standing statuesque over the last slain monster.
Percy took a step with his good leg— his feet sinking into the red soaked earth with a sickening sound— and raised his hands to the sides of his mouth to call out across the dead. “Nico! You did it, let's get back to Camp! Will’s waiting for you!”
The son of Hades turned slowly, and Percy saw not a smile or relief on his face, but a grimace and clenched teeth.
The cheers died out as if everyone had gone suddenly mute. Because as Percy allowed his gaze to fall from Nico’s face that held pure agony, he saw three massive gashes— the longest of which ran from the bottom of his collarbone, across his chest, all the way down to the top of his hip.
No one breathed as Nico tried to take a step forward— tried to speak, to yell out across the field of devastation— but the only language he knew was pain. Agony lashed through him and Nico stumbled.
Percy couldn’t remember how to breathe, how to speak as he raced for his brother who had begun to fall, fighting black spots in his vision as he again pushed his wounded leg to its limit.
And all he could hear was the sound of Nico’s body colliding with the mud, becoming one with the blood and gore.
Around her, everything stopped.
Time froze.
She could do nothing but watch— breath caught in her lungs, heart barely palpitating— as he fell. Inch by agonizing inch. Eyes closing, knees buckling as they neared the earth. Gashes in his chest leaking life, dripping in thick streams onto the field of death, that lethal current gleaming in the ethereal light of the mid-morning sun.
Nothing existed other than that of the bloodied mud beneath her feet.
No sound reached her ears other than the impossibly loud collision of Nico’s body against that mud.
Emotions were meaningless, pain even less. Her entire body went numb the moment that sickening thud reached her ringing ears.
And then she was deafened by the roars, horrible animalistic roars tearing through her own lips.
And then she was begging, crying for Hazel to take it, to take it all. Every ounce of power in her body, every drop of strength.
"Take it all," she rasped.
She could feel the burnout of her powers already, it was all she could feel. And it was dangerous, she knew that. But she didn't care. If it was the last thing she ever did, she'd roam the Underworld fulfilled for all of eternity. So she shrieked to the demigods, to the decimated monsters, to the gore filled battlefield, to the gods and the clouds high above.
"TAKE IT ALL!"
Her arm burned so fiercely she thought the bone might be melting, but she didn't care. Not when the pain meant salvation. Not when it could get Nico to Will. Not when it could save him. So she let it burn through to her very soul and with the last ounce of energy she had in her, Reyna clasped her hand around Nico's, the two rings scraping against one another.
By the time Hazel pulled them all into the shadows, Reyna was the embodiment of pain.
But it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered.
The last thing she felt was Nico’s hand squeeze her own.
And the darkness that greeted Reyna was emptier than she.
"Hazel, get him to the infirmary! We'll meet you there," the urgency in Percy’s voice sliced through the paralyzing fear and the others launched into action. Frank transformed into a massive draft horse, lowering his head quickly for Percy, Annabeth, and Leo to climb on as Jason picked up Piper and took to the sky. And as they all barreled for the infirmary, as they all raced against time to reach Will, Percy didn't look back; didn't look at the utter annihilation of the beasts or the goddess, didn't look at the corpses of his family bleeding on the battlefield, didn't look at the staggering mass of demigods who watched wide eyed as they burst past but were still alive because of what Nico had done. Percy saw nothing, heard nothing but the sneering voice of Gabe Ugliano in time with the pounding of Frank's hooves.
All your fault
All your fault
All your fault
The chant, the truth, the curse coursed through him, threatening to pull him under. But he stayed afloat. With narrowed eyes and blood streaming from his leg in the gusting wind of their travel, Percy became laser focused on only one thing.
A roaring cry that sounded like Reyna pierced the sky from behind them, and when it was cut off abruptly along with a shock wave of rippling shadows and frigid air, Percy grit his teeth.
They'll be alright, Will is going to fix it… Nico and Reyna will be fine.
Percy would entertain no other option.
But if they aren't… what will you d—
The God Killer murdered the thought before it could fully form. And it was with a feralness that felt both foreign and familiar that he growled into the biting wind.
They'll be fine
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A word from the author:
Hello dear reader,
Before I say anything else, I’d like to thank you so very much for reading up until this point. This idea has been in my head for a very long time and it’s been so relieving and fun to finally be sharing it with you.
Now then, I would like to explain what is going to happen with the story moving forward. I have mentioned before that there would be a point where the story would split into two endings; dark and light. This is that point.
I use the term ‘ending’ loosely, as each version will be more like a continuation of the story. They will be under these names:
Dark ending = Carpe Noctum
Light ending = Carpe Lucem
I won’t say much here about what each will hold, but I do feel the need to caveat this. For me personally, writing is a way to escape from the world for a few hours each day, and I have a feeling some of you may feel the same way about reading. With that and the current state of the world in mind, I’d like to suggest that if you are feeling too overwhelmed right now and don’t want anymore sadness or angst or pain, please only read Carpe Lucem. Please take care of yourselves.
But I should also say that Carpe Noctum is the ending I intended for this story. It will be much more connected to the prior chapters and delve into a lot of things I think you could truly enjoy such as Persephone and Hades, the God Killers, and Zeus. In it, you will learn the answer to the question asked by Piper in Blood of Olympus: what would Percy be like if he wanted to be scary? You will see greatness fall, divinity shatter,and light bleed from the darkest shadows.
And if you’re looking for some real anguish, then I’d suggest reading them both.
I will try my best to post one chapter to each version every week, but it could take me a few extra days to do so and may end up being every other week.
The last thing I’ll say is this: I would really truly love it if you left a comment and let me know what you thought of this last chapter or the whole story, or which ending you’re more excited for, or anything else :) The feedback is appreciated more than you could ever know.
As always, thank you so much for reading and to those of you who have left kudos or comments on past chapters.
Stay well, and whichever continuation you decide to follow, I hope you have one hell of a ride ;)
— Manonrose284