Death's Alternate (A Kane Chronicles x PJO FanFic [Nico di Angelo meets Anubis])

Chapter 2

A/N In this story, Walt exists. He doesn't have the curse, and does not follow the path of Anubis. He is not one of Sadie's love interests yet. Note: I don't know if Anubis has an accent, or if when the god takes over, the voice that comes out is the god's, or whether you can even switch controls over the body, but that's how this fan fiction works. The beginning part of this chapter takes place around the beginning of The Lost Hero and Throne of Fire.

Nico walked up to the barren warehouse. "I don't see anything," he said aloud. He looked up to the roof, and suddenly, the air shimmered. On the roof, there was a giant mansion on top of it.

"Oh..." Nico breathed, taking in the scene. He could feel Anubis' amusement in his mind. Two figures were on the balcony, peering down at him. They ran back into the mansion, and in a few minutes, met him near the warehouse.

"You can see the mansion," a girl with caramel colored hair with red streaks said. "Tha- that means-" "Hello Sadie," Nico said, but it wasn't Nico's voice. Instead, he heard Anubis' rich accented voice.

Sadie gasped. The boy next to her gave her a surprised look. "Anubis?" she breathed. Nico fought for control over himself, clutching his head and grabbing his hair. "Shut up," he muttered under his breath.

"Carter, he's a godling. The eye of Anubis," Sadie told Carter. Carter frowned. "Well, I'm sure you're really confused right now. Why don't we explain everything inside?" Carter suggested. Nico nodded, following them into the mansion.

When they got inside, Nico saw a group of kids and a woman sitting at a dining table, eating breakfast. The woman glowered at him.

"Why'd you let the dog in?" she asked angrily. Nico felt himself growl. "I'm not a dog, cat," he retorted, Anubis' voice taking over. Whenever Anubis talked, his voice was deeper with an Egyptian accent. Nico resented the change in himself. He didn't like the fact that Anubis could take over at any given moment.

A/N Yes, I know that it's almost exactly like the fanfiction that inspired me to write this. Don't worry, it will deviate from it pretty soon.

Carter turned to look at him. "Did Anubis send you to help us?" he asked quizzically. Nico shuffled his feet on the ground nervously. "Uhm... something like that." He was grateful to hear his own voice. He eyed Sadie and Carter, and somehow knew that they were siblings. He guessed it was because of Anubis, because they looked like complete opposites.

"Uh... can I talk to you... alone?" he asked Carter. Anubis protested in his mind. Nico gritted his teeth, fighting for control. Sadie glared at Nico. "You know, you can just say it in front of me."

Nico sighed. "Alright, but just... in a different room?" Carter nodded, leading them to the balcony. He could feel the cat woman staring him down as he left.

"So. Anubis, explain what's going on. Why do you have a host?" Sadie asked impatiently, tapping her foot on the ground. Nico frowned at her. "You know, it's not just Anubis here," he said annoyedly. Sadie seemed to realize that after a few seconds. "What's your name?" Carter asked, trying to avert the awkwardness.

"Nico di Angelo," Nico answered, stuffing his hands in his pockets. After a few moments of silence, he felt Anubis take over. "Nico is a Greek demigod," he said. Sadie and Carter looked slightly unnerved at Anubis' voice.

"How- what does that even mean?" Sadie asked. For a reason that Nico could guess, Sadie's cheeks were light pink. He guessed that Anubis liked Sadie based on the fact that his heart thumped slightly faster whenever he looked at her. He took a deep breath. "I'm... well, my dad is Hades, the Greek god of the Underworld. And according to Anubis, my mother had the blood of the pharaohs."

Carter and Sadie shared confused looks. "So you're saying, there's Egyptian and Greek gods?" she said almost sarcastically. Nico nodded. "And Roman, but technically the Greek and Roman are the same so..." Sadie scowled. "Alright, so why did Anubis choose you as his host?" she asked. Carter softly elbowed her, and she glared at him.

"The Greeks and Romans are in a war as well. Anubis thought if we merged, we'd be powerful enough to win both of our wars," Nico tried to explain. Carter nodded. Sadie pouted. "I'm going to talk to Bast about Ra," she muttered, storming away. Nico felt the urge to chase after her.

Luckily for him, Carter stopped him. "Sorry about my sister. She... uh, I'm pretty sure she likes Anubis." Nico looked down at his shoes, kicking a pebble. "Yeah, I know," Nico replied. Carter studied him for a moment. "If you and her get together, you better not hurt her," he said slowly. Nico shook his head. "It- it won't happen. I'm... I don't... I don't feel attraction to females." Carter took in a sharp breath, and Nico readied himself for some prejudiced bashing. "It's okay. Just... it'll be hard for Sadie," he said. Neither of them said anything else on the matter.

"Will you be staying for training?" Carter asked. Nico paused to think about that. "I... I suppose so. There's nothing much I can do to help the others yet." Carter raised an eyebrow at the word 'others', but said nothing, gesturing for him to follow.

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"SAPER!" The shabti missed every shot at Alyssa. After a couple missed swings, Alyssa swung her staff straight down the shabti's head, shattering it.

Nico turned to his shabti, who was advancing on him quickly. Best if you actually used Egyptian spells this time, Anubis said in his mind. I don't think Carter will be pleased if you just whip out that sword again. Nico scowled, but knew that was likely true. He held out his staff. "Come on Nico!" someone called out to him, probably Carter.

Nico took a deep breath. He wasn't used to Egyptian magic, but after a while, he had somewhat gotten acquainted with it. Before he knew it, the shabti had struck at him with its axe, but Nico stopped it with his hands. A gray energy spread from his hands, crawling up the shabti, and it crumbled to dust. "That was cool, man!" Felix exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. Nico gaped at the pile of gray ash-like dust on the ground.

Suddenly, the floor started to shake. For a second, Nico thought that whatever dust magic he had done had spread to the floor. Carter looked up, and the Ra statue behind him started to fracture, plummeting down to Carter. He leaped away to the floor, just barely avoiding the shards of stone.

But they weren't stones. They were scarab shells. A hiss sound erupted from the clattering bug shells, and a giant three-headed cobra snake with wings burst out from the shells. Nico took a step back in shock, summoning his Stygian Iron sword from midair. What did I say about the sword? Anubis said, and Nico could almost see him rolling his eyes. The snake faced Carter.

A/N Some descriptions and dialogue will match the books / graphic novels.

"Carter Kane! Abandon your foolish quessst!" the snake slithered. "Give me the sscroll. If you persissst, I will destroy the girl you seek." Carter glared at the snake contempt. Nico guessed that the girl the snake was talking about was Zia Rashid.

"She sleeps in the place of red sands, but she will die there if you follow your pointless quessst," the messenger of Apophis continued. Carter gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes. "No... I don't give in to demons." The other initiates readied themselves as the snake hissed. "Very well, I will destroy you myssself!"

A burst of fire blasted out of all of the snakes' mouths, and Carter leaped backwards, just barely evading the flames. "Kill it!!" he yelled, gripping his sword. Julian threw his sword at one of the heads, puncturing it right between the eyes. Felix's shoe bounced off the second head, and a blast from Nico caused the third one to turn to dust. Then Alyssa summoned a giant heap of stone to bury the monster.

"Uh, Carter, please tell me that was part of the lesson. Right?" Felix told Carter, eyes wide. Carter looked at Nico and Walt with a worried expression. "Yes... just a test."

Yeah right, Anubis spoke in Nico's mind. Nico mentally scowled. Shut up.

Carter gripped a small gray scarab shell in his fingers, studying it. "Class dismissed," he announced briskly, leaving the rest of them standing awkwardly.