Percy Jackson- Not a typical Betrayal

CHAPTER-8 THE DEAD TESTIMONY

Nico readied the contents for the ritual. The Chaos army and Chiron stayed by his side. It was dark and quiet as they stood outside Rachel's cave. He had done it many times in the past. Dig a hole, empty the contents chant the Greek hymns, and command the soul to rise.

But what was unnerving for him was the times he was in when he first did it. He was still not over Bianca's loss, had a crush on Percy, and still hated him for Bianca's death. That time, it was for revenge and Nico shuddered at that moment. Today's Nico had seen it all and cringed as he looked back at his younger self.

"Let the dead taste again," he murmured. "Let them rise and take this offering. Let them remember."

He dropped the rest of the Cokes into the grave and pulled out a white paper bag decorated with cartoons. He turned it upside down and shook the fries and hamburger into the grave. It was a sense of Déjà vu, for both Percy who saw the scene in his dreams, and Nico. Nico concentrated, and after a few minutes of looking down in the dark, a small white wisp caught everyone's attention.

"Rise. David O son of Aphrodite. Rise to the call of the son of Hades. Rise.", Nico called and the wisp of white turned into the shape of a boy Percy realized.

"David. I command you to speak the truth.", Nico said firmly.

"I will.", the ghost replied slowly.

"How did you meet Annabeth?", Percy or Anagennissi asked in his commander tone.

"I met her at... the university. New Rome University. I had a crush on her since the first day but knew about her and Percy. I was too scared and seeing that she was taken, I just dropped the subject.", the ghost hissed.

"Anagennissi. Please hurry up and ask all of your questions. I may not hold it for long.", Nico breathed heavily as he scrunched his eyebrows. Bianca stepped forward and put her hand on his shoulders.

"I shall share my energy with my brother. Let it fuel this ritual.", Bianca said and let her energy flow through to Nico, who seemed to ease a little.

"When did you start talking to each other?", Luke asked.

"It was an Architecture Class. We bonded over the love for Architecture. I was more drawn towards love monuments, you know those made for love, Like the Taj Mahal. She looked for more complex designs and marvels. We started to do projects together.", David looked dreamy.

"Did you try to break Percy and Annabeth's love?", Percy asked again in an edgy voice.

"No. I could never do that. Else my mother would curse me. Everybody knows about Percabeth. I never dared to. We had a friendly relationship. She even told me once that I reminded her of him in the sense I was funny and witty and respected her feelings.", David said clearly.

"When did the romance start?", Bianca asked point-blank. Percy shifted uncomfortably, dreading the answer.

"After Percy went missing again for six months. In the first month, Annabeth went back to Manhattan, trying to find him. After about two weeks, she returned a crying mess. She would lock her dorm door for most of the day, coming out only when she was hungry. I tried to cheer her up, but it was futile. I stayed by her side. I gave her the napkin she wanted after crying out. I helped her studies by bringing notes. She started to get angry with Percy after a point in time and started to rant to me. While I hated her rants, I listened for her sake.", David explained in his ghostly voice.

"Speak up. When did Annabeth get feelings for you? Did you use Charmspeak?", Percy asked again.

"I did. Only to soothe her. I used Charmspeak to force herself to eat. I used Charmspeak to return her to her normal life. And it was in extreme circumstances that my own persuasion skills were found lacking. One day, she said that had Percy not been in her life, she would have loved me. That made me warm on the insides. And- And she kissed me on the cheek. I never expected it. I never did. And I never looked back.", David said happily.