scared? | a nico di angelo fanfic

chapter 4: maze

They tumbled into a tunnel with torches on the walls. They fell for a minute or so, and once Hoa felt the ground coming up to meet her, she rolled, turning the impact of the fall into a somersault. 

As Hoa studied her surroundings, she saw there were only two ways to go; forwards of backwards. The hall was lined with torches, all glowing with what Hoa thought was Greek fire, the green flame illuminating the area quite clearly. The area just looked like a dug-out tunnel, with loose pieces of dirt falling when she tried to touch the wall.

For a minute, Hoa forgot all about Nico. That changed when she heard a groan from behind her.

"Nico?" Hoa called out.

"Here," he said, his raspy voice making her wince.

She walked the backwards option, and after a few seconds, she found Nico curled up in a ball, shivering from what may be the cold.

She quickly scanned Nico for any blood or torn clothing. He was breathing in sharp and shaky breaths, and almost all of his clothes were caked in dirt and mud.

She widened her eyes. Nico didn't have much training, she thought. He wouldn't know how to deal with a fall.

She reached her hand toward his ribs, and she glazed the surface of the cloth. 

He had no reaction, so she pressed her hand a bit against his shirt. 

Immediately, he flinched. "Ow..."

Her eyes widened. "Nico... you ok?"

He coughed. "It hurts to breathe."

Hoa sighed. "Well, I didn't get a chance to grab ambrosia, so I'm going to have to carry you. Your ribs are probably broken."

He frowned. "Ambrosia? What's that?"

Hoa knew that he was new to this whole demigod thing, but shouldn't he at least know about ambrosia? "Um, just godly healing food."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you have to carry me?"

"Well, unless you feel like walking..."

He tried to get up, but his body didn't allow it. "Ugh... fine."

Hoa gave him a sly smirk, then bent down next to him. He gave a sharp breath as he felt himself being lifted, but exhaled once he found himself slung over her left shoulder, his head dangling behind her back. She gripped his back tightly, assuring herself he wouldn't fall, and once she was ready, she started walking.

Using the free hand that she had, the daughter of Deimos drew her dagger, knowing very well that a bow wouldn't fare well being in close quarters.

She forged on ahead for a few minutes, gripping Nico's shirt tightly as she trekked along.

Then, Nico did something that surprised her. He touched her back, holding it and massaging her while she walked. He pressed a bit, then rubbing circles into her back, almost like he did this before.

Then she remembered Bianca. Suddenly, she felt bad for him. What did he do to deserve getting his sister taken from him? Did he do this with her as well?

Nico pressed his hand again, snapping herself back to reality. She tensed a bit, before relaxing. He was cold, but it was comforting and she liked it.

"Hoa?" Nico's scratchy voice called.

"Hmm?"

He hesitated, before saying, "I need a weapon."

Hoa furrowed her brows. She was so focused on Nico's touch she forgot about that. He was going to need to defend himself.

Plus I don't want him getting hurt...

She sighed. "We'll get one as soon as we can. Sounds good?"

"Mhm..." he said lazily.

After a few minutes, they reached a fork in the path. Three paths were presented before her, and she didn't know which one to pick. Hoa looked down each one, trying to spot any signs of danger, but there were no torches in either passageway. Not knowing what to do, she hesitated.

"Go right."

Startled, Hoa tried glancing at Nico. "What?"

"Something is telling me to go right."

Hoa hesitated again, contemplating her decision. It was possible, being the son of Hades, he would have some control over the underground, but was that enough to route the Labyrinth? Also, how did he know that she reached a crossroads? His head was still behind her back, his hand still rubbing circles into her back.

She sighed, knowing that there weren't really any other good choices. "Okay."

After walking through the right passageway, it somehow sealed itself up, leaving the two of them in darkness.

"This better be the right way, or I'm killing you before anything else does."

She thought she heard Nico gulp. "Yes ma'am."

~•~•~

They passed through overgrown tunnels, sewers, and any underground path she found, with Nico pointing out which path to take whenever they came down to decision.

Soon, they reached an area similar to the start, but instead of the tunnel having walls and a ceiling of dirt, it had walls of black bricks as well as a ceiling of dark wood beams, creating a dark aesthetic.

She let out a sigh of relief once she saw light up ahead. Excitedly, she forged onwards, hoping for weapons, supplies, and hopefully food.

Immediately after she emerged to the top of the hall, she immediately looked around.

She saw that she was in a room with a similar style as the hallway before. There were two couches facing each other and a dark table with a vase full of roses. Off to the side, there were many other things, such as a matching dark table with a coffee machine, a red laptop, and a bowl full of many toys, such as Pop Its, stress balls, and fidget spinners.

She felt Nico squirm around on her shoulder. "What is this place?"

"I don't know," she whispered. Something about the place made her obligated to whisper. The room was too small and too quiet.

"Why, hello there!"

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hi im madi, your loyal author ♥️ 

hoa having to carry nico the whole way is kinda weird but also kinda cute. i mean, nico doesnt like it, but hoa doesnt care. also, nico comforting hoa? so cute! i mean, he's still really young, but whatever. still cute.

also nicos finally getting a bit of a grasp on his powers! yay! i thought i would have some underground-related thing because you know, hades, god of the underworld. also, the labyrinth isnt a nice place, no way am i just making them go in a straight line for all of eternity.

also, school's starting soon! i might upload less then i am right now. just wanna let yall know 👍

what are your opinions on these--

how was the chapter?

what do you think of nico being forced onto hoa's back?

how about nico massaging her?

also, hoa liked it.

who do you think the person who was in the room was?

what do you think is gonna happen next?

also, what are some questions of your own?

anyways, tysm for reading this crappy book! 😃