Mortals Meet Percabeth + one shots and headcannons

The Ghost King

The battlefield, once the green lush fields of Camp Half-Blood, blistered under the scorching sun. The earth shook, and lightning streaked across the sky, casting an eerie darkness around the two demigods. Percy knelt by Nico and cradled his cousin's head.

Nico clawed at Percy's hand, coughing blood as his grip failed him. 'I-I'm sorry, Percy.'

'Hush, Nico. Hush. It's all over now. There is nothing that can be done.'

'I know I have done too much harm, Percy. All I wanted was revenge and justice, and now that I look back upon what I did to get here, I horrify myself.'

Tears rose in Percy's eyes. The gods were the cause of this, after all. Nico... he had just been a victim in the schemes of the Olympians. They had cursed Will, and Nico had gone mad with rage, letting loose the might of a Kronide.

'Maybe we could have been closer in another life, Nico. We could have been brothers in this one if not for the gods.'

'Do not wait for the gods to descend and end me in all the gruesome and horrifying ways they can think of for my crimes. Kill me, Percy. Then I finally may see everyone again. Jason. Annabeth, Hazel. The others. And Will.'

'You know, I thought that Jason would have stopped you that day.'

Nico smiled, the corners of his lips faltering as the color leeched from his skin. 'He would have. I just caught him off guard. If he had known of Will's death and of what I had done, he wouldn't have tried to calm me without a weapon at his side.'

Percy bowed his head and kissed his cousin on the forehead. Nico's skin had turned clammy and cold, his hair sticky with blood. 'Goodbye, Nico. See you in Elysium, brother.'

Percy opened Riptide, the celestial bronze blade hissing in the presence of death, the edges splattered with blood, every drop of it drawn in the battle against the son of Hades.

'Goodbye, Percy. Although I shall not see you in Elysium, for the gods will not allow me in. The judges will have me sent to the Fields of Punishment, where I shall burn for eternity.'

'No, you will not. Your father loves you far too dearly for that.'

Then Percy took a deep breath and surged forward, embedding Anakalusmos in Nico's chest, piercing his heart instantly. His cousin doubled over, coughing blood over and over again, heaving as the blade went deeper, ripping apart his very essence.

Percy stayed kneeling, clutching the broken body of his friend as the life left Nico's eyes and his soul rose from his body, giving him a swift nod as it fled to the Underworld.