When Worlds Collide

54) Just Some Casual Family Lore

Nico walked into the gym with Hazel, the girl glancing at him in concern.

"Are you sure you wanna push it? " Hazel asked in Latin.

Nico sighed, stopping to look at her. "Kayla said I was fine, and I'm tired of them looking at me like I'm broken."

His sister raised an eyebrow at him. "And you think sparring is going to change that? "

The Italian sighed. "Probably not, but I have been sitting in my bed for weeks and I finally feel like my head is starting to clear."

Hazel stared at him for a long moment before nodding and reaching into the shadows, a skill Nico had recently taught her, and pulled out the iron spatha that Leo had made for her. "Fine, but we're not fighting each other. Show me the holo thingy you were talking about a while back," she said with a smile.

Nico nodded and waved for her to follow him after he grabbed his own knives from the shadows. Neither were dressed for sparring considering they were supposed to just come and hang out, but that had never stopped them before. He clicked a few buttons before they stepped onto the platform.

"It's just like regular fighting, except their weapons won't make contact with you. It'll feel like normal if you cross blades, but they can't harm us," he said as they both readied their weapons.

The first holograms appeared and immediately came at them. In an instant, both of them shifted from their casual stances to battle ready. They hadn't fought together in real battle too many times, but they had trained together every time he was in Camp Jupiter, so they were a well oiled machine. With every hologram they took out, another one took it's place and they got more and more into the battle.

"Down!" Hazel said, her centurion voice filling the room.

Nico didn't hesitate before he dropped to the ground as Hazel's sword swung over his head and sliced through two holograms.

Nico spun on the ground, hooking his metal leg around a hologram and knocking it to the floor before swiftly cutting its throat.

"Switch," Nico said as he tossed both his knives into the air. Hazel immediately dropped her sword and caught the two knives before she turned and continued slashing through the opponents.

The Greek demigod caught the sword and used the momentum to swing it upwards and through the guts of multiple holograms.

"I see why you fight with knives instead of a sword," Hazel said as she flipped a knife in one hand while blocking an attack with another. "Makes your fighting style more versatile."

Nico chuckled. "Your spatha isn't meant for close combat, especially against modern weapons, but it sure packs a punch."

Hazel and Nico got back to back as they continued their battle, both throughly enjoying themselves. The hologram gave them a lot more freedom to not hold back considering they weren't fighting real people.

"Switch, under-over?" Hazel said, a smirk evident in her voice.

Nico smiled. "Now."

Nico dropped the sword before he barrel rolled over Hazel, who had crouched down and tossed the knives up. They both caught their weapons without skipping a beat, not even stumbling as they continued on in battle.

Nico felt his muscles begin to grow tired, but he ignored it. It had been weeks since he last fought and he didn't want to stop. They kept going until one of the hologram's knives connected with his prosthetic leg, breaking off the latch the secured it in place and triggering the release. He stumbled forward as it disconnected, but managed to turn it into a roll so that he didn't just hit the ground. He heard someone call his name, but he ignored it as he reached a hand into the shadows and pulled out his cane, using it to get back in his feet and continue as if nothing happened. Hazel laughed when she saw his leg just laying in the middle of the mat while they fought, but she just reached down and pushed it into a shadow. The duo kept going for a while until eventually, someone shut the machine down.