The Return of Evil | A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

=14= NICO LEARNS MATH

[A/N: Hey my fabulous readers! Tikachi here and I just wanted to say that this chapter is dedicated to:

General_Jellyfish

For spamming my notifications with all her votes XD]

=NICO'S POV=

The familiar feeling of tumbling through darkness while being surrounded by screaming demigods was quite comforting. I had shadow-traveled enough times to know the sensation well enough not to be terrified. And even the first time, it wasn't scary for me. After all, I was a child of Hades- the darkness was our territory.

Although, the other children of the gods didn't look so happy. Annabeth and Hazel were probably the only ones not freaking out, which was understandable, considering the fact that Annabeth had shadow-traveled millions of times and that Hazel was a daughter of Pluto. But the rest of the seven and Will didn't look too well. Frank, Piper, Leo and Jason just looked plain terrified. They were shrieking their heads off and I had to fight the temptation to burst out laughing. Will looked like he was about to faint. I guess, Apollo's kids + darkness = completely panic-stricken Will. To be honest, I wasn't that surprised.

Suddenly, the blackness vanished and was replaced by a very bright light. I groaned and immediately shut my eyes. The sudden change of surroundings was just a bit too bright for me. But not like Will, a little voice in the back of mind said. He's perfect for you.

I quickly dismissed the thought. Will was hot, I had to admit, but that didn't mean I liked him. But he likes you, the voice appeared again. And if you don't like him, then why did you offer to carry Rachel back to the infirmary?

"Shut up." I growled, mostly to myself. Slowly, I opened one eye, then the other. "Why does the world have to be so bright?" I muttered, while sitting up. I looked around to find everyone else in a similar position to me. The only one not on the ground, was Annabeth- always the one ready to go. I forced myself to painfully stand up, but fell over again as soon as I was upright. Using my powers had taken its toll. The edges of my vision were tinged with red as I mumbled about how I never wanted to shadow-travel again.

"Nico?" A voice called my name. "Nico, are you okay?"

"We've drained too much of his energy. Remember, he's still healing."

"After all these weeks?"

"Toting the Athena Parthenos around the world is not an easy job, Leo."

You bet it isn't, I thought scornfully. I tried to move my lips, but it felt as if they were glued shut. Every part of my body felt numb.

Unexpectedly, I felt a warm sensation fill my mouth. The taste of liquid ravioli raced up and down my tongue. I remembered the days when Bianca and I used to sneak out of our house back in Italy, just to get a whiff of what the chefs were cooking at the small restaurant just down the street. Nectar. My headache cleared and my vision slowly returned to normal. I managed to sit up and open my eyes without slumping back down again.

I looked up to find myself face-to-face with Will Solace. He was holding a canteen of nectar and a small packet of ambrosia. He was about to shove the ambrosia into my mouth when Leo snatched it away from him just in time.

"He's awake now, idiot!" Leo yelled in Will's face.

Will turned his head to look at me and found himself staring straight into my dark eyes. I didn't dare break my gaze. His eyes were just so... Beautiful. The sun reflected off them, making it look like they were shimmering in the golden light. Blue and Black. Two very different colors. But to me, they fit together like Apollo and Artemis. I frowned. Apollo and Artemis hated each other. Okay, so maybe we weren't like Apollo and Artemis... More like... Percy and Annabeth.