Death's Son (Even After Death)

Chapter 6

"We are all mistaken sometimes; sometimes we do wrong things, things that have bad consequences. But it does not mean we are evil, or that we cannot be trusted ever afterward."-Alison Croggon

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Grover met up with them right outside the forest, his orange Camp Half-Blood shirt bright in the summer sun. He looked around nervously before coming closer, giving a handshake to Percy and a hug to Annabeth before looking to Nico, his face serious. "I was right."

Annabeth's face fell. "Oh, gods..."

"What?" Nico clenched his fists. "Just tell me already."

"We should really talk inside." Annabeth glanced around them. "This isn't something for everyone to hear."

"We can talk about it inside, but you're telling me now," Nico ordered. "Final decision."

Annabeth looked to Grover. "Keep your voice low. We'll move to the Poseidon cabin after this."

Grover nodded before moving closer to Nico, his voice somewhere between a whisper and a whimper. "It was your stepmother. The Flowery One."

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"This doesn't make any sense." Nico paced in front of the bunk beds, his hands in his hair and his heart pounding in his ears. "It doesn't make sense. Why would she ever help me? And for what?"

"But isn't it a good thing?" Will asked. He glanced around nervously, it being his first time in the Poseidon cabin. "She helped you. That's good."

"She hates me!" Nico objected. "She hates my guts! There's no way she helped me just because she could! She wants something from me!"

"Stop yelling." Annabeth made sure the door was latched. "We don't want the whole camp hearing this."

"They'll find out regardless." Nico pulled at his button down. "Of course these clothes are from her. What more could I expect?"

"Maybe she did it for your father," Percy suggested. "Maybe she wanted something from him."

"My father has no idea what happened," Nico replied truthfully. "There's no way. If he knew what happened, if he knew I had gone to the Egyptian afterlife, all hell would break loose, literally. He'd find out about my soul being tied with Anubis'. Persephone had to have found out from someone but it wasn't from him. And she didn't tell him."

"Nico's right." Annabeth sat beside Percy but kept her clipboard on her lap, her pen in hand as she tried to think of anything else. "But...why? Why would Persephone help?"

Grover cleared his throat. "Um...names? Let's use the Flowery One, okay?"

"Right, names and powers." Percy sighed. "When can we ever just talk without gods listening in?"

"Ha, if only." Will smiled. "That'd be a good day, huh?"

"Guys, this isn't the time for wishful thinking." Nico cut in. "This is serious. What could she possibly want with me? I...I don't know... What if something big is coming up and she wants my allegiance?"

"I really doubt it's that..." Annabeth stood up and placed a hand on Nico's shoulder, stopping him from pacing. "Just calm down. We'll think this through one step at a time. But you can't panic. At the moment, everything is okay."

"I'm a fucking plant! That isn't o'fucking'k!"

"Language, Neeks." Will grabbed his boyfriend's hand as Annabeth hugged the son of Hades. Two people close to him, two people comforting him, two people more than he ever would have thought. "Listen to her. It's going to be okay. You're alive, you're healthy, you're back to me. You're home. That's what I've been praying for for the last four years."

Nico's eyes shut as he leaned into Annabeth, his grip on Will's hand tight but unafraid. Strength in numbers, strength in love. Friendships existed for a reason. As the birds chirped and the sun moved overhead, Nico felt safe between two friends that he called home.

"You don't have Anubis in you anymore," Annabeth started after a minute of silence. "You could go to the Underworld and just talk to her."

"Yeah, I guess..." Nico sighed. "I'll leave tonight when the shadows are strongest."

"Over my dead body!" Will broke in, rising to his feet in an instant. "You just came back to life! No shadow travel!"

"How else do you want me to get there?" Nico questioned, his arms crossed. "I hate going through the passageways."

"People hate things but they have to do them still." Will shot back. "Don't be spoiled."

"Using my powers isn't being spoiled," Nico grumbled. "It's being a demigod."

"A spoiled demigod."

"William Solace, I swear if you don't-"

"Guys, guys," Annabeth let Nico go. "Stop bickering. Will, let him shadow travel but just go with him. He seems healthy enough."

Annoyance flickered across Will's face. "Annabeth..."

"I know I'm not the doctor, but I'm a child of Athena. He'll be fine." Annabeth sat beside Percy. "Nico, the only way you're shadow traveling is if Will goes with you."

Nico shrugged. "He'd follow even if I said no."

Will's face was red as he tried to think of an excuse to stop Nico. "Nico...Nico..."

"Will, it'll be fine." he rested his forehead against Will's. "Okay? I promise. It'll be fine."

Will pecked Nico's lips. "Fine. But you owe me."

Nico smiled, his lips still against Will's. "I always do."

"Hey, lovebirds." Percy pulled Nico off of Will. "Not on my bed."

"We weren't going to do anything." Nico scowled. "Gods, you're annoying."

"He's used to having a child around him." Annabeth kissed Percy's cheek. "Estelle isn't here to ruin."

Percy laughed. "Yeah, sorry."

Nico grabbed Will's hand. "Come on, let's go lay down. We'll leave tonight."

Will stood up. "Fine, fine. Let's go lay down."