“Everyone armed? Everyone in position?” Frank’s praetor-like walk along the line of demigods (and Grover) made Nico feel like he was back at Camp Jupiter. This probably should’ve made him feel more at ease, but the fact that Percy was standing next to him, capping and uncapping Riptide like he was nervously clicking his pen before a test, got him on edge.
Calypso didn’t know. Not exactly. Not fully.
Yet she did.
It was driving him crazy, how easily she had read him, how easy a stranger had delved into his brain like that. And exactly before he had arrived at the island, too.
“Now, as before, we need to work together to end this. Grover, Nico,”
“Yes.” He turned to Frank, almost saluting him as he did.
“You weren’t there last time, but with Jason and Piper gone, we’re going to need all the help we can get. Do you think you can handle this?”
“Dude, Nico survived bloody Tartarus. What do you think?” Percy was the only one Nico would allow to say something like that. Tartarus wasn’t a memory he liked thinking of, but since Percy and Annabeth had gone through the same hell, he thought it was okay for them to mention it. At least they knew what they were talking about. Naturally, Annabeth was too sensible or kind or caring or whatever to say such a blunt thing – but then of course there was Percy to do that job.
No one responded. Nico flung his Stygian dagger around and nodded. “Don’t worry about me.”
“Can you do the, ehm, dead army thing?” Frank asked.
“Sorry, I tried, but it doesn’t work here.” Nico stepped forward. “But I can fight.”
“Yeah, about that,” Grover said. “See, my Protector days are over, but since I’m here anyway I might as well kick some ass.”
“Good,” Percy said. And another earthquake shook the beach sand.
“I’m gonna need to correct you there, Perc. That was not good.”
Frank went to stand in line with them. “Everyone ready?”
The tremors became more vehement – more violent, but Nico knew that they could not yet start their fight. They had to stall. They needed to give Calypso time to do the spell and trap Gaea, or she might have the possibility to flee from them again. Nico turned to Hazel, who was standing on his not-Percy side, and told her his thoughts. She, in turn, discussed them with Frank. He’d never liked speaking up in front of groups.
“Okay,” Frank said. “Step one: talk to Gaea.”
“WHAT?” shouted Percy, Annabeth and Grover in sync.
A crack appeared in the ground in front of them, where the beach turned to forest. The crack opened up wider and seemed to lift out of the ground until it was a huge mouth. Gaea’s mouth. They waited, anxious, but the mouth didn’t speak. Nico clasped his dagger tighter, wondering how long it was going to take Calypso and Leo to do their job.
“Ehm, hello? Mother nature calling?” Grover said, only half-joking.
The mouth screamed and a ripple went over them, throwing them backwards. Stupid Demigods, your fight is hopeless. You have tried to defeat me, and failed.
“We succeeded,” Percy defied her, scrambling up again. “We just forgot to clean up the mess after we left.”
You cannot kill me. I am eternal. I was the first being to arise from Chaos. I am everything in this world and everything in this world is me!
