Fate Withstands

Chapter 14

Nico sat on his bed in the Underworld, eyes on his fingerless gloves. Black against gray skin, a gift from his new stepmother along with a thick, long sleeved shirt. He would be cold on the surface, they all knew it. He would always be cold in the land of the living.

And now it was time for battle, whether they were ready or not. He had seen battle before, had gone through its hell. He thought he was ready, but him and Persephone were still deathly afraid that he would have a flashback on that battlefield.

Not to mention after the battle, when it was possible that Zeus might cast him into eternal punishment. He would be cheating death, after all.

Nico zipped his boots and stood up. A helmet over his head, his sword on his back. He was ready for war.

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"Son of Hades." Kronos spit on the ground. "Do you love death so much you wish to experience it again?"

"Your death," Nico said, "would be great for me."

"I'm immortal, you fool! I have escaped Tartarus. You have no business here, and no chance to live."

Nico pulled his sword off his back, tried to keep his eyes off of Percy Jackson and the ones that fought at his side. No doubt they were wondering who he was. "I don't agree."

The ground rumbled. Cracks appeared m the road, the sidewalks, the sides of the buildings. Skeletal hands grasped the air as the dead clawed their way into the world of the living. There were thousands of them, and as they emerged, the Titan's monsters got jumpy and started to back up.

"HOLD YOUR GROUND!" Kronos demanded. "The dead are no match for us."

A harsh war horn sounded, and as the dead soldiers formed up ranks with their guns and swords and spears, an enormous chariot roared down Fifth Avenue. It came to a stop next to Nico. The horses were living shadows, fashioned from darkness. Holding the reins was Hades himself, with Demeter and Persephone riding behind him. Hades wore black armor and a cloak the color of fresh blood.

Hades smiled coldly. "Hello, Father. You're looking . . . young."

"Hades," Kronos growled. "I hope you and the ladies have come to pledge your allegiance."

"I'm afraid not." Hades sighed. "My son here convinced me that perhaps I should prioritize my list of enemies." He glanced at Percy with distaste. "As much as I dislike certain upstart demigods, it would not do for Olympus to fall. I would miss bickering with my siblings. And if there is one thing we agree on-it is that you were a TERRIBLE father."

"True," muttered Demeter. "No appreciation of agriculture."

"Mother!" Persephone complained.

Hades drew his sword. "Now fight me! For today the House of Hades will be called the saviors of Olympus."

And the battle started, and all the senses came back to Nico. The adrenaline, the fear, the courage, the taste of blood and the same sense of mortality. He was killing, others were being killed. Everyone that fell on that battlefield would wish for another chance.

But the army he fought for now was nothing like the army he once did. Now, it was swords against nonhumans, powers and blood and going against every boundary your body set up. Raw. It was using every last ounce of strength, it was crawling and sprinting and still holding your sword even when you couldn't keep it up anymore.

Once upon a time it was guns, it was soldiers in a line, in a trench. It was bombs in the distance, it was talk of a worse battlefield on a western front. It was only two bullets, the two bullets that killed him. It was laying there as he died, not needing to try to keep fighting.

In the midst of it, he saw Sally and Paul. He protected them, protected Percy's family, protected the ones that had once shown him love. If anything, he hoped it would show Percy that he could trust him again.

Exhaustion. Battle. Blood. What he once feared would set him into a flashback was now something he would eventually flashback to. Everything in him wanted to collapse, wanted to melt into the sidewalk and into the palace of his father.

But it was war. You couldn't just stop. It was something he had mistaken in his first war. If you stopped, you died.

So he kept on fighting.

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Nico stumbled over to Persephone after the battle had ended, ready to fall face first into the concrete. A cut on his cheek dripped blood down his gray face, his knuckles had been broken after a punch to a giants leg. When he finally got to his step mother, he couldn't do anything more than grin.

"You did good, young demigod." she pushed some hair from his face, his helmet having been thrown off long before. "Now go to your father. He's going to Olympus to make sure Percy Jackson actually won. Go with him."

No matter how tired he was, Nico willingly ran to catch up with his father. The god looked down at his son, wiped some blood off his cheek, led him to the elevator. Those around them didn't seem to believe that Hades could act like such a father.

"We really won?" Nico asked on the way up to Olympus. "The war is over?"

"We will see." Hades didn't seem to want to believe that Percy actually came through. "You did good, Nico."

"Thank you."

They emerged onto Olympus and walked into the throne room to find the gods repairing their ruined thrones. Nico didn't expect some of them to congratulate Hades, but they did. No one said a word to him, but that was good.

Zeus could send him into eternal punishment. He could decide his fate.

Percy was nearby, along with Grover and Annabeth. Nico watched them, unsure if he should interrupt yet craving communication. Especially when it was possibly that he may never have communication again.

Other demigods up there were watching him in confusion, in fear, in pure curiosity. It wasn't everyday that a shade appear from the fields and help win the war. But he was on their side, he had shown that.

The meeting soon started, killing any chance Nico had at talking to Percy. He sat at the foot of his father's throne, eyes on his shoes as Zeus spoke.

"As for my brothers," Zeus said, "we are thankful-" He cleared his throat like the words were hard to get out. "-erm, thankful for the aid of Hades."

Hades reached down and patted Nico on the shoulders, and that was it. Zeus went on to the next god as if Nico wasn't even there. It would have been seen as rude, and was to anyone that didn't know the situation, but Nico felt so much relief he could have sunken into the floor.

If that was how Zeus decided to play out the situation, he was thankful for it. Being ignored by the gods was his gift, it seemed, as the others got theirs. It was his gift to be allowed in the land of the living, on Mount Olympus, anywhere but the fields.

It was a gift that changed his hatred for Zeus into a mild dislike.