IF TIME STOPS 『nico di angelo x reader』

Chapter 15: knocked out

"Seraphine."

The forbidden name rolled off Annabeth's tongue as though it was dough that needed some kneading. Meaning to say, the name felt clumpy in her mouth and was extremely hard to even get out. The outcome was different though, quite the opposite really. It was at this when Annabeth had realized how powerful names truly are. If a small, barely audible whisper can turn into an echo in an arena and stun the entire crowd to the point of piercing silence, it's bound to be very powerful.

All these thoughts ran in Annabeth's mind within a millisecond as she waited for an impact, but, even (Y/n) seemed stunned. Dazed even, as though in a sort of trance. The boundary that was created through the blue aura (Y/n) gave off earlier flickered visibly, as though sensing her uneasiness or it might just be the result of Chiron's tampering with it or the result of Mr. D shooting out diet coke cans in order to tear down the boundary, which of course did not work.

Annabeth expected some kind of bomb to drop after saying the name, actually she wasn't sure what she was expecting maybe an enraged expression but not this, not unease. (Y/n) was still, as if frozen in time, her hand still clutching the hilt of Nico's sword, the blade still pressing against Annabeth's neck.

"That's who you are." Annabeth decided to add, maybe because the silence was killing her or maybe because she needed to. She could see the clouds in (Y/n)'s eyes clear out slowly, calling her back to reality. "You're name is Sera—"

"You." (Y/n) snapped angrily as though her unease had come undone, her now lavender coloured eyes looked insane.

"Do you know what you've just done?" (Y/n) grabbed Annabeth's collar and pulled her in, dropping Nico's dark sword to the side in one swift move. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE?!" She emphasised every word with a yell, her voice lingering with the tiniest amount of fear.

"I-" Annabeth started to say, confusion and panic taking over her. Her hands found her way to (Y/n)'s clutched arm, holding onto it like it was a lifeline even though it hurt her.

"DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?!" (Y/n) questioned her as she tightened her fist around the blond's collar, enraged with fury. She knows herself the burden of the name because it was she who carries it, nothing good will ever come by saying it but now that it has been said she will have to carry the name on and have no choice but to accept the fact that this is what she is. "YOU— YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN ANYONE AS A CHILD OF THAT WRETCHED BIT—"

(Y/n)'s voice drowned out in the background as Annabeth's gray eyes quickly flitted to the untouched sword then back at the enraged girl before her, the gears in her brain working through their calculations. Her hands were free, so were her legs. If she were to attack how high were chances? Annabeth considered (Y/n). Her hands were strong, but with how unstable she looked right now the shaking in her legs were visible.

There. Jackpot.

Annabeth's grip on (Y/n)'s hand tightened slowly, it wasn't until Annabeth kicked her left shin that she realized what the other girl was trying to do and tried to fight back but it was too late. Annabeth was already on top of her, pinning her down. (Y/n) tried to kick upward, but Annabeth's weight was unexpectedly heavy. It didn't help with the fact that her hands were pinned down.

"Fuck you." (Y/n) spat out, struggling to move. Annabeth pressed an arm against her throat, restraining her.

"You bitch." (Y/n) spluttered, gasping for air. Her diamond-like skin flushed a pale blue, her veins were running out of oxygen. "I won't forgive you."

Annabeth ignored her and her constant insults as she swiped Nico's sword from the ground on one hand, trying to decide what her next move will be. What should she do next anyway? Kill her? That would be safer for everybody but she doubt it would help. Knock her out?

Annabeth pursed her lips raising the sword above her head, "Well, it's the better option."

"What the hell are you doing?"

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"Come on." Nico hefted Percy by the arm, wondering how a strong demigod like him could bawl so loud. "We're near your cabin."

"No," Percy bawled louder, his tears streaming nonstop down his cheeks. "All this time, I've done nothing but hurt her. How could I forget her? What kind of a brother am I for doing that? A worthless one. I don't deserve to live, man, I don't—" Cue the tears.

Nico sighed inwardly, not really able to make sense of whatever Percy was saying through his tears. Much less know what to do in this type of situation, he has never seen the son of Poseidon shed a tear, not once until today.

No. He has never seen all the things he witnessed until today. The blue aura. The stillness in the air. The transparent boundary. The scary transformation. What was that? The more he thought about it, the more cliche and impossible it looked. Even Percy's extremely weak condition right now seems to be connected to her.

Nico shook his head, trying to remind himself that he's seen weirder things down in Tartarus. "Whatever." He muttered under his breath as he continued dragging Percy down to Cabin 3.

"I hate myself." Percy sniffled, wiping his snot and tears with his arm as he let himself get dragged by the son of Hades.

Nico looked away and focused on other surroundings. It was all he could do to not cringe away in disgust. Around him, campers stole glances. No doubt the sight of him half dragging half carrying a wailing hero of the camp was a rare sight. Strange, even.

Once they got to Cabin 3, Nico dumped Percy on his bed -- fortunately enough, the son of Poseidon dozed off as soon as he hit his sheets. Not even bothering to take off Percy's shoes and change his clothes, Nico headed back to the arena where the crowd had become seemingly larger.

The amount of campers gathered in the area made it hard for Nico to squeeze through. Fortunately for him, Travis caught sight of the dark haired boy and pulled him ahead. The panic in Travis' eyes were unreadable, scattered.

"You've got to help her." Travis pleaded as he dragged Nico across to Chiron, who seemed to be destroying the transparent boundary she had created.

Chiron glanced at Nico and gave him a grim smile. "Ah. Son of Hades, glad you can join us." He said, almost jokingly. Beside the centaur, the God of Wine shouted grapes and tin cans of diet coke which is not helping.

Nico nodded, glancing towards the two girls inside. Annabeth had (Y/n) pinned down now, taking over the control.

"Now, that is a problem." Nico heard Chiron mumble beneath his breath.

Nico watched as Annabeth pushed down her elbow against (Y/n)'s neck, blocking out the air from coming in to her lungs.

"What is she doing?" Nico questioned, his feet bringing him towards the boundary. As though on impulse, he started pounding on the hard surface. "She can't breathe!"

He watched (Y/n) weakly tap against Annabeth's arm in an attempt to let her know that she was suffocating. He watched Annabeth take hold of his sword by the hilt as (Y/n)'s eyes widened.

What is she doing?! She's going to kill her. Nico's blood turned cold by the very sight of Annabeth raising his own sword above her head, by the very sight of (Y/n) — helpless and bruised. At the moment, every sense he had left him and every cell inside him screamed out in both pain and anger.

For what? He couldn't remember.

The next thing Nico felt was Chiron's hand slowly losing its grip around his arms as he stomped his way towards the two girls, panicked screams of campers resonating distantly in his ears. How was he able to get in? Whatever the answer, he couldn't get his mind around it.

Annabeth, unaware of Nico's nearing process, raised his stygian sword by the hilt over her head. He only had time to yell out, "What the hell are you doing?" before Annabeth struck, hitting the now platinum haired girl by the head and knocking her out cold.