Heroes Of The Future (SEQUEL TO THE BLOOD OF OLYMPUS)

Six--Nico

Nico calmly strolled through the Labyrinth corridors, feeling rather at home underground.

He'd shadow-traveled there unexpectedly, but he was glad. Everybody thought he was dead, and now he could finally be on his own. He could go anywhere he wanted to, and not have to worry about anything.

He had never been so wrong in his life.

As he felt the ceiling shake, he looked up. There was a big hole, going up as far as he could see. It looked like there was something coming down. Almost like...

"What the--" Nico was knocked to the ground, his head smacking the stone tiles like a sledgehammer.

Nico heard a loud snap, but it hadn't been any of his bones. He scrambled to his feet, unsheathing his black sword dangerously fast.

"Nico?" Piper coughed, turning over to face him, her face completely covered in dirt.

"Piper?" Nico raised an eyebrow at her. "What're you doing in here?"

"I could ask you the same question." She frowned, wincing in pain as she tried to stand.

Nico saw Jason lying on the ground next to Piper, unconscious (as usual). "Um... Is he okay?" Nico pointed to Jason, sheathing his sword.

Piper's eyebrows furrowed. "I hope so."

Nico narrowed his eyes at her. Somehow, she looked... different. Something in her eyes. Something Nico saw everyday. Pain. And fear. And sadness. He always saw it in his own face. But since last time Nico checked, Piper had been fine. So what had happened to her since they'd left Epirus?

"Piper, are you okay?" Nico asked, and for the first time in his life, he felt obligated to help someone other than himself.

Piper looked up at him with her deep, pain filled eyes. "Yeah, I'm... Okay." Her gaze drifted to Jason. "Do you have any ambrosia?" She asked Nico.

He frowned. "Piper, don't try to avoid the subject. What's wrong?"

Piper looked back at Nico. "Why would you care?"

This got Nico a little irritated. "Look, Piper. I've been through a lot more rough things than anyone ever has. I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but it helps. It really does. Now, I've been through Tartarus and back..." He trailed off, seeing Piper's pained expression when he said the dark god's name.

Nico narrowed his eyes. "Why did you...You haven't...Oh." He said in realization, suddenly feeling bad for pressing her. "Sorry."

Piper avoided his gaze, obviously trying her best not to shake. "You don't have to apologize for anything. It's not your fault."

Nico nodded dimly. "Was Jason--"

"No." Piper cut in. "No, it was just me."

Nico swallowed. He'd been through the exact same situation. All alone in Tartarus. Then he thought about something Bianca always told him. Never fear the past, Nico. Always look ahead. Follow the light. Now he finally understood what it meant.

It wasn't just about forgetting the past and moving forward. It was about choosing your own path to make up for the time lost. To go the way that you wanted most, and never remember the bad things.

"Piper, do you wanna get some sleep? I can keep watch for the night." Nico offered, but Piper shook her head.

"I--I can't. You go ahead." She looked at Nico uneasily.

So she got dreams too. Nico got them all the time. He'd just learned to contain them, ignore them and turn them into something else. Something bearable.

"Piper, you know... I used to think that I was the only one. The one that always had it the hardest. Now I can see I was wrong." Nico stared right into Piper's eyes, and for the first time since Bianca, he felt something towards someone. Not at all like a sister though. Nico didn't know what it was.

Piper sunk down to the ground, staring ahead. "And what about you, Nico? Are you okay?"

Nico's head throbbed. Was he okay? No one ever asked him that question before, or not directly at least. He had no idea what to say. Usually, when someone asked him what was wrong, he'd just pushed them away. But he didn't want to do that to Piper. She was different somehow. Nico felt like he could talk to her.

"Truthfully, I don't know." Nico sighed, noticing for the first time that he was completely exhausted. "But I think I'm okay." Nico had never shared his thoughts openly before. It was kind of a strange feeling for him.

Piper smiled a little. "That's good. I hope it stays that way."

Nico's stomach fluttered, and he found himself actually smiling. How long had it been since his last smile? Four years? "I hope you'll be okay too." It felt so good to smile with someone. Like he'd broken a barrier that had been up too long.

Jason groaned from his spot on the floor, and Piper was immediately by his side.

Suddenly, a cold feeling spread through Nico, like every other time he felt someone die.

Nico stared wide-eyed at Jason.

He'd stopped breathing.

Nico scrambled through his pack, hastily bringing out some nectar. He immediately poured it into Jason's mouth, but he knew it was no use.

Piper had turned a ghostly, pale white, her eyes filled to the brim with tears. "I--is he going to be okay?" Her voice shook.

Nico looked at Jason's face, and he knew immediately that he was not coming back. He was dead.

Piper glanced at Nico for some reassurance, but he couldn't offer any. "I--I'm sorry, Piper." He said, and he truly meant it.

Piper's lip quivered. "A--are you s--sure?" She croaked.

Then Nico did the most unexpected thing he had ever done.

He hugged her.

Piper seemed surprised, but she hugged him back, tears escaping her eyes as she squeezed them shut. "This is all my fault."

Nico shook his head. "No, Piper. It's not. Everybody always blames themselves for things that aren't their fault. You should know that it's always the opposite."

"No. It is my fault." Piper started to sob. "All of them."

Nico stood, slinging a pack over his shoulder. "All of who?"

Piper wiped the tears from her face, but her eyes still gleamed with sadness. "Frank, Drew, Percy, m--my dad..." She broke down into tears, burying her face in her hands.

Nico was just about to say something, when the tunnel started to shake. He looked down the path through the darkness and saw a massive lunk of a cyclops slowly stomping towards them. "Uh... Piper, I think we should go."

Piper looked at the cyclops and wiped away her tears. "Okay." She reluctantly looked at Jason's lifeless body. "We can't just leave him here."

Nico nodded. "I got it." He concentrated, willing Jason's dead body to dissipate. Piper gasped, looking close to tears again. Before she could say anything, Nico tugged her to her feet. "Don't worry, I just made sure he was going to get to Camp Half-Blood safely."

"Half-bloods!" The cyclops boomed. "Brothers, I've found half-bloods!"

Uh oh.

"C'mon, Piper!" Nico grabbed Piper and started running full speed through the tunnel, not even turning to look back.

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Hey my peeps! 🐥🐥🐥

How's it going? How'd you like the extra long chapter?

It was all for you guys!

Anyways, I am dedicating this chappie to Abbi_Shadowhunter because she's an awesome person (unless she's not reading this now and didn't remember to read over break... Then she's not cool at all 😜)

I will update soon!

-Berney