Harry Potter and the Norse Gods

{19} Plans of Pranks

NICO'S POV

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. 

"They said what?" I asked, aghast. 

"That we can't afford to refuse help, no matter where it comes from," Dumbledore repeated tiredly. 

"You told them it was Gaia, didn't you?" I checked. 

There was absolutely no way that they would have agreed to partner with her after everything. No way. 

"You read the letter before we sent it," Storm pointed out from her perch on Dumbledore's desk. 

"But-" I began, "No. No. No! None of them would agree to this. Annabeth, Percy, Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Reyna - we've all suffered too much at her hands. Leo died. Hazel died - and so did her mother. Annabeth and Percy were sent to Tartarus. I was kidnapped and almost killed by Giants. Piper's dad was held hostage. Frank's house was burnt down. Reyna's sister was almost killed by Orion and -"

"I think Reyna was the one who wrote that," Storm commented. 

"What makes you think that?" I demanded. 

"It's signed by Annabeth and Reyna, and the part above that was written by a Greek," she fired back. 

"Oh. Well... they wouldn't do that," I insisted. 

They wouldn't. They couldn't. Not after everything. They couldn't just forget and move on. 

Storm seemed to be thinking something similar to me, because she sighed - not sarcastically, somehow. 

"Look, I don't like this any better than either of you," she said, nodding at Will and I, "How could I? Orion hunted down and killed Hunters - my friends - on her orders. But we had a deal, and they have a point. We can't afford to refuse help, no matter where it comes from." 

"Storm's right," Will agreed sullenly. 

All eyes turned to me. My shoulders sagged. She was, in a way. Usually, I was good at being objective in a situation like this, and that was what we had to be. Even with Gaia's help, it still wouldn't be easy to defeat both an (read: another) angry primordial and an army of wizards and magical creatures, but without it, we faced much worse odds. 

"Fine," I muttered, "But when she betrays us, that's not on me."

= = =

We didn't wait for the Quidditch trials to end before leaving for San Francisco, so Harry didn't come with us. 

We arrived in the dead of night, which was never good. The area was eerily foggy and the mountaintop was lit only by the dim light of the moon filtering through clouds. It felt like the setting of a stereotypical horror movie. 

We all stood there for several long moments, looking at each other and our surroundings and presumably all wondering - like I was - whether or not we would fall into another cavern without any warning. 

The answer was apparently no, as right before our eyes the cliff face shifted. It looked as though it had temporarily become liquid, solidifying seconds later into a woman's face. 

"I presume this means that you have an answer for me?" she boomed. 

"We do," Dumbledore replied, straightening his glasses. 

Even he looked rather uncomfortable in her presence. 

"Well?" 

"Yes," Storm said. 

"You've agreed to a partnership?" Gaia said, sounding shocked. 

It was the most emotion I've ever seen her show, even when she was trying to destroy the world.

"Somehow," Storm replied. 

I could've sworn that Gaia almost laughed. 

"We don't have any time to waste," I cut in, "We should formulate a plan." 

"Nico's right," Magnus agreed, turning to Gaia, "What do you know that we don't?" 

"That's a poorly worded question. I don't know what you know." 

"Tell us what you know that pertains to this situation that isn't immediately obvious to everyone with a functioning brain," Storm demanded. 

"That's better," Gaia said, her mouth forming a twisted smile, "Let's see... well, Atlas has abandoned his post to join his grandfather-"

"So who's holding up the sky?" Will interjected. 

He seemed to regret it only seconds later, as his eyes widened and he clapped his hand over his mouth. 

"One of the Hesperides," Gaia replied, "The others have fled." 

"What do we do about that?" Magnus asked. 

"Nothing," Storm answered firmly, "It just means that we have the perfect cage to put Atlas back in. Unless you want to hold up the sky?" 

"No, I'm good," Magnus said hurriedly. 

"Can I continue, or no?" Gaia asked dryly. 

When no one replied, she seemed to take it as her cue to carry on. 

"Iris is gone, usurped by her twin, Arke, and the cloud nymphs are being threatened by Ouranos and his goons to join their side."

"So our messages were being spied on," I realised. 

"That should be what we do first," Will suggested, "Help Iris and the cloud nymphs. They're the fastest and easiest method of communication, and we're going to need that going forward." 

"Mr Solace is correct," Dumbledore agreed, "Reinstating Iris to her post will be crucial." 

"How come no one's noticed she's gone, though?" Alex frowned, crossing his arms over his chest, "A goddess disappearing seems like something someone would notice." 

"You don't understand how the Pantheon treats minor gods, do you?" Gaia laughed bitterly, "How do you think I gained so much support?" 

"They have the same abilities," Storm explained, "And while they're supposedly fraternal twins, it's not like most of us actually see Iris. It's the perfect plan, to be honest. We wouldn't have figured it out for a while, if ever." 

"You're welcome," Gaia said pompously. 

"I'm not saying thank you." 

"Is that all you know?" Will pushed.

"For now," Gaia responded, "I suppose I'll keep watching and listening, given that it doesn't seem like you'll use my help for anything else." 

The bitterness in her voice was overwhelming, but I couldn't bring myself to pity her. She deserved everything that had happened to her, and we - or at least, I - weren't going to trust her with anything major. 

Thankfully, everyone else seemed to share that sentiment. 

"So, what do we do about Iris?" Magnus inquired. 

"We figure out where she's being held and where Arke is, save the former, and defeat the latter," Storm replied, "And in the meantime, we have a little fun." 

"What do you mean?" Will frowned, looking mildly alarmed. 

I, on the other hand, knew exactly what she was talking about and smiled for the first time in days. 

"We know that they're reading our messages, but they don't," I began. 

"We're going to trick them," Alex grinned, "Oh, you're right. This is going to be fun."

Two weeks since the last chapter and it's a day late... oops?

Feel free to blame my terrible internet. 

Art is from Gaia's page on the Riordan Wiki, but unfortunately, I couldn't find the artist.