𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐢━━Nico di Angelo

99

Nico wanted to yell: Time out! Hold it! Freeze!

But he knew it wouldn't do any good. After weeks of waiting, agonizing and steaming, the Greeks and Romans wanted blood. Trying to stop the battle now would be like trying to push back a flood after the dam broke.

Will Solace saved the day.

He put his fingers in his mouth and did a taxicab whistle even more horrible than the last. Several Greeks dropped their swords. A ripple went through the Roman line like the entire First Cohort was shuddering.

"DON'T BE STUPID!" Will yelled. "LOOK!"

He pointed to the north, and Nico grinned from ear to ear. He decided there was something more beautiful than an off-course projectile: the Athena Parthenos gleaming in the sunrise, flying in from the coast, suspended from the tethers of six winged horses. Roman eagles circled but did not attack. A few of them even swooped in, grabbed the cables and helped carry the statue.

Nico didn't see Blackjack, which worried him, but Reyna Ramírez-Arellano rode on Guido's back. Her sword was held high. Her purple cloak glittered strangely, catching the sunlight.

Both armies stared, dumbfounded, as the forty-foot-tall gold and ivory statue came in for a landing.

"GREEK DEMIGODS!" Reyna's voice boomed as if projected from the statue itself, like the Athena Parthenos had become a stack of concert speakers. "Behold your most sacred statue, the Athena Parthenos, wrongly taken by the Romans. I return it to you now as a gesture of peace!"

The statue settled on the crest of the hill, about twenty feet away from Thalia's pine tree. Instantly gold light rippled across the ground, into the valley of Camp Half-Blood and down the opposite side through the Roman ranks. Warmth seeped into Nico's bones – a comforting, peaceful sensation he hadn't had since he kissed Ajax last. A voice inside him seemed to whisper: You are not alone. You are part of the Olympian family. The gods have not abandoned you.

"Romans!" Reyna yelled. "I do this for the good of the legion, for the good of Rome. We must stand together with our Greek brethren!"

"Listen to her!" Nico marched forward. He wasn't even sure why he did it. Why would either side listen to him? He was the worst speaker, the worst ambassador ever. But Ajax's hand on his shoulder provided him all the confidence he needed. It was Ajax who made him realize he was wanted, he was loved. Gods, he wanted to kiss him again. But it would have to wait.

Nico strode between the battle lines, his black sword in his hand. "Reyna risked her life for all of you! We brought this statue halfway across the world, Roman and Greek working together, because we must join forces. Gaia is rising. If we don't work together–"

YOU WILL DIE.

The voice shook the earth. Nico's feeling of peace and safety instantly vanished. Wind swept across the hillside. The ground itself became fluid and sticky, the grass pulling at Nico's boots.

A FUTILE GESTURE.

Nico felt as if he was standing on the goddess's throat – as if the entire length of Long Island resonated with her vocal cords.

BUT, IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY, YOU MAY DIE TOGETHER.

"No..." Octavian scrambled backwards. "No, no..." He broke and ran, pushing through his own troops.

"CLOSE RANKS!" Reyna yelled.

The Greeks and Romans moved together, standing shoulder to shoulder as all around them the earth shook.

Octavian's auxilia troops surged forward, surrounding the demigods. Both camps put together were a minuscule dot in a sea of enemies. They would make their final stand on Half-Blood Hill, with the Athena Parthenos as their rallying point.

But even here they stood on enemy ground. Because Gaia was the earth, and the earth was awake.

The monsters charged. 

Ajax grabbed Nico by his shirt and kissed him like he may not be able to after the fight. Nico tried not to think about the very real possibility that this could be it for Ajax. 

"I love you" Ajax said as he pulled back. 

"No" Nico said, swinging his sword as the monsters approached, "Don't say it like that, don't say it like you won't get to say it again"

"I'll say it for the rest of my life" Ajax grinned, "However long"

"Tesoro-" But then the monsters were on them like flies- too many to fight comfortably, too many, too big, too much. 

Nico didn't even notice when he lost Ajax in the fight. He fought back the bile that rose to his throat. Camp was their priority. 

All his frustration and anger materialized. He imagined the monsters as his father who told him he couldn't do anything about Ajax's situation. He imagined the monsters to be Gaea who was the reason they were in this mess. He imagined his own face. The reason Ajax was dead. 

Nico cut through the monsters, but it seemed like more just kept coming. Ajax had to make it through this battle. He just had to. 

Nico fought against Gaea's control as he shook the earth. Rocks and soil danced, huge chunks of the earth jutting upwards, spearing the monsters. He focused on the monsters one by one, cutting them down with ease. The problem wasn't that there were powerful monsters. The problem was the sheer number of them. 

Even with the Greeks and the Romans together, Nico didn't see how they could possibly make it. 

Nico waded through the army looking for the love of his life.