The Plea of Apollo || COMPLETED

THE CURSE: PT5

The Curse: Part 5

"You're the goddess Mania?" Will asked curiously. He was shocked that this was the goddess of madness, because she didn't seem mad in the slightest. Sure her eyes were glowing yellow but the way she spoke was calm and courteous. "I thought you'd be more..."

"Insane?" She guessed with a laugh. "Oh no, handsome son of Apollo, I am not crazy like many assume me to be. In truth if I was as unstable as people think I am then I wouldn't be able to get any work done. My underlings would run amok if I was not in my right mind to order them around."

Hazel narrowed her eyes at Mania. "If you're not crazy, then why are you doing this to my brother? He didn't do anything to deserve this."

"You are correct. Poor Nico here did nothing to warrant my attention, although I did visit him briefly in Tartarus a few years ago." She smiled sadly, the glow of her eyes dimming for a moment. "Anywho, while it might not have been his actions that brought my wrath upon him there is nothing I can do but my job. The curse that was cast on him and his kin before him binds me to my duty; I cannot show him any mercy."

"Wait," Percy stepped forward, "are you saying you're not the one who cursed him?"

She raised an eyebrow, her lip twitching into an even bigger grin. "You do not know? Well, it is not in my power to tell you who it is. Let us just say that she loathes Nico's father with a passion."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Hazel was beginning to get frustrated. "The prophecy says the curse was born from love; how could someone loath and love him at the same time?"

Mania giggled, the sound of a million bells ringing at once. "Daughter of Pluto, you are viewing this in the wrong way. If the one you loved, the one you cared most for in the entire world was taken away from you, would you not hate so strongly that you would curse anything the thief could ever love? Hades has always been a kind-hearted god despite his reputation. Sure he can be cruel sometimes, but hurting his children hurts him far more than he lets on."

It took barely five seconds for what she was saying to click with Will. There was only one goddess that loathed Hades more than any other.

Turning to Nico, Will kissed him on the lips before pulling away with a sad smile. "I know how to lift the curse, Nico. You'll be back to normal in no time. Stay safe, okay? I love you."

"I love you too, Will." The son of Hades hugged him quickly, breaking contact only after Will asked Clovis to get them out of there, all three visiting demigods fading away in an instant.

They were back in the Hypnos cabin, awake and blinking up at their friends with a bit of motion sickness, moments later. There was no time for Will to explain what he had learned when they awoke though, for when the three demigods left Nico's dreams the son of Hades snapped into awareness.

"What am I doing here?" He looked around the cabin with distaste, his eyes landing on Jason within seconds and making his glare intensify.

"We just brought you here so you can eat lunch," Percy said with a sheepish grin, quickly sitting up on the bed to keep an eye on his "brother". There was no telling how Nico would act when he still wasn't in his right mind, but they all knew they would do almost anything to stop him from starting another fight. "You skipped out earlier before eating much, remember?"

Nico hopped off the bed. "I'm not hungry, Jackson. On the other hand Grace and I have a fight to finish."

"Oh no you don't!" Hazel stepped in front of her brother and wagged a finger in his face. "No fighting! You're going to come with me to the dining pavilion and get something to eat, you hear me?"