First time publishing something on Wattpad, so... WUZZUPPPP?!
Hullo, lovely people- or demigods. I don't mind. Demigods are people, too, I just meant... Eh, you get it.

I hope everyone will enjoy reading this, because it took me quite a long time to write, so soak it all up! This is a Pernico fanfic (or as me and my chapter supervisor call it 'Pico'- cause it's cuter), so keep reading if you want to see the good stuff!

Feedback (hopefully positive) would be very much appreciated (votes and comments, yeah?), thank ya! :)

So ummm..... HUGE MEGA PROPS AND THANKS to Viria who is such a great artist and made the media pic and music video on the side bar, which inspired me to write this chapter!

with love, BooBear and Curly!! :D

And I won't keep you waiting any longer cause I know your feels can't take it so-
*drumroll*

Without further ADO:

Chapter #1: Waters Of My Soul

NICO POV

~Who knows how long I've been awake now?
The shadows on my wall don't sleep
They keep calling me, beckoning
But I keep pushing on and on and on and on
There's nothing left to say now
I'm giving up, giving up, giving up now
Below my soul, I feel an engine
Collapsing as it sees the pain
If I could only shut it out
I've come too far to see the end now
Even if my way is wrong
I keep pushing on and on and on and on
There's nothing left to say now
I'm giving up, giving up, giving up now
I keep falling, I keep falling down
If you could only save me
I'm drowning in the waters of my soul~

"Get your filthy hands off me!" I screamed at no one in particular. "Let me go!"

Whoever or whatever was dragging me only gripped my arm tighter. I squirmed. Nice. I realised it wasn't human if it had claws... which is always nice to know when you're being kidnaped. I'm in deep schist right now... My eyes were blind folded, my hands were bound and my butt was beginning to ache from being dragged across gravel. That was hint: I was not at camp anymore. I had a strange feeling that I might not have even be in New York. It's always nice to end your hell of a day being kidnaped by a monster, am I right? How did I even get into this mess? Unfortunately, I had been asking that question a lot lately...

Memories flooded my mind and I involuntarily let them in.

*
When I was trapped in the jar in Rome, I had dreamt. A lot. It seemed as if it was the only thing I could do besides pick up a pomegranate seed every time I felt my eyes pry themselves open. I felt like I was being suffocated. Which was the intention, but I lived on. And I dreamt. The dreams were frequent. Horrifying. Depressing. Heartbreaking. Devastating. Longing... The dreams caused me more pain than the intentional torture. And to make it worse?

HE came...

He showed up with a couple others and saved me. Why? Why would he do that? How could he...

It just made everything that much worse. He still thinks I hate him, which I keep trying to convince myself I do... Yet he still trusted me and risked his life and even a few friend's lives--to save me. So... Naturally, I tried not to speak to him. Which turned out to be easier than I thought.

He later fell into Tartarus trying to save his girlfriend. All I remember is my heart shattering as I saw his grip fail, his eyes desperate as his body began crashing down into the hellish void below. Maybe I could have done something... Anything. But I didn't. My legs were j-ello, my head was misty and my heart was as empty as my stomach.

Then I had to stay on a ship with a bunch of his fellow demigod friends. They thought I was a freak show, I could see it. Jason would jump every time I'd speak up, Frank's eyes would grow the size of saucers as if he was somehow frightened of me, and Leo would make a witty remark about me being the son of Hades, then clamp his mouth shut with a big gulp as if I'd beat him up for it. Hazel welcomed me warmly whenever I needed her, which was... Nice. It felt good every once in a while, but too much pity just made me feel worse. Piper would always stare at me uncertainly, a questioning frown on her forehead. Her eyes then changed into sympathy after a while, which made me nervous... What did the daughter of Aphrodite know?

I'll admit it. I was a wreck after he fell. But wasn't I always? I could feel everyone's eyes sizing me up as if I were a creep every time I stepped into a room. Let me tell you... It SUCKED.

And then we had to retrieve the sceptre.

Holy Hades...

Dammit, I just had to go. If only I knew what was in store...

We had met the god of the West Winds in town while on our way. He was... Unsettling. And then we were whisked away to Eros. He wasn't any better. No, FAR worse... He-he broke me. With just a confession- he broke me. I felt a stab in my heart and my head was ready to explode as the nuclear thoughts rushed into my mind. I couldn't deny it any longer. I couldn't just push it away like it was nothing anymore. Like Cupid himself said: I can't hide from it any longer.

I, Nico di Angelo, son of the Death God, like Percy Jackson, son of the sea.

And I hate myself for it. And I'm broken because of it. And I'm alone because of it. And I'm frustrated because of it. And I'm torn because of it.

And I hate HIM- because of it.
*

I was suddenly shoved onto something hard and lumpy by the huge clawed hands. I yelped in pain as my back came in contact with the sharp rock underneath me. I must be somewhere more secluded now, I decided, because there was no draft and I could hear footsteps echoing nearby. I sat up when I was almost certain that there was nothing there anymore, and the footsteps were out of hearing range. The first thing I did was attempt to take the stupid blindfold off my face. With much difficulty, it fell to the floor.

My eyes widened as I took in my surroundings. Okay... This most definitely was not Camp Half-Blood. Oh no, not at all. It was quite dark, though, I'd give you that. It was formed like a sort of cave, but the walls glimmered a smooth blackish cole colour one moment, and the next a deep galaxy purple. Whereas the rough ground beneath me was constantly the same dark cavern-like colour, it seemed to shift before my eyes. It would change from an uncomfortable pointy rock, to a smooth polished floor, to a soft carpeted texture, to a dark black glass floor (not my favourite), and then the most horrifying of all: a looking glass. It reminded me of the one of camp on the Argo II.

I stared at it, my eyes wide with horror, as I watched the images float around my helpless body.

The first little clip was of myself as a small boy. A girl I would have recognised from a mile away stood frightened beside me. Bianca. Even her name brought on a small sting to my heart. Then a boy, maybe a couple years older than the younger me, ran up to us. I immediately began scrambling away, terrified. But his big aqua green eyes stared into mine, seeming to calm me down. I frowned at the screen.

'I won't hurt you.' The voice seemed to speak in my mind, making me jump. It was... coming from the green-eyed boy on the screen. 'It's alright. I'm here to help... What's your name?'

I shook my head incredulously as I watched the images continue to play out a memory that I'd never forget.

'N-Nico di Angelo.'  The younger me told him.

The other boy smiled a comforting smile and stuck out his hand, helping me up. 'I'm Percy Jackson.'

The images faded, but another montage began playing afterwards. I shook my head, desperately wanting it to stop. But it continued playing. Why was it showing me this? Why was it showing me the first time I found out I was a demigod?

The images swirled as I saw myself, not too long ago, wandering alone in the woods, in the shadows, outside of camp. Then I walked into the borders and it showed me gazing at that certain son of the Sea God in the pavilion. He was at his table, laughing with some old friends as I hung out at the Hades table alone. I smiled. But then a blond girl skipped in and sat down next to him, pecking him on the cheek, and the smile faded. They laughed with each other, hugged, joked, smiled, and kissed. The boy at the Hades table only hung his head and disappeared in the shadows.

As the scene faded out again, I tried scrambling away, but it was difficult with my hands bound. What was going on? Why was the looking glass showing me this? And more importantly: Where was I?!

Then, one after the other, pictures popped up around me on the ground. Me running away. Me alone in the Underworld. Me traveling far away on my own. Percy and Annabeth perfectly happy together. Percy and his friends. Percy laughing. Me walking away from the group. Percy's curious face. My broken expression in front of Eros/Cupid. Percy's bloodied face in Tartarus. Me being tortured by the minor gods. Me making it to camp with the Athena Parthanos with a broken leg and bloodied clothes. Percy charging the sea of monsters (*no pun intended*). Annabeth reaching for Percy as he's being stabbed by a green giant in the arm. Me in the infirmary with bandages covering my broken body. Percy's worn out yet successful arrival back at camp. The celebration of the end of Gaia's war. Me hugging my knees and sitting alone in the dark forest away from everyone, tears slipping down my cheeks.

I let go of the strangled cry that had been building in my throat since I'd gotten here and cowered into myself. Cause I'm a coward. A helpless, useless, weak coward.

"Weak indeed, death boy." A smooth, light, feminine voice said in front of me.

My head snapped up to the sudden sound.

A woman stood a couple meters away from me. She wore a long, silky blue dress that showed off her body and black high heels. What really surprised me was her face. She had very delicate, elegant features. Big plump red lips were situated underneath a pixie nose and blush cheeks. Her hair fell down her back in bouncing golden curls that reached her waist. No, wait, her hair was black. But her eyes... They seemed to change colour, just like the walls of this cave. They were brown one moment, then the next an icy blue, but then settled to a deep sea-green colour. Percy's eye colour.

I frowned.

She was no ordinary woman, she couldn't be. I could feel the power radiating off of her. The slight glow around her body only confirmed my thoughts. She must be a goddess. In front of me, standing there in the flesh, was-

"Lady Aphrodite." I mumbled.

She gave me a sickly sweet smile and took a couple steps closer to me, her heels clicking on the now-smooth-floor of the cavern.

"Don't seem too surprised, darling." She purred. "Sooner or later I would have come for you if you kept your actions up."

I frowned slightly. Actions? What... What could I have possibly done to make the goddess of beauty and love want to come after me? I was not the most attractive guy, I knew that for a fact with my sunken dark eyes and skeletal pale appearance-- and my love life? What love life? I had none. It sucked. So why would she take me away?

My head swam with a billion questions when the goddess spoke up:

"Maybe, but that's exactly why I brought you here. Did you ever ponder that maybe you are to blame for your fail in love?" She was right in my face now, speaking to me as if I were a child. "Yes, I brought you here. Well, not personally. I summoned a close friend of mine to snatch you up. You see, you were kidnaped by Jealousy, the ugly side of love. I'm glad you were blindfolded because she's not a lovely sight, you understand. She could use my beauty blessing someday...

"Back to the point. You, death boy, are here because you are not using my gift properly. Before you question me, the gift is love. You turned my love into bitterness, sadness, fear, shame, loneliness, and worst of all, hate. That's not the way to love. You twisted my gift, and instead hurt the one you loved. That's not how it works, sweetie. No matter who you love, you have to use it properly. It is my blessing, after all."

Sudden fury boiled up inside me and I couldn't help it.

"Blessing?! You call that a blessing?!" I practically screamed at her.

My first mistake.

Her eyes switched from the sea-green that I so helplessly love, to a dark red. Her dress soon followed suit. "How dare you raise your voice at me! 'Tis not my fault that you suffer, demigod. It is but your own that your heart breaks. If I could hurt that boy-- Percy, is it not? --as much as he has hurt you, I would. He caused that heartbreak, did he not? But you let it happen. You're too afraid, boy. You're a coward. You reject love? No... No one can simply run away from love. I am everywhere. And those who run away, get punished."

I growled in frustration. "I don't love him! And you have no right to hold me hostage just because I hate love! Love stinks! I can run away all I want, cause guess what? I've been doing it for years! Just leave me alone!"

And there's my second and worse mistake.

Aphrodite flicked her hair over her shoulder and ran her fingers over my cheek softly, then said in a frighteningly calm voice that chilled me to the bone:

"Not the smartest thing you could have said to me right then, death boy."

~~~

End of Chapter

THANKS FOR READING AND I HOPE THE ENDING WASN'T TOO PAINFUL CAUSE trust me. You haven't seen painful endings yet if you are to continue reading my writing. OKAY, LOVE YOU, TOO- BYE!

~Nico's Sass