Dangerous

Camp Jupiter had always seemed to Nico to be a stressful place, as violent and changeable as a storm. Maybe that was fitting, considering that it was named after the god of lightning.

He had never felt as though he could fit in with the Greeks, but the demigods themselves certainly weren't his enemies. The Romans, on the other hand, didn't trust him. Perhaps that was fair, seeing as he didn't trust them either, not to mention the fact that he was lying to them, but it still meant that the Temple of Pluto felt like an island in the storm, a refuge in which he could relax and collect his thoughts.

Roman life was in constant motion, that was the problem. Every day, the legion was compelled to train relentlessly and without variation. If a Greek wanted to take a day off, or to deviate from the normal training patterns, they were generally allowed to do so without any fuss other than a word with Chiron, but the Romans believed in doing things by the letter. And if you didn't want to do things by the letter, you had to write a new letter three times over with fifty signatures and the backing of at least five major gods.

Or to put it another way, Nico was of the opinion that New Rome didn't offer much in the way of individuality or alone time, which was difficult for a socially awkward outsider like him. And that sitting in on senate meetings without the ability to affect them was little short of Tartarus itself. No wonder his dad had given him Jules-Albert for company, when the alternative was Romans.

He came to his sort-of-father's temple when he was tired of arguing with officials, and needed to get away from the endless bureaucracy he seemed to find around every corner. Even if it wasn't exactly home – Pluto was separate from Hades, he was reminded of that every time Hazel was around – it was the closest thing he had here.

Death was calm. It would overcome all those inside the camp and render them still, sweeping aside any concerns about evening muster. The dead had all the time they could ask for to consider their position.

So the first thing Nico did upon arriving at Camp Jupiter was head to his father's temple, where he planned to mentally ready himself for the next day of shouting at stupid Romans until they listened to him.

Of course, all that was ruined when, like a flash-flood, a tsunami, an earthquake or a hurricane, the walking natural disaster known as Percy Jackson appeared out of thin air behind him with only Hazel's call of "Hey, I've brought a friend" as warning.

Nico turned around. And, when he saw it was Percy, almost fell over. His brain went into meltdown. For a split second, there was a flash of recognition in Percy's eyes, so briefly that Nico could almost believe he'd imagined it, but then it was replaced with confusion, like he really didn't know who Nico was. The son of Hades stood stock still, like a rabbit in the headlights, wondering if his cover was blown. His own reaction might just have done that anyway.

But then Hazel introduced them to each other, and Nico gathered himself, stepping forwards to shake the other boy's hand. Percy wasn't sure what to think of him, Nico could feel that in the handshake.

"I – I know you," said Percy.

No, really? Nico wanted to ask. Maybe it was at the village fête last Sunday. Or maybe we hang out in the Underworld sometimes. Oh, wait, wasn't it that war for the fate of the earth that we fought in together last year? Of course, he couldn't say that. But it would have been easier than trying to keep his face blank and asking "Do you?" He looked at Hazel, wondering if she understood just what was going on.

"Um..." Hazel said, "Percy's lost his memory."

Well, that explained a lot. From what she went on to say, it sounded like the son of Poseidon had already made quite the impression on the legion, not to mention accomplishing the near-impossible feat of defeating two monsters who keep coming back to life.

Then again, Nico supposed that controlling an entire river would help with that.

"Maybe you've met demigods like Percy before, or..." his sister said, trailing off as Nico registered what she was saying.

His immediate instinct, before coherent thoughts could even form in his mind, was either to laugh or to cry. He tried to keep a straight face, but as Hazel's voice petered away, he realised that he must be concealing his reaction poorly, and that it must confuse the two of them, but if they really knew what she was asking, they might understand why.

Was there anyone else like Percy Jackson? Well, yes, in the sense that she meant the question. There was a whole camp of them on the east coast.

But was there anyone else like Percy Jackson? No, not by a long way. He was a hero, Nico wanted to tell them. He had saved the world more times than Nico could count, had turned down godhood to be with the girl he loved, and had an unimaginably complicated relationship with Nico, half of which he hadn't been aware of even with his memory.

No, Nico could safely have told her. I've never met a demigod like Percy before.

Instead, he changed the subject to Gaia.

"Who is Gaia, anyway?" asked Percy.

It was an achingly familiar turn of phrase, that, the sort that always preceded Percy obliterating the subject of the question, before discovering that the answer was something along the lines of 'oh, just some all-powerful, hitherto undefeated immortal'.

Nico didn't bother to trot out the old line about how he should be careful because names have power. He himself had just inadvertently let the name slip out, and the goddess being asleep probably meant they were safe for the moment.

Instead, he explained, uncomfortably aware that the ground beneath their feet was capable of turning nasty if it wanted to.

Still shaken by the whole 'Percy-appearing-with-amnesia' turn of events, he accidentally called Kronos Kronos, rather than Saturn – his cover as Pluto's ambassador felt like it was vanishing into the shadows of his father's temple – and then nearly had a heart attack when Percy appeared to be remembering his past.

It was only the tale of the Titans' rise and fall, though. Nico was able to shrug (and be proud of the nonchalance with which he did it) and carry on with the story.

"...the gods finally beat them," he finished off. "At least… the first time."

"The first time?" Percy repeated.

Nico took a breath and looked at Hazel for support. For some reason she looked concerned, but he couldn't work out why. She had no reason to worry about Percy's memories returning. Nico, though, had to take the plunge. Percy needed this information. But if it triggered a large flow of memories, it could see them both executed by the Romans.

"Last summer," said Nico, "Saturn tried to make a comeback." As he spoke, he watched Percy's face. It kept an expression of confusion and interest. Nico rushed through the important points to make it safely to the end of his explanation – glossing over Kronos' downfall with the official Roman report that he'd faded away – and finished with the cheery note that Gaia and the giants were out to destroy all demigod-kind.

"You've told Reyna this?" asked Percy.

"Of course," said Nico. This was uncomfortably familiar, too. Percy assuming he was a child, that he hadn't done the obvious thing, didn't know how the world works. Nico's mind pointed out that this Percy didn't know him, that the son of Neptune, as he would now be known, was just trying to get his bearings.

Another part of his brain dredged up memories:

"Because you're too young," said fourteen year-old Percy.

Promises broken, screamed the darker corners of Nico's brain. Bianca dead, his fault.

"You'll be more help down here," said Percy, less than a year ago.

"You mean you don't trust me anymore," said Nico from the same time, and Percy didn't bother to deny it.

"The Romans don't trust me," he said, and there was a challenge hidden in there. I'm more dangerous, more of an outsider, I don't play by the rules, no-one knows who I am but me, and you don't even have that. "We're even worse than children of Neptune," he said, almost defiantly.

"They let Hazel stay," observed Percy.

"That's different."

"Why?" Percy asked, still not giving up.

Nico tuned Hazel out as she interceded, instead looking at Percy as closely as possible. It wasn't his fault, he told himself. Bianca made her choice. He's not responsible for her fate. He knew that. He'd forgiven Percy, or at least, they'd been able to move past it.

But here they were again.

How many would have to die this time? How many more Nicos would there be, lost and alone in an uncaring world? Sure, Percy saved the world, but there was a part of Nico that thought the son of Poseidon had to save it from himself.

That was unfair, he realised. Percy never asked for this. He never wanted these prophecies, didn't choose to wind up on the west coast with no memory.

On the other hand, it would never have happened to anyone but Percy, would it?

Nico was rescued from his own thoughts by the arrival of Frank, the baby-faced Chinese-Canadian, coming to remind them of evening muster. Nico, though kept Hazel back with him for a moment, feeling obliged to give her what explanation he could for what was going on as the gears for another apocalypse kicked into work.

It turned out, it was much harder to explain than he'd expected.

"Is he dangerous?" asked Hazel, sitting on the temple roof.

"Very. To his enemies," answered Nico. "But he's not a threat to Camp Jupiter. You can trust him."

Looking back, that didn't quite seem right, not to mention that it then triggered an uncomfortable flashback for Hazel.

Because they couldn't trust Percy, not really. He was fighting on the same side as Camp Jupiter, but not for them. If things turned nasty between the camps, who was to say what he might do?

But what could Nico have said instead?

Yes, fear him?

No, he's really just a cuddly teddy bear?

Percy almost seemed too complicated to fit into basic categories like 'dangerous' or 'not dangerous', but when it came down to it, with the power he had, there was only one answer: yes.

A thought came to him, a moment out of a film or something: he'd start speaking, and the camera would slowly zoom in on him as he built up to a dramatic climax, until, at the end of the shot, without the audience even realising it had happened, his face would fill the entire screen, and they would see him relish every word in his mouth.

Yes, he should have said. Yes, he is dangerous. In fact, he's the most dangerous demigod I've ever known. He shifts like the sea, and is capable of destroying Camp Jupiter and everybody in it. He has fought and defeated gods and titans in single combat, has done things of which Heracles could only dream. The greatest disaster caused by a demigod that you remember here is the earthquake which destroyed your camp a century ago.

To him, that is nothing.

He has crossed nations and oceans for the people he loves, and he would destroy the world and himself without hesitation if he thought it would keep them safe. He has arrived in the world and reshaped it in his own image, and that is why I love him.

To you, he is a stranger. You do not understand the things that he can do, and the world that you live in will never be the same again now that he has arrived. If you survive the things which are to come, perhaps you will look back on these days and wonder what happened to the peace you had. The simple answer is that Percy Jackson happened.

But, he would have said, and could imagine the gleam in his own eye as he did, the gods have given you the greatest gift it is in their power to give, and you and he were born on the same side of this war.

Of course, there was no world in which he would ever actually come out and say something like that, but every word of it was true. With the power Percy had, he deserved to be feared, but with the heart Percy had, fear would only be misplaced.

And Nico knew that on this new quest, he would prove it once more.

So, I wrote pretty much all of this in the summer I think? Then I stumbled across it yesterday and was all 'oh, I need to write three lines and it's finished', so that was a nice surprise.

Sorry if it's a bit OTT with the Percy-worship, but then again, Percy-worship is basically its entire raison d'être. So if you have a problem with it, I'm afraid you've just read the wrong fic. I hope you haven't, and that you've enjoyed it instead. I'd hate to think I'm wasting people's time here.

In fact, I hope you enjoyed it so much that you feel inspired to leave a review...