chapter four

Nico was confused. He stood on the edge of the Camp Half-Blood forest, with dozens of McDonald's Happy Meals scattered on the floor around him. He's been trying for hours on end, with absolutely no results. Why couldn't he summon the souls of the Seven?

He had seen the bodies, he had felt the death. They were dead, he was sure of it. But something was off about their deaths. He didn't feel them enter the underworld, but he felt their souls leave their bodies. They were dead. But where were they? It hadn't even been a week since their death.

They weren't in the underworld, not here on the surface. Gods, they weren't even there in spirit form.

Nico wanted answers, and he wanted them now.

He gathered all of his energy, and not even thinking about Will's warnings, melted into the shadows.

Nico emerged moments later in the throne room in his father's palace in the underworld. He immediately collapsed to the ground, the shadow traveling taking more out of him than he would've thought.

"Nico?" The familiar voice of his father resonated in his ears. Footsteps echoed in his hearing, and a cold hand touched his shoulder. The touch of his father rejuvenated him, giving him enough energy to stand.

Nico staggered to his feet, nearly falling down when the arms of his father caught him before he could. A chair appeared, and Hades helped Nico sit down to prevent him from face planting anymore. Once Nico was settled into his seat, Hades went to go sit in his own next to Persephone.

"Why have you come down here Nico?" Hades asked. Nico sighed deeply before responding.

"Are the Seven here in the Underworld? I can't summon their souls and I felt them die, they're dead and I know it," The demigod trailed off, seeing the solemn look on his father's face.

"They're not in the Underworld," Hades began, seeing the defeated expression on Nico's face. "I'm not sure where they are at all, their souls never entered the Underworld at all, they've been missing since the moment they died," Nico soaked in his words. They're missing. His sister and best friends are not only dead, but they're alsob missing. Fantastic.

"Do the rest of the Olympians know?" Hades shook his head no. "Why haven't you told them yet?" Nico's question was met with a brief silence.

"They're all going through a lot, with the stress of the war and all the deaths. I thought it was best to keep this from them until they were calmer and less stressed." Hades had made a very good point, Nico had realized. The war and death of their greatest had taken a huge toll on them, and the fact that their children's souls were missing would be an even bigger burden.

"But father, they'll be even more furious and burdened if we were to keep this from them, this is an important matter and if they know, then maybe they can help find their souls," Nico tried to reason, he knew that the Olympians had a lot of power and that maybe they could help find their souls. All he wanted was to talk to his sister and friends, and with the help of the other Olympians, that could be possible.

"Fine, I'll inform them right now," He spoke some words in Greek, and jet black sparks flew out of his hand, which was pointed in the air. "Come with me Nico, I just called an emergency Olympian Council meeting. I may need some backup with my claims," He touched Nico's shoulder and the demigod felt as if he came apart in the air, before reforming on solid ground. It was an odd sensation to say the least.

The Olympian Council room was silent, which was very strange. Normally it would be filled with the sounds of arguing and debating, but today it was simple silence. Nico was immediately uncomfortable with the demeanor of the other Olympian Gods.

They looked absolutely terrible. All of them had looked like they had aged a million years. But one particular god stuck out as the worst to Nico.

Poseidon's normally jet black hair was gray and frazzled, sticking up in all directions as he slumped down in his throne. He wore his normal bermuda shorts and Hawaiian shirt, but they were crumpled and wore oddly on him. His face was sunken in and and wrinkled, with a sullen look on his face.. And the feature that stuck out most to Nico were his eyes, the ones identical to Percy's. The sea green color that usually sparkled like the ocean was dull, lifeless. No one had ever seen the normally joyful and enthusiastic god looking like this, but it was no surprise

Poseidon and Percy had probably had the strongest bond out of all of the gods and demigods. It was undeniable how much Poseidon loved and admired Percy, and vice versa. They were father and son, with one of the strongest relationships Greek history had seen. They were much closer than the other gods were with their children, that was for sure.

"Why have you called this meeting Hades," Zeus said half-heartedly, staring off into the distance. Jason's death had taken quite the toll on him as well, he was regretting all the wasted time he could have spent with his son.

The death of the Seven took a toll on the gods like no other death of demigods have. It was odd to say the least, but oddly comforting to the remaining demigods that indeed, their parents had feelings.

"I have some very... interesting news," Hades paused for a moment, not knowing how to continue. "The souls of the Seven never appeared in the Underworld. The Seven are not truly dead," A moment passed before the entire room broke into chaos. Shouts echoed throughout the room, lasting a minute or two before Zeus intervened.

"SILENCE!" He roared, the council settled down with a huff. "Hades, why did you not tell us this information sooner?" He said through gritted teeth. It didn't take a genius to see that he was very angry, and from what Nico could see, the rest of the council was too. His father was in some deep schist. He lowered his head slightly once he saw his father was about to speak.

"When I did not feel their souls enter the Underworld, I immediately send my guards to look for them. When they reported that no one had seen them, I investigated myself. When Nico came to ask me of their whereabouts, I knew it was time to share what information I had found," Hades trailed off nervously. The council room was completely silent, you could hear a pin drop.

"My son, he's... alive?" Poseidon's hopeful voice carried throughout the room. Nico looked up, seeing the god with tears in his eyes. He was aging forward by the second, his hair darkening and becoming the shiny mess it used to be. The wrinkles on his face and clothes disappeared, and he looked, well, normal again. His eyes gained the sparkle that was not there merely minutes ago, they shone with determination.

"As far as we know, they are alive. How, we do not know. All we have to do now, is find where they are," Nico spoke up, all of the eye in the room going to him.

"Then what are we waiting for," A newly young Poseidon spoke firmly. "let's go find our children." The council room roared in response, the enthusiasm was overwhelming. A rare smile spread across Nico's face. They were going to find his best friends. He was going to find his sister.

And the Seven would be found, even if it were to be the last thing he ever did.

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wow, it sure has been a hot minute since i've posted a chapter.

im sorry that i haven't updated any of my stories in such a long time, and i have no excuses other than i haven't been inspired, and i have no motivation to be quite frank.

the only reason that this is being published, is because i found this chapter, which was written back in august. so yea, i guess thats fun.

but im going to be trying to post and write on here more often, because in the end, i do really love my stories and i want to be writing them until they finish. ive been posting and writing primarily on tumblr, about the band why don't we in specifics. but yeah, im for sure going to try and post and be more active on wattpad in the future.

so thats why i haven't been on here as much ig, lmao.

anyways,

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i love you all,

xmaiax