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Jason at first didn't like Percy Jackson. Yes, everyone at CHB seems to like him, but that does not mean he is immediately this great guy. However, after meeting Percy, even he has to admit….he is a good guy. So when they discussed Nico Di Angelo and Percy pulled him aside later to tell him more about Nico, he listened. Percy warned that he could not be fully trusted.
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"Nico is…" Percy pauses, seeming to struggle to find the right word to describe the infamous demi-god, "...weird…" he cringes at the word even as he says it.
"Weird how?" They are now alone. Hazel left quickly, upset that it was not an immediate 'of course we will save your half-brother.' Frank followed after her. The others went their separate ways, and Percy held Jason back to talk to him.
Jason thinks of how 'weird' can mean so many different things. He is weird in the same way Leo is weird. Leo can make anything he sets his mind to; he made a Metal Dragon and is single-handedly running the current ship they are on. Or, like Octavian, who, despite being extremely off-putting, somehow now holds a high rank and status and is probably plotting their demise right now. Weird can mean many things.
"Have you ever met him?" Percy asks.
Jason tries to think back. It's hard, the memories that Hera stole. Percy had been able to use a magical blood (another weird thing) to restore his. Jason gets bits and pieces, but it is more like feelings. He felt some sense of familiarity when he was back in New Rome, but it also felt so foreign. He hoped to see the faces of the other teens from New Rome, and it all just click back into place. But it didn't. He still has just fragmented memories and feelings. Jason tries to remember Nico; he really has nothing to go on. If Nico came to Camp Jupiter or New Rome as an ambassador of Pluto, odds are Jason would have met him. But he cannot recall meeting him. The only things he can remember are the other campers at CHB talking about him, but even that was vague. "I-- I don't know. I cannot remember if I met him or not." Jason hates to admit it. That he has had this entire life before meeting the rest of them, and he hardly remembers any of it.
"Nico… well, Nico is hard to read." Percy runs his hand through his hair. He starts to pace the room they are in. "Like when we first met, he was this annoying little kid." Percy almost sounds remorseful when talking about this. He is also not looking at Jason. "Um. He and his-- his sister Bianca. Thalia, Annabeth, and I were sent to bring them both to CHB…. And we did. But Annabeth got taken, and it wasn't very good. Bianca joined the Huntresses. And when a quest was given to save Artemis…Bianca went… she- she didn't survive. The quest. Your sister joined the Hunt right after that, actually." Jason can tell there was much more to the story, but he doubts that Percy wants to talk about it.
Percy pauses and stares down at the ocean. Jason wonders if it calms him down. Jason stares on past the horizon, thinking he can see storm clouds on their way; he knows he will not find the same comfort in thunderstorms that Percy might feel in the ocean waves below.
"Nico never was the same… after that. He left shortly after I told him. And that's when I realized he was a son of Hades. He summoned skeletons…" Percy makes a summoning motion, "that almost killed me. However, I'm not sure if he really meant to. He was just 12 at the time." Percy looks conflicted, and he bites his lip.
"What makes you think we cannot trust him? Does he blame you for her death?" Jason cringes at himself. That question sounds way too harsh. Percy doesn't seem to notice; he keeps watching the waters. Jason, in turn, looks back at the sky.
"He did," Percy answers immediately. He stops and then continues, "...or does. I'm not sure." He runs his hands through his hair again. "So, the past I don't know for 3 years now. He pops in and out of quests and CHB. At first, he had this…. Evil ghost? I guess. Trying to influence him to kill me and trade my soul for his sisters."
"Oh." Because what else do you say to that? "and we are trying to save him…why?" Jason thinks about how they are more than likely walking into a known trap for a teen that only one member of the group really has a possible positive connection with, and even that seems flimsy at best. Jason would rather not risk his actual friends for a person whose motives are unclear, regardless of what Hazel may think.
Percy shrugs. "It's more complex than that. He is the one who told me about the blessing of Achilles. He showed me how to get it, and without it I would have died." Percy rubs his arms. "But at the same time, he turned right around and betrayed me to his father. Who tried to have me locked up. But then he helped free me. What I'm trying to say is that he is weird and difficult to pin down what his motives are, and half the time it seems like he has answers to the questions before they are even asked. I don't know how he ever found out about Achilles' blessing. I don't know why he didn't just tell me who I was when I showed up in New Rome. I don't know why he left camp again."
Jason does not say anything as he can see Percy trying to gather his thoughts.
"When I met him at New Rome, you know, after Hera kidnapped me... He looked me straight in the eyes….and acted like we had never met before…and Annabeth told me that they were able to reach out to him over the last couple of months to see if he knew anything. So it wasn't like he didn't know people were looking for me…" Percy takes a breath to calm down. "I just… I don't know what his motive is or what side he is on." Jason notices how tired Percy looks.
Jason gives Percy a questioning look. "You think he is on Gaia's side?" That was a serious accusation. Jason thinks back on how he has heard rumors: Children of Hades are bad omens.
Percy looks away from the ocean. "I… I don't know. I have been told Children of Hades are not to be trusted. That's what everyone in CHB shares, and the same sentiment seems to apply to Camp Jupiter as well. But Hazel has proved she is trustworthy, and Bianca died to save me and the others on the quest." Percy quickly adds and looks at Jason as if he were going to argue differently, and Jason remains quiet. "…. For Nico I cannot trust him. He has betrayed me once. I know he is Hazel's brother. But watch out. And even after the Battle of New York, he left shortly after Kronos was defeated, didn't even tell anyone, and was just gone after like 2 weeks. I have no idea how he has survived alone all these years on his own… if he was on his own."
Jason picks up on the implication. "Okay. I'll watch out." Jason promises him.