Nico di Angelo and his allies take on Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Chapter Rating: Teen and Up

Content Warning: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Torture (implied), Self-Harm (mentioned only)

Word Count: 2674

I've decided to put the sequel on a separate story page. The reason is that I want you to see the new prophecy in the story summary each week like you do this one, as well as the new cover, etc. I want you to think of it as a separate story, not a continuation of this one.

Subscribe to my user account (https://novel2u.net/author/ninjagirlmai) to get updated when I post the new story page. I'll also have a link to it on Monday's chapter (The new summary has spoilers so I don't want to publish it early.)

And all the characters are owned by JK Rowling, or Rick Riordan.

Credits at the end.

____________________NICO____________________

The night of December 30th must've been freezing, but Nico felt nothing on the little skin exposed to the air. The dark and dense trees of the Forbidden Forest blocked out most of the moon's rays, making the night just visible. The hilly terrain and rocky cliffs molded the landscape into high grounds and low grounds, caverns and basins and mountains and plains. There were a million places to hide, a million spots to catch the enemy unawares, a million ways to die.

My kind of battlefield.

Nico chose a valley to make his final stand. According to Dumbledore, they were just outside Hogwarts's protective range, meaning Riddle could get there with ease. The spot was a sixty-foot deep valley, two cliffs of roughly the same size stood about a hundred yards apart.

A little taller--they'll have higher ground. But with the distance and use of magic, it shouldn't be that much of an issue.

Nico stood at the top of the cliff, the point of a triangle. To his right was Percy, and his left, Annabeth. Ron, Hermione, Hestia, and Blaise stood in that order behind them, then the various Hogwarts teachers and Order of the Phoenix Members they could get to join them. Lou and Alabaster, working as a double-shot of Hecate hell, had already disappeared into the night.

Nico took a deep breath, and sent a silent prayer to all the gods on Olympus that he was right about what to do. The world was depending on him. Will was depending on him.

"Ron, Hermione, Blaise, Hestia--go."

"Morsmorde! " They all shouted at the same time. A stream of green light from each of their wands combined into a single point, which shot into the sky. The light zapped a cloud passing overhead, creating the largest and most lasting Dark Mark possible.

Well, the Ministry'll know Riddle's back now, won't they?

"Protect me!" Nico shouted, creating his shadow shield. The black shimmer erupted from the Orb, rather than his hand, forming a bubble around his friends and allies. With a quick point of his left hand, he directed all the shadows to Riddle's side of the cliff, lying in wait under the millions of ridges and caverns. He wanted to try that spell Alabaster had taught him long ago--to call the Furies to his side-- but he wasn't sure if they'd listen anymore.

"I am impressed, son of Death."

The voice came, that windy whisper that haunted Nico's nightmares.

"Show yourself!" Nico commanded. "Only a coward hides from his enemies on the battlefield!"

"You think me a coward, Nico di Angelo?"

A thousand cracks like a car backfiring filled the air, echoing around the crevices and valley. In less than a millisecond, as many men and women as the noise promised stood on the opposing cliff. The shadows whispered to him--he couldn't make out Riddle's face, but he knew he was scowling. He'd wanted to break the shadow-shield and apparate on Nico's side... but demigod magic was stronger than any follower of Hecate's.

"Behind me is Hogwarts," Nico announced, "And what's left of your Horcruxes. Well... bits and pieces, I guess... we discarded the last one about... twelve hours ago?"

"Impossible," Riddle sneered.

"Eh, not for a demigod--though you did give the three of us a good fight. Really--kudos, that's one of the hardest quests I've ever been on. And I've been up against the likes of Gaea and Kronos. Well done."

A few angry "Avada Kedavra!" 's came from Riddle's Death Eaters, but they bounced off the Shadow Shield and faded from the air. Riddle put a hand up to stop any further spells. According to the shadows, he'd regained his composure.

Not yet, guys. Wait for my mark.

"A compliment, coming from a man who's seen the likes of gods," Riddle said, "I could ask no greater comparison."

"No problem," Nico replied. "I'm being completely honest here--what we all thought was a one week quest turned into three months. I don't think even Gaea's took that long. You would be an honor to your grandparents--Slytherin and Merlin and Lady Hecate... if you did something with your power. Other than parade around and call yourself a god, I mean. Take it from someone who knows--they really don't like mortals saying they're an equal. Just ask Arachne."

"Enough of the games, son of Death. Have you thought about my offer?"

"See, the thing is, the gods are more petty than you might think. The Greeks did everything in their power to keep from being blown up or turned into a dolphin from one of these guys. It's a little sick, how many mortals die 'cause of pride--no offense, Olympus!"

Nico paused, to see if Riddle would respond. Nothing. Perfect.

"I always wondered about that... why such stupid grudges hurt so many innocent mortals. My own mom died from one of those grudges--Zeus and Hades hate each other, Mom's caught in the crossfire, and she was blasted to a pulp. Grandad too--or Nonno, as I called him. I'm Italian; but I'm sure you got that from my accent.

"Anyway, it took me a long time to figure it out. I had this talk with Harry Potter last night... Well, talk isn't one-hundred percent accurate, since I did end up killing him, but we got some nice conversation in beforehand. He said--I'm paraphrasing--that power comes from fear. And I thought about all the times Kronos or Gaea or someone else like that attacked, and what did Olympus always do? React with fear: closing the gates, leaving Manhattan for Typhon, that kind of thing. And mortals always feared the Greek gods because of the whole danger of blasting and smiting.

"Then, I thought about my prophecy. I won't bore you with the exact wording, but I have to reveal my 'true self' to save the world. And standing here right now, I will."

Nico lifted his arms, where the sleeves of his robes fell away.

"See these scars, Tom? I poofed them away when I got the Staff, but I realized that came from fear. So, after I killed Harry, I brought them back. These are my battle scars--they show how fear and weakness that ruled my life for the last six years and counting. But there aren't any fresh ones now--I haven't raised a blade to myself in a long time."

He put his arms back down, and continued.

"My fatal flaw is my family-- my real family back in Italy. I've played those memories so many times that there's no way any moment isn't dripping with too much nostalgia to be real. Hades used it to get me here, Hecate used it to make me serve her, and you're using it right now to try and control me.

"I am a lost soul. I'm not a hero, I'm not a villain, I'm not even that important. I am nothing more than Nico di Angelo, a product of a time long since passed... and I'm okay with that. I was terrified that if I let myself stop grieving, I'd lose Bianca and Mamma and Nonno somehow. So, I fought for my father, for Hecate, for Chiron, for Dumbledore, for you...

"I will finish the promises I made to Lady Hecate, and I will finish my quest for Lord Hades, but I won't be a pawn of the gods anymore--and I won't be a pawn of you. Harry said it best last night; he said, 'Power is nothing more than taking a person's fears and showing it to them.' Well, Tom, you saw my arms. I fear nothing now. Certainly not you."

The shadows whispered to him. Riddle's look of confidence fell into another scowl.

Three... two...

"Tom Marvolo Riddle, you will never tempt me again."

"Break that shield!"

"Mark!"

Percy blew a hurricane into the valley, giving Nico enough time to go behind the lines. There he saw Alabaster with a bloody Bellatrix Lestrange. He heard Lou whispering to Will a few feet behind him, but he couldn't acknowledge his ex-boyfriend. He wouldn't be able to focus on anything else once he saw Will's face.

"There a reason you didn't just kill her?" Nico asked Alabaster.

He shrugged. "Wasn't sure if you wanted to do it."

"Eh..." Nico waved the idea away. "Wasn't she supposed to've killed Lupin and Tonks?"

"I'm not Teddy Lupin, Nico."

"Still. Do it for him. You stole his identity, you owe him that much."

"I'm not even sure if--"

"Use a rock. She'd be too happy with a magical death."

"Got it."

"Nico!" Nico turned towards the voice just in time for a mess of cinnamon brown curls to hit him in the face. "Sorry!"

He only gaped at Hazel, too shocked to remember to be angry. "Hazel?! I told Annabeth not to bring anyone from the camps here!"

Hazel stared at him with her southern sass, hands on hips and lips in a sarcastic pout. "My brother disappears on me two days before I'm seeing him, and you want me to stay in San Francisco when he predicts his own death? Besides--I know Pluto and Hecate; Rachel and I've been watching them. Thought you might want an update."

"Sure, go ahead. Just make it quick--we are in the middle of a battle; chatting costs lives."

"Proserpine's the same as Percy's dream, and Dad's on the warpath. Hecate too--they keep going at each other from a distance; we've already seen an uptick in monster-on-monster battle. It's even worse 'cause Zeus refuses to have a council meeting and support a side. We've done what we can to keep a wedge from forming between the Hecate kids and Hades supporters, but there's a lot of tension in both camps, Jupiter especially, because of the interparent cohorts."

"Great--any more good news?"

"Yup. Dad heard that little speech of yours."

" Di Immortalis! " Nico cursed. "Is as bad as--"

"Worse. He knows you're not brainwashed now, and he's disowned you too, calls you a traitor. He's beyond reason--he won't stop the genocide tomorrow, no matter what you do now. Beyond that... I don't know. Rachel's giving me this in real time, but she needs more time with Delphi's spirit."

"Against a weak but powerful army the child must reveal his true self in the end." You knew that was Hades' army... you knew you weren't just talking to Riddle... you needed to buy time for Will... you needed to reveal yourself... this'll be good somehow...

Dear Zeus: please make this good somehow.

"Okay, I think I know what to do. Keep feeding information to Percy, he's the closest thing I've got to a second-in-command. You can't find me, you talk to him. His word is final--pass on the message. Also, tell him that."

"Got it."

Nico gripped the Staff tighter in his hand, and wrapped his other hand around Bianca's skull ring. He needed all the support he could get--even from his dead sister. He remembered the last time he'd seen her--when the boggart made him kill her.

"Don't you remember why I joined the hunters?"

Because you went with Nonno to church, and learned that homosexuality was a sin. And you loved me; you said you needed to change your thinking from gay = sin to gay = normal, and until then, you didn't want to be around me. You didn't want to expose me to anything that might be prejudice. You loved me, and you wanted me to love myself, so you forced yourself into a temporary exile.

Thank you. At the end of the day, I guess it was the best thing.

"I know. Go kick some Death Eater butt, mio piccolo angelo."

Nico dissolved into the shadows, like Hades could in the Helm of Darkness. Even with such a big risk associated with them, the Artifacts of Thanatos did kick ass.

When he reformed, he stood right behind Tom Riddle. He wasted no time in creating another Shadow Shield bubble, this one opaque and blocking out the world beyond him and Riddle. The descendent of Hecate turned, terror in his eyes. He knew he was about to die. He knew he'd made a mistake by attacking a demigod.

"You will burn in Punishment for your crimes," Nico told him. "I suggest repentance when you meet the true Lord of the Dead."

Riddle started to raise his wand. "Av--"

"Damn to Hades!"

Lord Voldemort, the most powerful dark wizard in history, descendent of Hecate, fell to the hands of a scrawny sixteen-year-old playing emo dress up.

Nico snapped his fingers, and the shadows started to round up all the Death Eaters. They had express orders--Punishment, or Azkaban and Asphodel, depending on the crimes. Nico dissolved into shadows again, this time to grab Will back behind the lines. He didn't bother to look at him, he didn't want to be distracted, so he shadow traveled with the unconscious body to Hagrid's hut. He wanted Will out of the battle, no longer raging, but not yet dying.

Beyond a bloody gash in his forehead, a broken jaw, and bottom lip so bitten that Will had almost chewed it off, he wasn't that hurt. Nothing Nico couldn't fix with the Orb.

"Hey," Nico whispered to him, brushing some hair off his sweaty forehead. He kissed it, avoiding the gash, and smiled at his boyfriend. "I love you. You're going to be fine."

The Orb was already lighting up as the smoky shadows that surrounded Nico were sucked into it. A life for a life... that was how the Underworld always did business. Didn't matter the instrument. A life for a life.

Just as Nico started to feel weaker, he heard Will say, "Neeks? I'm--" He coughed up some blood. "Not crazy."

"Good." Nico squeezed his eyes together then forced them back open, forcing down thankful tears. He wouldn't deprive himself this one last conversation with the boy he loved. "How do you feel?"

"Better." Will smiled, though his eyes weren't yet open. The superficial scrapes and bruises--his lips, his forehead--were closing now, but he was still too weak and pale.

"You stay that way."

"Yes, Doctor di Angelo."

"Doctor Neeks to you."

"You hate that nickname."

"If I hated it, you'd've stopped by now."

Will opened his eyes and smiled. "I love you, Nico di Angelo."

Nico nodded, taking a second to swallow the lump in his throat. "I... can't believe I just heard that. But... I love you too, Will Solace."

Will leaned in to kiss him. When their lips met, Nico lost himself to the sensation. It wasn't like any of the other times, with fervor and delight, but the comfortability and nuance of a long-term relationship. A real couple. Why had he once asked Will to keep things a secret? Why had he doubted they'd go all the way? There should've never been any such doubt, not with how well they fit together.

When Will pulled away, Nico was slumped against the wall of Hagrid's hut. Will's smile turned into tears when he realized why.

"No, no, no--Nico you should've let me--"

"Shh. I don't have to listen to that."

"Nico--"

"You tell everyone what I did."

"I will."

"I'm giving you a new world--don't mess it up."

"I won't."

"I'm happy, Will. I love going out like Lucretia."

Will only smiled.

"Sing to me?" Nico asked, his voice almost gone. "The lullaby I taught you?"

Nico closed his eyes, drinking in the last sounds he'd ever hear.

"Fa la ninna, fa la nanna Nella braccia della mamma Fa la ninna bel bambin, Fa la nanna bambin bel, Fa la ninna, fa la nanna Nella braccia della mamma."

He felt Will's breath against his ear as he whispered, "The Dawn of Zeus, the Suicide of Lucretia, and the Coming of Nico di Angelo."

In case you didn't catch on...

NICO DI ANGELO IS DEAD

NICOISDEAD

DEAD

DEAD

DEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD

(have I rubbed enough salt in the wound?)

(Also, name drop!)

This week's beta commentary:

STORY: I'm sure you got that from my accent

SARA: why is it just hitting me that he has an accent

LISSY: because no one writes him with a dialect bc Italian doesn't have one...?

STORY: the Coming of Nico di Angelo

LISSY: Roll credits ~ Cinema Sins

Credits:

Melody Rose - Author ()

Sara - Beta Reader (http://icomparemyselftoyou.tumblr.com)

Giulia - Beta Reader (https://www.fanfiction.net/u/6748882/)

Please comment so I know what you think! See you next time!