Chapter Text
They spend the remaining weeks preparing for their impending battle.
Nico is no stranger to training. Demigods at Camp Half-Blood are constantly training, if not leisurely spending their free time working on their hobbies or otherwise. He’s used to the familiar routine of swinging his sword up and around, using his powers to get him through a battle.
He reckons it’s a little different this time around, as he’s preparing for a battle against a literal army from heaven.
He hasn’t really thought of heaven having an army, considering everything he’d been taught in his younger years. Then again, what did he know?
Of course, Nico is very involved in these training sessions.
Vaggie had been insistent that he help her train the cannibals - their volunteers for this battle, so long as they got to feast on heavenly bodies and flesh. It was a very… tedious process, to put it lightly. Mannered cannibals don’t exactly understand the concept of using weapons that weren’t their own teeth and claws, which… okay, was a very effective strategy, but they needed to ensure that the angels wouldn’t just revive on the spot. That, and Nico has to make sure that none of the younger cannibals go running off with their weapons and accidentaly hurt anyone or themselves.
So yeah, he’s stuck with babysitting duty.
“No, that doesn’t go in your mouth. You can eat after we fight,” Nico says with a sigh, taking a dagger away. He tosses it into a nearby shadow and watches as the cannibal child simply pouts at him, before rushing off to go play elsewhere.
Children.
Nico rolls his eyes and walks away from the training grounds, just to prevent himself from going ballistic on a couple of children running amok. He needs to keep his head on his neck preferably and that’s not going to happen if he keeps on babysitting children who keep on trying to take a bite out of him.
“Nico!” Charlie beams as he steps around to the front of the hotel. “How was training?”
The hotel was the busiest it’d ever been since he got here, with groups of people rushing here and there to prepare for the battle. Nico had passed a number of individuals as he made his way to the front, though he couldn't help but note the absence of a certain smiling creep.
“Fun,” he says drily. “Children are… amusing, I guess.”
Of course, he doesn’t tell Charlie that he had to spend almost 20 minutes explaining to the cannibal kids that eating the weapons would neither be beneficial or tasty. He had promptly given up when they wouldn’t sit still for any longer than 5 minutes and just let them play.
“We… aren’t letting them fight, right?” Nico then adds hesitantly. “Just to be safe and all.”
“Oh, no, of course not!” Charlie shakes her head. “We’re getting the children and the eggs somewhere safe. Just until the fight blows over.”
“Ah,” Nico replies. That was good to know - at least he didn’t have to worry about holding back. Promptly, he glances at the crowd of cannibal adults, all of whom were wielding some sort of angelic weapon. Charlie looks too and she gives out a sigh, almost wistful.
“Oh, I wish my mom was here to see this,” she says, a soft but solemn smile on her face. From behind, Vaggie puts her hand on the princess’ shoulder.
“We’ll work through this,” she says encouragingly, before glancing at the crowd. “The cannibals seem ready to fight. Are we?”
Nico would argue that the cannibals seemed more ready to eat above anything, but he keeps his mouth shut. Not that he could’ve said anything anyways, as the hotel’s entrance bursts open and out comes Sir Pentious, dressed from head to toe in a general uniform.
The slam of the door makes Vaggie move aside, just to avoid getting in between the door and the wall.
“Fear not, damsssselsss!” He said, standing proudly. He paused for a moment, looking at Nico before adding, “and lad!”
The demigod huffs. “Nice save.”
Charlie smiles at the snake demon’s entrance, while Vaggie just seemed exasperated. Of course, Sir Pentious doesn’t take notice of this.
“I shall have the sssstaff ready for victorioussss combat!” He adds on, a bravado to his voice.
Vaggie raises an eyebrow. “What in the hell are you supposed to be?”
Sir Pentious was wearing what looked to be a blue general uniform, with golden accents and ridiculous shoulder pads with tassels on them. As much as it looked funny, Nico did have to admit that it was quite a good look on the snake demon.
“General Pentious, reporting for duty!” He said, chest puffing out as he exagerrates a salute. “I’ll turn thosssse rapsscallionssss into ssssoldiersss in no time at all!”
Nico has a smidge of doubt at that claim. Of course, he says nothing.
“Thank you, Pen,” Charlie responds with an endeared smile. No doubt she was appreciating the effort the snake demon was giving and putting.
“What should I do?” Niffty asks, promptly startling Nico for a second. Creepily enough, she was holding two dead rats in her hands.
“I’m glad you asked, sssssoldier!” Sir Pentious exclaims. “The base needssss fortificationssss. Reinforce the sssssouthern wall. Create a moat around the perimeter to sssstop ground assssault.”
Sir Pentious looks almost expectantly at Niffty, though the demon simply blinked up at him. It was clear that nothing the snake demon had said made any sense to the smaller demon.
“I’m going to be real right now,” Nico speaks up. “I have no idea what you just said.”
“How about this,” Charlie butts in, kneeling down to be at eye-level with Niffty. “If you see an angel, stab it.”
She pulls out an angelic dagger, handing it over to the pink-haired demon. Niffty giggles, almost sinisterly at the prospect of having a weapon at her disposal. Nico only feels a little unsafe. Just a little.
Immediately, Niffty turns, her eyes locked on a target and begins to scurry her way towards it, holding the dagger aloft. “Stab, stab, stab!” She exclaims, as she rushes over.
Charlie’s eyes widened, as it became clear that Niffty was going for Angel. “Not him!”
Nico watches, only slightly amused as Niffty was close enough to swing the dagger at Angel. It had prompted the demon to jump onto one of the supporting poles at the entrance, clinging on with some impressive arm strength. Niffty halts in her tracks as Charlie yells out, pouting for a second before she skitters off, resuming to giggle sinisterly. Angel flips himself off the pole.
“Listen up, sinners!” Vaggie calls out, her voice in a drill sergeant like manner that draws the attention of the cannibals. “We’ve got 24 hours before the Extermination begins. Let’s get to work!”
The cannibals all begin to disperse, chattering excitedly among themselves at the idea of getting to feast on heavenly flesh. Nico just watches them all, before feeling something nudge against him. He glances over to find Vaggie standing next to him.
“How do you feel about our chances?” She asks, scanning over their ragtag army.
“Considering this is our only hope?” Nico says, raising an eyebrow. He glances away from her. “I’d say pretty confident.”
He hears Vaggie huff, exasperated yet amused as she pushes him lightly.
“Get to work, soldier,” she says.
“Aye-aye, general,” he responds. Nico receives another light-hearted shove from Vaggie.
It’s an action-filled next few hours that pass by, ending it with a tense night of celebratory drinks and what might be their last final hurrah. Nico doesn’t stand to stay very long for any of it, quickly retreating to his room silently.
He tosses his sword onto the bed, shedding his jacket. He glances around the room, noting its shabiness and for the first time in a long while, he thinks he might miss it. He huffs, amused.
Maybe Nico should stop bunking in with a bunch of outcasts and weirdos. He’s getting way too attached for his liking.
He flops onto his bed and silently mulls over his thoughts.
How long has it been since he’s been stuck down here? A good few months at best. Vaguely, Nico wonders if anyone in Camp Half-Blood has noticed that he’d gone missing. He’s sure someone must have.
Sure, he tends to disappear with little to no explaination, but he always comes back after some time. Try as he might, he can’t really bring himself to leave Camp Half-Blood. He’s getting soft.
And yet here he is, preparing himself to fight a battle tomorrow that has no guarantee that he’ll live.
Nico’s fought monsters before. Gods, spirits, demons. The lot. Except, well, angels were a different thing and he never thought he’d go up against a Heaven Army.
He huffs, turning onto his side.
He’ll live. He’ll make sure of it. If not for himself, then at least for the weirdos at this hotel that took him in.