The Apprentice of Thanatos

Chapter 16: Difficult Conversations

{This chapter takes place after the previous chapter.

We do not own Danny Phantom or Percy Jackson, only this story and our original characters.}

      Danny woke up on a stone bench, facing the cavern ceiling of the Underworld. He turned his head and saw Nico standing near the fountain, talking to Hades. They were locked in a hushed conversation, and Danny could see that Hades looked rather annoyed, while Nico looked rather upset himself.

      Danny felt like his limbs were made of lead, and his head began spinning like a top as soon as he tried to sit up. He groaned miserably, which caught the attention of the two by the fountain.

      "You should not be trying to sit up, Daniel." Hades cautioned as he strode over to him. Nico followed close behind, a bewildered look on his face as he watched the interaction between his father and Danny. "How did you end up in my realm without your mentor?"

      Danny's mouth felt like it was full of cotton balls. "I... uhh..." He put his hands to his temples and laid back down. "I dunno..."

      "I think you may have shadow-traveled." Nico supplied.

      Hades sighed. "I will go contact Thanatos, tell him that you are here. Nico," Hades frowned at his son. "Don't be rude."

      Hades pulled a pure black iPad from thin air as he walked away. Danny heard the Skype ringtone just as Hades walked into the entrance hall. On a normal day, Danny might've been amused by that. At the moment, however, he was just trying not to throw up.

      Once his nausea settled, Danny looked over at Nico. The demigod was standing nearby with a hand on his sword hilt and an unnerved look in his eyes as he watched Danny.

      "What are you?" Nico asked, sounding rather disturbed.

      Danny rolled his eyes. "I thought your dad told you not to be rude."

      Nico's eyes narrowed. "Answer my question."

     Danny scowled at that. "You know what?" He sat up, feeling slightly less awful than when he first woke up. "No. I'm not gonna answer your question. I'm not gonna answer anyone's questions! I'm getting really tired of people asking me about things I don't wanna talk about!" His voice echoed loudly through the silent courtyard.

      Nico looked surprised at Danny's outburst, and then he glanced away, his expression slightly apologetic. "I..." He looked down at the ground. "Sorry, I'm just... confused."

      Danny chuckled tiredly at that. "Me too, buddy, but what are you confused about?"

      Nico stared at Danny like he was a car accident on the side of the freeway; stomach churning, but it was impossible to look away. "How... how are you dead and alive? Why do I see Phantom when I look at you?"

      Danny glanced up at him, perplexed. "What do you mean, you 'see' Phantom?"

      Nico grew frustrated. "I mean, I see you," He gestured to Danny. "black-haired, blue-eyed you, sitting right there. But I also see Phantom sitting there, like a... weird overlay or something."

      Danny guessed it made sense that Nico, as a son of Hades, would be able to see ghosts and stuff. He wondered if it would be a good idea to tell Nico about his secret, but... he didn't really have a choice, since he couldn't think of any lie that Nico would believe.

      Besides, although Danny had only met Nico a couple of times, he felt like he could trust him. There was an air about Nico that made him seem much older and wiser than he appeared. Danny felt the same pull around Nico that he did whenever he was around Hades, but to a lesser extent; it was less mind numbing, and more... comforting, maybe?