Percy stared at the blade that was lodged in the stone where his neck had been mere seconds ago, his eyes growing wide at the cracks in the stone that surrounded the blade. The force with which the blade was thrown had allowed it to sink into hard rock to almost half the blade's length, cracking the solid structure. Percy gaped, that throw, if he hadn't thrown himself to the ground, would have taken his head clean off. He noticed the shimmering green shield above him a millisecond later, and he turned around, watching Loki crouch over him, his arm stretched out as if to block something. His gaze dropped to the ground, spying fragments of wood and metal on the ground from where the other weapon shattered upon impact against the shield Loki had thrown up.

The two of them glanced at each other then hastily scrambled up, Loki pushing Percy forward, out of the meager shelter. He was attacked almost instantly, but without the limitations of the enclosed space of the 'shelter', he had more room to maneuver and dodge the weapons thrown at them. Percy stumbled backwards, narrowly avoiding a downward strike by a draugr that had suddenly appeared in front of him. He bent low, regaining his footing and with a flick of his wrist, the moisture from the rocks coiled around his hand and condensed into a crude dagger made of ice. He shifted to the left, dodging the draugr's attempt at cutting him in two and brought his hand up, the icy blade slicing through rotting flesh and bone easily, severing the arm of the corpse. Said corpse merely turned blank eyes – eye, he amended, seeing the hollow eye socket – to him, no flicker of pain coloring its features as it thrust its other arm forward. Percy ducked under the slash and slammed his foot into the draugr's gut, making it double over.

He brought his hand down hard on the corpse's back, the loud crack of the backbone breaking making him wince. He backed away as the draugr collapsed bonelessly to the ground, the brief flash of triumph replaced by horror as the skin of its back rippled and stretched, the sound of bones snapping into place echoing across the plain. Percy watched in undisguised horror and disgust as the draugr stood up again, its backbone aligning into position as it became vertical. He only had time to gape when the draugr vanished, appearing right in front of him, its weapon sinking straight into his abdomen, the pain hitting him a few seconds later. He gasped and bent over the weapon lodged in his body, not noticing when the draugr released its hold on the hilt and he collapsed to the ground. The last thing he heard was an enraged yell and the feeling of heat licking his face before the world went black.

Loki quickly pushed Percy out of the meager shelter and out of the way of several daggers. He threw up a shield, the blades bouncing off it harmlessly, warping the seidr and throwing it forward in a blast. He dived forward, rolling in between the legs of one draugr who had appeared in front of said shelter, his trusty dagger coming up to slice through the spine of the corpse, sending it to the floor. He flicked his hand absently, the draugr consumed in flames almost immediately. Loki didn't pay it any attention though, focused on keeping his head on his shoulders and on Percy, who was on the periphery of his senses. The most dangerous ability the draugr had was their speed, once you were able to counter that, they were easy prey. Having no intelligent mind made for mindless, head-on attacks. Much like what Thor used to do.

Seconds later, he used the same head-on attack he so disapproved of and charged the draugar, slamming his shoulder into the midsection of the one standing closest to him. Its arms flailed around, hitting the others as they were knocked over like bowling pins. Loki took advantage of their close proximity to each other and slapped a fire-coated hand on the draugr's chest, a putrid smell assaulting his nose as the flesh burned and peeled back.

He heard a loud crack and whirled around to see Percy facing off with a draugr, the latter dropping down as its back was broken. His eyes widened as Percy relaxed, his mouth open to warn the boy but everything happened in a blur after that. The draugr's back repaired itself and it lurched upright, vanishing in a split second.

For the second time in his life, Loki screamed as the draugr buried it's weapon to the hilt in Percy's body. The god snarled and lunged at the draugr, the look of surprise on Percy's face stamped in his mind. He descended on the corpse like a wraith from hell, his foot long blade separating the draugr's remaining arm from its body. He twisted and angled the blade backwards, thrusting the dagger through the corpse's throat, slicing in a quick fluid motion, the head falling off. Angry as he was, he still retained enough presence of mind to set the pieces on fire. He turned to Percy, who was collapsed on the floor, blood pooling from the grotesque wound in his abdomen.

Loki hurriedly knelt by his side, gingerly turning him over. The boy was unconscious, but that didn't surprise Loki – more like made his heart thrum faster with worry – given the nature and severity of the wound.

What did surprise him was the state of the wound itself.

He reeled back in shock, his hand hovering over the gaping wound in Percy's abdomen. Or rather, the gaping wound that was somehow no longer gaping. The energy he had gathered in his hand to heal Percy dissipated. There wasn't any use for it. Before his eyes, he watched in thinly veiled awe mixed with shock and a dose of disgust as the wound stitched itself up, much like what happened to the draugr. If there was any doubt in Loki's mind before, this just hammered the last nail in that Percy was truly dead. He swallowed harshly, the rate at which the wound was closing wasn't as fast as the draugar, but it was already infinitely faster than that of a normal human, including a demigod. The bleeding had already slowed and it wasn't gushing out like before.

Loki pushed away those thoughts and gathered his seidr in his hands, placing them above the wound, using his magic to slow the bleeding even further until it stopped completely. He grabbed a portion of his tunic and ripped it, using it as a makeshift bandage to wrap up the ugly wound.
Once that was done, Loki sat back on his heels, unsure of what to do. He had rushed over with the expectation that Percy was gravely wounded, but had instead found that while unconscious, he wasn't in any danger of well, dying. He was already dead, what could be worse than that?

Loki shook his head, he knew the answer to that question, but he didn't know what to make of Percy's situation. His original plan had been come down here, get Percy out and viola, everything was back to normal. But this – this complicated things. Even if he brought Percy back up to the surface, what was to say that he would 'come back to life'? He had assumed that as soon as he brought Percy out of Niflheim, it was equivalent to bringing the boy back from the dead. But that was as far from the truth as possible.

Percy was already dead, a deep wound like that would have caused anyone else to bleed out almost immediately, guts spilling out – and didn't that have a disturbing connotation? What if he slit Percy's throat, would the boy just bleed to death again or would he just get back up? – but the wound had just closed up as though time had been sped up. Now Loki was struck with the realization that even if he took Percy out of this realm, there was no guarantee that he would become alive. He might remain a soul, or even worse, turn into a wraith – something that Loki did not want Percy to become. Ever. The funny thing was that he remembered clearly the way he referred to his mission as finding Percy's soul when he talked to Hela, yet it obviously never really cemented in his mind that this was Percy's afterlife. Not merely the fact that he was sent to Helheim, but that this was what would happen if it hadn't been Amora who killed him.

Denial was a weird thing. His breath hitched, no, he couldn't believe that, he couldn't because he needed to believe that there was a way to bring him back - even if the answer did not lie within his powers.

Loki drew himself up and slipped his hands under Percy's back and knees, hoisting him up into his arms. He tried not to think about how light the other felt in his arms. Loki walked slowly, leaving the burning corpses behind him as he tried to put more distance between him and the draugar. He would find a way to bring Percy back. He was already so close, to even think of failure now... He shook his head. He didn't even want to contemplate the thought.

Loki walked for miles, his magic a comforting cloak around him, Percy's head resting against his chest. He walked until he felt the demigod stirring in his arms, quickly moving towards a cluster of dead trees, putting him down, his back resting against the bark of the tree. Loki extended his magic around the both of them and the area they were in, shielding them both visually and physically. It wouldn't help all that much, considering the fact that the draugar were attracted to life forces like moths to light, but even a little help was better than nothing at all. If anything, the barrier would give them a little time to react. He sat down on the ground, watching intently as Percy's eyes fluttered open, a groan drawing itself from his mouth.

"Percy?" Loki said softly.

"Ughh." Percy grumbled, a hand coming up to whack himself in the head, "What crawled into my brain and died?"

The god exhaled sharply, the tension in his shoulders bleeding out.

"Nothing died there, except maybe your intelligence."

"Oh, hah hah, very funny." Percy scowled, wincing slightly when he shifted himself to a more upright position. When he saw Loki's concerned face – and by concerned he meant a face set in stone with eyes border-lining panic – he waved away his concern, "I'm fine, just sore."

"You should not be moving all that much," Loki said, "Your wound was serious."

Percy shook his head, "Keyword, was. I'm fine," he insisted, "I uh, I heal fast." He shifted his eyes away from inquisitive emerald orbs, but to no avail.

"How do you heal that quickly? It should have been a fatal wound and yet here you are, nearly completely healed."

Percy's hand came up to his throat, fingering the cloth over there. He remained silent for awhile, but even though Loki let him have his space, his silence was expectant.

Percy sighed, turning back to the god, "I – I don't know, I mean, the first time I got injured I didn't think that much about the wound cause I was busy running for my life. The second time... I noticed that the wound closed up faster than I expected it to. It's just," he shrugged, "it's just been like this since I came here. Every time I get injured, the injury just closes up in time. I mean, yeah, they leave scars, but they're not life threatening. In a sense."

He pulled down the cloth covering his throat, exposing the hideous scar that stretched from across his entire throat column, watching the god flinch at the sight of the mark. He traced a finger across the raised flesh, the skin slightly cooler than the surrounding area.

"I got this in a fight against a...actually, I don't even know what it was. It's not a draugr, that's for sure. But anyway, I was winning, had the upper hand and all, but it got in a lucky shot, and I got thrown off balance. The thing dragged me to the ground and well it –" he made a cutting motion in front of his scar, making Loki wince again, " – and I panicked. I threw it off I think, but I blacked out after that. I woke up later, and damn, I'm glad the wolves didn't decide to use me as chew toy while I was out."

Loki stared wide-eyed at Percy. He had never heard of such a thing in his entire life, and considering the lifespan he had, and that the closest he ever got to having is throat slit was that incident with the dwarves of Nidavellir*, it stunned him to hear Percy talk about such a fatal wound so nonchalantly. "You – you took a direct attack to the jugular and you survived?" He whispered incredulously.

Percy fidgeted and looked down, "Yeah, I suppose you could say that." He muttered, "I mean, it's not like I even know why that happens. Then again," he shrugged, "I'm already dead, so I guess we can't die again after all."

The two of them fell into companionable silence, reminding Loki of all the reasons why he liked Percy. Even without memories, the boy still retained his endearing personality. "We should go." Percy spoke up suddenly, "If they could find us once then they could probably do so again. We should get out of this place."

Loki nodded, "I agree with you, at this point in time, I am liable to say that the wolves are a much preferred foe to face. However, I do not know where the lake is, which is our only doorway to getting out of the draugar's homeland."

Percy tilted his head to the left, "I do. The lake is that way."

At Loki's questioning glance, he continued, "You're gonna think I'm crazy, but it's like I can feel the water. I don't know how to explain it, but it's like this – this thrum within me. I can feel it, and I think we're close to it, that's why the water's presence is so obvious now. It wasn't that strong a feeling before, at the shelter, but there's a kind of feeling in my gut that I get when I'm near water." He fell silent after that, slightly nervous after telling the god his thoughts, fearful that the god might dismiss him as preposterous. Something in his gut told him that that had happened before.

But his fears were unfounded as Loki merely nodded in acquiescence, smiled and replied simply, "Lead the way."

They trekked across the plain, Loki holding his staff in his right hand, the weapon doubling as a walking stick for him. Not that he needed one, but he didn't want to store the staff in his subspace in case they needed it. After all, they were still in draugar territory and he was the only one among the two of them who could actively produce fire. Loki walked slightly behind Percy, content on letting the demigod lead the way to the lake while he guarded their rear. Percy weaved through the broken trees, stopping occasionally and cocking his head to the side as though he was listening for something.

Which, Loki thought, he probably was. The other boy had tried explaining to him once how water felt, but the god hadn't really understood. Percy had described it as akin to a siren singing, although it was much more welcome and didn't have a bunch of vulture people waiting to eat him at the end. The water called to him like an old friend, making his heart thrum with the beat of the ocean. If he could, he would take every chance he got to be near the ocean, which calmed his nerves and soothed his raging emotions. The water didn't really have a voice per se, it was more of a beckoning, a feeling in his gut that intensified as he drew closer. Normal water like the ones in the bath didn't call to him as much, a faint twinge near the back of his senses that he could ignore. Swimming pools were a no go, the amount of chemicals dumped into the water made it dead, lacking the life that the oceans held. Reservoirs and lakes were better, as an inherent part of nature, and it was something that he appreciated, Percy had confessed to him one night, when Thalia dragged him out to just live in the wilderness for awhile, away from civilization. But, Percy had said, oceans were by far the best, because of its unpredictability and its raging waves, the ocean held more life than anything he had ever imagined, and Loki had just smiled at the excited way the demigod had described the feeling to him, content to just sit and listen as he described the water in a way similar to how Loki would describe his magic.

Loki still marveled at the fact that Percy still retained his demigod powers even now. He had seen the way the boy had created his ice dagger, and was amazed. He didn't know if people kept their abilities even in death or if Percy was an anomaly, but he was willing to bet that it was the latter. Percy Jackson had the strange ability to defy the normal standards without a conscious thought, something which made him constantly stand out from everyone else. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he nearly bumped into Percy when the other boy stopped walking.

The god looked up, blinking at the sight of the black water in front of them.

"I don't like it." Percy whispered, a hand curling against the rotten bark of a tree. "The water, it's – it's dead. It's too still. Water isn't supposed to be like that."

Loki looked at him, feeling for the boy who didn't remember the vibrancy of the true ocean, having to contend with this parody of nature. "How do you know that?" He asked quietly.

Percy shook his head, "I don't know. I just – I don't know. I just know that it's not right. There's no life at all."

Loki glanced at the smooth surface of the lake, the surface completely untouched. It was unnatural, and if it hadn't been for the fact that he'd crossed that lake, he wouldn't even have thought that it was water. The lake looked more like a flat glass surface, and somehow appearing even more menacing to the both of them.

Loki gripped Percy's shoulder tightly, "Come on." He murmured, "Once we cross that, we can leave those corpses behind."

"Yeah, and start running from the wolves. Again." Percy heaved a sigh, but walked to the edge of the water nonetheless. The two of them stood by the river bank, staring at the smooth surface of the water, the waters deceptively calm.

"So..." Percy said, "Any ideas on how to cross this thing? I have one, but I'm hoping you have a better one."

Loki cocked his head to one side, "I could fly us both over but I am unsure about using up that much energy to change into a form that is large enough to carry you."

Percy scowled at him, and smacked his arm, "Are you calling me fat?"

Loki let a mischievous smile play on his lips, "Just remember that you said that, not me."

The demigod rolled his eyes, then sighed again, "Well, I could get us across. But that would involve us going underwater."

Loki looked at him curiously, though with a touch of apprehension. It wasn't that he didn't trust Percy, it was more that he didn't trust the black water. "Can you not just freeze the water?" he asked.

Percy shook his head, "I can't. I tried, but the water wouldn't budge, I don't know why. And it felt so...wrong to touch it, to try to control it. It made me feel sick. But I jumped in, and just thought of being dry, and I came out on the other side without a drop on me."

It was Loki's turn to sigh, "I suppose that it's better than nothing. We should go, before they catch up with us, better to get this over and done with."

Percy nodded reluctantly, and grabbing the god's hand, they both plunged into the water's icy belly.

Tony tried not to gape. He really did. But from the look on Bruce's face, he wasn't exactly succeeding. He and Steve were in a darkened room – the same one that Bruce had been in when he had met Triton, but they didn't know that – and they were sitting opposite what the other scientist and the goth-boy (Nico, Bruce had stage-whispered) called a god. Nico had brought them underground earlier via Shadow Transport, much to Thalia's annoyance, and the five of them had emerged in a dank room with a lone lightbulb hanging forlornly from the ceiling. Thalia had immediately left them, mingling with the crowd outside, muttering something about too many males around her, while Nico just shook his head and lead the three of them to another room – the same one Bruce had met Triton in it seemed.

Nico opened the door to find Triton standing with his back facing them, his hands clasped together, resting in the small of his back, his spine ramrod straight. The perfect picture of regality. If Nico hadn't been introduced to Triton personally by Percy, he would have thought that the god was one of those who had their nose turned heavenwards and never looked down. Now, even with the rigid posture of the god, he knew that this was one being who was hurting from the loss of his brother. Nico ushered the three mortals in, closing the door behind him as he left the room.

Bruce, Tony and Steve glanced at the god before them warily, the silence hanging between them like a swelled balloon before Triton exhaled softly and turned around, gesturing for them to take a seat. He had then gone on to outline the whole Greek gods living amongst mortals situation again, finally finishing his story, which was more of a general outline. He wasn't going to explain everything in detail.

That had been several minutes ago. And none of the mortals even squeaked.

Triton was becoming more and more disgruntled with each minute that passed – not that he showed it, he was a prince well-groomed in the art of diplomacy, but well, semantics. Having been told by his father, and Zeus, the drama king, to reveal their world to the mortals, he had thought that he would only be doing it once. When Nico di Angelo had brought in only one mortal found in a back alley, Triton felt the beginnings of a headache forming.

And that was crazy because gods didn't just have headaches.

Being delegated such a job was demeaning enough, having to do it twice, was even worse, he was never going to hear the end of it from the Olympian tricksters. And even better, the mortals in front of him now were not even responding. Triton felt his eye twitch in irritation. Next time, he vowed, he was dragging Apollo or Hermes down to do this. He was a prince for Zeus' sake! He wasn't some kind of messenger. And speaking of, this was akin to passing a message, shouldn't Hermes be more suited to the job?

But no, because these mortals were the Avengers, they kept New York safe – never mind that only stupid mortals would dare to attack the Greeks' stronghold – and they were Percy's friend. And since Percy was his brother, the job fell to him to explain. Because Poseidon was too much of an overkill.

And because demigods were not enough proof of their presence.

The longer the silence stretched on, the more Triton's irritation grew. He wasn't as hot tempered as Zeus' children, but his anger wasn't something to laugh at either. Poseidon was well known for his unpredictability after all.

The heir of Atlantis narrowed his eyes and said softly, his voice low and dangerous, "I have had enough of your silence. If your little mind cannot comprehend the fact of our existence then you are more than welcome to get out of this place."

Tony's eyes widened, his mind snapping back into the present from where it had been running around in circles, then he scowled, "Wow, you sound exactly like Loki. Do you know him by any chance? Because you both really have that same mortal fetish thing. Is it a common disease among you gods?"

Triton kept a lid on his anger, it wouldn't do any good for him to lose it and incinerate the mortals in front of him. Steve, sensing that they were treading in dangerous territory, reached out to Tony, "Tony, stop. We can't –"

"Do I know Loki?" Triton asked, his dark green eyes flashing, "As a matter of fact, I do. And I can tell you that he is a much better conversationalist than you are."

"Oh really? You might want to get those eyes of yours checked because last I checked, he is a murderer. And a coward." Tony shot back, studiously ignoring the sight of the god bound in chains and kneeling flashing in his head.

Triton remained where he was, languidly stretching out on the chair, but Tony, Steve and Bruce suddenly felt the air in their lungs vanish, their breaths stolen from them as they tried not to crumble under an invisible pressure. They remained that way for several long seconds until black dots danced in their vision, their hands coming up to grip their throats in an automatic reflex, their lungs straining to get the oxygen it was deprived of.

Only then did the pressure suddenly disappear, and the three mortals were faced with the undeniable presence of a god. He hadn't moved, nor had he changed how he looked, Triton still remained seated in a dingy chair that was more likely to collapse than hold any weight, but his aura had changed, and it hadn't changed for the better.

"I suggest," the sea prince said in a light tone, his dark eyes belying the faux lightness, "that you refrain from spouting such nonsense, mortal. Loki has done much for us and he is a cherished honorary member of the Greeks. I suggest you remember that. And I suggest," he emphasized, "that you not speak in such a way to me. I may be one of the more lenient gods but that does not mean that you can disrespect me as you wish. I am not like Thor Odinson. If you had been speaking to any other god you would have been atoms in the wind. Am I clear?"

Tony could do naught but stare and nod mutely.

Triton smirked, "Good, because as much as I detest you, my brother cherishes your company. And I would hate to see his disappointed face if he finds out that I had to smite his friends because they didn't know how to listen."

Steve pursed his lips, aware that this being before him held a great amount of power, and if his words were true, then there were more beings similar to him that were more powerful than he was. Nevertheless, he shoved that thought away, immersing himself in the Captain America persona. "What have you called us here for? I don't think that you brought us here just to tell us about the Greeks." Steve asked, choosing not to call them gods. He only believed in one god, but he wasn't that stupid to outright disrespect someone who could – and still might – blast them to pieces with a flick of his finger.

"You're right, I didn't get you all here to give you a history lesson. I think you should explain this to your friends no?" Triton said, directing the last part towards Bruce, who had been sitting silently in the corner up until now.

"Well..." Bruce sighed, repeating everything that Triton had told him the first time they had met.

"Wait wait wait." Tony cut in, "You're telling me that there's another gem on this planet and you guys never even bothered to retrieve it?"

Triton sighed inwardly, how his brother had ever managed to put up with this man he would never know. "We cannot. You can. Namely because you don't have any power – any magical power. We gods have our own inherent power which prevents us from reaching the gem. The only good news is that whatever is preventing us from reaching the gem is also preventing the chitauri from reaching it."

"Then why haven't any humans found it yet? I mean, if you say that we can access it because we're mortals and we don't have the power that you gods have, then any mortal should have been able to get it." Steve said, his brows furrowing in confusion.

Triton rolled his shoulders, he had to give it to this one, he was certainly perceptive. "That is because the gem is never in a location where the mortals can access. It's always in a place where the Mist is strong."

he three avengers, having been briefed on the Mist, nodded at the explanation. Bruce leaned forward this time, "What about demigods? Can they reach it? I mean, they are half human and half god, so it stands that they can access the place but they shouldn't be able to access the gem right? Theoretically speaking that is."

Triton shrugged, "We don't know, none of the demigods save Nico and Thalia - and by proxy Percy – know about the gem's existence. It's never bothered us before so we've never seen the need to involve the demigods. Even then, Nico and Thalia have explicit orders not to go near it. Besides, they have their own missions each."

"So..." Tony drawled, tapping a finger against his leg, "We're supposed to track the gem down, and how will we know what kind of Greek historical site it'll be in?"

"Simple, you tell us where you located it in, and we'll give you the guides to get there." Triton smirked, "Any other questions? If not, chop chop, because the longer you take, the more time you're giving the chitauri to find a way to overcome this problem."

As if on cue, Nico opened the door, waiting for them to file out. Steve lingered in the doorway, his mind already building with suspicion as to why they were treated with no small amount of hostility, turning back slightly, Tony waiting for him just outside the room, "I know this probably doesn't have any connection to what we're supposed to do but... Who is your brother?"

Triton leaned as far back as his chair allowed, allowing a lazy grin to play on his lips, this really was a perceptive one, "Why, the one and only Percy Jackson of course."