Death's dilemma

"i told you to never come here again!"  
Nico sputtered as he tried to form coherent words
"Wanted…to…." cough "give you…a…. message."  His face turned bright red and his eyes began to bug out of his head from lack of oxygen.  Glaring at him, percy moved away from Nico, keeping his sword at ready.
"Haven't you delivered enough messages? After you.. YOU KILLED HER!!??" Percy's eyes clouded over with the pain of his loss, remembering Annabeth's bloody neck, and her final gasping words. Nico looked slightly nervous, and attempted to say something before Percy cut him off.
"What does your asshole of a father want now?"  The ground rumbled angrily at his words, but Percy kept at it.  "Its not enough that he ordered the death of annabeth 'for the greater good' is it?!"  The lake was whipping itself into a frenzied cyclone as percy;s face began to break its hard veneer.  "All she wanted to do was stop the madness…." As the first tears began to trickle down Percy's, the lake gave a final heave and then lay still.  Nico watched uncomfortably as percy began sobbing and keening in pain.
"….percy…"  Nico lay a hand on Percy's shoulder, and kept it there.  Percy looked at him with a tear-stained face.
"What…..is the message?" Nico's face closed off, and answered sadly.
"Aphrodite and Athena want to see you." Percy could barely perceive the unspoken "good luck".
"Where are they?" Percy asked, bracing his hand against the ground as he got up and re-capped his sword.  His dirt streaked hands swiped carelessly at his tears, leaving muddy streaks on his pale face.  Nico resisted the urge to wipe them away.  
"come on." Nico said sadly.  "I'm supposed to take you to them."
Percy looked less than happy at this, but took the younger demo-gods' hand as the shadows elongated around them, and the sunlight was blocked out.
"you're late." A powerful voice boomed as the two demo-gods tumbled out of the shadows.
"My apologies lady Athena and Lady Aphrodite." Nico said while bowing to the two goddesses.
"You may go now Nico de angelo."  Aphrodite said waving a delicate hand at him.  Her pond black hair and green eyes shined at him, in a female version of the boy beside him.  His cheeks colored red with his blush, then wincing apologies at Percy, he disappeared.
"Ok, now you have me, what do you want?"  Respect for the goddess of love, Percy did not have.
"I believe that you should act more respectfully to a goddess!" Said Athena looking disdainfully at him with grey eyes so like the girl he had lost, that Percy felt his eyes begin to sting, and a lump begin to form in his throat. 
"I…I am sorry…." He felt his throat dry as tears began to spill over his eyes.
"Oh the poor dear!" gasped Aphrodite, "Be gentler Athena! He has just lost the one who he had loved.  I believe she was your daughter!" The last words stung Athena as Aphrodite looked reproachfully at her. "Besides, Percy Jackson, this isn't a conversation about you.  We are here so you can save your friends life."  Percy looked at Aphrodite shocked.  
"Who…..?" His face pale and gnat at the thought of loosing another friend.
Athena gazed down at his unsympathetically before opening her mouth.
"You just saw him.  Nico de Angleo."