Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Albert Camus

Nico was a very solitary person.

He didn't talk to very many living people, and when he did, they usually gave him weird, creeped-out looks throughout the conversation. When he spoke to dead people, they just sort of grovelled at his feet. So he spent a lot of his time simply being alone.

One of his favorite ways to spend his time was to wander aimlessly in the hidden passageways near his father's kingdom (that is to say, the underworld). He ran into Thanatos every once in a while, who guarded the few tunnels that lead out of the world of the dead. It was in such an underpass that Nico met his first and only friend.

He had been exploring one particular section of the passageways for days, searching for an amethyst deposit that had been making his senses tingle. Being the son of Hades, he was used to passing such common, useless gems. But this particular deposit intrigued him, because of its unusually strong pull.

Nico followed the twisting, winding paths carved deep into the stone, knowing fully well that a hiding monster could pop out at him at any moment. Finally, finally he reached the cave...and stopped. The cave before him was magnificent; amethyst covered every inch of the cavern, and a single stream of light from the ceiling made the entire thing glow an enchanting purple. The light reflected off of and through various pillars throughout the room, adding to the disorienting but lovely effect. But that was not why Nico was staring.

Standing there, in the middle of the room, was a lovely girl. Her golden hair and fresh-looking green eyes gleamed in the bright light. She would have been lovely...had she not been leering at him.

The girl waved her hands, sending out a jet of blue-tinted light that slammed into his chest, sending him flying across the cavern. The girl laughed demonically.

"Little son of Hades," she purred menacingly, making her way toward him. When Nico tried to move, he found that he was bound in place.

"You must come with me, Nico di Angelo," she said, stopping at his feet. "My mistress has a special interest in WHAT?!" The girl screamed as the pillars of amethyst began to fall around her, trapping her in the cavern. Concentrating, Nico was able to break whatever spell the witch (that must have been what she was) had put on him, drawing his power from the earth around him.

Even with his efforts to finish off the witch, she was alive...which he found out as she blasted through his wall of amethyst. Her eyes glowed in an unsettlingly crazed manner, even as golden ichor flowed down her face from various cuts.

"Nico Di Angelo!" she screamed. "Gaea will have your blood! She will send you to the depths of Tartarus, and-" she was cut off again as Nico forced the dirt cavern in front of her to collapse, sealing her off from him. Even with several feet of dirt between them, Nico ran from her.

Left, right, right, left again, thorough the dimly-lit tunnels he went. He had to get out of here...

"Oof!" he groaned as he ran into something hard.

"Hey, watch it!" someone said.

Nico drew his sword and raised it toward the sound. He stood in the middle of another cavern, he could sense it, but he could not see it...until he adjusted his vision.

The cavern was simple, hardly remarkable, made of limestone. But standing in front of him was a boy.

The boy was tall and slightly muscular. He could not distinguish many other features, as he could not see colors in the dark. But he could tell, from the contours of the boy's face and his size, that they were roughly the same age.

The boy spoke. "Who's there?"

Nico wrinkled his nose. "Who's there? Really? Kinda cliché, isn't it?"

The boy frowned. "How do you-" he began, but shook his head. "Never mind, just answer my question."

Nico sighed. "Fine. Nico di Angelo. Who are you? And what are you doing wandering around here?"

The boy's frown deepened. "Zain Savio. And why is it any of your business?"

Nico raised his eyebrows and muttered, "Well you asked first..."

"Well you were the one who ran in to me!"

"Because you were standing in a dark cave!"

"Well, then, maybe we should move out of the cave, clumsy one, so that you don't run into anything else!"

"Fine!"

They stepped out out of the cavern and into the light in unison, staring daggers at each other. Then Nico's eyes widened.

Zain was dead.

The boy's eyebrows shot up as he raised a translucent arm to smooth his well-kept blonde hair. "What, you've never seen a ghost before?"

Nico shook his head. "You're not even supposed to be here."

"Exactly," Zain replied with a wicked grin. He peered around at the glowing moss on the cavern walls. "Creepy place. What are you doing here?"

Nico sighed. "Well, I was wandering, but now...well, I have to take you in. Thanatos will know what to do with you-"

He was cut off as something large slammed him against the wall. Suddenly, he was looking into the face of a very large, very unfriendly hellhound.

He managed to send a large chunk of rock crashing onto the monster's head. It yelped in pain and backed away, giving him time to draw his sword. With one quick slice, the monster was reduced to dust.

Panting, Nico sheathed his sword. "Can't catch a break today, can I?" he muttered. He frowned in concentration, searching for anything else that might be heading toward them. With the kind of day he was having, it didn't surprise him that a small troop of hellhounds was heading their way.

Nico raised a hand and, concentrating with all of his strength, made a tunnel to the surface appear on the cavern wall. When he had finished, his knees collapsed with exhaustion. But someone caught him.

Zain now had his arm around Nico's shoulders, half-carrying him up the steep slope that Nico had created. As they walked, Nico sealed off the tunnel behind him. Finally, finally, they reached the surface.

They had landed in the middle of a Los Angeles park, which was thankfully deserted. The boys rested under the shady trees to block out the hot afternoon sunshine. After a few minutes of quiet panting, Nico spoke.

"Thank you for helping me out back their," he said sheepishly.

Zain shook his head. "No. All I did was, like, carry you. You...you...what did you do back there?"

The son of Hades sighed and closed his eyes. "You know the Greek gods? Like Poseidon and Zeus and-" he flicked a nervous glance up at the clouds. Hopefully he had imagined the rumble of thunder.

Zain nodded, studying his no-longer-transparent fingers. "Yeah, so?"

"So, they're real, all of them. And sometimes they fall in love with mortals, and have kids with them. You know the stories about them. Heracles and Odysseus and all those other people."

Again, Zain nodded, slowly. "So...these demigods. They exist, too?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah. I would know. I am one."

Zain eyes widened. "So, you demigods have different powers, then? Who's your parent? Why could you touch me? What -"

Nico silenced him with a wave of his hand. "Just hold on! I can touch you because I have powers over the dead. I created cavers and made them collapse. I'm a son of Hades. So, when I said I had to take you to Thanatos, I wasn't kidding. If I don't turn you in, I'll be grounded..."

Zain nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I get it. I had a strict dad, too. And a strict older sister," he finished, wrinkling his nose. Nico winced.

At this, Zain frowned. "You had a sister, too?"

Nico was about to yell at the boy, tell him to mind his own business and to go back to the underworld where he had come from. But something stopped him. Instead, he nodded.

"Her name was Bianca," he whispered. "She practically raised me. We were really close. But then she left me for the Hunters – later," he remarked at Zain's quizzical expression, " and went on a quest. She was a brave fighter...she died for a noble cause, but I still wish I could have..." he trailed off.

They sat in silence for several more minutes.

"Nico, have you ever...had a friend before?" Zain asked.

Nico sighed. "Well, sort of...not close friends exactly, but..."

He turned to look Zain in the eye. "Are you suggesting that...that we're friends?" he asked incredulously.

Zain shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Nico beamed at the thought of his new friend...friend! What a wonderful word!

"Absolutely I'll be your friend! I should take you to the underworld to introduce you to my dad-"

Upon seeing Zain's horrified expression, Nico laughed, genuinely. "Just kidding. You're easy to mess with."

Zain rolled his eyes, then glanced contemplatively at Nico. "What is Thanatos finds me?"

Nico gave him a wicked grin. "Something tells me that you're very hard to find."

And Nico was correct. It wasn't until he had reached a very ripe old age that Zain passed away. And through all the struggle and turmoil and vulnerabilities of life, they, demigod and mortal, stood side by side.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought. I have another story in progress called An Unexpected Variable. If you're a fan of Artemis Fowl and Harry Potter you can check that out. I have a friend, Motomo, who is writing a Percy Jackson story called Return of the Labyrinth, so make sure to look at that (cuz it's amazing...)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the one-shot, please review, and thanks for reading! :)

~Seshat ;)