I.

KING ARTHUR IS A GIRL?

For Nico di Angelo, shadow-traveling sometimes sucks.

Oh, don't get him wrong. He didn't hate the ability that was innate to any child of Hades. In fact, he loves shadow-traveling just as much as Percy loves the water, or as much as Annabeth loves riddles and architecture, or as much as Will Solace loves hi-er, the sun and medicine. It was part of being a demigod, of being himself, that he could not simply hate. Similar to a talent that he was proud of.

It's just that, sometimes, it lands him in really weird and slash or absolutely dangerous situations.

For example, there was seven years ago. After discovering his real identity as the child of the god of the Underworld, he immediately began to train himself in the ways of death and darkness. For many days, he tried to make the shadows bend to his will, hoping to utilize them as a means of travel just as he was taught to. Unfortunately, despite practicing for weeks, the first time he had used it didn't produced any desirable results.

Well, it actually did. That is, if you could consider appearing atop the Great Wall of China as desirable.

Granted, his mentor was the ghost of a mad king hellbent - quite literally - on getting revenge. But still, he had not expected to shadow-travel in China at his first try when he performed it in the US - a country an ocean away.

There were also the walls. No, not the one in China this time, but other walls. Regular walls. Smaller walls. House walls. He had kept running through them as he tried to enter the shadows, always knocking himself out cold when his powers failed him and discovering just how solid bricks could be, sometimes sleeping a full day when he got tired. Then, there were times when he had actually became part of the wall, being stuck inside one once when his concentration failed due to some stupid and annoying former ghost king at his side. It took him several hours just to free himself, waiting for the sun to set and the shadows to grow while constantly screaming and cursing in a combination of Italian, English and Ancient Greek.

After all, it had really hurt. A lot.

And then, there was the entire Second Giant War, which was almost a world tour in itself. Shadow-traveling between continents while carrying a war freak satyr, a Roman praetor with love problems, and a fricking 30-feet tall statue of Athena, all the while being hunted by werewolves and giants, was definitely not part of his top ten bucket list. Many times they had emerged on places they definitely would not want to be; above an active volcano, above the Pacific Ocean, on top of a fountain in Portugal, a café in Argentina. The list goes on. In fact, he had spent too much of his energy just to get the Athena Parthenos across the ocean, to the point that he almost literally became a shadow itself. And if not for Coach Hedge's magic and his own determination, he would have already become one.

That's why after the war, he had asked(read: pestered) his oh-so-wonderful father himself to personally train him. He didn't want to experience the same incident again, not when it could be essential to any possible wars in the future. After all, Gaea could not be the only immortal goddess with a grudge against demigods and their parents.

Three years has passed since then, and now he was eighteen years old. He could control his powers more freely now thanks to Hades, and his accidental trips to random places(and China) were finally lessened. Shadow-traveling from the East Coast to the West Coast no longer taxed him as much as it did before, his concentration and accuracy more focused than ever. Of course, there's still the occassional slip, especially whenever he was tired, but even those were becoming less frequent. He was no longer appearing in dangerous places too, something he was really grateful for. And for a time, he taught he had already mastered the art of shadow-traveling.

Sadly, the Fates really loved messing with him. He made another slip again, which was not much of a surprise anymore. The thing was, where he ended up was probably one of the most weirdest and dangerous place he had possibly appeared to in his life.

It was near the end of summer vacation when the incident happened. He was at Camp Half-Blood acting as temporary combat instructor while his half-sister, Hazel Levesque, and her boyfriend(and his possible future brother-in-law), Frank Zhang, were on a tour in Paris for a week, along with some of their friends. After promising to meet them later on that particular day in their private ship, he had immediately set out to do his duties. He may be visiting less frequently than usual due to his status as the Prince of the Underworld(and a certain son of Apollo), but during his free time, he never forgot to pay a visit to what he had considered his first home.

It was after training then, and he was tired from constantly swinging his sword(and terrorizing a few stubborn Ares kids), when he met Chiron and asked him for permission to finally leave for Europe. It didn't took him long to get the centaur's approval, to which he immediately entered his cabin in preparation of shadow-traveling. It was specifically built to answer to his every needs, so while it may be sunny and bright outside, the shadows inside was like those of the Underworld.

He did a quick change, wearing a simple black shirt and matching pants with his aviators jacket. He didn't bother taking anything else except for the ever present skull ring on his left hand and the Stygian iron sword - which could disappear at his will - buckled on his waist. Leo's Awesome Boat(the name still makes Nico flinch every time) was widely known to be stockpiled with practically everything, so bringing any other items would be pretty useless.

The son of Hades drew a deep breath, closing his eyes and visualizing the ship in his mind. It was necessary for him to vividly imagine his destination for an accurate travel. If he didn't focused enough, there's a chance he might end up somewhere else again.

He felt the shadows answering his call, swirling around and embracing him like an old friend. The darkness grew, the temperature dropping quickly, and he felt himself being momentarily weightless as his body traveled into the void. Screams, moans and other terrors rang in his ears, but he was not fazed by them. All the years of using this ability had made him immune to such things, and now they were nothing more than background noises to him. Like a street filled with the usual things you could find; he was the pedestrian - all the rest were unimportant.

The sensation didn't last long. One moment, he was inside his cabin. The next instance, he was already on the other side of the world. Releasing a sigh of relief, Nico opened his eyes...

And promptly groaned.

He immediately knew that he didn't ended up at the ship. The most obvious evidence was the floor - whereas the ship's was made with polished mahogany, this one was worn out from use. Made of regular oak wood, it was surprisingly clean and looked well maintained despite its age - whoever lives in here must have had a lot of free time on their hands.

The next thing he noticed was the hallway itself. It was a bit smaller compared to the ones in their ship; just large enough for five people to stand from one end to another. A few steps ahead was a set of stairs leading down below where he could glimpse part of the front entrance. On either side of the hallway were two doors - probably bedrooms - with a small table sitting on the left wall, a flower vase resting on top of it.

This was a house. Or an apartment, maybe? He was not sure, but he knew someone lives here; the lily flowers he saw was definitely fresh. Plus, he could sense two people in the room to his left, and he could hear their muffled voices.

But... something was not right.

He didn't know what it was, but it was making his demigod instincts scream at him to leave this place immediately. Like this was some sort of dangerous house. It was the same thing he had felt when he visited Camp Jupiter for the first time, a sense of urgency to leave, as if he shouldn't be there at all. However, the feeling in here was ten times worst than that.

He bit his lip. He couldn't shadow-travel right now; he was still tired from doing it just a few minutes ago. Besides, there was no shadow here anyway. The sunlight streaming through the window near the stairs bathed the hallway in all directions, leaving no room for darkness to crawl. There was his own shadow, yes, but it wasn't enough for a safe travel. Not in his current condition at least.

Still, he was not a son of Hades for nothing. As someone who has been walking among the dead for many years now, he has taken some of their characteristics for his own. He could move like a spectre if he wanted to, his footsteps silent and weightless. Many times people were startled by him simply because they hadn't heard him approach until he was standing beside them, giving them the fright of their lives. Combined with his power over darkness, he was confident he could mask his presence in here.

Nico took a step, testing the floorboards. Good, it didn't made any sound. He could easily creep to the stairs without gaining the occupant's attention. And then, it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to go down and escape through the front door. He could definitely do this.

He started to walk, trying to make as little noise as possible. The distance between his position and the stairs was not far, so it won't be difficult for him to cross it. The only problem would be the two inhabitants in one of the rooms; if they suddenly step out into the hallway, they would immediately see him and prevent his escape.

He shook his head. There's no use in worrying about that for now. Besides, he was certain that he could exit the house without them knowing. He just needed to remain careful and silent as he proceed along the short corridor.

It's closer now. He was already anticipating his escape, which brough t a faint smile on his lips. All he needed to do was to pass one of the doors and get to the other side quickly to avoid detection. It's quite risky considering it was slightly open and if the floor made so much as a faint squeak, he would be discovered instantly. However, he believed that his doubts were baseless. He survived Tartarus, after all. This should only be a piece of cake for him.

At least, that's what he had initially thought.

He had just gotten to the other side of the door when things started to go very wrong. He didn't know what prompted him to do so, but he suddenly had the urge to listen to the conversation inside the room. Perhaps it had to do with his ADHD, but he thought he prided himself for being the one with the most control over it between Percy and Leo, with Annabeth coming in second. Whatever the case though, he soon found himself turning his back against the stairs and inching back closer towards the door to eavesdrop.

It was kinda stupid.

Their language was Japanese! How was he suppose to understand them? He could speak Italian, English, some bits of Spanish and Latin, and most of all, Ancient Greek. However, he hadn't bothered to learn Japanese. There were the ghosts from World War II, but they were not really that reliable. Whatever words he knew of the language came from Drew Tanaka, who was definitely not a good source of knowledge. Him eavesdropping was practically pointless.

He grumbled and was about to leave then when something in their conversation caught his attention. It was the tone of their voices rather than the words themselves that made him paused.

"-inside our apartment?"

"I don't know. What should we do?"

"We wait for him to lower his guard, then we catch him and dissect him."

"Er, I think that's a bit overboard, Rin."

Rin? That sounded like a name. Judging by their voices, the two speakers were obviously a man and a woman, probably just a few years older than him. Couples, maybe? Or perhaps friends. In any case, they seemed to be talking rather casually - in fact, too casual for his taste - which made him slightly suspicious. After years of secretly listening to homicidal monsters, titans, and gods, he had learned how to pick up the intents of the speakers just by going with their tone even if the language was different. From what he was hearing, these two seemed to be talking in a way that would sound normal to others even if it's actually not.

He frowned, leaning closer to listen. He may not understand them, but at least he could 'record' the entire conversation in his memory. He could just ask Clovis or any of the Hypnos campers to extract them afterwards, if they were proven to be valuable.

"Shirou, the guy managed to appear inside the Bounded Field I had set up myself without even going through the front door!"

"Maybe the field is just weak?"

There was a shout from the woman, a bang, and a cry of terror from the man. Nico almost flinched, but he controlled himself. He heard the word 'Shirou' being spoken by the woman, and though he was not familiar with Japanese names, it sounded like one. 'Shirou' said the word 'Rin' as well before, which could mean that they were indeed names.

Rin and Shirou...

"Say that again, Emiya-kun?" 'Rin' said in a very sweet yet obviously venom-filled voice.

"I-I was just joking! Now, can you please point that finger away from me?" 'Shirou' squeaked, clearly frightened.

So, 'Emiya-kun'? The honorics meant that it was a name, spoken by 'Rin'. Then, the guy must be called Shirou Emiya, or Emiya Shirou if he would go with the traditional Japanese way of saying their names.

Emiya Shirou...

There was a tensed silence. Nico thought that Shirou and Rin had finally stopped talking, and he was about to leave then. But their next conversation made him suddenly alert.

"He's outside the door."

"I know. Should we go out now and confront him?"

The tone in their voices had changed. They were now serious, and a sense of foreboding suddenly filled his chest. Imminent danger was rapidly approaching, which means he needed to-

"Nah, Saber can take care of our sneaky friend just fine."

The sudden shift in English threw him off guard, and for a moment, he frowned in confusion. It should have already raised warning bells inside his head, but he was too preoccupied with their conversation that he hadn't noticed the real reason for the switch. Why would they speak in another language if it's just the two of them in here? That didn't made any sense. Unless...

He realized it too late. Before he could react, he suddenly felt an overwhelming presence behind him.

And then, a feminine voice harder than diamonds and colder than Boreas' winds spoke.

"One wrong move, intruder, and I'll cut you down."

Nico di Angelo was rarely afraid of anyone or anything. Ever since his sister, Bianca, died, he had been alone in his journeys, forging his own path. He was alone in discovering his real identity, his powers, even his sexuality. He had fought gods and titans, and though he have had help, most of the time, it was only him and his sword. He had survived traveling to Tartarus all by himself, escaping it as well in the same manner. To him, being scared was a sensation he had already forgotten. He was the son of Hades, after all. The Ghost King, Prince of the Underworld. It was the people who should be scared of him.

However, at that moment, he felt a small trace of genuine fear crawling down his spine.

He had been in the presence of gods and titans before, his father included, and he knew how powerful they were just by being near them. Their aura was staggering; a wall of sheer energy that could overcome anyone not strong enough to face them. It was relatively the same with his cousins: Percy and Jason, though obviously weaker than their parents. He thought nothing could match them.

He was proven wrong.

While the person behind him was considerably weaker than a deity, her aura was terrifyingly much stronger than any demigod he had ever met. Even his own paled in comparison, something that made him utterly nervous. Whoever this girl was, her parents must be ridiculously powerful. Was she some kind of demi-titan or a demi-primordial? The thought sounded far-fetched and stupid, but he could not find any other explanation for it. The fact that she had suddenly appeared behind him out of the blue didn't help either. He should have sensed her approached, and yet she managed to get past detection.

How did she do that?

He backed away slowly, feeling her steely gaze bore holes at the back of his head as he raised his hands in surrender. There's no use trying to escape now; she was blocking the stairs. Any wrong move on his part would certainly end in disaster.

Just as his back pressed against the opposite wall, the door in front of him opened.

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

A woman, likely Rin, stepped out, smiling in a way that reminded Nico very much of a cat that has cornered its prey. Long raven hair cascaded down her back, reaching just abover her waist. Aquamarine eyes brimming with shrewd intelligence stared at him with interest, seizing him up and observing him intently. Her sharp features, though beautiful, was set in a facade of politeness, hiding a predatory side underneath. She ooze an extreme amount of confidence as well, and her posture suggested that she came from a well-off family.

Beside her stood a young man... and it was him that made Nico pause. He was impressively tall, reaching Frank's height, though he was less buffed and was instead built like an athlete; lean yet muscular. His crimson wavy hair was shockingly sprinkled with strands of white, quite similar to Annabeth and Percy when they once held up the sky in Mt. Othrys, and later during the whole Tartarus incident. Amber golden eyes stared at him curiously, though he could also sense a great deal of wariness on them. He was slightly tanned, which means he was out in the sun often.

Emiya Shirou seemed polite and kind enough, with no hint of hostility, unlike his two housemates. However, to Nico, he also looked dangerous. He didn't know why, but he could feel something different coming from him. A hidden power, waiting to be unleashed at a moment's notice, ready to strike his opponent.

Like a sword, sheathed but always ready to be drawn.

And then, there was the woman... oh boy, today was definitely not his lucky day.

She was British, that much he could determine. Her impossibly golden hair fell down on her shoulders nicely, framing a face of pure elegance and dignity. Her jade eyes held a strong gaze, like tempered steel, but there was coldness in them that would put the snow goddess, Khione, to shame. She was also lithe, but physically fit. And even though she was only wearing casual attire - a simple white blouse and blue pleated skirt - the way she carried herself was eerily similar to those born in a noble family; regal, proud and composed.

Like a knight... or a monarch.

She stood near the stairs, watching him with wary eyes... strange. Her hands were clasped and raised in front of her, as if she was holding a sword. Except there was no weapon - just empty air. Being a swordsman himself, Nico was familiar with fighting stances. And the woman had entered one, though it seemed to be purely defensive. Her body was tensed, like a lion ready to pounce. But how could that be if she has no sword? At least, nothing that he could see.

Unless it was invisible.

"I was just entering through the front door when I saw his shadow moving near the stairs. I know we are not expecting any visitors, so I immediately assumed he was an intruder," the woman said calmly in Japanese, her eyes never leaving him.

Rin nodded and smirked. "Sharp as always, Saber."

Nico shifted uneasily at that. Saber? What does she mean by that? The woman was called 'Saber' or the woman was holding an invisible 'saber'? Damn, if only he could understand Japanese!

"Shirou, what's for dinner?" Saber(?) glanced at the red-haired man.

"Ah, about that," Shirou scratched his head nervously. "I was about to make it when he... showed up."

The man gestured towards Nico. The son of Hades had no clue what they were talking about, but he seriously hoped it didn't involved invisible swords and sabers.

"Is that so?" Saber narrowed her eyes, and for a moment, Nico almost imagined a lion gazing at him with a murderous expression.

The thought didn't made his situation easier.

"Yup," Rin said rather cheerfully. "So if you want to, you could beat him up later after I perform some experiments on him."

"I might," Saber muttered in displeasure, "though it depends on Shirou-"

At last, Nico couldn't take it anymore. All these thoughts about invisible swords and lions were just too much, even for a demigod son of Hades like him. Add the fact that these people were talking in a language that for the love of his father's oily pants he couldn't understand, well, it could make anyone angry. And Nico was known to be slightly temperamental.

"Can you guys stop speaking in Japanese already?" he snapped irritably and shot them a glare. "You three are giving me a headache! Do you guys know that it's very rude to speak another language in front of someone who can't understand it?"

The trio stared at him with a mixture of shock, annoyance, amusement and embarassment.

"He's right, you know," Shirou said in normal English after a moment of silence.

"Of course, he is," Rin rolled her eyes.

"Very well. We will speak in English if you wish," Saber(?) nodded. "But first, tell us why you are here and what you are doing inside our apartment."

Nico sighed in relief. Finally! He thought his head was going to explode from listening to them speak in Japanese. Now, all he needed to do was to convince them to let him leave peacefully. It would be hard though; he couldn't just tell them that he suddenly appeared inside their house, right?

No, of course, he could.

"Um, will you guys believe me if I said I just appeared here by accident?" he asked hopefully.

The trio blinked as one. For a second, he thought that they had actually believed him. Stupid it may be, but he had no other excuse to say. It was the best he could come up with!

"Will you believe us if we told you that I am a magic user, she is King Arthur, and that he can make swords appear out of thin air?" Rin raised an eyebrow mockingly and pointed at herself, then to the British woman, then finally to Shirou.

Now, it's Nico's turn to blink. He had already heard a lot of weird things in his life; from discovering that his father was a slightly emo god of the Underworld, to learning that Chiron wears curlers(shhhh! Don't tell him that) in his tails at night. Nothing, and he really meant nothing, could surprise him anymore. Not even people who uses magic or men who could make swords appear out of thin air.

However, the fact that King Arthur was a girl...

"King Arthur is a girl?" he repeated loudly and glanced at the British woman in disbelief.

Seriously? King - or was it Queen now? - Arthur was a girl? Really? Sure, he was somewhat shocked before at (re)learning that the gods of Olympus actually existed and were still walking in the mortal world. But... really? The famous king of Britain was a girl? Him - or her - being alive after several hundred years was not surprising. After all, he had met a lot of immortals before. However, his(or her...ugh! whatever!) real gender was surprising.

"Yes, but-look, that's not the point!" Rin stomped her foot in annoyance and fixed him with an incredelous look. "Seriously, that's what you are going to ask first after I just told you that I'm a magic user?"

"Well, yeah." Nico said. "I mean, all the stories says he - she - was a man..." his voice trailed off as he regarded the woman again. So that's why she seemed to act like a noble...

"I can guarantee you that they were correct," 'King Arthur' sighed. Then she added with a slight grimace, "Somewhat."

"I didn't know sex change has been already discovered back then," Nico commented dryly before he could stop himself.

"W-What?!"

The son of Hades sighed. This was getting weirder and weirder. He better leave soon before they start telling him that she had 'fathered' a child despite being a woman... well, he remembered in the legends that King Arthur had a son named Mordred. Don't tell him he was a girl too?

"Look, can you guys just let me go? I swear I just got here by accident."

Rin's eyebrows shot up. "So you're telling us that you just appeared out of thin air inside our residence?"

She looked skeptical, which was odd considering her revelation about King Arthur's gender.

"Out of the shadows, actually," Nico muttered. When all he got were three blank stares, he sighed once again and rubbed his temples. He was starting to get frustrated with the situation. It seemed he won't be leaving this house without major complications. In order to avoid that then, there's only one thing he must do.

Drawing a deep breath, he cleared his throat and snapped his fingers. There was a whoosh of air, and the sound made by his fingers reverbrated across the hallway.

"You haven't seen anyone," he said loudly. "You haven't seen me nor did you talked to me. None of this ever happened and when I walk out through the front door, you will act normally without any memory of this event."

Mist. It was a powerful force strong enough to erase or suppress memories; even a demigod was not safe from it. The mythological world uses this frequently in their dealings with the mortal realm, keeping the two worlds separated by weaving illusions. Those who didn't have any divine or monster blood in them would naturally be easier to trick. As such, King Arthur or not, Nico was confident enough that he could alter her memories as well as those of her companions. They were just humans, right?

Sadly, he was proven wrong. Again.

The trio stared at him in confusion, and he managed a faint smile at their bewildered faces. That's it. He could finally leave and-

"Are you bullshitting us?" Rin narrowed her eyes.

Nico froze. What the Hades?! It didn't worked?! But that's impossible! Most mortals were not immune to the Mist unless they were Clear Sighted. And only a few people have those ability. There's a chance that all three of them possessed that, but still...

"What are you people?" he muttered with a frown.

Are they demigods? But they were adults already! They couldn't have survived that long without help. Magicians? They could be, but they didn't looked like one. He didn't see any weird staves and wands or Egyptian heiroglyphs. Plus, there's 'King Arthur'...

"Who and what are you?" Rin retorted with the same question.

Nico hesitated. Should he reveal his own identity? No, that would be too risky. If they didn't know a thing about gods and demigods, it might just cause a huge trouble if they learned about the hidden worlds of mythology. He better not say a word then.

"Nobody," he shook his head. "Anyway, I really, really have to go now. My half-sister and several of our friends are waiting for me and I have to be there or else they'll start looking for me. And you definitely wouldn't want them looking for me."

Even as he said this, he was starting to inch closer toward the stairs. King Arthur might be blocking the way, but he was confident in his fighting skills to defend himself briefly until he could find the opening to escape. It's worth a shot, and definitely much better than standing here exchanging bizarre information... and weird stares. Seriously, the way the Japanese woman was looking at him was starting to make him uncomfortable.

"I'm afraid we can't do that, sir," King Arthur said cooly, narrowing her jade eyes at him. "You have trespassed on our rented property without permission, and you did it under questionable methods. Since we do not take intruders lightly, we have no choice but to restrain you." At this, she raised hands higher like a swordsman grasping his sword and entering a battle stance.

Nico blinked. "...okay? You do realize you are holding nothing but invisible air, do you?"

As he said it, he immediately realized how stupid he sounded. He stared at the empty space between her hands, frowning as bits of unneccessary information suddenly filled his mind. Legends and stories of the famous king came into his memory, something about a sword in the stone... King Arthur... Camelot... Merlin the wizard... a sword... an invisible wea...pon... oh no. Don't tell him she was actually holding an invisible Excalibur and... oh, Styx! This was not good!

"You would be surprised at what kind of injuries this Invisible Air can inflict," her lips curved into a smile, all but confirming his suspicions.

Nico's demigod instinct was now screaming at him to run away as fast as he could, but he ignored it. He was not used to being threatened, especially by a complete stranger.

"Is that a threat?" he said quietly. He was hoping she would take back what she said, because gods forbid it, but he was not really in the mood for a fight. He's tired, he's frustrated, and he's hungry. And whenever he's like that and someone provokes him... well, they always end up shivering and screaming in their sleep for weeks.

"Yes," she spoke in an equally soft tone. The woman shifted her stance, standing protectively in front of Rin and Shirou. Behind her, the raven-haired girl glanced apprehensively at the redhead man beside her. They could feel the tension increasing in the air, but more than that, there was something else. Something new.

Dread.

Nico smiled, cold and cruel. "Then you would be shocked at what I can do to the three of you if you don't release me soon."

The room seemed to darkened despite the afternoon sunlight streaming from the windows. The air felt suddenly cold, and shadows began to crept towards the son of Hades. He knew they had sensed it too, and he was not surprised to see the man behind the famous king narrowing his eyes dangerously at him.

"Rin, Saber, he is not human," Shirou said in a low voice, though loud enough for Nico to hear.

Surprise, he thought dryly.

"He isn't?!" Rin whispered in shock.

"He isn't one," 'Saber' nodded, tightening her grip on the invisible sword. "I felt it as soon as I saw him."

The Japanese woman squinted at the demigod intently. Her eyes gleamed, and she almost looked like a scientist that had just seen a new species of animal.

"Okay, that's it. We are going to catch him," she decided at last.

"You are making it sound like I'm some sort of exotic animal," Nico snorted.

"Oh, but you are!" the raven-haired smiled wickedly. "Anyone who could suddenly appear inside my Bounded Field without my knowledge is definitely exotic, and I made it my hobby to study exotic things. So, sorry but not sorry, you are now ours."

Nico didn't know what 'Bounded Field' means. However, he perfectly knew when a person was serious about catching him.

"Well, sorry but not sorry, I'm not going to let you capture me," he shot back at her.

"You think you can defeat the three of us?" Saber challenged.

"I had fought enemies much more dangerous and stronger than two Japanese people with weird behaviours and a British woman who is King Arthur that had undergone a sex change," the demigod rolled his eyes. "Yes, I can definitely take on the three of you."

"Wanna try?" he smirked.

For a moment, none of them moved. They watched each other in silence, waiting for the other to take the initiative. Nico knew he was at a disadvantage - he has ADHD. He wouldn't be able to stay put much longer. But if he attacked first, it would leave him wide open. And though he said he could take them all on, in truth, he doubt his abilities to fend off the knight; she was obviously more experienced and skilled than him, and he was certain he would be defeated in mere seconds. Not to mention, she was giving off a powerful aura.

The other problem was the tight space around him; he wouldn't be able to move around much to properly defend against their attacks. And with three people he was facing, he knew he would have a hard time dealing with them.

He tensed, still waiting impatiently for the right moment. His heart was thumping inside his chest now, loud against the deafening silence that engulfed the hallway.

And then, Saber broke that silence.

She swung, intent on cleaving him from shoulder to waist. Her movement was too fast, impossibly fast even for Nico's trained eyes, and only through sheer demigod battle instincts honed after years of fighting monsters and titans was he able to dodge it. When the blow landed on the spot he had just rolled away from, a sudden gust of wind threw him off towards the stairs.

"Oh, Styx!" he cursed, and thunder briefly rumbled in the distance.

What was that? Where did the wind came from? From the invisible sword?

Just who were these people?

He scrambled to his feet and summoned his own sword just in time to block Saber's next strike. In a swirl of shadow and darkness, Stygian iron met invisible air, and his arms shook from the force of her blow.

Hades help him, she was strong!

"What the hell?! Where did that sword came from?!" Rin's eyes widened in shock. Beside her, Shirou narrowed his eyes at the obsidian blade.

Nico growled. This woman was probably more stronger than Percy when it comes to pure skills and combat abilities. Her strength was exceptional too, and he could feel himself being pushed back to the stairs. But even if he could turn around and flee, she was too damn fast. She could catch him in an instant. He needed to do something.

The demigod stared at her. He still couldn't believe that King Arthur - or Saber or whatever - was a woman. She was too beautiful for someone to be a knight and a king, and he was gay. But there's no mistakening her posture or the way she spoke. There's no mistakening her swordsmanship and skills. She was the real deal.

He pushed with all his might. He couldn't win this fight; he knew it. But he would be damned before he let them capture him. King Arthur or not, he won't let himself become some experiment by a weird Japanese woman.

Drawing from within himself, Nico released a wave of shadow, forcing everyone to jump away.

Saber recovered immediately, swinging her sword again in a downward slash. Another gust of wind burst forth, shredding the handrails of the stairs. But it was no use - Nico had already leapt to the first floor.

"Saber, be careful!" Shirou groaned. "We are still paying for the damages we did last year!"

"Forget about our expenses!" Rin snapped and pointed an index finger at the broken front door.

"Catch him!"


Nico slumped on a rooftop, panting and gasping for breath. He was exhausted from running across the streets and avoiding his pursuers. Twice he thought they had almost cornered him, but he was able to shadow-travel a short distance away from them. Unfortunately, he won't be able to travel again until later. His energy was low, and he hadn't eaten since five hours ago. What with his brief fight and the constant use of his powers, he was already drained.

Well, at least, he knew where he was. He was somewhere in London, evident by the Big Ben towering in the distance. That means he was close to Paris. If he could simply rest for a bit, he could regain his strength and shadow-travel to the ship. Of course, he was still being pursued. But he believed he was safe here and-

"Surprise!"

-maybe not.

"Great," he muttered.

"What, you think we will let you escape that easily?" Ms. Crazy Japanese Woman said.

Nico could almost see the smirk on her face.

"To be frank with you? Yes."

"In your dreams, Pale Face," Rin snorted. "Now, turn around or else I'll blast your head like a melon."

Nico rolled his eyes, but complied. He slowly stood up, careful not to make any sudden movements, and turned around to see the woman aiming at him with her fingers poised like a gun.

"Let me guess. You're holding an invisible gun?" he arched an eyebrow. First, it's invisible swords. Now, invisible guns. What's next? Tanks and aircrafts?

"Something more powerful than a simple gun," she smiled in a dangerous way.

"I don't stand a chance, do I?" he sighed. Secretly, he was already plotting his escape. The sun was beginning to set. Soon, night would come and he could use his powers again. All he needed to do was to play along with the cornered mouse charade and keep her occupied.

It shouldn't be too difficult, right?

"Try it, but you can't escape from us. Saber here can jump after you as easily as a lion can hunt its prey," she briefly stepped aside to reveal the 'knight', now in full armor that looked like a dress, standing ready a few feet behind her.

Where did that battle dress came from? Nico thought as he observed her warily.

"Now, tell me who and what are you?" Rin regarded him critically. "Are you some kind of Dead Apostle? A Magus?"

At the word 'dead', Nico's eyebrows twitch. He was already used to it, being a son of Hades and all. But still, there were times when he wished that people would stop pointing it out to him. It's kind of rude to call someone dead, you know, Prince of the Underworld or not.

"Do I really look like I'm dead?" he stared at her flatly.

"Yes," the woman blinked and replied instantly.

Nico shook his head. "Figures," he muttered.

They stood in silence for a minute.

"Well?" Rin demanded at last.

The demigod sighed in defeat. "Alright. You got me," he drew a deep breath before raising his hands in explanation. "I can tell you that I'm no Dead Apostle - whatever that is - or an Angus-"

"Magus. It's Magus," she corrected with a glare.

"Right," Nico said with a blank stare. "Anyway, I'm really just someone who got inside your apartment accidentally without meaning to. I was just going to meet my half-sister, her boyfriend, and our friends to help them out on their tour when I made a mistake and ended up here. If you will release me, I'll pretend none of this ever happened and you won't see me again."

"You expect us to believe your story?" the woman raised an eyebrow.

"You expected me to believe that King Arthur is a girl," Nico deadpanned. "I would say mine is more believable."

Rin thought for a second. "Fair enough," she admitted before narrowing her eyes. "But that doesn't mean you are telling the truth. What if you're lying and you are actually planning to kill us?"

Nico grunted. "If I wanted to kill you, I'll be doing it at night when no one could see me."

And when I'm strongest, he thought.

"Fair point," she nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, we believe you. Now, tell us your name."

He hesitated briefly, but he knew there was no way out of this. Even if he lied, they still knew what he looked like. It won't make a difference if he hid his real name from them.

"Nico. Nico di Angelo," he said softly.

"Italian?" Rin frowned.

"No, Pizzarian," he answered dryly before his expression changed into irritation.

"Of course, I'm Italian!" he snapped. "Or at least, semi-half Italian," he added.

"I see."

There was silence between them again, broken only by the honking of cars below. The sky was beginning to turn purple, and the sun was now sinking on the horizon. It won't be long before it gets dark, and he could finally escape from this madness.

"So, can I go now?" he asked politely after a while. "I really have to meet up with my friends soon."

For a moment, Rin stared at him intently. She regarded him with interest, as if choosing which parts of his body was best to sell. Her eyes gleamed in the darkness with a mad light, prompting Nico to actually shiver.

And then, her smiled turned into a wide and diabolic cheshire grin.

"Oh, sure. You can go... after we are done with you."

Nico's eyes widened in shock, and his lips curled into a snarl. But before he could make a move, the back of his neck suddenly tingled. Twisting around immediately, he saw someone jumping in front of him from the ground below.

"Wha-"

There was a sharp pain at the base of his neck, and he collapsed on the roof in an instant. His consciousness was rapidly slipping from his grasp, and his vision was starting to diminish. Pretty soon, he would lose the fight.

And so, just before total darkness consumed him, he sent a mental shout to anyone who might be listening.

Help...


Second crossover fic I've published, this time combining my two favourite series. :)

I was inspired to write this when I saw "A Heart of Steel" by kujikiri21. It's one of the best PJO and FSN crossover story out there, probably even better than most crossovers of each respective fandom. It's definitely a must-read, and I will highly recommend it to die hard fans of both series.

Now, I know that Nasuverse doesn't really fit with the world of PJO. But I'm tossing this idea around my head where they exist in the same universe. Unfortunately, this story is just a two-shot. However, if it gets enough feedback, I might use the same principle in future stories. Admittedly, Percy should have been the main focus in here instead of Nico. But I decided at the last minute to replace him with the son of Hades.

The Ghost King deserve more stories, you know. :p

About the characterization... I think made them quite OOC. Sadly, I have to confess that it"s one of my weak points as an author. Plus, it's been some time already since I've read Percy Jackson. XD

Anyway, this is set a few years after Heroes of Olympus and UBW good end. And in case you didn't notice, Leo is back. :3

Well, that's it. I can't make any promise on the river Styx, but I'll try to finish the next chapter on OR before Christmas Day.

Please Read & Review!

Until next time!