Hello, folks! RD here! This is my first Percy Jackson fic, so I hope you like it! (Note: This story begins about 5 seconds after Battle of the Labyrinth)

As soon as Nico slid into his chair, I pressed him for details. First I looked over my shoulder to make sure mom or Mr. Blofis weren't listening. Then I asked Nico, "So what's your plan?"

He didn't answer at first. He was too busy digging into his cake, which is understandable. He's never had a birthday cake in his life probably. So I sat patiently for a few minutes while he finished, when I asked, "So tell me. What's your idea?"

Nico wiped his mouth with his napkin and took a long gulp of soda. Finally, he said, "I have an idea to sneak into Tartarus."

I dropped my cupcake in surprise. "Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"How? And why?"

Nico poked at his cupcake. "I found the lawyer who got me and Bianca out of the Lotus Casino."

My eyebrows shot up. "Seriously? Who is he?"

Nico looked around as if to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. Then he said quietly, "It was my father, Hades."

My jaw dropped. For a second I found I couldn't speak. When my voice returned, I said, "Seriously?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Why do you keep saying that? I am deadly serious. I found him at the Lotus Casino when I went back to investigate. He told me that strange things have been happening in the underworld. A man, when he went to be judged, admitted to working with Kronos and that Kronos had been working on a secret project. The man didn't remember how he died, but he was attacked by some foreign monster my father didn't even know about."

The idea intrigued me, but it still seemed suicide. "How in the world will you sneak down to Tartarus without them seeing you?" I asked.

Nico took a deep breath and pulled out some sort of helmet out of his backpack. "With this." he said, laying it on the table.

It took a second for me to click. When it did, I gasped. "Is that-"

"Yes, it is." said Nico grimly. "This is the Helm of Darkness."

I opened my mouth to say, "Seriously" again, but then I thought better of it. Instead I said, "Are you sure it's worth it?"

"It is." Nico assured. "And I need to get to the airport. Fast."

"I'll get you there." I promised, standing up. Nico did the same. we walked to the living room, where Mr. Blofis and my mom were talking and laughing.

"Hey, Percy!" Mr. Blofis turned to look at me. "Brought a new friend?" My mom looked quizzically at us.

"This is Nico di Angelo." I said. "He arrived late."

"That's right." said Nico, playing along. "Bad traffic jam."

My mom nodded at Nico. She knew about him and his being a son of Hades.

"Hey, Mom? Where going to the skateboard shop real quick. We'll be back soon." I said. Nico nodded.

"Okay. Just don't be long." said mom. Then she turned back to Mr. Blofis and they started talking again.

As soon as we were outside, I asked Nico, "Do you have a drachma?"

Nico nodded and flipped me a golden coin. "Why do you need it?"

"Watch this." I said, grinning. I threw the coin onto the street and shouted, "Stop, chariot of damnation!"

The coin disappeared and in its place, a taxi seemingly out of smoke appeared. The window rolled down and out popped Tempest.

"Hello! I remember you!" she said knowingly. She had both an eye and a tooth this time. There were shouts behind her from the other sisters. Suddenly, Tempest was pushed aside by Wasp. "You owe us for the location of one eye Cyclops." she reminded me. "Speaking of eyes, give me the eye, Tempest!"

"No! You had it yesterday!"

"Come on, let's get in." I murmured to Nico. We both got in the taxi.

Pretty soon, we were on our way to the airport. We figured that we could catch the one o' clock plane, if we hurry. And we were definitely hurrying with the Gray Sisters driving.

Suddenly, the car flipped over.

"Ahhhhhhh!" we all screamed. Once we were sure we weren't hurt, me and Nico got out of the car.

Facing us was a giant wolf. It was about twice as large as a regular wolf. But what made me recognize it was that it was wrapped in chains.

"A Fenrir." Nico muttered behind me. The name clicked something in my head. "Isn't a Fenrir in Norse mythology, though?"

Nico shrugged.

The Fenrir growled and lunged at us. It caught Nico by surprise and pinned him to the pavement. He opened his mouth.

Taking out Riptide, I screamed and charged at the giant wolf. It distracted him for a split second. When he saw the sword in my hand, he twisted away at the last second. This caused me to cut off the chains instead of his head.

Suddenly, the Fenrir started growing. Now, he was almost twelve feet tall. Nico groaned under the added weight.

The chains, I thought. The chains keep him from growing. With that and mind, I lunged at the wolf again.

The Fenrir, like I expected, turned away at the last second. I twisted my sword also, and it plunged into an open spot.

The wolf roared in pain. I expected it to dissolve to dust, but it didn't. It just growled at me and limped away. I was too worn out to follow.

Nico wearily got to his feet and groaned. "Thing ways a ton." He muttered.

I sighed. "Come on. Let's go."

So how did you like it? Please review and tell me. Next chapter coming soon!

RD