Nico's POV

It had been half a year since I had last been to Camp Half Blood. I smiled when I thought about everything that had happened since then and then scolded myself. Children of Hades don't smile. I decided to make myself feel better.

I shadow traveled to the top of Half Blood Hill, hoping I would freak out some campers. I richly succeeded. Michael Yew fell out of the pine where he had been guarding with Drew from the Aphrodite cabin, who looked terrified as I stepped out of the miniscule shadow being cast by the huge tree. It was High noon, always a bad time for shadow traveling, I had to figure out these time zones eventually

"Hi." I said, "I'm back."

"Who are-"Michael Yew started angrily picking himself up.

Drew just squeaked.

I held up my sliced palm and Michael calmed down a little.

"Nico!" Percy yelled coming up the hill with Annabeth.

"Hey Percy." I said tiredly, my eyelids drooping.

"Where in Hades have you been?" Percy continued, reaching us.

"Percy!" Annabeth smacked him on the arm. He didn't flinch.

"Good guess but I'm really tired so I think I'll tell you tomorrow." I tried to walk but my legs had turned to jelly, sometimes that still happened when I shadow traveled too far or too fast. I yawned.

"Sorry," he said.

My knees gave out but Percy caught me.

"Hey c'mon I'll take you to you're cabin," Percy grabbed my elbow with strong arms.

He kept talking. , Something about what I'd been doing for the past ten months. I wasn't listening anymore I was already in my cabin passed out in my bunk.

Percy's POV

I was on my way with Annabeth to relieve Michael and Drew when I saw Nico appear out of thin air, or more accurately, out of the shadow at the base of the tree. I stifled a laugh when Michael fell out of the tree. Annabeth giggled.

"C'mon." I said to Annabeth and we ran up the hill.

"Nico!" I yelled.

"Hey Percy." He looked ready to drop.

"Where in Hades have you been?" I didn't mean it like that but I mean c'mon he hadn't been to camp for six months and he was my friend.

"Percy!" Annabeth smacked me but I didn't feel it. Curse of Achilles isn't such a curse when Annabeth's you're girlfriend.

"Sorry," I said and he collapsed.

"Hey c'mon I'll take you to you're cabin." I grabbed his elbow. "I don't suppose you could tell me what you've been doing huh? Or where you've been?" "Yeah that's kinda what I thought." I kept talking to him until I plopped him down on his bunk in the blacked-out Hades cabin and then I left to guard the border with Annabeth.

Nico's POV

As soon as my head hit the pillow I started dreaming. I was sitting in a chair, no I was tied to a chair in the middle of a small room with no shadows whatsoever. This wasn't looking good but there was no time to ponder on that because I had my knife along with a feeling I had to get out of there. I finished cutting at my bonds and swore. How in Hades was I supposed to get out, there didn't seem to be a door and there were no shadows, worse the walls seemed to closing in on me. Then a long, mournful note sounded and the floor dropped out from under me. I was falling into the blackness below the floor, I screamed

I bolted up, sweating. I was on the floor in the Hades cabin at camp half blood. I took a deep breath and focused my thoughts.

The sound of the conch shell woken me up, that had been the mournful note from the dream.

I guess it was time for dinner.

I shook my head to clear the dream from my thoughts but a sense of dread had settled over me.

I got off the floor and washed my face. I looked like death. I was ready.

Everyone was already at the mess hall when I got there and as I walked in I got a lot of whispers and stares as I sat down at my table. Camp had gotten bigger since the last time I had been there, Artemis's table was the only one without at least one demigod sitting at it. The Hermes table was overcrowded but that was nothing different and even Percy had company at the Poseidon table.

I sighed and sat down. After sacrificing part of my meal to Hades and finishing the food in silence by myself I started to get up and leave to mess hall and go back to my cabin. I was still tired form shadow traveling and I hadn't gotten much rest earlier due to the nightmare.

"Nico! Nico wait up!"

I stopped and let Percy catch up to me.

"Where are you going?" He asked, "It's time for the campfire."

I bit back a curse. The campfire! It had totally slipped my mind. I really had been away from camp too long.

"You are coming aren't you? Chiron will want to tell everyone you're back!"

I sighed. "They already saw me, in case you didn't notice the whole dinning pavilion was staring at me the whole time."

"Yeah but you probably have stories to tell, monsters you killed, places you went." He put an emphasis on the 'places'. Apparently he was still kinda mad at me for being gone for half the year.

I sighed again, "Fine."

He smiled, "Well c'mon then you can walk with me and Annabeth.

Just then a hunting horn sounded. I whipped my head around.

Percy noticed, "Hey relax it's just the Hunters of Artemis." He saw my expression and looked at me quizzically, "Spill." He said simply.

"I ran into them a couple times during my travels, I don't think they like me very much. The feeling is mutual"

Percy laughed, "Is that it? The great and mighty son of the dead is scared of some girls armed with bows and arrows?"

"Not funny, Percy, not funny at all."