CH. 1 Dylus plays with shadows, and the Moon ignores the darkness

Percy and Annebeth were counting and listing the new arrivals for the summer. Something that they started doing after the gods stopped ignoring their children. More had been coming to camp; it had to have almost doubled in size over the last year. Since Percy was the one that made the gods stop ignoring their children, he was the one that Dionysus made keep track of them all. And there was a lot.

At that point Nico decided to check in, so they could re-add his name to the list. So they knew he wasn't dead. Technically he was supposed to stay in camp, but no one could keep track of him. Being a son of Hades, he can shadow travel. So more often then not, he doesn't stay at camp. He didn't mean to appear right next to Percy, so close he basically pushed him, but shadows are hard things to aim.

Percy yelped with surprise and fell, dropping his clipboard. The two new Aphrodite girls flinched when Nico appeared. And then stared, wide eyed and scared, at him.

"Boo!" He yelled and lunged toward them. One stumbled a few steps back, and the other ran behind Annebeth, who was glaring at him. He laughed a lightly chilling laugh.

"You little turd!!" Yelled Percy as he tackled Nico. The river was nearby, soon their wrestling match was half between them and a half between a wave of river water and shadow. Once the ground started shaking the two boys stepped back. The water fell to the ground and the shadows dissipated. And to the Aphrodite girls' surprise, the two started laughing. Nico gave Percy a playful punch in the arm. Which Percy returned with a noogie.

"Come on girls, I'll show you your cabin." Annebeth told the Aphrodite girls and led them away from the two boys.

"So what's been going on? Where've you been?" asked Percy.

"Nothing, nowhere…" he sighed.

"Grumpy emo," murmured Percy. This made Nico crack a smile. One of his rather rare smiles.

"What's going on her?" asked Nico.

"A bunch of stuff, there are a lot more campers than the last time you were home."

"Home?" Nico asked, because he had never thought of anywhere as home. Not really, not even the dark and dreary underworld where he spent a lot of his time.

"Yes, home," Percy said as he grinned at him. He wanted Nico to understand that he was his friend and that Nico was always welcome at Camp-Half Blood. Not matter who his parents are. "Why don't you stay here awhile, Nico, you get a cabin all to yourself. Or you could stay with me…"

"I'll stay in mine, thankyouverymuch. Staying with you would be kinda…" He let his thought trail off. Percy would know what he meant.

"Grumpy emo with a gutter mind."

"Whatever," Nico said in his mellow voice and yawned. He couldn't remember when the last time he slept was. That and a lot of shadow traveling made for a rather tired, cranky, Nico. All he wanted to do was crash in his cabin.

"Go to sleep kid, you look dead," Percy said in a half-teasing voice. Because technically Nico is half dead.

"Ha-ha," Nico laughed sarcastically. "You made a funny." And melted into shadow.

"Sunny! And new Apollo kids?" Percy asked Arla as he walked into the Apollo Cabin. Arla is the head of the Apollo Cabin. She has fiery orange hair, which reminds Percy of a lions mane, and sharp yellow eyes.

"Nope. Daddy's been unusually busy with other things, I guess. That makes it easier for me, all I have to worry about is Dylus."

"You don't have to worry about me," said Dylus poutily. And tugged at her shirt. Arla almost dropped the bundle of arrows she had in her arms.

"Dylus," she said calmly, but Percy could tell it was a warning… or a scolding.

"Sorry," he said meekly, and walked away, playing a sad dirge on his trumpet. Arla sighed.

"See? He'll be playing those damn funeral songs all say."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. And I'll save you some time and tell you that the Demeter Cabin id the same. But check the Hephaestus Cabin. And the…" she closed her eyes to look into something. "Nico's back!?" Percy laughed.

"Yeah, didn't you notice the tidal wave this morning?"

"No I didn't. Er…the Athena…ouch." She said and her eyes fluttered.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. To much envisioning sometimes gives me headaches.

"Hey Moony."

"Hmmmm?" The girl with the pale gray eyes and dark hair looked up from the plants she was concentrating so hard on.

"Just checking all the cabins and I noticed none of your protectors are around."

"They're…I don't know." She said monotone-like.

"Thought so." Usually the other Demeter kids hover around Melantha because technically she isn't a Demeter kid, but a Persephone kid. But technically still a Demeter kid. And the Demeter kids feel the need to protect her. "I wanted to talk to you about-"

"The Hades kid?"

"Yeah," Percy said with a grin.

"I don't actually care. Percy, has it ever occurred to you that we are not our parents?" I'm not Persephone. He's not Hades, and is probably not going to kidnap me… ever. For any reason. Probably won't even notice me. Most people don't." Her voice got quieter and quieter as she went on, eventually it was nothing but a murmur.

"But I just wanted to check on you, either way."

"Who made you head of the camp?"

"Dionysus, god of wine and frolicking."

"No he didn't. He makes you list the demigods. That does not make you in charge of the camp. He doesn't even do anything, Chiron mostly does everything.

"Nuh-uh! Okay, maybe. But you have to admit I do a lot."

"Sure, whatever you have to tell yourself."

"I won't try."

"That's what I like to hear."

Arla shot five arrows into the middle of the target in three seconds. A new record for her. Which was strange, because today she kept missing. Unusual for her. She couldn't keep Dylus off her mind. The young Apollo kid would surely get into trouble if he didn't have her looking after his shoulder. Arla sighed and went to put away her archery equipment and find Dylus.

Nico woke up later in the day. Feeling that his nap should have been much longer. He felt restless though, Nico was never one who could stay in the same for very long. He walked around camp trying not to call attention to himself, just trying to find a quiet place to sit, but it was harder than he thought it would be. There were five more cabins than he remembered, and two still under construction. He found his way to the small stadium-like area where the Campers practice there swordsmanship and other fighting skills on each other. Sometimes Nico would have to challenge Percy to an actual spar, with people other than Annebeth and a couple of scared Aphrodite girls watching. But there was already a fight going on. It wasn't very crowded, but still too noisy. The only place he could think of was the woods. But it was stocked with all sorts of monsters… exactly why no one would bother him there. There are a few perks to being a son of Hades.

He was going to sit by the river, but instead flopped down onto a nearby mossy rock. He thought about going back to sleep, but couldn't. Instead he just lay there staring at the underside of the trees.

A twig snapped and Nico was up in less than a second, one of his many throwing knives already in his hand, the celestial bronze kind.

It was a giant hell-hound, but by the way it drooled and how it's tail wagged, and it's size, Nico recognized it as Percy's ironic pet, Mrs. O'Leary.

"They let you into the woods? Someone's going to slice you up sometimes, O'Leary girl. I almost did." He pet the giant dog, she licked his head and Nico thought she might accidentally eat him, but laughed it off as he stood there covered in hell-hound drool. Nico always felt a kindred friendship with the dog. And like playing with her.

"Come on, I'll find a shield to throw at you," he walked back to the stadium with Mrs. O'Leary following at his heels. So much for not drawing attention to himself. Now while being followed by a super hell-hound, he felt like everyone was staring at him.

On his way to find a shield big enough to throw for Mrs. O'Leary, Nico passed by his cabin. Nico had no warm and/or fuzzy feelings for his cabin, to him it was just a place to sleep. But there he saw a young kid standing and staring at it. He wondered what it must look like to everyone else. And he realized it must look really creepy. It's walls are gray stone, and the windows are all tinted black as obsidian, the door is ebony with a black metal knob, and for some reason poisonous vines grow up one of the sides, and the grass surrounding it is pale and colorless. And to top it off weird moving shadows seem to some out of the stones. Nico stood there for a while, scrutinizing his cabin along with the kid, Mrs. O'Leary sitting behind them. Finally, the kid turned his head to Nico, and Nico turned his head to the kid, and asked him,

"What are you doing?"

"Lookin'."

"At the Hades Cabin?" The kid nodded, and his curly blond hair fell in his eyes. "Why?" Nico asked incredulously. What a weird kid this is.

"Creepy." A man (boy) of few words, Nico respected that.

"Come on Mrs. O'Leary." Nico said and started to walk away.

"Wait!" The kid yelled at him. Nico turned wide eyed at the kid. What did he want? "I'm Dylus," he said and stuck out his hand. Nico shook it, slightly amused by Dlyus' attempt at an introduction.

"I'm Nico," he turned to leave again, and was a little surprised when he realized both Mrs. O'Leary and Dylus were following him.

"Dylus, do you know where they keep the old shields? Or a dented one?" Nico didn't want to ruin a perfectly good one, so if he could get an older one, all the better.

"Yep," Dylus said and scurried into the stadium. A few minutes later he came scampering back out, balancing a big shield, with a large dent in the middle, on his shoulders. He held it up to Nico, who took it in one hand.

"Thanks, kid. This'll work." He threw it as far as he could. And Mrs. O'Leary sprinted away to fetch it. If Nico was still harboring any hope that someone hadn't noticed him yet, it was crushed as Mrs. O'Leary made the ground quiver with each gigantic leap.

"People are staring…" Dylus murmured to Nico.

"I noticed." Mrs. O'Leary dropped the shield at Nico's feet.

"Dylus! What are you doing?" The worried call came from somewhere behind them. Both boys turned, to see a girl with flame colored hair and bright yellow eyes.

"Arla!" Dylus yelled and ran to her, hugging her leg. "This is Nico." He said happily. Looking pointedly at Nico then back at Arla.

"I know," she said in a way that sounded suspicious to Nico.

"Who are you?"

"Arla, head of the Apollo cabin. Nice to meet you," she told him, held out her hand for him to shake it.

"Apollo, that explains things." Nico said more to himself, but did shake her hand. Arla shivered, she tried to hold it in, then failed, but tried her hardest to keep it small so Nico wouldn't notice. But his quick grimace told her otherwise. "Nico… I don't know if I have a title. But you've probably figured out by now that I'm the Hades kid."