This is House of Hades told from Nico's P.O.V! I can't be the only one who wants to know what the son of Hades was thinking, right? Especially during Croatia! So...enjoy!
*NOTE: I do not own the plot, the name, or the characters.*

Nico

The ship was being attacked.

Which, really, wasn't all that surprising. The Argo II was constantly under attack lately. The Athena Parthenos was like a magical monster magnet, Nico thought. It attracts everything. Plus, of course, with Nico sitting on the mast and Hazel on the deck, the two children of Hades (Or Pluto. Nico wasn't picky.) were probably helping the ivory goddess attract the ourae. Numina montanum, Nico remembered Jason calling them. That was the Roman translation, anyway. It was ourae in Greek.

He was so deep in his thoughts, he nearly failed his job as look out.

"Leo!" He called down to the son of Hephaestus. Leo was doing something with the controls that Nico didn't understand. "Leo!" He tried again. It didn't look like Leo could hear him, though.

"HARD TO PORT!" Nico shouted as loudly as he could. It probably didn't sound as loud down there, but at least Leo seemed to have heard him. He veered to the left, almost knocking Nico off the mast. He gripped to the poles until his knuckles turned white.

Then he looked towards Hazel, who had been peering over the railing.

And who also had a huge boulder heading straight for her head.

"HAZEL!" Nico shouted. Too late, he realized, She didn't hear me.

Luckily, Hazel had seen the boulder and ducked. Unluckily, the boulder's new target was the mast Nico happened to be sitting on. He couldn't duck his way out of this. Instead, he watched as the boulder got closer. He tried to position himself so he wouldn't break any bones from the fall.

Then, there was a loud CRACK! He barely had time to think: di Angelo is falling down, falling down, falling down, before feeling himself hit the deck. All at once, every single spot seemed to hurt at once. He felt kind of dazed, but Hazel's exclamation of "Nico!" snapped him out of it.

"I'm fine." He insisted, kicking the canvas off his legs. Hazel grabbed his hand and pulled him up. Stumbling slightly, he followed Hazel to the bow. The two siblings peered over the railing again, wary of flying boulders.

There, at the top of the mountain, was a Numina. It was pretty much the same as the others, look wise. it wore a white tunic. It's skin looked like the earth you might find by a volcano; it has rough and dark. His white beard was unkempt, reminding Nico of a crazy hermit. He could tell that Hazel and Leo both thought the same.

The numina shouted something too loudly for Nico to understand. He pulled another huge piece of rock out of the side of the mountain and formed it into a ball. Like a snowball, Nico thought, except this is deadly.

As the numina and the mountain receded into the fog, a loud bellowing noise was heard, followed by other numina's loud, deep voices.

"Stupid rock gods!" Leo shouted, startling Nico, "That's the third time I've had to replace that mast!You think they grow on trees?" Nico frowned thoughtfully.

"Masts are from trees." He pointed out.

"That's not the point!" Leo snapped. He grabbed a Wii remote and spun it in a quick circle.A celestial bronze canon rose from a trapdoor a few feet away. Nico and Hazel both covered their ears before it shot out several metal spheres, each one trailing green fire behind it. Suddenly,they surprised Nico by growing spikes and continuing into the fog.

Nico was trying to figure out the chances of it working when several explosions spanned across the mountain range.

It almost drowned out the angry noises the numina were making.

"Ha!" Leo shouted victoriously. Unfortunately, his victory didn't last long. A huge boulder flew by their starboard side.

"Get us out of here!" Nico exclaimed. He made a promise to Percy. He wouldn't let the numina kill him. Or Hazel and Leo, for that matter. So, if that meant letting Leo take command, Leo was going to take command.

Leo muttered something unintelligible before turning the wheel. The ship tacked to port, and began to sail to the northwest.

Just like they had been doing for the past two days.

Nico knew they needed a better plan. They can't just keep backtracking like this. They would never get to Epirus that way. The thought of Percy staying down there for longer than necessary sent tingles down his spine. If he and Annabeth were going to make it, they couldn't spend lot of time in Tartarus.

Nico shook his head. He couldn't afford to think like that. Ever since Bianca died, he had been horrible at staying positive; however, if he made it seem like the mission was impossible, the others might start thinking that, too. He couldn't let that happen.

He glanced around. The fog had cleared, and he could see the Italian land below them. He looked over at the other two demigods on deck. Hazel and Leo both seemed to be fine. That was good. The rest of the demigods on this quest (And Coach Hedge) were asleep in their quarters.

Now that he knew everyone else was fine, he could care about himself, the one who had actually gotten the most damage. His head was pounding, but he didn't think he had a concussion. No broken bones. That was easy to see. However, he had a multitude of little splinters from the mast stuck in his arms, legs, and he was pretty sure he felt a few in his neck. Numina are a pain in the neck, he thought with a small smile. The smile was gone almost immediately. He never really let his emotions show for long. Emotions are dangerous, he remembered Hades telling him, They can be used against you. Don't stop yourself from having any emotions at all, though. You are still part human.

Nico began picking the splinters out of his arms. He should probably ask Leo for help getting the ones off his back, where he couldn't reach as well, but the son of Hephaestus was pressing some buttons on the ship's console.

"Well, that was sucktastic." Leo said unhappily. He sounded annoyed, probably about the mast. "Should I wake the others?"

"They need to rest." Hazel said. "We'll have to figure out another way on our own."

"Huh." Leo mumbled before looking at his screen. He frowned. "Another way. Do you see one?" A map of Italy was glowing on the screen. Nico could make out the Apennine Mountains, and a green dot that presumably represented the Argo II. It would have been easiest to cross straight over the Apennines, but every time they tried, the numina that littered the area played target practice with the boulders. A hundred points if you knock the child of Hades off the mast!, He imagined them saying, A thousand if you take down the whole ship in one hit! Winner takes all demigods for a quick brunch!

"It's our fault." Hazel said, looking upset, and slightly ashamed. "Nico's and mine. The numina can sense us." Nico saw Hazel look at him, and he knew she was thinking about how he had been regaining his strength. He was still thin, but he always had been, even before Bianca died. His shirt- black, of course- and jeans- also black- He was a lot paler though, and his hair was longer and unkempt. Like the numina, except his was dark.

He gripped his sword tightly in his hand. That was just an instinct whenever he was angry, as if it were a threat. Don't you dare think this is your fault, Hazel, he thought, giving her a sharp glance before speaking.

"Earth spirits don't like children of the Underworld. That's true. We get under their skin-literally. But," He said, casting another glance at Hazel, "I think the numina could sense this ship anyway. It's carrying the Athena Parthenos. That thing is like a magical beacon."

Leo ran his finger along the screen.

"So crossing the mountains is out. Thing is, they go a long way in either direction."

"We could go by sea," said Hazel, "Sail around the southern tip of Italy."

"That's a long way. Plus, we don't have..." His voice cracked, and he mentally cursed himself. "You know...our sea expert, Percy."

"What about continuing north?" Hazel suggested, "There has to be a break in the mountains, or something."

Nico didn't say anything-he didn't talk much. But he figured that there wasn't going to be a break in the mountains. Even if there were, the numina could still find a way to attack. The breaks in the mountains were never really that big.

"I dunno," Leo said suddenly, snapping Nico out of his train of thought, "I don't see any good passes to the north. But I like that idea better than backtracking south. I'm done with Rome."

Nico decided not to argue. Rome wasn't fun. It was where they lost Percy and Annabeth to the depths of Tartarus. Suddenly, Nico remembered a time with Bianca. Every time Bianca would accuse him of losing something, he would grin, shake his head, and say that he "Momentarily misplaced it."

They didn't lose Percy, or Annabeth. They were only momentarily misplaced. At least, Nico hoped so. He didn't know what he would do if they actually were lost. If they were...

"Whatever we do," Nico said, not wanting to think about Percy, "we have to hurry. Everyday that Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus..."

Of course his brain thought of Percy again.

"Maybe we should wake the others. This decision affects us all." Nico suggested, scowling at the land below them. In Nico's mind, waking the others seemed like the best option. He didn't need anyone on this ship to be mad at him for making the wrong decision.

"No. We can find a solution." Hazel said. Nico didn't know why she didn't want to wake everyone else up. It was logical in his mind. Then again, maybe she was just being polite. They had taken the night shift, after all.

"We need some creative thinking," Hazel continued, "Another way to cross those mountains, or a way to hide ourselves from the numina."

Nico sighed. "If I was on my own, I could shadow-travel. But tht won't work for an entire ship. And honestly, I'm not sure I have the stregnth to even transport myself anymore."

Staying in a bronze jar for such a long time wasn't good for anyone's health. Nico had grown incredibly weak and skinny. He was regaining his stregnth, and some weight, but he was still pretty weak.

"I could maybe rig some kind of camouflage. Like a smoke screen to hide us in the clouds." He suggested, but he sounded slightly bored.

"Arion." Hazel suddenly said, looking off into the distance.

"What?" Nico asked, turning to see what had his half-sister so enthralled. On the horizon, there was a beige...dust cloud? Why was it getting closer? And why was it so fast?

Leo whooped happily. "It's her horse, man! You missed that whole part. We haven't seen him since Kansas!"

Nico frowned, and was vaguely aware of Hazel laughing. What kind of a horse could go that fast? Was it even safe?

Said horse, Arion, Nico guessed, was getting closer. It circled a hill, stopping at the top. It shouldn't have been possible, but but it's whinny carried all the way to the Argo II.

"We have to meet him," Hazel insisted. "He's here to help."

"Yeah, okay," Leo said, scratching his head, "But, uh, we talked about the not landing the ship on the ground anymore, remember? You know, with Gaea wanting to destroy us and all."

"Just get me close, and I'll use the rope ladder," Hazel said hurridley. "I think Ario wants to tell me something."