Sup?

I'm just going to come out and say it here. This is not my best chapter. Unfortunately, I've been really distracted by another fanfiction (which is much fun) and put Favors on the side burner. So I really felt the need to update like, ASAP.

But, in the wise words of Callie, something is better than nothing.

Nico di Angelo, son of Hades

There was a short period of time where it seemed like everything would be more or less okay, as far as inevitable disasters go. It might have been a three, which is generally considered a blessing for kids with a habit of causing disasters. Usually, mine tend to be, like, eights.

Add that into the Grace's habit of increasing the level of the disaster just for the fun of it, and the result isn't pretty.

But, this time, I had Ari to depend on, which kind of evened things out. I hadn't really known her for that long, and even then only through Rozzie, who I also hadn't known for that long, but she seemed like the kind of person who could handle disasters.

Jordan and Lex seemed to find it a good way to prove which one of them was more awesome than the other, and while it may have increased the mayhem, it was certainly interesting to watch. Jordan would make one monster a shish-ka-bob, Lex would cut of it's already dissolving head just to say that she had a part in the poor thing's destruction, and then a battle would ensue between the two of them on who killed what, and then Lex would hack something in half with her axe, and the whole thing would start all over.

Yes. I know that was a run-on sentence. If I had an English teacher, they would cringe.

Luckily, I do not have an English teacher. So I can do whatever the heck I want.

But my free-reign on the literary world is probably not what you care about.

You all care about killing things! Like true men. And women. Because I'm sure they care about killing things, too. Gods know Karson does.

In fact, she almost killed me.

An arrow thudded into the wall next to my nose, the fletching doing a little dance as the shaft vibrated from the impact. "Watch it!" I shouted over the chaos, pulling out the arrow for future use.

But she just looked at me all innocently, brown eyes wide, and shot another arrow in the other direction.

I do not understand girls.

Someone needs to write a manual.

Except that there is no one who could, because I don't think even girls understand what's going on in their heads. It's all hormones and hairspray up there.

And killing things.

It was Ari who got that last one. The short cross-bow bolt flew through the air with a twang, sinking deep into the thing's forehead. It was quiet for a second, and then the monster dissolved into nothing. The bolt fell to the floor, hitting the tiles with a clatter.

"Well," she said, setting the boltless cross-bow on her shoulder, "that was anti-climactic."

I looked around, and I had to agree. Lex, Jordan, Ari, and Karson seemed to have done almost all of the work. Lex and Jordan were completely covered in monster guts, and bolts and arrows were stuck into the walls all over the place. Ella and Nathan, upon seeing the lack of anything really entertaining, had simply sat down and argued over something that would have been interesting if it hadn't been about a theoretical battle in Lord of the Rings. Rozzie and I had each only killed one monster.

Cass was standing uncertainly off to the side, her hand on the short dagger she kept hidden under her t-shirt, and for a moment I was confused. She had never used a knife before. She didn't even carry weapons.

But then I remembered her face when Ari had rattled off all of the random facts in the bathroom. The mention of Poseidon had brought no gleam of recognition to her eyes. In fact, she looked overwhelmed. Was just one more thing she didn't remember?

Did she not remember how to fight?

Because that's a potential future problem.

But before I could say anything, she asked, "What were they?"

Lex picked up a severed head by the long hair on the top and stared at it. "Not sure," she admitted, sniffing it. Cass looked a little green around the gills. "New monsters keep popping up all over the place."

"Well, either they're new or the Greeks didn't feel the need to write much about them," added Jordan, poking the head with the tip of her sword. It swayed like a pendulum.

"That's disgusting," Cass informed them.

The two just shrugged as Lex let it flop to the floor.

Ari readjusted her hoodie, pulling on its hem anxiously. "I didn't think it would be that easy," she said, muttering to herself.

"What would be?" asked Rozzie curiously, taking the girl's cross-bow and putting it back in Ari's bag. The taller girl barely noticed.

"I have a bad feeling," she said by way of answering.

Ella looked up at her, leaning her back lazily against the wall. "Says the psychic?"

Karson scowled. "That's probably not a good sign."

Lex snorted. "When do we ever get good signs?" she pointed out. "Personally, I'd be a little freaked out if it started raining cupcakes out of the blue or something."

"No you wouldn't," said Jordan. "You'd be out there with a laundry hamper to catch them all."

"Eh." Lex grinned. "I'd be freaking out on the inside."

But Ari wouldn't let even her friend's conversation shake her out of her anxiety. "We should go back outside," she said, her eyes shifting left and right.

Lex just shrugged, her axe resting on her shoulder. "If you say so."

Rozzie smiled weakly. "Maybe it'll be raining cupcakes."

"Here's hoping!" said Ella, standing up and brushing dust off of her backside.

I didn't say anything as everyone else filed out of the doors. Ari's nervousness was contagious. My stomach acid churned like a hurricane, and I was worried to go out the doors. Cass looked almost like I felt. "Are...uh, you okay?" I asked, self-consciously.

"I'm not in a particularly good mood, no," she admitted. "Confused."

"Maybe it's better if you don't remember anything," I offered.

She looked at me like I was an idiot. "Well, geez, Nico, I don't know. You tell me. Since everyone here knows more about me than I do," she said flatly.

I blushed. I'm not good with people.

But then she sighed. "I wasn't worried about that, though. Now I'm just trying to figure out why they aren't there in the first place. One problem at a time."

I took a deep breath to say something wise, from one really messed up kid to another, but Karson cut me off. "Nico!" she screamed from the other side the door. "Get out here."

"Fine, fine," I muttered.

"Hurry." Her voice was abnormally sharp.

Which is saying something, considering that even since I've got back she's been about as civil as a butcher's knife.

So hurry, I did.

And the silence hit me like a bullet.

Not that it was really quiet. Lex and Jordan were gone, but Ella, Nathan, Rozzie, and Karson more than made up for them in noise. Ari was the only one not freaking. She just looked worried.

Not because it was quiet. Because it was too quiet.

You couldn't hear the screaming crowd, or the buzz of cars, or the sweaty football players screaming insults at each other.

We were alone.

There was nothing.

My heart thudded in my chest. "Wha...?"

"Where is everyone?" asked Rozzie.

I heard footsteps thudding on concrete, and Jordan was rushing towards us. "No one," she said, coming to a stop. "No one is there."

"Where's Lex?" Ari asked.

"Here!" she called from the other direction. "There's nobody in the school. The field?" she asked Jordan.

"Nada."

"What's going on?" Lex asked, nibbling on her finger. Her eyes looked overly bright.

"Good question," some one said above us.

All of snapped our necks towards the voice so quickly, they all popped in harmony.

Some guy was kind of lounging on the roof, right above the door. He looked completely normal, except that his hair was, like, dyed blue. And also he was there. That was odd.

Considering that...you know. No one else was.

"Yo," he said with a grin. "Rozzie! Long time, no see."

Karson looked at her accusingly. But Rozzie looked rattled enough without her glares and ignored her accordingly.

"And Cass!" he continued, like he didn't notice the discomfort. "Fancy seeing you here."

If he didn't before, he certainly did then.

"Do I know you?" Cass asked uncertainly.

I looked over at Rozzie. Her eyes were closed, and her lips were moving like she was praying. Or just muttering to herself.

"Well, you don't anymore. You did." He grinned. "But I know you."

I was really confused. Had he known her before the Thea episode?

"And is this a recent acquaintance?" asked Nathan evenly, voicing my thoughts.

The boy looked at him through squinted eyes. "Quite recent, actually."

"Stop playing with them, Jack," demanded Rozzie. "What the Hades is going on here?"

Jack. Question mark.

Jack grinned. "I had nothing to with this," he said, waving his hand towards the field, where the lack of people was it's most obvious. "Threats aren't really my style."

"Threats?" said Karson. If there's one thing that girl understands...

"Yep." Jack smiled, a real one, the kind that was too big for his face. "Or maybe it was a challenge."

"Who took everyone?" asked Ari.

"My parents were in that crowd," whispered Lex, her voice cracking. I never heard her say anything in a whisper. I didn't know she could whisper. "Where are they?"

"We'll find them," comforted Jordan.

"No you won't," said Jack, and I seriously wanted to punch the guy. "And you shouldn't be worried about her parents when you should be worrying about your own."

"They weren't even here."

"You think it's just the high school?"

The silence was overwhelming.

"Okay," huffed Karson. "I'm confused. I don't like being confused. So stop talking in riddles and tell me what the heck is happening here so that I can get on with my life."

Jack shrugged. "Ask Nico." It didn't seem odd that he knew my name.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded.

"You're little quest made someone very angry," he called. "Consider this"—here, he waved towards the emptiness again—"a warning."

Rozzie looked over at me morosely. "You mean they don't want us looking for it?"

"Specifically, they don't want you finding it," amended Jack. "They want it. You want it. See the problem?"

"So they took the whole town?" asked Ella, more intrigued than horrified.

But that didn't stop her words from making everyone else shudder.

"Yep." He grinned. It wasn't, like, an evil grin or anything. It was more like the one that Ella got sometimes when she was about to make something explode. "Genius, isn't it?"

I ignored that last comment. "How do we get them back?"

"Ah!" said Jack, delighted. "Good question. Very forward."

"Well, that's one of us," said Jordan.

"From where I'm sitting, I see two options," Jack continued. I doubt he was even paying enough attention to Jordan to have heard her. "Option one: go home, bury your little heads in some other demigod nonsense and hope that all of the people come back."

"That sounds like a dumb option, what's number two?" Ella asked cheerfully. She would be cheerful. She'd finally found her soul twin.

"You could always go about your business like you have been. But that will only work if you beat them, won't it?" he mused.

"You make me very uncomfortable, sir, what with your proclamations of disaster and whatnot," said Lex. She looked like a child who'd just seen a dog put down.

Ari grabbed my arm. "Nico, you need to go."

I moved out of her reach angrily. "And what will happen to your parents then?" I demanded. I'm not good at snap decisions. I needed to find it, but how was I supposed to put Ari, Lex, and Jordan at risk to do it?

Then Lex punched me in the face.

Not hard, but hard enough.

"We're big girls, Nico," said Jordan, holding back Lex's arm so she couldn't hit me again.

"Is my nose bleeding?"

"Yes," said Lex in pride. "Now leave. I have no idea where you should go, but...yeah. Go and kill things. Like a good little half-blood."

"And try to get thrown in jail like the last time," said Ari, laughing, but it sounded fake.

"Bah!" scoffed Lex. "Details." And then she smiled, and because she was Lex it looked like she meant it. "But I can't cook, so bring my mother back to me before I starve."

"I can make grilled cheese," offered Jordan.

"I'm pretty good with cereal and microwavable things," added Ari.

"I can make sandwiches!" announced Lex.

"This is all heart-warming, a bunch of friends coming together in the face of adversity and all, but you really should get going," said Jack with a yawn. "They'll be sending backups any minute now."

Karson cursed at him. "Who the heck are you, anyway?"

"No one of importance," he answered, and he was right. "But my employer, he's a biggie. Try not to disappoint him, dearie."

He looked at Rozzie. "And you, my love, have been difficult." He blinked at her, and she looked at him, horrified. "Deal or no deal?"

"I need more time," she insisted weakly.

"We always need that one thing we don't have," Jack clucked. "When you decide to do what needs to be done, you just give me a call. We'll work something out." He winked and was gone.

Karson stared at Rozzie suspiciously, but when she took a deep breath to accuse her of something shady, Nathan said, "Well, I guess that means it's time to leave."

By "that" he meant the tremendous exploding noises getting closer to the high school. "Probably not a bad idea," I admitted. "Come on."

I grabbed Karson and Rozzie's hands, which surprised them both. Rozzie because she was completely spaced out and Karson because I think she hated me. But then Ella hopped up on her back, and Nathan and Cass put a hand on Rozzie's shoulders, and I looked at Lex and Jordan and Ari, waiting for them to join in the clump.

"We'll stay," said Ari.

"We can't just let them raze the town, now can we?" said Jordan with an evil grin.

Lex was picking at her eyes. "I have eyelash glue all over my eyeball," she declared, pulling bits of gunk off of her lashes.

"Charming," muttered Karson.

"I'm not leaving you here," Rozzie told them, even though it would have been more me leaving them. She winced with every loud noise.

"Do I need to punch you in the face, too?" asked Lex, and I'll admit she looked like a menacing little Keebler elf, 5'2 and carrying an axe twice her height.

Then something inside the high school exploded with enormous power. Brick crumpled, and the glass of the doors shot outward, like evil little raindrops, and there wasn't much of a choice.

In seconds, the dark night sky had been replaced by the darkness of the Underworld. I felt the familiar despair and was right at home. Rozzie, Cass, the Grace's, and myself. And Karson.

Our ticket to her.

I'LL MAKE IT UP TO YOU SOON!

But in the meantime, feel free to review. ;)