A/N: Alright, finally here is our missing hero. I hope you enjoy the change of pace. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

A Favor for Revenge

Why did he always get the secret jobs? The dirty, solitary, high-risk with little to no chance of success, let alone survival, jobs. And every single time, it was for some sketchy deity, ghost, or whatever.

But Nico di Angelo wasn't actually as mad as he wished he was. He tried to stay at Camp and make a home, he really did, but it was so difficult. Jason and Hazel tried so hard to make him feel like family. He appreciated the effort, it just wasn't what he needed.

Nico nearly killed himself transporting the Athena Parthenos across the globe to stop a war between the Greeks and Romans. He finally arrived, and was a hero for all of four minutes.

Nico did have to admit those four minutes felt pretty good.

Then the Flotilla blocked out the sky over camp, telling an impossible tale of Percy and Annabeth being captured again while the Argo II was destroyed.

Basically, his effort was a waste, because a week later he was back in Greece chained at the base of Olympus waiting for Percy Jackson to rescue him. Again.

The giants used him. Again. Just like in Rome, he was a lure for Percy. Except Nico wasn't the lure he wanted to be. He was a friend, a little cousin that needed protection.

Anger coursed through him and his grip tightened around the waist of his driver.

Even better, Nico was currently hanging on to the back of Nemesis, the goddess of revenge, for dear life as she torched through the Underworld going super-Olympian miles per hour on her motorcycle.

Nemesis had appeared to him in a dream, a week before the Marathon and the Hephaestus were due to depart on their quest. She needed his Underworld expertise, and she needed it ten minutes ago. Something about a threat that she was uniquely suited to combat with his help. So he had shadow-traveled away at the beck and call of yet another god.

Naturally, Nico hadn't been able to say goodbye to anyone. Not that they would've cared anyway.

He tried to remain even more distant from Percy than he had before the war. The son of the sea god and Annabeth had become more than inseparable. They were interchangeable, only existing as a part of the other. And Percy had a new brother along with a whole host of friends to occupy his time that he wasn't spending rebuilding, going to Camp Jupiter, helping with Keenan's new ship, and just being the best version of Percy Jackson he could possibly be.

Nico snarled into the back of Nemesis' black leather jacket. The deliberately evasive goddess couldn't even tell him why she needed him! She knew her way around the Underworld. She was the daughter of Nyx and Erebos, night and darkness, for Hades sake.

He had a sneaking suspicion that the pair's path was headed on a direct collision course with Percy's. Nico needed to know what was going on.

I can't believe I'm about to do this. Percy would totally love it – NO!

"GAAAAAARRRR!"

Nico threw himself off the screaming metal deathtrap. He was airborne for a few seconds before slamming face first into the rocky ground. He rolled another thirty feet in a painful tumble.

A groan escaped Nico's lips. His whole body burned. He could feel deep cuts along his forearms and face without even seeing them. There was definitely a better approach than that.

The motorcycle came to sharp halt right next to Nico. Gravel sprayed at his face and into his mouth.

Nico slowly got to his feet, spitting out grayish dirt and rocks the whole way. He spat just a few inches away from the front tire of the motorcycle. "Thanks for that."

"Have you lost your mind, son of Hades?" Nemesis asked.

Nico stared at the goddess. "If you think even for a second that I'm getting back on that bike without answers you are dead wrong."

To Nico's surprise, Nemesis' expression softened. "I suppose it is only fair, but I cannot reveal everything. It is not safe, not yet, but you will understand in time. Keep in mind that I am the goddess of balance as well as revenge. That balance is now in jeopardy."

"Gods aren't supposed to act directly. That's what we're here for, right?" Nico asked. His tone was still harsh.

"Things have changed since Gaea was defeated. We can play by… different rules now. Besides, I believe this is going to turn into a family matter," Nemesis explained.

"Isn't it always?" Nico said under his breath.

"But I do need your help. I fear involving your father now. His attention may only accelerate things," Nemesis said.

"If you're going to insist on being so infuriatingly cryptic," Nico said, "At least tell me why I'm here?"

"You know the Underworld better than anyone else, besides your father. I need you to have your senses on high alert."

"For what, exactly?" Nico asked. He was more intrigued and worried than he was suspicious now.

"Any disturbance, especially in the boundaries of Hades and Tartarus. I don't know how exactly it will feel, but I trust you'll know. For now, any anomaly is a beacon we ride to. I trust your judgment." Nemesis said.

Funny. Leo and Hazel's description of Nemesis had terrified Nico when she contacted him. But the cold, calculating goddess that took her own son's eye was nowhere to be found. Nemesis was afraid of something. For her to trust him, need him… whatever was happening must be truly catastrophic.

Nico nodded. "Okay."

"One more thing. Has your father told you about the giant?"

Nico's eyes grew wide. "Giant? No, they're dead. We killed them."

"All but one, I'm afraid. The bane of Hades, and Gaea's heir to the Underworld, Alcyoneus, is alive and well. And it gets worse," Nemesis' eyes grew cloudy, "Apollo is missing. I believe he's been captured."

"Apollo? By who? Why?" Nico asked in disbelief.

"I can't say for sure, yet. The mixture of enemies we now face is confusing at best, scary at worst. Atlas and whatever support he drums up and a rogue, pissed-off giant. Just pray that I'm wrong about who's pulling their strings."

A strange mix of fear and anger filled Nico's belly. Nobody messed with his Underworld. He owed that gem-skinned giant a beating.

He threw one leg across the motorcycle seat and wrapped his arms around Nemesis' leather covered waist.

"Punch it."