Next chapter! I hope you like it and it would be great to get some reviews to this story, that always motivates me to go on writing. So please tell me what you think!

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Chapter 11

Will POV

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Percy asked hesitantly and Will could see him frowning at Nico across the table. "I mean, without a prophecy and so on it's going to get pretty difficult, isn't it?"

Next to him, Nico shook his head. "It would be difficult with a prophecy as well." He argued and Will looked at his boyfriend. Right after Nico had told him about his dream, they had talked to Chiron and now the head counselors of the cabins of Camp Half-Blood were sitting in the Big House and had to decide what they were going to do next. "Because I don't think that it would give us a hint where to start the search for something useful." Nico added and his expression was worried. This and the lack of sleep made him look even paler than usual and Will didn't like it. He would have loved to drag the son of Hades back to his cabin and let him sleep for a few hours. Sadly, that wasn't possible right now. Every one of them was needed here.

"And besides, a quest is always dangerous. So that wouldn't be anything new as well." Will added to help Nico and the younger boy shot him a grateful look.

"Nevertheless, we have to decide who will go and where they start their quest." Annabeth said loudly and many of the other people in the room nodded quietly. To Will's surprise, many of them had remained silent since the meeting had started. Normally, everyone wanted to present his or her opinion and often there was pure chaos. Why was it different this time?

"But do you really think that a dream is prove enough to go out on a quest?" The head counselor of the Hermes cabin asked. His condescending tone and the way he was looking at Nico made Will stare at him angrily and he would have liked to say something mean to him. Suddenly, Nico squeezed Will's hand and when he turned his head to look at him, Nico's expression seemed to say 'Don't worry, it's okay. I can deal with it.' Slowly, Will relaxed again and nodded shortly. Then he turned his attention to the others again.

"It wasn't just a dream." Jason cut in and the son of Hermes raised his eyebrows. "First, there was this ghost on the grounds of Camp Half-Blood which shouldn't be possible. Then the tension started to rise and Nico and others got strange dreams. I think I don't have to mention the attack yesterday. And now this. Aren't these enough signs for something bad coming towards us?"

"Yes, I would believe it. However all those things happened to him" he pointed at Nico "and no one else can prove it!"

"Why shouldn't we believe him?" Jason asked quietly and crossed his arms. "Nico has showed many times that he only wants us to be safe. Take the last war, for example. There he has done things no one would have even dared to think of, just to stop Gaea from waking up again."

"And in the war against Kronos and the Titans we fought side by side." Percy added and many other demigods started to murmur approvingly.

"We are not here to discuss Nico's trustworthiness." Chiron cut in loudly and it didn't take long until everyone was silent again. From the corner of his eyes, Will looked at Nico and to his surprise he found his boyfriend smiling calmly at Chiron, Jason and Percy. "I believe him and what he has told us is very alarming. I have no idea who could be the one who plans to attack us again, but from what you say he has to be very powerful."

"And he's got an army." Percy added, however this wasn't very helpful. Or reassuring.

"What about the others? Is Camp Jupiter in danger as well?" Will asked and looked around. Now many clueless faces were staring at him and normally, he would have started to feel uncomfortable. Luckily, Nico was holding his hand which stopped his heart from beating uncontrollably.

"First Camp Half-Blood, then Camp Jupiter…" Nico murmured and nodded slowly. "It's going to be that way, I feel it."

For a few moments, Chiron just looked at him thoughtfully. At length, he nodded. "That's what I fear as well." He admitted and closed his eyes as if it would prevent it from happening when he just thought of it long enough.

"So who will go?" Piper asked into the following silence and no one dared to answer that question.

"Maybe we should speak to someone from Camp Jupiter first…" The head counselor of the Hephaestus cabin began hesitantly. "I mean, when they want to attack the Romans as well, they should also be able to decide what we're going to do now, right?"

"Two demigods of Camp Half-Blood, one of Camp Jupiter." Jason said after some time and Chiron raised his eyebrows at him. "It has started here. I'm sure they'll understand."

"And if they don't want to take part on the quest?"

"We still can find one other person who wants to go with them."

"But who are 'they'?" Will turned to Annabeth, who had asked the last question and he saw Percy and Jason exchange uncertain looks.

"They have to think about it wisely." Chiron said and looked at all of them, frowning. "It is going to be very dangerous and none of us can even assume what they will have to face. And this time, I'm afraid that there aren't many people who can help them on their quest."

Again, a silence followed his words and after some time, Will thought that no one would ever say something again. Suddenly, he felt Nico move next to him and when he turned his head, he saw a determined expression on his boyfriend's face. "I'll go." Nico announced loudly and now everyone else turned his or her attention towards him as well.

"Nico… are you sure?" Will's heart seemed to be frozen and only Chiron's hesitant voice took him back to reality.

Nico swallowed and nodded. "Yes, I can't explain it, but somehow I have the feeling that it's me who has to do this."

Chiron looked at him for a few more seconds, before he nodded thoughtfully. "I know what you mean and in the past few days that presumption has been creeping up on me as well." He admitted and frowned. "A son of Hades who goes on a quest to find the person who is responsible for the darkness that is hanging over us…"

"You won't go out there without me!" Those words had left Will's mouth before he even knew that he wanted to say them and now many shocked faces weren't turned to Nico anymore. However, he didn't care. Everything that mattered was Nico's expression right now and Will saw two different things there. Disapproval and gratefulness at the same time.

"You don't have to do that." Nico was whispering now and Will doubted that any of the other people in the room could hear him. "I can take care of myself very well." Did he imagine it or was Nico sounding a little insecure?

Will took Nico's hands and squeezed them. "I know that you could do this alone, but I want to help you. And I want to be there for you, if you need me." He looked into Nico's eyes and smiled slightly. "I mean, if you don't want me to come-"

"Will, are you crazy?" Nico asked and Will could only stare at him when his boyfriend actually started to laugh. "You really think that I don't want you to join me on the quest? I was rather thinking about you and your safety! Of course I want you by my side."

For a few seconds, he could only stare at Nico without being able to say something. So he just shook his head. "My safety." Will murmured slightly. "I don't think that anything really bad can happen as long as we're together."

Nico, who was still grinning at him, chuckled softly. "I hope you're right, Sunshine. Otherwise we should talk again and I can already say that it won't look good for you then."

With a last smile in Nico's direction, Will turned towards Chiron and the other head counselors again. They were all pretending to do something right now and he was grateful that they'd given him and Nico at least a little space to exchange a few words before the meeting continued. "I'll go with Nico." Will announced loudly and no one in the room seemed to be surprised. Percy even grinned at him widely and Jason looked at him forcefully, which made Will feel a little uncomfortable. He already knew that the son of Zeus wanted to talk to him later.

"Does anyone want to say something against their decision to go on the quest together?" Chiron asked and it was silent in the room. The centaur nodded with a pleased expression on his face and turned to Nico and Will. "We will contact the representatives of Camp Jupiter and you can set out on your quest as soon as you've found the third member of your group. I don't like to say this, but you all know that we have to make haste. And while they have left the camp to find information about our enemy, we have to make plans for the defenses and train even harder. It will not be easy, however I am sure that we are going to win the next fight, when we only stand together and help each other whenever it is necessary."

"This is bad…" Reyna murmured and covered her face with her hands. "Very, very bad. We have to do something." Slowly, she looked up again and Will could see the concern in her eyes even through the Iris message. "Do you really think that a quest without a prophecy can be successful?"

Next to Will, Nico nodded. "A prophecy wouldn't make this easier, would it? Yes, we would have something to hold on to, but it's a riddle itself and prophecies can cause trouble and make you believe the wrong things as well. Ask Percy if you have the time, I'm sure he can tell you a long story about it." He paused for a few moments and frowned at their friends from Camp Jupiter. "What I wanted to say is that we have to do something, just like Reyna said and we can't wait for a miracle to happen. We have to act right now, if we want it or not. And I have the feeling that before we're going to leave the camp there'll be something that can help us."

"And what do you think will help you?" Hazel asked and raised her eyebrows at her brother.

However, Nico shrugged. "I don't know. You just have to trust me, I think."

"We do." Will assured him immediately and Nico smiled when Reyna, Hazel and Frank nodded as well.

"And now you want us to decide if one of us will go with you?" Frank asked again and this time it was Will who nodded.

"This isn't just about Camp Half-Blood. They will attack you as well. We don't know if it'll happen when we're still fighting or when our camp is…" He hesitated, not wanting to finish that sentence. When our camp is already lost…

"Fact is that you aren't safe as well and we want to give you a chance to help us win this war before it has really started." Nico cut in quickly and Will shot him a grateful look.

"What a stupid question." Hazel murmured and rolled her eyes. "Of course we want to help you! You don't even have to ask."

Reyna and Frank nodded. "Without Greeks who like to do stupid things, the world would be far too boring!" Frank added, which earned him a reproachful look from Hazel, who was sitting next to him.

"So now we still have to decide who is going to join you on your quest." Reyna murmured before the others could start to argue. There was a strange expression on her face, like a mixture of determination and uncertainty. Will didn't know what he should think of it, but apparently Nico seemed to understand what she was thinking. It shouldn't surprise Will, at least the two of them had become friends after their long journey with the Athena Parthenos. Nevertheless, there was this strange feeling in his stomach again that was – according to one of his brothers – jealousy.

"You can admit that you want to come with us, Reyna." Nico said loudly and ripped Will out of his thoughts.

Right now, Reyna looked like a child who has been caught at stealing chocolate from the cupboard of its parents and a sheepish smile appeared on her lips. Unlike Nico, Hazel, Frank and Will looked at her questioningly and after some time, Reyna couldn't stand it anymore and laughed softly. "He's right, I was thinking about going on that quest myself. It's been some time since I've been out there myself and I don't feel like I can do anything as long as I'm sitting here in Camp Jupiter."

"And what should we do here without you?" Frank asked and Will could see the worry in his eyes. They were a team and without Reyna, Frank would have to deal with many things alone.

"Hazel can help you as long as I'm on the quest." Reyna answered immediately and looked at Hazel, who nodded slowly.

"If you tell me what exactly I have to do it won't be a problem." She murmured and after a few more moments, her expression became more confident.

Reyna smiled gratefully and turned towards Nico and Will again. "So when will we start?" she asked and Will had to grin at the excitement in her voice.

"As soon as we've got a place to start we can go." Nico replied and frowned. "I think during the next three days we should be able to figure something out."

Reyna nodded and the look on her face became thoughtful again. "We have to meet somewhere."

"We'll pick you up at Camp Jupiter. When we shadow travel, we'll be there in a few moments." Nico must have seen Will's expression since he squeezed his hand reassuringly. "You don't have to worry, we can take Mrs O'Leary. Then I won't have to do anything."

Slowly, Will relaxed again and he nodded with a sigh. "But I'll have an eye on you, Death Boy."

"Okay, so we'll meet in three days at the borders of Camp Jupiter." Reyna said into the silence that followed Will's words and they all looked at each other, as if they wanted to make sure that no one had doubts about their plan.

"That's the plan." Will replied Nico nodded.

"Then let's hope that we'll find a way to end all this." Reyna added just before the Iris message in front of them began to vanish and Will and Nico were alone again.