Wow, I can't believe that I didn't write a new chapter of this story for over a year! But here it is! And I promise that you won't have to wait so long for the next one. I read the whole story again recently and I noticed a few mistakes in grammar etc., but I won't fix them yet. First, I want to continue. I've already planned the next chapters. However, I've got other stories as well, so it might take some time until I'll write the next chapter of this one. Besides, I can only write new chapters on the weekends. Since I'm working now, I'm too exhausted within the week. I hope you can be patient.
Thanks to everyone who reads this story and leaves a review, it makes me really happy!
I don't own the characters or places!
Nico
"Alright, this sounds really crazy." Clarisse said slowly and looked around. "Anyone here who agrees with me?"
All around them, people started to whisper quietly. They were in the big house again, together with the other members of the council. After Nico and Will had contacted Reyna at Camp Jupiter, they already had to leave the Hades cabin again for the council meeting at noon. Nico wasn't happy that his time alone with Will had been interrupted again and he knew that Will felt the same, but they knew how important this meeting was. And everything that came after it. Reyna had been happy to get news of their quest, Nico didn't miss the relieved look on her face, even if she tried to hide it. Most probably, she'd already expected that they wouldn't have a clue where to start their search. And honestly, Nico had shared her fear until some time ago.
Now Nico exchanged a look with his boyfriend who was sitting next to him. Will just raised an eyebrow before he focused on the other council members to his left. Apparently, he wanted to listen to the conversation between Connor Stoll and Taylor, the head of the Hephaestus cabin. When Nico looked to his other side, he saw that Percy, Jason and Annabeth were frowning at Clarisse darkly. He agreed with them, this wasn't the time to make anyone doubt the mission that was going to save them all.
However, Clarisse spoke again before any of them could stop the whispers in the room. "Searching for a satyr in a suit in London, US." She shook her head in disbelief and suddenly, a small smile spread on her lips. "This could really work."
Slowly, it was getting quiet again and everyone stared at Clarisse, some of them in disbelief, others with a smile.
"You can't be serious?" Taylor asked and crossed his arms. "This sounds like a bad joke, I can't believe that this is going to save us all. I'm sorry, but don't we have anything better?" At his last words, he glanced first at Nico and then at Annabeth. It was obvious that he was feeling uncomfortable while saying this, but Taylor was someone who always voiced his doubts.
"No, I fear we don't." Chiron declared loudly. "But this should be enough. After all, they know where to start the quest. Prophecies are never easy to understand. And with this one, it won't be any different."
"What if this isn't a prophecy, but a way to waste our time? To distract us so that the camp can be destroyed more easily. A way to make us let our guard down." Someone muttered. When Nico looked around, he saw a small, red-haired girl. He didn't know her name, though. She was the head counselor of a cabin of some minor god. And she looked directly at him.
Luckily, he was used to this kind of mistrust by now. Otherwise, he might have flinched or shown some other reaction. Like stiffening and looking at her angrily, just like Will, Percy and Jason did now. He placed a hand on Will's leg under the table and hoped that his boyfriend would remain calm.
Nico decided to ignore the whispers all around them, just like Chiron's attempt to make everyone fall silent again and cleared his throat. As before when Clarisse spoke, everyone fell silent in an instant. "Believe whatever you want." He said loudly and looked directly at the girl. "I really don't care what you think of me, all of you." He added and looked around. To his surprise, only a few people were staring at him angrily. Most others rather looked uncomfortable or they were looking at the girl as well with not very friendly expressions on their faces. "But let me say it just this once. I would never make up something like this. Because Camp Half-Blood is not just your home, it's also mine. And I will do everything to protect it." The speech hadn't been very long, and Nico noticed that some expectant looks were still directed at him, but he had nothing to add anymore.
Under the table, Will squeezed Nico's hand and when he glanced at him, he saw that he was smiling widely. And was this a proud look on his face?
"Nico would never betray us." Percy agreed loudly and a few others agreed immediately. "And now let's stop this discussion, it won't take us anywhere. We need to focus on the task at hand. And that's deciding what we're going to do while they're on the quest."
"Thank you, Percy." Chiron smiled and looked around again. His gaze stayed on the red-haired girl a little longer before he continued. "We already decided to stay in contact with Camp Jupiter since they'll be in danger as well. Frank and Hazel will take over the protection there, I've already offered them to take part in our council meetings and they agreed." He glanced at Nico and Will, who'd delivered that offer to them this morning. "We are not alone in this and no one should forget it."
He continued to talk for some time, but Nico wasn't really listening anymore. His thoughts wandered back to their conversation with Reyna. Even if they were going on a dangerous quest tomorrow, she really seemed glad to be able to see him again. And he couldn't wait as well. It was strange, how the quest had tied them together. And Coach Hedge as well. Nico made a mental note to talk to him later and thank him for his help concerning the riddle.
After discussing the protection of the camp for what felt like hours, they finally changed the subject to the quest again. A look at the clock told Nico that they were talking for nearly two hours by now. He hoped that the meeting would end soon, he wanted to enjoy their last day at camp together with Will. From the looks Will threw at him from time to time, Nico knew that he thought the same.
"So you'll just shadow travel to Camp Jupiter, get Reyna and then you'll go to London?" Jason looked at them thoughtfully. "And where will you start your search once you've arrived?"
"In the city. From what we know, the satyr owns a souvenir shop." Annabeth explained.
"I thought that was in the other London." Percy frowned at his girlfriend and she rolled her eyes.
"Nope, he came to the states a few years ago. I talked to Coach Hedge again this morning. Apparently, he wasn't happy back when he was still living in England." She smiled triumphantly.
"I can understand him pretty well." Someone muttered which earned him a few short laughs. However, they all became serious again very fast.
"And this satyr, who's also a friend of Coach Hedge, is the one from the prophecy?" Connor didn't sound convinced and frowned at them.
"A better idea where we should start?" Nico asked and crossed his arms.
"I thought so." Annabeth whispered when Connor just looked at his hands on the table silently.
"Come on, guys. We all know that quests always start a little rough and no one understands prophecies. It will be fine." Nico was surprised at the confidence in Percy's voice.
"Besides, we have a great team." Jason added and winked at them. "With Nico, Will and Reyna, the bad guys don't stand a chance."
"And of course we'll stay in contact as often as possible." Will added. "We'll keep you updated about our steps."
"I don't think that you can just send us an Iris message every now and then." Taylor said doubtfully. "Won't that be too dangerous?"
Nico grinned. "There are other ways to deliver messages." He explained and ignored Will's accusing gaze. Slowly, it was getting tiring that his boyfriend always wanted to prevent him from using his powers. Nico was feeling completely fine again and somehow, he thought that he was even stronger than during their quest against the giants. They really had to talk about this again before they left the next morning.
"Oh no, not this creepy dream thing again, right?" Percy asked and grimaced. Luckily, this made Will turn away again and now he was frowning at Percy.
"What do you mean?" He asked curiously.
"Ask Nico. I swore to never talk about it again." Percy muttered and exchanged a look with Nico.
"It was useful." He said simply and shrugged. Many months ago, Nico had used his powers to appear in Percy's dreams. Back then, he'd been on a mission alone and needed backup. This had been the only way to get help. The son of Poseidon still kept complaining about this.
Now Will turned his face to Nico again, but he shook his head slightly. He really didn't want to talk about this right now.
"I think then we have everything settled for now." Chiron said loudly. "We should continue as before. Nico, Will, I will see you tomorrow at the borders of the camp."
Slowly, they all stood up and left the room. Outside, Nico breathed in deeply. This meeting had been exhausting. "Creepy dream thing, huh?" Will's voice broke the silence.
He smiled slightly. "I think I've scared Percy to death back then." Nico muttered and shrugged.
"No, you didn't. You just caused me nightmares for weeks." Percy grinned. "So please don't do it with me again. You can take Jason."
Next to him, Jason raised his eyebrows. "Why me?"
"I don't want Annabeth to have nightmares." Percy explained and she kissed him on the cheek.
"I love you." Annabeth whispered loud enough for everyone to hear it.
When Jason glanced at Piper and opened his mouth, she held up a hand. "Don't even think about it!" She glanced at Nico. "I like you very much, but I really don't need you in my dreams."
"No offense taken." Nico smiled. "So it'll be Jason."
When Jason sighed in defeat, they all started to laugh loudly. However, their good mood didn't last too long. One of Annabeth's sisters ran towards them, breathing heavily. The panic in her eyes was obvious. "There's been another attack!" She shouted. "At the south border! And something's going on at the beach." While saying that, she looked at Percy. "There's something in the water and we don't know what it is."
"I'll go to the south, you take the beach." Jason said to Percy, who nodded with determination in his eyes. "Piper comes with me and Annabeth will join you."
"I can deal with that on my own." Percy shook his head and looked at Annabeth. "I think you're needed in the south. I'll just take the Stoll brothers with me."
"We can also help." Nico offered, but they all shook their heads.
"You need to relax. Tomorrow, you'll need all your strength. We'll be fine. Now go to your cabin and do whatever it is you're doing there." Annabeth protested loudly and then they all started running.
Will just wanted to follow them, but Nico grabbed his hand tightly. "I think they're right, we should get some rest." He said even if he didn't like it. Everything in him screamed to help the others. "And your siblings are already on their way, Sunshine."
After a few moments of hesitation, Will sighed deeply. "Alright, you win." He ran a hand through his hair. "Back to your cabin?"
Nico shook his head. "I want to talk to Coach Hedge first." He explained and headed for the forest. Will followed him and took his hand.
"You want to thank him." It wasn't a question. "And say goodbye."
Sometimes, it still surprised him how good Will understood him. "Yes. After all, he gave the last clue for our quest."
"And you like him." Will noted.
Nico smiled slightly. "Can you blame me?"
He laughed. "No, Death Boy. Though it still surprises me that our most annoying satyr is one of your friends."
"We've been through so much together." Nico shrugged. "I assume that's what did it, in the end."
"And of course the baby." Will smiled.
"Well, about that…" He felt uncomfortable around children and Will knew that very well. Every time they visited Coach Hedge and his family together, Will wouldn't stop teasing him about this. Maybe it was because he was a son of Hades, god of the dead. Or Nico just wasn't good at those things.
When Will started to laugh, his heart began to beat faster. He always had this effect on him. Suddenly, an image came to his mind. Will, lying on the ground, covered in blood. Was it really a good idea that he accompanied them on their quest?
Nico acted without thinking about it. He stopped, grabbed Will's shoulders and kissed him fiercely. First, the son of Apollo stiffened, taken by surprise, but then he relaxed and kissed him back. When they finally parted, Will's eyes were shining, but there was a frown on his face.
"I don't want to complain, but what was this about?"
He swallowed. Should he tell Will about his fears? Nico just opened his mouth to reply when a loud voice called their names.
Silently, Nico thanked Coach Hedge for saving him from the uncomfortable conversation that would have followed.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be already out there, saving the world again?" Hedge asked curiously and crossed his arms. "I've heard that our time's limited."
"We'll leave tomorrow." Nico explained.
Hedge raised his eyebrows. "Hopefully after lots of sleep. You both look terrible."
"That's the plan." Will agreed.
Hedge looked at Nico questioningly. "Nightmares?"
Nico nodded, knowing that he didn't have to hide anything from him. After all, Hedge knew very much about his problems. "Always."
Hedge sighed. "I know that feeling."
"Where are Mellie and Chuck?" Nico changed the subject quickly. He didn't like the way Will was looking at him again, with this frustration in his eyes.
"Gone." Hedge said simply.
"What do you mean, they're gone?" Will stared at him now, taken aback by his words.
"I've sent them away." Hedge sighed unhappily. "For safety reasons. Annabeth explained to me how bad the situation is. And since the camp is their main target, I didn't want them to be here. It's too dangerous."
"I bet Mellie wasn't too happy about it?" Will guessed.
"She was angry." He nodded. "Said if something happened to me, she would be furious and follow me into my next life, just to make it to hell."
Nico chuckled. "I bet she would." He could already picture it pretty well.
"You have to succeed in this quest." Hedge said urgently. "This time, I'll not be there to help you, kid."
"But Will and Reyna will come with me. We'll be fine." Nico tried to calm him down.
Hedge sighed again. "I would love to come with you. We were such a good team the last time."
"We were." Nico smiled at the memories. Back then, it had been a painful time, but now he liked looking back at it. Well, on certain parts. Not on everything.
"Don't overestimate yourself again, Nico." He said it threateningly, but Nico could see the concern in his eyes.
"I'll make sure that he'll be fine." Will threw in seriously.
For a few moments, Hedge looked at him through narrowed eyes, but then he nodded. "Be careful, this young man is quite a handful."
Nico scowled at him. "You know that I can hear you pretty well?" He muttered and crossed his arms.
"I know." Will said to Hedge and ignored Nico's comment. "I will take care of him."
"I can take care of myself." At this, Will looked at him strangely, but the expression vanished so fast that he could also have just imagined it. "I'm completely fine again."
"And your doctor doesn't believe that." Will muttered and luckily, Hedge stopped this conversation now. He insisted on showing them a new weapon with which he would help to defend the camp. It was a pickaxe.
"Where did you get that from?" They were both staring at him questioningly.
"I won't give away my secrets." Hedge grinned. "But don't worry, I've also got my baseball bat. No monster will set a foot in this camp again!"
Nico and Will exchanged a look. Even if Nico had taken Will to his visits regularly in the past months, Coach Hedge could still puzzle his boyfriend easily. So he just shrugged now and hoped that Will would understand. He's always like that the gesture said.
Ten minutes later, they said goodbye to Coach Hedge. Not after promising to kill many monsters for him. And of course Nico should say hi to Reyna. And tell her that they would succeed in this quest, even if the dream team from last time wasn't complete.
"I have to tell you something." Nico said softly and next to him, Will looked up with a frown. It was in the afternoon and they were in the Hades cabin together, sitting on Nico's bed.
"What do you mean?" He asked curiously and Nico also noticed the uneasiness in his voice. He had to admit that it may not have been the best choice of words to start a conversation.
"It's nothing bad." He threw in quickly. "Well, but it's important. For the mission."
Now Will's eyes narrowed, but he remained silent.
Nico breathed in deeply, knowing that they had to talk about this now. Otherwise, it might cause many problems. "You can't always prevent me from using my powers."
As expected, Will started to protest. "You will overestimate yourself again, Nico. And it's dangerous because you will –"
"It won't happen again." He interrupted him softly. "Will, you have to trust me with this. I know what I can do."
"I'm sure you would have said the same last time."
"Last time was different." Nico sighed. "I've already been exhausted before this whole quest started."
Will didn't look convinced. "I don't want you to get hurt."
"Without using my powers, that will happen." He knew that it was unfair to say this and regretted it the moment he saw the concern in Will's eyes, but Nico didn't have another choice. He needed to convince Will that he shouldn't always worry about him. "Then I can't defend myself properly. You know that."
Will closed his eyes. "I do." He whispered quietly. "Doesn't change the fact that I'm worried."
"You always make it look like I'm weak." Nico muttered darkly. "Like you have to take care of me. But Will, don't you see that I'm not helpless?"
His eyes widened in horror when he realized the meaning of Nico's words. "I don't think that you're weak!" He protested. "You can't possibly think that, Nico."
He crossed his arms. "And what is this all about? You freak out every time I do something. Even talking about using my powers makes you nervous."
Will swallowed. "Nico…" He reached out for him, but in the last moment he seemed to decide that it wasn't a good idea to touch Nico now. Which he didn't like at all. He sat up and took Will's hands in his.
"I'm not mad at you." He whispered. "I just don't want this to stand between us when we leave tomorrow. I will do what I have to, Will. And if that's using my powers, or using them so that I'm exhausted afterwards, I will. I won't fade again. I just know it. I can't explain why." He smiled slightly. "I've never felt stronger than right now."
Again, there was this strange look on Will's face.
"What are you thinking?" He asked.
"I talked to Percy." Will muttered and sighed. "We met at the beach this morning. Seemed like we both couldn't sleep. He told me that I should stop worrying because you can take care of yourself. And that I should give you the chance to protect us as well, not just the other way around."
Nico stared at him. "Percy said that?"
Will nodded. "He's confident that you can do all this."
He knew that Percy would support him, but this was a surprise. That he defended Nico from Will. And it was a strange feeling to know that they've been talking about him at all. "And what do you say to his opinion?"
Will looked at their entwined hands. "I know that he's right. But my heart doesn't seem to understand it. I can't stop worrying, Nico."
"You have to, Will. Tomorrow, we'll leave the camp. And we will have to fight together. We can't work together properly if you don't trust me."
"But I do trust you." He protested immediately.
"Then let me use my powers. And stop looking at me reproachfully afterwards. I know what I'm doing." He forced Will to look into his eyes.
They looked at each other silently for a few moments. "Alright." Will muttered in the end. "I'll try."
"Not trying, doing it." Nico corrected him firmly. "We will get through all this together. Always remember that."
Will nodded slowly. "Fine. But if it really happens that you overestimate yourself again, you have to do what I say. Doctor's orders."
"Won't happen." Nico muttered and rolled his eyes.
"Death Boy." Will smiled charmingly. "Please?"
Nico groaned. "You'll be the death of me, Solace." Then he leaned in to kiss him. "Will you stay here tonight?" Nico asked once they parted again.
Will's eyes widened. "But that's not allowed."
He grinned. "Would you care?"
Suddenly, Will's eyes were shining with excitement and he smiled. "Alright, I'll stay."
Then they kissed again.