Sorry for the delay, I have been exhausted and have been sleeping a lot... but I will be putting out more content when my days off come back.
I want to try another view on Nico, one born of his new experiances...
Prepare for an amazing series of unique events that start after this chapter... one entirely my own...
Aaron smiled at the woods, happy to see the very people stalking around the Grounds of Westover Hall. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, stood out like a sore thumb around her younger sisters. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. Aaroy san knew them well, and the moment they say him, a single red haired girl charged from the mix of girls and tackled him nearly to the ground.
"You jerk, you never Iris message me." Alexandria laughed, her voice a soft but strong mixture of happiness and grief. "Let me look at you, your a year older then when you saved me." She held him at a distance, drinking in his apperance. "Wow, you've gotten buffer and leaner. Your almost sexy now."
"Almost? Color me offended, I was going for totally drop dead gorgoeous."
She laughed some more, then Artemis' voice cut through their joy. "If you are done prostrating yourself all over the boy, I would ask that you return to the group, Alex." Rolling her eyes playfully, she kissed his cheek once more then skipped back to Artemis, who looked oddly pleased to see him. "It has been a while Aaron, well since we could talk personally. It is nice to see you."
"Same here, Lady Artemis. I would like to introduce you to my friends, Bianca and Nico DiAngelo, Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson and Thalia Grace." He gestured to each of his freinds as he said their names, getting a nod from them all bar a very displeased Thalia. Her irritation radiated from her through their bond, buming him out quite a bit. "I assume you are here for one of the girls?"
"Thou would be correct." Zoe's annoying voice only added to his bumed out feeling. He turned to her, nodding softly. "We are here for one of the girls, but more then that we were chasing a monster, one you seemed to have slain."
Aaron smirked and gestured to the siblings behind him, standing in the snow. "Not alone, these two bested the beast,... whatever it was. He died before he could show hsi true form sadly, but he was stong that I could sense."
"I beleive you." Artemis said, stepping into the Moonlight, revealing her startling beauty for them all to see. Grover all but threw himself at her feet, babbling obnoxiously where as Percy let out a soft gasp. Aaron, used to how she looked, just took it in. "Two new Demigods, a rarity and yet I sense their power is more advanced then most. Any idea why that is?"
Aaron smirked. "Their parent had me training them in secret for almost a year, they are very skilled." He offered a warm smile to his students, turning to face them fully. "Bianca, Lady Artemis has an offer for you, one I want to you to consider fully before and if you accept. There are consequences to it. Think carefully before you make any choice."
Bianca nodded. "I think I know what the choice is, I did some research...after learning we were demigods. If I make one choice, I won't be going to camp."
"But Bianca, we have to go to Camp!" Nico coughed out, eyes filled with pained shock.
"You do, but I have another choice... and I might take it. I have been thinking about this for a year Nico..." Her words were soft but her tone was strong, she had really given this a lot of thought. This was not an easy choice, one brought on by desperation and pain but instead was filled with consideration and a lot of personal value. Aaron could relate to that.
"Bianca," Percy suddenly said, "we came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."
Annabeth turned to him and shook her head. "Girls have other options, not just Camp, Percy. Some don't like it but we have other options."
"You are right, naturally, Annabeth." She turned to Bianca, a smile on her face. "It was wise of you to investigate before hand, it should make your choice easier." Artemis looked proud, sounded prouder. "I do believe we've burdened these children enough," Artemis announced. "Zoe, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."
"Yes, my lady."
"And, Bianca, as you said you should come with me."
"What about me?" Nico asked, his tone closer to anger then Aaron had ever sensed.
Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while… as a favor to me?"
Grover just about tripped over himself getting up. "You bet! Come on, Nico!"
Nico and Grover walked off toward the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and a bunch of other geeky stuff. Artemis led a determined looking Bianca along the cliff. The Hunters began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp.
The Hunters set up their camping site in a matter of minutes. Seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire. One of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. They began circling the camp like guard dogs. The Hunters walked among them and fed them treats, completely unafraid, but I decided I would stick close to the tents. Falcons watched us from the trees, their eyes flashing in the firelight, and I got the feeling they were on guard duty, too. Even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess's will. The air was still cold, but the wind died down and the snow stopped falling, so it was almost pleasant sitting by the fire.
Aaron followed Percy along to the center of Camp, sighing when the boy looked at him with confusion. " What is this other choice?"
"She can stay as a Hunter, immortal so long as she is not killed or finds romance with anyone else, man or women. She would have to leave Nico though, forever..."
"She wouldn't!" Nico, who had begun to approach with a very stunned Grover, choked out, pain in every feature. "She wouldn't do that to me!"
Aaron kneeled to his adorable student. "She might, she has the power to make a choice to actually have a life without being forced to be a parent. She can be whomever she chooses to be, something she cannot do right now. You know I love you kid, but that is simply the truth."
Nico sniffled before collasping into his chest, sobbing. Aaron just rubbed the back of his head, hoping Bianca did not take the most selfish of options and abandon her little brother to a Camp that would probably never accept him. He was a child of Hades and there was so much bias towards the Underworld that Nico was probably screwed. It would be a cruel deed to just abandon him like that...
And yet Aaron had a very sad realization that that was probably what Bianca was going to do. He couldn't blame her though, she had been a baby sitter and mother to her brother for her entire life. She never asked for it, she deserved to make her own choices and frankly it was about time for her to make them...
When she returned with Artemis, twenty minutes later, glowing a deep silver, Aaron knew that she had made her choice.
"Why!" Nico bellowed at her, his voice so pained and powerful it stopped all activity in the entire camp. "Your as bad as the monster, you abanonded me and for what, a stupid eternal sexist girl's club! I did my research too, sis! They butcher girls as frequently as guys, they turned Callisto into a bear and killed her for being raped by Zeus." The ground started to shake as Nico's latent powers started to surface, the power of Aaron's supressant was unstable and breaking down. These kids were aware of who they were and that meant a lot of access to power.
Bianca paled and started to tremble, not out of fear for herself but for Nico. "Nico, that isn't smart to bring up here."
"I don't care, your a monster, I hope you die, soon! I hope you lose every chance you are trying to give yourself, you stupid, selfish bitch!" The ground split open around them all, exploding towards Bianca at the speed of sound. She was so startled she couldn't move, but Aaron could.
He slammed into her as fast as he could before falling down the crevice born of Nico's agony and tumbling down into nothing. Thankfully he hit his head soon after and darkness stopped him from remembering the entire fall.
The last thing he heard, before totally being overwhelmed by the Darkness and the magic of his loud concussion was Nico, Percy and Bianca screaming his name...
'''
"Save him, your a goddess!" Nico barked at Artemis, making the women frown for a moment before her eyes widened.
"I cannot, something ... can't you sense it, a new shadow grabbed him. It wasn't Hades or your own powers, but something else." She kneeled. " I can't sense his essence any more, at all... but something else, a new essence... a monster so old I nearly forgot about it. No, several monsters, all popping up... I will find him. He is a friend of the Hunt, boy, I will not let him die. I will summon my brother, he will take you home to Camp. All of you...I will find this creature," Artemis vowed. "And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in."
Percy frowned. "What beast?"
"One more dangerous then anything you can imagine... let us pray I am wrong."
"Can a goddess pray?"
A flicker of a smile played across Artemis's lips. "Before I go, Percy Jackson, I have a small task for you. I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return."
"What?" Zoe' blurted out. "But, Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed there—"
"Yes, I know," Artemis said. "But I'm sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. It's your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you are in need. Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down."
Zoe muttered something about foolish campers.
Artemis sighed. "Nico, Percy, I will find your friend. He is a friend of the Hunt and he will not go unavenged or rescued. Nico, I would advise you learn to be more patient with others. Less you find someone who may not be as accept of your attititude."
Nico just scowled at the women, before walking away, shaking with rage and hate...
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was hard to write, but really fun.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.