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"Praetors, as I'm sure you know, I am Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, and I have a proposition for you."
Nico had a vague idea of what his dad was going on about, even if he had no idea how he was going to bring it up.
This was not what he had expected.
To be honest, he really should've expected something like this from the god of the Underworld. Hades loved shoving his power in people's faces, and here, where the Romans were trembling at the mere sight of him, he was probably in Elysium.
"Of course." Reyna said, her voice surprisingly even for someone being addressed by the god of the dead, "Would you like to... uh, sit down and discuss this... proposition?"
Hades/Pluto nodded, "Sounds delightful." he said, shrinking to the size of a slightly taller than average human. In this form, Hades actually looked a lot like an older version of Nico. Nico was left wondering whether that was intentional since gods could take any form they wanted, or if he really had taken after his father as much as people said.
He brushed the idea aside, deciding that it was probably best to concentrate on the situation at hand. There would be plenty of time for musing later.
Reyna was leading his father to the Principia, with Jason right next to her. Nico trailed along awkwardly, fidgeting under the stares of the hundreds of Romans gathered there. Jason slowed his pace slightly, so that he was walking right next to Nico.
"Dude!" Jason hissed, "You didn't mention that your dad would be showing up today!"
"Oops." Nico whispered, rolling his eyes, "Slipped my mind."
Jason stared at him in disbelief, "Did you know that he was coming?"
"Umm..."
Jason scrutinized him for a moment before speeding up with a quiet groan, but not before grumbling, "We are going to sit down and have a much needed conversation after this."
*****Line Break*****
Nico, Reyna, Jason and Hades(he had decided to stick to Hades for now) were seated at a long table in the Principia.
An awkward silence filled the air.
"Jellybeans, anyone?" Jason asked nervously, breaking the silence.
Hades didn't respond, staring at the bowl of jellybeans as though it had personally offended him.
"Jellybeans." Hades repeated slowly, "What flavor do these jellybeans come in?"
Jason floundered for a moment before composing himself, "Well, I don't really know if they have different flavors ,but they do have a lot of nice colors, I guess."
"Do they have black? Or maybe a nice grey?"
Jason quickly scanned the jar of jellybeans, "Um... no. I'm pretty sure black jellybeans exist of course," he added hastily, We just... don't have any. We do have a dark blue though, it looks a lot like black."
Hades scowled, "Of course they have blue." he grumbled.
Nico fidgeted awkwardly, deciding to interrupt before his father could start complaining about his 'insufferable brothers' again, "Uh, dad," he said pointedly, "You said that you had a proposition, remember?"
Hades sighed, "I did, didn't I?" he said simply, before continuing to glare coldly at Jason.
"Lord Pluto," Reyna attempted, "Would you mind telling us what your proposition is?"
"Well, you see, Praetors," Hades explained casually, "My son often runs errands for me. You are aware of this, yes?"
"Vaguely, my lord, but-" Reyna was cut off.
"Excellent. If Nico runs off to join your little camp full time, I would be left without anyone to run errands for me."
Nico had to admire Jason for having the guts to speak up, "But Lord Pluto, couldn't you ask one of your employees could handle it? Surely Letus(aka Thanatos), or even the Eumenides(aka Furies) could-"
Hades held up a hand, stopping the son of Jupiter mid-sentence, "I could do what you suggest," he conceded, "But if I did, I'd have to pay them. And I'd finally have to give Charon that pay raise." he grumbled.
"I see..." Jason nodded, looking completely lost, "But..." he added hesitantly, "No offense Lord Pluto, but aren't you the god of riches?"
Nico winced. Jason had done it this time. He vaguely remembered Percy telling him about asking his father the same question when he was 12. He himself had once made the mistake of asking that question, and knew exactly what was coming.
Hades' eyes flashed, "Typical of my brother's children to assume that I can just pay my employees for every little errand! You don't see Jupiter paying all of his workers! If he did, he'd be bankrupt!", Nico decided not to mention that Hades could just pay his employees(as he was far from poor), and that he was supposed to do that anyway.
"I used to be a rich god, Jason Grace. But my expenses!" he moaned.
"Uh..." Jason was left speechless, "I did say no offense?" he pointed out meekly.
"Anyway," Reyna(that girl was a lifesaver) interrupted before Hades' temper could flare up again, "Your proposition, Lord Pluto?"
"Ah, yes." Hades said, straightening immediately, as though nothing had happened, "We have a bit of a dilemma here. I need my son to run errands for me, and you need him to join your camp full time. Not to mention his education."
Hades paused for a moment, "So how about this: My son is now the official Ambassador of Pluto."
Reyna blinked at him, "Okay..." she stared at Nico briefly as though she assumed that he had any idea what that meant.
"As my Ambassador, Nico will be able to come and go as he pleases." Hades continued, ignoring Reyna's spluttering, "He will still have to visit your camp occasionally, but most of the time he will be free to do as he pleases."
"But Lord Pluto," Reyna tried to reason, "This sort of thing has never been done before! Demigods always join the legion for at least 5 years. Besides, where will he train?"
"My son prefers to train with the dead." Hades said sharply, "And these are special circumstances, after all. I don't believe most gods show up to help get their children out of military camps."
Jason looked slightly wounded at those words and shot him a look. Nico could almost imagine him asking, 'You wanted to get away from us that badly?'
Nico averted his eyes, staring at the floor.
"I hope you'll have no objections, Praetors." Hades finished, staring at Reyna and Jason calmly.
Reyna didn't look very happy about it, but if one of the Big Three gods showed up demanding something, you usually agreed to it, "It's fine by me." she said with a slight grimace, "Jason?"
"Sure." Jason said, still sounded a bit wounded, "If it's okay with Nico."
Nico raised his head, to see all three occupants of the room eyeing him intently.
"Umm..." he cleared his throat, "Yeah, I'm okay with it."
"Excellent," Hades smiled, clasping his hands together, "I believe my business here is complete." Nico didn't miss how both Reyna and Jason let out an audible sigh of relief.
"Nico," Jason began, "Do you think we could talk, for a minute?"
"Uh, sure, I guess." Nico answered nervously, still refusing to meet anyone's eye.
"Nico," His father's voice called, "Could I speak to you for a moment?"
"Okay." Nico sighed, "I'll be back in a bit." he told Jason.
At least, that's what Nico thought.
*****Line Break*****
"The Underworld is in chaos." Hades sighed, staring at the pictures on the walls of the Principia.
"Really?" asked Nico, alarmed, "What happened?"
"The Doors of Death have been opened once more." Hades stated grimly.
"The Doors of Death? You mean those Doors that Thanatos is always boasting about?"
"The very same. Gaia's giants have secured the Doors, and Thanatos has been missing in action for about a week now." Hades admitted, his eyebrows furrowing, "With the Doors open, it's possible for the dead to come back to life." Hades turned to face Nico staring at him with an odd expression, "It's even possible for someone to, hypothetically, of course, bring a deceased family member back to life." he revealed quietly, his eyes twinkling.
It took Nico a minute to understand the implications behind what his father was telling him.
His eyes widened comically, "Are you suggesting what I think you are?"
Hades' mouth twitched upwards, and Nico could've sworn that his father winked at him.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." he said, dissolving into shadows.
Nico was left gaping for a few minutes at the spot where his father had been . He shook himself out of his shock, resolve setting in. His conversation with Jason would have to wait.
As Nico dissolved into the shadows of the Principia, there was only one thought circling in his head.
I'm coming, Bianca. I won't fail you again.
A.N:
I'm back!
Sorry for not updating for a while. A lot of stuff is going on right now. I'm still adjusting to school life after two years at home, my laptop broke down and keeps restarting randomly, which makes it risky to write in case it restarts and I lose my progress, and I finally got my vaccine, and have been feeling a bit under the weather ever since.
Anyway, it's almost time for Hazel to make an appearance!
I'll try to update on time this week!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
-Keera