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DaughterOfHecate: HI there! I'm glad that you liked that addition! I'll admit, I forgot about them for a while too, so adding them was kind of a spur of the moment decision, especially since I haven't read the Dark Prophecy in years. I'm like, a month late, but for what it's worth, a belated Happy new Year to you too! As usual, thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Nico wasn't sure who was going to kill him first, Zeus, the Hunters or the monsters.

At this rate, probably the Hunters.

Seriously, what was their problem?

He got that they didn't exactly have the best experiences with men, but was it really necessary to despise every single male in existence for no good reason?

In the few weeks he'd spent with the Hunters of Artemis he'd learnt to

a) Never go within a 100 meter radius of Zoe.
b) Never talk to any Hunters except Josephine and Hemithea unless necessary.
c) Never touch any of the Hunters' stuff without gloves. Those girls were really serious about the whole 'we hate men' thing.

Nico heaved a sigh, making his way towards his secluded tent. Even though he had been stuck in the same routine for weeks now, he was still homesick for the Underworld. There weren't many living people in the Underworld, but at least he always had someone to talk to. Here, surrounded by people, alive people, kids who (at least physically) were probably around the same age as him, he shouldn't have felt as lonely as he did."

"Please insert one drachma."

An Iris Message? Now? What idiot would send an IM at 11 in the night-

Oh.

Of course, his dad. He really didn't know who else he was expecting, considering that he didn't know anyone outside the Underworld.

He hesitated, the events of the last few weeks hadn't really made it any easier to see the logic in his dad's idea, but... it was either this, or spend more excruciating hours in silence.

"Dad it is." he mumbled, tossing a drachma into the rainbow.

His father's pale face filled the screen(rainbow?)

"Nico." he said, staring at him unnervingly.

"Hey dad." he muttered, averting his eyes.

Neither of them spoke, and even though they were thousands of miles apart, the tension in the air was so thick that it could be cut with a knife.

"I'm sorry!" They both blurted out at they same time, after a minute of awkward silence.

They stared at each other in surprise.

"You're sorry?" Hades asked finally, " I sent you away, without even bothering to explain the situation to you first! I should be the one apologizing."

Nico held up his hands, "First of all, do you know how weird it is for your parent to apologize to you? Second, you were just trying to help, and I can understand that to some extent, even if your communication skills are pretty much non-existent. I'm the one who shouldn't have got so mad."

"Oh." Hades blinked, heaving a sigh of relief, "That's- that's good, I suppose."

And then he asked the question that Nico should probably have seen coming, "So, how are the Hunters of Artemis?"

"Uh..." Nico hesitated, "They're... okay, I guess? I mean, I'm still alive, aren't I?" he joked.

Hades didn't appreciate his attempt at humor, "Nico." he said sternly, "Tell me everything."

And so he did. Nico was just so tired of being ignored, and bottling up his resentment at being treated like chewed up bubblegum, that he told his father everything about the last few weeks. How the Hunters seemed to hate him, how Zoe Nightshade refused to go anywhere near him, and how this whole 'loneliness' thing was getting to him.

"I guess," he said, stopping for breath after ranting non-stop for 5 minutes, "I guess that I'm just really homesick right now, you know?" Nico blinked rapidly, holding back tears, "I- I just want to go home." Nico hated how his voice cracked as he said that, and how childish he sounded as he said that, but he couldn't help it. It felt so good to talk to someone who didn't hate him after 5 weeks of being ignored.

Hades looked like he had been caught in headlights, "Nico, son, I-" he didn't continue his sentence.

Hades gulped, before taking a deep breath, "Son, I'm sorry that things aren't working out with the Hunters, and I want more than anything to call this all off and let you come back home, but I can't. If I let you quit the Hunters and come home, you'd be in line for the prophecy, and your Uncle Zeus would probably smite you in the spot if he found out. That's something that I can't afford to risk."

"Couldn't we just find a way to make sure he doesn't find out?" Nico asked meekly. Call him an entitled brat, but he was sure that he would lose it if he had to spend any more time with the Hunters.

"That didn't work out so well last time, did it?"

"No." Nico admitted, curling up into a ball and rocking to and fro, "So, what do you think I should do?"

"I'm the Lord of the Underworld, son, I'm not really the best person to give advise on how to socialize."

"Maybe so, but you're my dad, who else would I ask for advice?" Nico asked.

Nico's father seemed surprised for a moment, before breaking out into a soft smile.

"Well, since you asked, I'd say that you should try to tolerate their existence for a bit longer, and maybe try having a decent conversation with some of them." Hades suggested, "Meanwhile, I'll talk to Artemis and try to convince her to give you a few days off to come and visit. Shouldn't be too hard, if her Hunters hate you as much as you say."

Nico raised an eyebrow, "That was... surprisingly good advice. How much time have you been spending with Aunt Hestia these last few weeks?"

Hades chuckled, "More than enough. Now go, get your sleep. It's probably quite late in the mortal world."

"G' night Dad."

"Goodnight Nico." he heard his father say quietly before slashing his hand through the projection.

******Line Break******

Nico's 36th day with the Hunters started out like any other.

He was dressed in the same black clothes he would wear in the Underworld, but unlike at home, he wasn't greeted by the cheerful chattering of skeletons and the whispering of ghosts as he got ready to start the day, here, he was greeted by silence and hostile glares, and the occasional sharp command.

He settled down in his usual spot, a few meters away from the rest of the Hunters, and started munching on his apple. He could hear the Hunters laughing and enthusiastically telling each other about what they were going to do that day. Again, a usual occurrence. They would talk, he would listen. It helped him find out about a lot of stuff no one would've bothered to tell him otherwise, like when Zoe would inspect tents, or when they were going to move to a new spot(which happened a LOT).

Nico was so busy listening in on the other girls' conversations, that he didn't even notice that someone was walking up to him until the person cleared their throat expectantly.

"Hmm?" he looked up to see Zoe Nightshade, glaring at him with an expression of mild disgust on her face.

"My Lady requested me to let thou know that we shall be hunting a group of rogue cyclops today. Make sure to grab thy bow." she said coldly, her voice devoid of any emotion (except disgust, but that was something that was always on Zoe's face anyway.

"Uh, great." he said nervously, not looking at Zoe, "But... I don't know how to use a bow."

"And who's fault is that, boy?"

Nico just shrugged, not wanting to make Zoe mad by pointing out that no one had really bothered teaching him how to use one.

Zoe huffed, "Use thy sword then, but don't mess up the mission. Let us handle it, if it is too much for thine meager skills to handle" she spun on her heel, turning back towards Artemis' tent.

Nico sighed, taking another bite of his apple, "Why do I have a feeling that this isn't going to go well?"

***A few hours later***

Nico decided that he didn't like hunting.

It involved trekking through boiling hot, muddy forests with a bunch of people who hated him.

Zoe stopped and placed a finger to her lips.

"The monsters are close." She said, "Keep both eyes open."

Nico drew his Stygian Iron sword, glancing around nervously. He knew how to use a sword, yes, but he'd never actually needed to use one before. It felt strange to hold the sword in his hands instead of a wooden stick, knowing that he would actually be fighting for his life, and not just trying to beat an old Spartan Warrior.

Nico felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he heard loud footsteps echo through the forest. A group of 7 cyclopes entered the clearing in front of them, apparently deciding what to do next.

"Where are we Marvin? You said that we'd be at that demigod camp by now!" said one.

Another cyclops, whose name was apparently Marvin said, "Hold your hellhounds Ma' Gasket. Somethings throwing me off course. There's godly blood nearby. A strong scent. It's confusing me!"

The Hunters turned to Nico accusingly.

"Don't blame me!" he whispered, "Half of you guys are descended from the gods as well, it could be anyone!"

As the cyclopes continued arguing amongst themselves, the Hunters watching from the bushes and trees waited for Zoe's signal.

"Now!" Zoe yelled from her perch on top of a high tree, shooting Marvin in the ear.

The Hunters (and Nico) raced into the clearing, drawing their bows and firing with ease.

Nico gulped as he charged into the fray.

'My first real fight.' he thought, 'Let's hope I don't die!'

****SNEAK PEEK OF NEXT CHAPTER****

"Thou should stop interfering where thou are not needed, or wanted!"

"I was just trying to stop you from getting squished!"

"I do not need to be saved by some boy!"

A.N:

Hey there!

Here's the next chapter, at the beginning of February, as promised.

SO this was mainly just how Nico's doing so far, and a short conversation with Hades that I hopefully didn't mess up. If it seems like Nico's complaining too much, how would YOU feel if after being surrounded by the dead your whole life, when you FINALLY go to the surface, the people you're supposed to spend eternity with absolutely DESPISE you, and won't even talk to you? Remember, Nico hasn't had a decent conversation with anyone in 5 weeks. I don't know about you, but I'd get a bit whiny if that happened to me.

Anyway, I hope you liked that chapter!

As usual, please review! Reviews motivate me to write faster!

-Keeraヾ(_)ノ