Chapter 8: First Quests or The time Nico and Will show the newest member of camp how it's done.

Nico and Will's first quest was, in many ways, also their last. It was their first because they'd never actually been on a quest with just the two of them before; always, they would be accompanied by others – Lou Ellen or Cecil, Kayla and or Austin quite frequently, even Leo and Calypso when the son of Hephaestus could be drawn from his bunker and inventions. Once, the pair of them had even joined Percy and Annabeth on a monster hunt, despite the fact that, as far as campers went, both were officially 'retired' and moved on to bigger and better things. This was the first that it was just Nico and Will.

Yet it was also their last because, as so often happened when demigods reached 'that age', they had too decided to move on. To leave the safety of Camp Half-Blood and actually live. At eighteen years old the both of them, it was finally time. Nico found it less saddening and more sort of… relieving. A little exciting too.

It wasn't all that much of a quest at all, actually. The Oracle didn't assign them a dangerous mission, nor request that Nico and Will pool their talents to retrieve some artefact long assumed by most to be mythical but was, of course, actually very real. No, for their first-last quest, Nico and Will were sent on a rescue mission of sorts. Or a retrieval mission. Or, as Nico came to think of it, a babysitting job.

Nico strode down one of countless main streets in Halifax, scanning the apartment buildings alongside him for numbers and the street corners for names. He'd never been to Nova Scotia before, and it was different to New York and Long Island, to San Francisco and even Venice in Italy when he'd finally made the trip to visit the country of his birth once more – it had been a disconcerting experience that Nico was confusingly both eager and disinclined to repeat. Window-spotted brick facades lined a road flooded only moderately with traffic, with motorbikes and cars and the occasional truck. The noise wasn't abominably loud considering it was mid-morning, and the sounds of the nearby shore side could be heard as well as smelt even at a distance.

"Every building looks exactly the same," Nico said, glancing between two opposite buildings that did indeed appear to be entirely identical.

"Just on this street I'm pretty sure. Which is kind of what the directions told us to look for. We must be in the right area."

Nico glanced over his shoulder towards Will as his boyfriend drew his own eyes along the buildings in search of numbers that weren't there. He scratched his head in confusion, tugging at the blond curls just long enough to pull back into a stout ponytail and frowned. His other hand tugged idly on the end of the bow slung over his shoulder, its curving length batting gently against the back of his knees. Frowning, he drew his gaze to meet Nico's, eyes faintly narrowed. "Do you think we should call her?"

"Who, Ivy? Really, Will, this is a satyr we're talking about."

"It might be worth a try."

"Have you ever met a satyr inclined to using a cell phone?"

"True," Will admitted with an faintly exasperated nod. Then he went back to scanning along the roadside, turning on the spot. "She said, what, third building along from the corner, right?"

"Satyrs have an appalling sense of direction for urban areas," Nico sighed, shaking his head as he counted from each corner once more and settled the four identical buildings into his sweeping gaze, one after another. "Could she have possibly been any more vague?"

"At least she gave us the street name."

"Which was wrong."

"Only by one letter."

"Actually, two. C is different to K –"

"Only literally, not phonetically."

"- and there is no way that anyone could realistically confuse an S with a T."

Will smirked, teeth flashing in genuine amusement that was just slightly infuriating in an already frustrating situation. "Yeah, I'll give you that one. But we got it eventually."

"By sheer luck," Nico muttered, turning in his own circle to glance once more between the four possible apartment buildings. "She said she'd come outside the building at ten o'clock, right?" He glanced towards Will's wrist and the watch just visibly poking out from the cuffs of his jacket. "I hope she appreciates how hard it is to get here by exactly ten o'clock the very day after she asks for help."

"Of course she would. Ivy's about as inclined towards gratitude as she is resistant to using a cell phone." Will said, obligingly dropped his gaze to his watch. "Yeah, it's about spot on ten. And…" He glanced up, scanning once more along either direction of the street before a satisfied smile reasserted itself. "There's our satyr."

Nico turned in the direction Will pointed across the road, distracted momentarily by a procession of passing cars. He caught sight of a girl with short, curly dark hair and wide brown eyes standing outside one of the apartment buildings that was not, in fact, one of the ones that Nico had deduced from her directions as being the only four she could have possibly indicated. The satyr glanced along the length of road in much the same way that Will had moments before, a slightly concerned frown upon her brow. A frown that cleared into relief when she caught sight of Will's upraised arm waving towards her.

Nico followed in Will's wake as they set off at a jog down and across the road, meeting Ivy as she took several short steps towards them from the door to the redbrick apartment building. She looked to be about fourteen years old, shrouded in an unseasonably thick jacket and bootleg jeans that didn't quite manage to cover the shoeless hooves poking out from the bottom. She made little clacking steps as she approached them.

A heavy breath of relief sighed from her lips as Nico and Will slowed to a stop before her, edging to the inner side of the footpath to make way for the thin stream of pedestrians. She raised a hand to tug with what was evidently a nervous twitch at the nearly imperceptible bud of the horns poking through her curls and gave a wavering smile. "You're Nico di Angelo and Will Solace, right?"

Will – because it was always Will who replied, maintaining that, practice though Will urged him to, Nico lacked many of the fundaments that enabled most people to interact with others in a socially acceptable manner – gave an easy and reassuring smile in return. A reassurance that visibly calmed the young satyr before Nico's in that way that Will could. "That's us."

"Thanks so much for coming on such short notice." The satyr sighed her relief once more. "I just didn't know what else to do, and after the attack yesterday morning… I thought it was about time I called for extra support."

Will shrugged. "That's okay. It wasn't like we were doing anything important." Nico could have argued that fact – he could have thought of at least one thing he could have been doing rather then making a spontaneous day trip to Nova Scotia – but he held his tongue. Ivy was evidently only just short of frayed nerves and Will always liked to tell him that he wasn't exactly the most comforting of people when such nerves were high. "You're having a bit of trouble, then?"

Ivy nodded fervently before launching into a garbled rundown of what Nico was blessedly already informed of. He doubted he'd have been able to make much sense of it otherwise. "Yeah, well, no, not trouble exactly. Well, yeah, I suppose it is trouble that I'm having, but no more than usual. Not much more. Not because – I mean, it's not really anyone's fault. Ven's dad's just really worried about her leaving and doesn't think she'll actually be safe at Camp Half-Blood, and he only gets more and more insistent that she's not going the more often I suggest it, and I have tried to explain it to him but he just doesn't budge!" She chewed worriedly upon her bottom lip as though it were a tin can. "I've been with her for nearly three years now, and the monster attacks are only getting worse."

"Doesn't the kid realise she's in danger?" Nico asked. "Doesn't she realise that she'll put her dad in danger too by sticking around? It'll only get worse the older she gets; demigods can't stay in one place for too long, not without the proper defences. How old is she now? Thirteen already, right?"

Ivy's worried frown arose once more. "Fourteen last month."

"The monsters must be running riot, then," Will muttered, shaking his head. "How many attacks has she had since her birthday?"

"Actual attacks, or how many monsters have we seen?"

"Is there a difference?"

Ivy nodded. "Sometimes I manage to notice them and grab Ven away before they get around to attacking her. We've gotten pretty good at running away."

"And when you're not able to run?" Nico asked. "How many limbs does this girl actually still have?"

At Ivy's flinching wince, Will spared Nico a long-suffering glance that clearly asked "did you have to?" Nico shrugged as Ivy replied. "She's not been really badly hurt so far. Or at least not – not lately. And we've only actually encountered three monsters since she turned fourteen. We managed to defeat them all, or at least injure them enough so that we could get away. Thankfully."

"Luckily, I'd say."

"Well, her dad did make sure she's practiced in self-defence. He's one of those work out maniacs, taking Krav Maga practically since he could walk."

"Taking what?" Will asked.

"Israeli military self-defence," Nico supplied.

"How do you even know something like that?"

Nico ignored Will's question that just bordered upon disbelievingly condescending. "So she's relatively capable. That's good to know. But seriously, after being attacked by monsters that most people can't see so often, it didn't occur to her that maybe she should take your word for it and go to one of the few places on earth that is actually safe from those monsters?"

Ivy shifted slightly in place, a sad cast shadowing her face. "She really loves her dad. Even if he is being a little bit…"

"Stupid? Moronic?"

"I think stubborn and protective is probably a better description for it," Will supplied with another admonishing glance Nico's way. Tugging the end of his bow unconsciously once more, he turned back towards Ivy. "Is her dad home yet?"

Ivy nodded. "He's off work today. I made sure that he would be home when you got here."

"Oh, joy," Nico muttered, rolling his eyes. "Because it would be so much easier to talk the stubborn idiot into letting us effectively abduct his daughter rather than just taking her with us no questions asked."

"You don't think he would worry if his daughter suddenly disappeared?" Will asked with a snort. "You know he's one of the sort that lives in denial of reality. Chiron said he never quite believed that his daughter's mum was a Greek Goddess."

"Yeah, because he's an idiot. Of course he'd worry, because he's an idiot. But at least he would be able to worry rather than be mourning her death because, after staying away from safety for so long, she managed to get herself killed."

"Tact, Nico. A little bit of tact, please," Will said, tilting his head towards a visibly horrified Ivy. Here eyes had grown to fill most of her face.

"I think the words you're looking for are 'coddling untruths' more than tact," Nico replied, but he quelled his condescension to turn to Ivy once more. He nodded head back towards the apartment building she'd appeared from. "Shall we get this over with, then?"

At the satyr's pause – satyrs really were so ridiculously overprotective of their charges – Will stepped in to alleviate her evident fears. "Don't worry, I'll do most of the convincing."

Nico tried not to roll his eyes once more as Ivy visibly relaxed at his words.

Contrary to what the plainness of the outside of the building looked like, the interior was outfitted with evidently expensive décor. From the moment they stepped through the doors, it was onto rich carpets and between pale, timber-corniced walls, to travel up a widely curving stairwell of polished banishers and wide steps alongside an equally sleekly polished elevator. It was one of those old ones, that looked like they'd been modelled on the earliest versions of their predecessors though absented of the kinks and errors of their structure. Ivy led Nico and Will up five levels to the top floor, trotting along a similarly richly carpeted hallway far too brightly lit for Nico's tastes and boasting only a pair of elaborately carved doors across from one another. Each had gleamingly golden numbers of five-one and five-two at roughly head height. Ivy took the one on the left.

Her fingers rapped in a jittery dance of knuckles. "Ven? Ven, it's Ivy. Can I come back in?" There was a pause for a moment, then the door cracked open slightly. The golden security chain clinked slightly before it pulled taut. The thin, pale face of a girl five years Nico's junior peered through the crack, barely visible but for one wide, hazel eye blinking nervously out into the corridor. An eye that fastened briefly upon Ivy before flickering to Nico and Will behind her.

"Are they…?"

Ivy glanced over her shoulder and Nico could make out a rebirth of her worried frown. She visibly tried and failed to vanquish it once more. "These are the guys that I told you about, remember? From that camp for people that have the same things happen to them as you?"

The girl – Ven – darted her gaze between Nico and Will nervously. She didn't speak for a long moment and when she did it was just as hesitantly as she had spoken before. "I… I'm not making any promises, Ivy. You know I'm going to stay with Dad until he tells me he thinks I should go."

Ivy nodded. "I know. But just let Will and Nico – that's these guys – let them talk to him and maybe they can convince him that it might be a good idea for you to go to camp – to somewhere a little bit safer."

From the reluctance clearly evident in her single eye, Nico wasn't entirely sure that Ven wanted her father to be convinced. But after another pause she finally gave a slow nod and closed the door. A rattle of chain preceded its opening once more and at Ivy's beckoning gesture Nico and Will followed her inside.

The apartment was as expensive as the rest of the building suggested it would be. Wide rooms with wide doorways and equally wide windows, it gave a semblance of openness even larger than the extensive series of rooms actually was, and was surprisingly warm considering that openness and the absence of curtains across the window to stave of the outdoor chill. Nico followed behind Will as Ven and Ivy led them down a brightly-lit hallway – Gods, was that a vase with a single rose in it? Beside what was obviously a perfectly staged family photo? How cliché – and into a room that appeared part living area, part dining room and part kitchen. It somehow managed the combination without appearing cluttered or cheap; if anything, Nico thought it looked a little sparsely furnished, almost sterile for its minimalistic tidiness.

In the kitchen, throwing together what looked like one of those disgusting green smoothies that were more celery sticks and spinach than milk and real smoothie, was a tall man with his back to them. Tall, but not really any taller than Nico or Will themselves, even if his broad-shouldered frame and the bulging muscles of his arms did make him seem far larger. He had chestnut much like his daughter, Nico noticed, and as he turned curiously at their entrance, Nico saw that their colouration wasn't the only thing they had in common: a thin but attractive face, straight, ridiculously symmetrical features and wide eyes. The man was younger than Nico had expected someone to be given that he had a fourteen-year-old daughter, and he momentarily scolded the God that had seduced someone who, at the time, must have been younger than Nico now was himself.

The curiosity in the man's face shifted into a frown as his attention drifted from Ivy to Nico and Will. A frown that was wary and growing into surprised anger. Nico could hazard a guess that such wary anger was likely more directed towards himself than to Will, despite the unconcealed bow slung over Will's shoulder. Will had dressed himself to be at least mildly presentable, in comfortable jeans and joggers, a scarf wrapped loosely around his neck. The presentation was completed by the green medic shirt that he wore underneath, one of several identical shirts that he practically lived in, just visible at the unzipped neck of the thick new jacket his mother sent him annually. He could have passed for a freshman college student, and a friendly one at that from the smile that seemed to simply settle naturally upon his lips even when he didn't feel particularly happy or amused. Will was just the sort of approachable person that people liked on sight.

In contrast, Nico knew that even a momentary glimpse of himself would be more likely to elicit the opposite response. It wasn't entirely by chance, either; Nico knew he wasn't particularly encouraging when it came to inviting the companionship of others, and that was quite how he liked it. Black on black, a leather jacket with fingerless gloves, skull earring that mirrored that on his finger and that had initially made Will quail before he'd admitted that he had actually grown to quite like it. And the sword poking over his shoulder. Yes, Nico thought the sword probably topped off the impression; though it was usually shrouded by the Mist, anyone who had been so favoured by the Gods as to raise their child would undoubtedly be able to see it.

Nico was the shadow to Will's vibrant light, just as he always had been.

The man had grown so wary that he actually lowered his health smoothie to the granite bench top. He flickered a gaze to his daughter. "Venus? Who's this?"

Nico couldn't withhold a snort. "Venus? Seriously?" He glanced towards the girl who gave him a wary, questioning glance. "I just thought your name was Ven. Well, no prize for guessing who your mum is." He turned towards the man. "I have to ask, did she request that you call her daughter after her or was it an actual decision on your part?"

The man's eyes darted between his daughter and Nico, his wariness warring with a growing agitation and the unfolding of his anger. Will, mediator that he always was, spared a "must you?" glance for Nico before hastening to attempt to patch up the situation. "Sorry, Mr Hannon, that was very rude."

"Yes, it was. Very rude." Nico agreed. "Even if it is true."

"Let me introduce myself. Ourselves," Will continued, ignoring Nico's words and stepping forwards with an outstretched hand. "My name's Will and this is Nico. We're from Camp Half-Blood – I think Ivy might have told you about it?"

Mr Hannon stared at Will's hand as though it was a viper. Then he glanced towards him, to Nico, before turning to Ivy. "Camp Half-Blood? That's the place that you said would be safe for Venus. You two are from there?" At Will's nod, far from easing, Hannon's face settled into a closed frown. "Who the hell are you people?"

"Suffice it to say that we sort of work with Venus' mum. That's the explanation that would probably make the most sense to you," Nico said, not even bothering to step into the Godly Parentage argument. He'd luckily been spared from having to attempt to convince any non-believers in the past and he'd hoped to keep it that way.

"You know my mum?" Venus asked, her wide eyes blowing wider in something other than wariness this time. She looked faintly awed, even eager for the first time since their arrival. She glanced towards Ivy, a little accusingly. "You didn't tell me they knew my mum. Do you know her too?"

"Ivy doesn't have a whole lot to do with her," Will said, sparing a smile for the thoroughly discomforted satyr. She gave him a wavering smile in return.

"What's she like?" Venus asked, her gaze swinging back to settle upon Nico as opposed to Will or Ivy.

"You want the truth? Kind of stuck up and airheaded, actually, and surprisingly ditsy considering how old she is."

"Nico," Will sighed.

"And she looks like a man."

"Nico, seriously," Will said, bumping his shoulder against him in a way that wasn't quite as friendly as such a gesture usually was.

Nico shrugged, biting back a smirk at the bafflement and growing indignation spreading across both Venus and Hannon's faces. "Well, she does."

"Only to you."

"Oh, I'm fairly certain that she does to you, too."

"Are you actually incapable of being anything but blunt and tactless?" Will shook his head, though in spite of his objections and the seriousness he had previously claimed he would approach the situation with he actually looked to be struggling to withhold his own amusement. "Seriously, a little less of the cold truths might be nice."

"As a son of the definitive truth-teller, I would have thought you'd be happy I was being so honest."

"There's such a thing as too much honesty."

"Isn't it sacrilege for someone like you to say something like that, Will?"

"What are you two -? What are you -?" Hannon stuttered into their banter. Nico turned towards him to see the man's eyes darting between them, a faint flush to his cheeks and anger clearly tightening his face now. "What the hell are you going on about?"

Will immediately became contrite, something that Nico had never been particularly good as – he crossed his arms and forced himself to bite his tongue instead. "I apologise, Mr Hannon. That was rude of us. We tend to get a bit carried away sometimes."

"Rude? Rude is the least of it. You tell me who the hell you are and what you want or I don't care that you're a friend or colleague or distant relation of Ivy's or whatever, you can take yourselves out of my house!"

Well, this isn't going as well as we'd hoped, Nico thought, acknowledging the admission of guilt that rose to the forefront of his mind for the objective truth that it was. He turned to Will expectantly, awaiting the response his boyfriend was left to handle.

Will visibly composed himself, adopted the slight smile that so often served to comfort people and ease tensions, and drew a deep breath to reply. "As you've said, we are friends of Ivy of a sort. We come from a place that offers protection to people like your daughter who are maybe considered… endangered by certain aspects of their surroundings."

"Protection?" Hannon frowned, though he didn't look or sound quite as angry as he had been at being subjected to Will's calming tone. Will had that effect on people. "Protection from –"

"The monsters," Venus murmured. She flinched slightly at the words that fell from her own lips and glanced nervously towards her father. "From the things that attack me, right? That's what Ivy says."

"Those monsters that bully my daughter can't be avoided just by moving schools," Hannon said. "You don't think I've tried that? Why do you think I've moved to Halifax in the first place? I'm from California, for God's sake."

It took Nico a moment to work out the meaning behind what Hannon had said. When he did he couldn't suppress a disbelieving snort, nor the glance that he shot towards Will. Similar disbelief, though with an effort to hide it, was evident upon Will's face too.

He's deliberately ignoring reality, Nico thought incredulously. He's using the excuse of 'bullies from school' for the attacks made upon his what's-her-name. Nico shook his head. Honestly, how deliberately ignorant could the man be? Chiron had said that Ivy had relayed the seriousness of the attacks that had occurred on more than once instance. That Venus had broken her arm twice, her ankle once, had even received a concussion from one such instance, and that her father's response was to complain to her school – who could realistically do nothing – before withdrawing his daughter and readmitting her elsewhere.

Nico had to wonder how someone could be so stupid as to ignore reality. Or maybe he just couldn't see through the Mist as well as Nico had suspected for a temporary consort of a goddess? Maybe he was one of the less cluey of the lot? In some ways, that would be even more dangerous than a parent who strove to resist offered help from a purely possessive point of view. Nico had simply suspected that Hannon had resisted Ivy's suggestions because of some stubbornly moronic disinclination to put his daughter's safety over his need to maintain their cohabitation.

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe we were all wrong. In which case I doubt Will's good cop tactic is going to work so well.

Not that Will wouldn't keep trying, Nico knew. He wasn't the sort of person to get angry at someone else or make demands. After the one instance that Nico had really felt his anger years ago, anger directed at him, Will hadn't repeated the incident. He'd been angry, but it hardly held a candle against the flame of that explosion, and was most often directed at other people for their carelessness, or their lack of self-preservation, or their denial of his medical knowledge and doctoring instruction.

"Mr Hannon," Will said quietly. "The sort of… people who attack your daughter can't be avoided simply by changing schools. Not even by moving cities."

"Then we'll just move more frequently, as often as need be –"

"That won't work either, sir." The attempt as submissive respect in Will's tone was usurped slightly by the note of stubborn persistence.

"Then I'll keep her at home," Hannon reattempted. There was a faintly desperate note in his voice. "She doesn't have to go to school at all –"

"Dad," Venus attempted.

Hannon turned towards his daught. "Venus, if it will keep you safe to stay away from those bullies, then you can stay off the streets as much as you need to. If it means that we can just stay together, then I'll do anything." Hannon shook his head, and there was a mournful desperation in his expression that evidently rubbed off on Venus for the way her own face crumpled.

Nico spared a glance for Will and had to suppress a sigh at the sorrow and sympathy that welled up on his boyfriends face. There he goes. He's lost it. Nico shook his head. Will would commiserate, would relate to that which was going on between Hannon and his daughter because, to a lesser degree, he'd felt the same with his own mother. That, and he had a sore need to simply be around those he cared about all the time so really could actually empathise. Will was the type of person who would fight and plough through thick and thin to remain alongside those that he cared for. He would likely understand Hannon, would verbally commiserate with him in a way that Nico could not.

Nico had been able to cut himself off from others when the need presented itself on more than one occasion. He could harden his heart and smother his feelings, could resist the desire to cave to his emotions even if on the rare occasion they did break forth and erupt in demands. So much for Will being the one to convince Hannon and his daughter, Nico saw the situation for what it was and knew he'd have to step up.

He took a physical step forwards, folded his arms across his chest and narrowing his eyes as he stared up into Hannon's face. There was barely a foot between them, and Nico waited to speak until Hannon had struggled to draw his attention from his daughter for long enough to glance towards Nico. When he did, Nico caught his attention with an accusing, condescending smirk. A touch of indignation reddened his cheeks once more.

"Listen here, Hannon."

"Nico," Will murmured, stepping up beside him. Nico physically brushed aside the warning in his words with a wave of his hand before focusing fully upon Hannon once more.

"You're not going to get convinced. Not by us pandering around you and reassuring you that it's the right thing to do, that it's better for Ven – or Venus or whatever – if she comes to Camp Half-Blood like Ivy's been telling her to for years now. Because you're not going to cave. I know that, and you know that."

A vein throbbed in Hannon's forehead and his cheeks flushed further. Nico wondered idly that he could induce such a response from someone when his words really weren't all that accusing. Was it his tone of voice? His expression? Probably a combination of both, and Nico couldn't care less.

"But here's the deal. You can't come with her. This camp is for people who are special like here – you know what I mean by special, Venus." Nico spared a glance for the girl who twitched as though jabbed with a pin. He didn't wait for a response, turning back to Hannon. "You can't come with her to the place that she'll be safest, and she has to go there whether you want her to or not. And do you know why, Hannon?"

The vein throbbed in Hannon's forehead once more and, cheeks rapidly darkening to almost purple, he struggled to utter a reply. Nico didn't let him speak.

"Because she'll die if you don't. Your daughter will get killed if she stays away from the safest place for her. Everyone else," Nico made a gesture towards Will, towards Ivy, "they're going to tone down the reality of the situation and how severe it is so that you won't get upset. But I'm not that nice. You might not want to hear it Hannon, and you might want to think that it's not as serious as it is, or if you just hang in there then it will go away, but it won't. Your kid is going to die if you don't bend your neck enough and accept that, just this once, maybe just for a little while, you need to let her go." He paused. "What would you prefer, honestly? To lose her for just a little while, still knowing that she's okay – Hades, you'll be able to write to her if you want – or to lose her for good? Because that's your only two options."

Silence met his words. Silence and thrumming tension. And horror. And terror. Nico saw from his periphery the wide-eyed fear on Venus' face, the faint nausea on Ivy's, the sad acceptance and just a hint of reproval on Will's, even though it was evident from his silence that he'd accepted Nico's approach as necessary. But Nico kept his focus upon Hannon. He didn't even blink, watching the vein throb in his forehead, the redness of his cheeks become blotchy with deep purple and ashen paleness.

Because he watched so intently, he saw the exact moment when Hannon broke.


Venus was still sniffling ten minutes after they'd left her apartment. Ten minutes rapidly darkening with the shadows of evening because thought Hannon had finally caved he hadn't let them leave with any particular haste. No, they didn't escape for hours. Nico had never seen a crying fest quite like that he'd witnessed. He'd had to take himself outside to avoid being sprayed by the profuse tears and flying snot launched from father and daughter both. Apparently Venus hadn't inherited the art of crying beautifully from her mother but had adopted that particular behaviour from her father.

Calm she had, however, if only slightly. Her eyes were still red and watery, she still sobbed slightly, and the press of the tissue against her nose must have been painful for how hard she squished it. But at least she was talking now, to Ivy and to Will who seemed to have taken it upon himself to attempt to soothe her and even cheer her up. Nico walked ahead, more than happy to let Will take the reins in this situation. He wasn't particularly inclined to partaking in a crash course of Greek mythology that was riddled with more actual history than most of the world realised.

Venus was demonstrating remarkable resilience after such an emotional morning. And afternoon. And early evening. She seemed to have bounced back with more words that Nico thought was entirely necessary.

"But I don't really understand how I can have so many brothers and sisters that are all around the same age as me. Especially when it's my mum who's my godly parent," Venus was sniffling.

"Yeah, we all have to wonder that sometimes," Will nodded with a long-suffering sigh for the salacious exploits of his immortal relatives. "It's a bit weird, but they can sort of take on multiple incarnations at once."

"Weird doesn't even begin to cover it," Venus muttered. She glanced at Ivy. "You always tried to tell me that it was true, and that was how I was so good at convincing people to do things for me, or why I'm so pretty."

"And so modest, too," Nico murmured. Venus didn't appear to hear from the glance he spared her over his shoulder, though Will bit back a laugh and hid his smile behind a briefly upraised hand.

"I'm sorry I didn't really believe you," Venus continued, staring imploringly at the satyr at her side. "Or that I didn't fully believe you. I should have had more faith in you, Ivy. You are my best friend, after all." And with that, she reached her arms around Ivy's neck, pausing them both in step, and wrapped her in a tight embrace. Nico was only happy that it wasn't him who was on the receiving end of the bear hug. He wasn't partial to hugs from anyone but Will and his sister, really, and definitely not sloppy, snotty hugs.

They were making their way towards the station, wading through the commuters heading home from work and ducking across roads that were thick with buses, taxis and honking cars. It wasn't far to walk but even so appeared to be taking at least twice as long as their trip from the station that morning had, what with Venus' distractions through talk and intermittent hugs and the thickness of the crowds. That and the excessively large suitcase that she dragged along behind her. And then they had to make it to the airport…

Nico was seriously beginning to question why he couldn't just shadow travel them back to Long Island, or even partway. It would tire him, maybe even exhaust him to transport four people such a distance, but it would certainly be quicker. Besides, Nico had practiced covering such distances with increasing frequency over the years, what with his trips with Will to Camp Jupiter. Maybe he could manage it?

They continued for another solid five minutes, in which Venus assaulted Will with another array of unnecessary questions and Ivy with another hug, before she spoke up with something actually useful. She paused in step abruptly enough that Will had to call to Nico ahead of him to stop. Gesturing down a side road sparsely populated compared to those they'd swum through before that and darkened beneath the shadow of eight storey buildings, Venus glanced up at Will. "We'll cut out about five minutes and most of the crowd if we just go down here."

Nico shrugged as Will glanced towards him. "Sounds like a plan to me. Anything to get of the main street," he said.

"You know, I could have picked that you'd be inclined that way."

"You know me so well. Good for you."

Will only grinned.

It did seem a good choice. At least until they reached the direct centre of the street, halfway between towering shopfronts and blank-faced buildings of questionable function. Nico paused in step at the head of their party, freezing as the distinct sense of wrongness brushed upon his awareness. He glanced over his shoulder towards Will who, after a moment of meeting his gaze with a frown of his own, evidently felt it too. They turned as one towards the street.

The now-empty street. It was dotted intermittently with sleeping cars and litterbins overflowing with unsorted bottles and plastics but little else. The distant buzz of pedestrians, traffic and commuters seemed to grow abruptly more distant. It was definitely growing darker too, even more than it should have been with the encroaching evening. Nico wasn't foolish enough to consider that it wasn't just slightly darker than it should be.

Without a second thought, he reached over his shoulder and drew his sword with a hiss of Stygian iron. A gasp behind him alerted him to Venus' surprise, quite possibly her fright, but he didn't spare her any notice. His attention were scanning the surrounds, darting over shadows that his gaze could penetrate better than that of his companions, jumping from a wafting sandwich wrapper to the flutter of a curtain through an open window. Something… there must have been something…

"Nico," Will hissed sharply, and Nico snapped his attention to him over his shoulder. Bow in hand, strung and arrow nocked, his narrow eyed attention was turned upwards towards the roof of the building across the street. Nico followed the line of his sight.

Why do we always forget to look up?

It was a cat. Or a number of cats. Golden cats, seven of them, lining the roof and – no, they weren't cats either, Nico realised as a eighth arrived with a heavy mane of darker gold fur around his ruff. Lions. In the middle of Halifax. And eight of them, all peering down from the rooftop as though eyeing their prey. Which, Nico realised, they sort of were.

Nico felt the jump of battle-readiness zap through him. It hardened the muscles in his arms, thrummed energy through his legs and urged him into a grounded stance as he stepped forwards between the lions and Ivy and Venus. Will edged alongside him, Venus making to follow despite the sudden wariness, the fear, that painted her expression. Ivy held her back with a murmur and a grabbing hand.

"Them," Venus croaked, her eyes fastened upon the rooftop. "Those lions. They're some of those monsters, aren't they? They ones that keep chasing me?" Nico saw her glance towards Will from his periphery. "What sort of lions are they? Are they –?"

"Not sure exactly," Will replied curtly, raising his chin slightly in what Nico knew as being his own stance of readiness. "Lions aren't typically the form that monsters take but…" He glanced sidelong at Nico. "Unless…"

"Let's hope not, yeah?" Nico muttered. Then he raised his sword.

As though they'd been waiting for some kind of signal from their targets, the lions flowed into motion. In a series of fluid leaps, of turns and bounds, they scattered across the rooftop, soaring in supernatural leaps across the width of the road to land upon the opposite building's heights. Then they spread and descended.

Will fired his bow with the accuracy of a child of Apollo. He loosed arrow after arrow with the speed of the professional that he was, spinning and turning as they approached. His arrows struck home, celestial bronze heads spearing through the golden pelts of the creatures and scattering plumes of golden dust from their point of contact.

Not that it slowed them any. They could have been mosquito bites for the damage they appeared to do, and for their horse-like size they sort of were. That if nothing else, if not for the fact that a pride of lions were in the middle of the city, told Nico that they were monsters. Hefting his sword, he stepped forwards when the lions finally reached them in their headlong flight, and he struck.

Stygian sword whirling, Nico whipped it around in a windmill of twirls, slicing at dusty fur with the double-edged blade. He ducked and dodged, parried at batting paws with flexing claws and smacking at the snarling jaws of the great cats that hulked towards him, launching their heavy weight like boulder projectiles. The point of his sword dug into the chest of one, pausing it in its roaring charge towards him to lose its head and burst into a shower of dust when he withdrew it to swing his weapon in a descending blow. Nico turned and caught the flying leap of another just in time to save his neck, nearly flung to the roadside.

Will was at his back. Nico could feel it even as he focused solely upon ripping apart the lion upon him, as he turned towards another. He could feel his movements, feel the moment that he exchanged bow for quarterstaff with a double tap of its end on the cement ground. He heard distantly the twang of the retreating bowstring, followed by the resounding smack of reinforced staff upon the skull of a lion.

Will was good with his staff, the weapon afforded him courtesy of Leo. He was very good. It was more than reassuring to have him at Nico's back.

Another slice, another burst of dust, and Nico spun back towards Venus and Ivy just in time to drive his sword through the spine of another beast. Venus was surprisingly holding her own – evidently those Krav Maga lessons had included fighting lions. Even as Nico turned to face another that had skirted the swing of his sword and Will's quarterstaff, she'd somehow managed to wrangle the giant lion to the ground with her bare hands, was straddling its writhing back and crushing its head to the ground. Ivy was upon it an instant later with a Celestial bronze dagger stabbed through the snout. Venus fell to her knees on the ground in a shower of golden dust an instant later.

Will was winning his battle against another two. One fell in a dusty spray, the other leaping back just in time to avoid having its skull caved in by the bronze-reinforced end of Will's staff. Nico turned towards the final two – final one, given that Venus and Ivy had somehow managed to take down a second – and threw himself into his attack.

He vanquished the creature. He did it easily enough. Unfortunately, not fast enough.

It was the male lion who turned tail and fled for the end of the road. Nico, unwilling to let it escape, sped after it with sword in hand. A flying leap and slashing swipe sliced the creatures legs from beneath him, another to the back between the shoulder blades unleashing a roar that was cut off as it exploded into dust.

In that moment, as Nico thrust the full force of his sword through the monster's spine, the earthquake struck. A rumbling disturbance of the very ground that threw him from his crouch to smack heavily onto his side. Nico winced, rolling to a crouch immediately, only to catch a glimpse of the earthquake. Or more correctly what had caused it.

To say it was a lion would have been to call a Chihuahua a small wolf. The size of a pick-up truck, the towering creature was a reflective, metallic gold, burnished metal that shone as if polished. A heavy bronze mane circled its neck, silvery claws gouged the ground at its feet and as Nico watched it widened its jaws in a roar to expose fangs that curved like swords of stainless steel. A rumbling roar like the engine of a jet rebounding in ear-splitting magnitude along the length of the abandoned road.

Nico only had a second to think "Nemean Lion" before it charged.

He didn't have enough time to dive out of the way. The sheer size of the lion was enough to have it upon him before he could even lurch to his feet. Nico didn't even have the time to ground himself to parry a potential attack, useless as he knew weapons were against the Lion. He barely had a second to hear Will's bellowing scream of "Nico!" and Venus' shriek of "What they hell -?!" before the monster leapt.

He reacted instinctively. In a way that he never had before, Nico threw himself from the beast's path. He rolled, his shadows caught him, and he fell through the brief stretching, squeezing darkness for a bare moment before rolling out the other side.

The Lion was upon him. Or upon where he had been a second before. Nico found himself sprawled on the ground behind the lashing tail, the powerful limbs crouching as though it had sprung like a cat upon a writhing lizard. A roar that might have even sounded confused rumbled from its chest and shook the very infrastructure of the street.

Nico didn't know what had happened. He'd never done that before, never fallen into his shadows like that so instinctively, accidentally, and strangely. He didn't have a moment to consider it, however, not now. Not when there was a shout of pain and anger and horror as Will released a useless arrow at the Lion with a thrumming twang. Not when the Lion reared its head and swung it's attention towards his assailants down the road.

Nico did the only thing he could do. The only thing possible, despite knowing that it was useless. He lurched to his feet, sprung at the Lion and swung his sword across the creature's heels, right where the Achilles tendon would be on a human. It rebounded, useless and –

And left a mark like chalk on a blackboard.

That shouldn't have happened. Nico knew it shouldn't have happened since weapons were useless against the Nemean Lion's impenetrable hide, but he didn't pause to consider why. Not when, apparently feeling the feeble blow, the Lion swung its looming, golden-eyed attention towards Nico instead. Nico turned, and he ran, sword slinging over his shoulder into his sheath to free his hands of his weapon.

It wasn't cowardice but practicality. He didn't have a destination in mind. There could be no escape from such an assailant, not without something like shadow travel involved. And Nico abruptly made up his mind to do just that.

If only he could get to Will, to Venus and Ivy, with enough time to grab hold of them all and spirit their little party away.

He ran like there was – well, like there was a Nemean Lion on his tail. Sprinting from the road, turning at the first corner and legging it along the next block between equally tall buildings, Nico didn't look over his shoulder to see if it followed him. He didn't need to, not with the ground-shaking thumps of the Lion's landings trembling the road in his wake. He spun around another corner, bursting onto a street that was actually clogged with traffic and pedestrians, and had a moment to cringe at the impact the monster would make before there was the crash, the crunch of a crumpling car. The thumping chase of the Lion followed him down the street.

Nico couldn't turn to face the Lion. Regardless of whether his weapon had actually somehow made the slightest of dents upon its skin, he couldn't afford to try and fight it. Not when a single swipe of its paw could send him soaring into the sky, or a touch of its claw could slice him in too. It was huge and Nico, small in comparison as he was, was ill equipped to handle any sort of confrontation.

He ran with every ounce of his speed. That life-saving fuel that drove a demigod's fight or flight instincts coursed through him, adding strength to his limbs. He breathed as steadily as he could – which wasn't very – and dodged through startled pedestrians whose cries became shrieks of terror, bounded across roads and rolled off the bonnets of cars that screeched to a halt at the sight of the Lion that chased him. Nico wondered detachedly what they saw – a car chase? A truck moving with incredible speed and dexterity as it ploughed over and through the congested streets? It hardly mattered and Nico found he didn't much care; he couldn't spare a moment to think of others. His mind was focused, on the verge of tipping into panic with what the hell, I'm going to die, Gods there's no getting out of this one that he barely had space for a coherent thought. Besides, monsters rarely cared about anyone but gods and demigods. As far as Nico knew, he was the only demigod in the Lion's sights.

Angry sights, too, likely because it had just been stabbed by something that was, in relative terms, little more than a needle to its gigantic size.

It was pure luck that had him colliding into Will as he rounded a corner of one of a main street. Luck, or perhaps Venus had a good enough sense of direction to be able to meet him at a cut off. They nearly fell to the ground with the force of their impact, Nico latching onto Will's arms to steady him just as Will grabbed onto him to do the same in return. He only caught a glimpse of Will's face, of the profound relief that nearly caused him to sag, before Nico was grabbing his arm and pulling him along the road at a run. He snatched onto the joined hands of Venus and Ivy as he nearly ploughed into them a moment after nearly stumbling over a bunch of schoolkids. He didn't pause to consider their surroundings or to warn the two girls of what to expect. There wasn't time for that when a hungry, slavering and roaring monster was on their tails. A monster whose proximity was shaking the road with the erupting earthquake of its passage.

Nico only had time to shout, a little hysterically, "Will, don't be pissed about this!" before he drew his shadows forth, wrapped them around their collective shoulders, and threw them into darkness.

There was a squeezing stretch, a rushing of wind as they dove without motion, the crushing weight of shadows and the void of oblivion that beckoned and danced just on the edge of consciousness. Nico avoided the tantalising fingers, mind set upon one destination and one alone. In what could have been moments, minutes or hours, felt himself flung from the shadows of compacted space. He felt the heavy weights of Will, of Venus and Ivy, tumble after him.

Nico's breath was smacked from his lungs for the force of his impact. He didn't usually land on his back, but attributed the laxness to the weight of his company, to the distance he'd travelled. For a moment he couldn't breath, a sudden wave of exhaustion and dizziness battering him like a tsunami as he gave a choking gasp up at the sparsely clouded sky.

Camp Half-Blood. Gods, he hoped it was Camp Half-Blood.

Nico's breath returned with a rush, and he found himself coughing in splutters as oxygen flooding into his lungs. He blinked rapidly for a moment but the blurriness didn't fade from his eyes. In fact, it seemed to actually be getting worse. And darker. Or maybe that was just the shadowy face that blotted out the light as a figure loomed over his head.

"Gods, fucking hell, Nico, are you alright? Are you -? What did you -? Fucking –"

Will. Yes, definitely Will. And an upset, worried and at least a little bit angry Will from the eloquence of his ensuing curses. Nico registered distantly that his hands had let go of their holds, though Will had reversed his to latch onto his fingers instead. With a sudden arousal of worry, the thought Oh, shit, Nico rocked his head to the side to catch a glimpse of the two girls he'd dragged into the shadows after him. "Are they…? Will, Venus and Ivy –"

"They – they're alright," Will stuttered out, breathing almost as heavily as Nico's was. He wiped a shaking hand over his forehead. Or maybe that was just Nico's vision that was wavering and causing it to shake. He couldn't tell. Yes, his vision was very definitely getting dimmer. He wasn't sure, didn't really have the headspace to consider it through his abruptly profound relief. "They're fine. Venus seems to have recovered from her unexpected shadow travel remarkably well. She's crying that she left her suitcase behind."

"Is that what that sound was," Nico muttered. He heard his voice slur without his intention. "Oops. My bad."

"Damn hide of you, Nico. How dare you save our lives and cut our travel time a hundredfold but forget to bring along her two dozen pairs of identical t-shirts."

"I'm the world's worst." Nico raised a shaking hand – yes, he was fairly certain it was his hand that was shaking – and pressed it to his pounding head. He closed his eyes because he couldn't really see all that clearly anyway and that seemed to help a little.

"Don't you forget it," Will's voice said, and though there was still worry bordering on panic in his voice, there was the beginnings of relief there too, and just a touch of amusement. He was evidently attempting casual nonchalance with his words, but the effect was lost somewhat by the high pitch of his voice. Always a giveaway. Fucking Soprano. "Seriously, what the hell were you thinking? Shadow travel I can admit has its uses, and yes, it can even be necessary, but really? Biting off more than we can chew, are we?"

"You're welcome, Soprano," Nico murmured.

"I'm not being a Soprano."

"Can you hear yourself?"

"Yeah, this is my 'Nico, are you trying to give me a heart attack, you little shit?' voice."

"Yeah, that's what I said. Soprano."

Will gave a chuckle that sounded only about half-forced. "Whatever. If it makes you happy."

"Very happy," Nico slurred once more, and even to his own ears it was barely intelligible. "Hey Will, I think I'm going to pass out. Might need you to carry me to the infirmary this time."

"Oh, you're admitting it this time? That's a change."

"Shut up… M' bloody tired…" His hand dropped down wearily to the ground beside him.

Will's chuckle echoed in his ears once more. "Alright. That's alright, I'll take care of it." To Nico's ears, it very much sounded like "I'll take care of you".

A moment before he lost himself to oblivion, as he felt Will grab his shoulders and heave him upwards, Nico heard the echoing, muffled final question. "That thing you did, with the shadows? What was that?" He sounded almost nervous to find out.

But Nico couldn't summon the energy to reply, even if he had known. Which he didn't. He couldn't even shrug. Thankfully, Will didn't seem to expect it. Nico was vaguely aware of Will's arms adjusting beneath his own, of his chin rocking to his chest and being manoeuvred until he thought that he may have been slung over Will's back but he wasn't sure. Just like he wasn't entirely sure if he actually heard the words "Don't scare me like that again, please, Goth Boy".

Nico didn't even have the energy to object to the infuriating nickname. His final thought was of sardonic amusement, that as far as quests went, it might have been short but it was pretty chock full of 'excitement' before he passed out. Before he let himself slip into the more than capable hands of his boyfriend as he lugged him presumably to the infirmary, the sound of Venus' cries of distress fading into the distance. Honestly, Nico was almost happy for the increasingly persistent headache, for the watery ache of his limbs and the dizziness that he had an excuse not to deal with the latest addition to camp. He'd put in his hours and that was enough for him.

What a way to go out.


A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the story. If you have a second, please leave a review to let me know what you tough :)

So this is the LAST CHAPTER of 'A Series of Firsts' though (surprise, though probably not surprising!) I've got the SEQUEL ready to start posting in a week or two called 'Shadows Chasing Shadows'. If you're interested, please keep an eye out for it!