We all have those days. Those days when your entire world gets turned upside down and on it's head. And then maybe someone chucks it into a blender for good measure. Only, Nico hadn't been sure if the result was a delicious paradise smoothie with a side of glory, or a heaping serving of frothing fruit basket vomit until a couple minutes ago.

"You want me to what now?" Nico yelped.

Chiron's patient face didn't falter, but his ancient eyes looked just a little more tired and lack-luster than usual.

"Nico, please, be rational."

"You can't be serious. You – you just can't! We have over two hundred campers who would cut off their sword arm for a quest – and you want me to bring the dirty little runaway? I mean, we have no idea who she is, or even who her godly parent is! How do you know she won't stab us in our sleep?" Nico folded his arms across his chest, watching the passive centaur in front of him.

"Nico…" Suddenly, he sighed, and passed a weathered hand across his face, "Nico, you have to understand. After someone has lived as long as I have, seeing the same, horrible, horrible things happen to thousands of generations of demigods…" He trailed off, staring into his hands at something Nico couldn't, and wouldn't ever see. Respectfully, he waited for him to find his train of thought again.

"What I'm trying to say, Nico, is yes. Every one of the campers would dearly love to accompany you on your quest, but that's entirely beside the point. I would never say that Percy didn't do the right thing when he ended the Titan War, but his choice did have consequences. The consequence being our experienced and qualified demigods are outnumbered 3 to 1 by the new recruits."

Nico blinked, waiting for him to deliver the convincing argument. He already knew everything Chiron was telling him. They were the very reasons he was here in the first place. Chiron must have seen he wasn't getting through, because he carried on with a rush.

"Look, I can't force your hand in choosing your quest partners. I'm just your mentor, and the most I can offer is advice. But please, listen. Actions will always have consequences. Just as with Percy. The same goes for myself, for you, and for Erin. You're right, I know very little about her, nothing worthy of trusting her – "

Nico began to open his mouth to agree, but Chiron left him no opening.

"Save one - she trusted us first. We were her last resort…her knights in shining armor. She's fierce, to be sure, and she's has quite the tongue on her, but really, Nico - can you see yourself letting her stab you in the dark of night?"

Nico paused, letting Chiron's wounds sink in. Perhaps…he had a valid point. It would take a really specific breed of filth to sink to that level. And it was almost impossible to sneak up on him in his natural element…

Chiron let him stand in silence and digest his words.

"Well…" Nico finally managed, "As usual, you have a point."

Chiron dipped his head and raised a hand in protest.

"I only want what's best for the campers."

And that was the final blow.

Kind, wise Chiron would only ever suggest he bring Erin, if he thought it was in the very best of everyone's interest. Not just his own, petty desires or interests. Not like Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, whose fatal flaws was and always has been grudges. Ancient law wouldn't let Chiron assign his fellow questers, and regardless, he would want them to grow and make their own decisions. But who was he to say he could make a better decision than a centuries old centaur?

Nico leaned back onto the ping pong table in defeat.

"Ugghh…fine, fine." Finally, Chiron smiled.

"But!" Nico continued, holding out a hand for silence, "Well, caaaall me crazy, but I don't think little miss Erin is the biggest fan, if you catch my drift," he snapped, maybe a tad too sarcastically for politeness's sake.

But Chiron merely chuckled.

"Worry not, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I can talk to her at a later point in time. Right now, we need to discuss who you would like to bring as your last companion."

Nico straightened. Finally, his own choice. Not being the most traditional of campers, Nico hadn't spent elaborate hours dreaming of his own quest and companions, but the name flew off his tongue without hesitation.

"Percy."

"Aahh, brave Percy. An undoubtedly excellent choice, but consider the team already assembled. Yourself, an experienced sword master, fearsome tactician, and one of the Big Three. And Erin, whose very existence stands as tribute to her individual strength, wits, and survival skills. Do you really need another power house?"

Nico considered this. Again, point to Chiron. If this was a Mythomagic competition, he'd be in a rough spot now.

"All right…who do you suggest?"

"No, no, no. I don't think that would be wise at all for me to chose both your accompaniments. Just as food for thought before you make your final decision. If you wouldn't mind, sending Erin to me if you see her? Oh, and I'll be expecting the name of your final recruit before dinner!"

Nico nodded. He'd better get a move on then. Walking with purpose, he swept out of the room and into the Big House - before suddenly coming to a halt. What was he even doing? The idea that last night, he had been merely kicking butt at capture the flag seemed too far away from the demanding matter in his face now.

Slowly, and without much attention to where he was going, he climbed the stairs, the stillness ringing in his ears, until suddenly as he reached the top and a creak on floorboards that was not his own caught his attention.

Sharply he looked up, only to see the one and only: Erin. What – what was she even doing in here? She was supposed to be with the Hermes campers! If she couldn't take orders…this was going to be a looong trip.

Better be worth it, Chiron.

"Oh. There you are. Where you shouldn't be. Again," Nico said dryly.

Erin leant her weight against the doorframe with an air of indifference.

"Not your problem, now is it?" she sneered.

"Good gods, I wish it wasn't," Nico snapped before he could stop himself.

As undesirable a companion she was, he was going to have to work with her. If they were going to trust each other, fight with each other, they were going to need at least a degree of civility. This was no way to start a quest.

However, Erin didn't seem angered by his comment – rather, intrigued.

"What?" she asked.

Nico lifted his eyes from the floor.

"I've got some unfortunate news."

Erin held his gaze expectantly, lips parted in anticipation, but Nico hesitated, unwilling to actually put voice to the words.

"You are to, I mean I'm supposed to – we – " he ran a hand across his eyes, and sighed heavily. When he looked again, Erin's brows were drawn together in impatience. Nico choked.

"Uh. You need to go talk to Chiron. Now,' he stammered, resorting to his previous errand. He couldn't he just couldn't bring himself to request her presence to her face. Quests were the sacred epitome of their tradition. It was supposed to be an honor. The idea of her scoffing at his invitation was unthinkable.

Erin stared for several moments longer, hazel eyes roving his poker face judgmentally.

"…you're a weird little dude, aren't you?"

Hypothesis, correct. She was a rude, snotty little outcast without the slightest clue of how to behave herself. No wonder her godly parent had abandoned her, she was hopeless. Nico's upper lip curled, and he took two steps closer and drew himself up to his full height, forcing her to look up to hold his glare.

"'Little' isn't the word, I would have chosen," he murmured in a dangerously low voice. Erin didn't bat an eyelash.

"Is that so?" she breathed, moving forward and narrowing the gap between their bodies to mere inches, close enough for him to count each healing nick on her pale skin. Nico blanched and rolled back on his heels, suddenly uncomfortable. Unfortunately, and to his everlasting embarrassment, Erin noticed. She chuckled softly, lids half-lowered in coy amusement, before brushing past him and towards the stairs. He shuffled quickly out of the way, turning just in time to see the end of her braid whisking around the corner.

Peeved, Nico sucked a breath between his teeth. Oh, Chiron…this better be really worth it.

Just to be sure of not encountering her again, he waited an extra minute before finally heading after. He passed the door to the meeting room, and admittedly paused debating on listening in. But integrity…and maaaaybe the desire not to hear Erin's voice right now won out, and he moved on.

The light of day was a harsh contrast from the dimly lit halls of the Big House. Nico squinted, peering through his lashes at the cabins in the distance. Somewhere out there – unsuspectingly going about his daily life – was his final companion. The missing piece of his little team.

He sighed and ran a hand through his bangs. Where was he supposed to start? With Chiron's advice? Well, now that he had a moment to consider…he was probably right. If his interaction with Erin a few minutes ago had been any indication, there was no more room for another hot head, and although Percy meant well, following orders had never been his strong suit. A troublesome weakness, especially if this was going to be Nico's quest. He was going to call the shots, and if both of his companions ignored him, chaos would ensue.

So, he was going to have to find a gentler temperament.

Secondly, he or she needed experience, which was harder to come by each summer that passed, as more and more new demigods arrived. And, more specifically, he needed someone with a skill set that would compliment his.

Nico sank down at the Hades' dining table, despondent. All right, now all the quester had to do was materialize in front of him and they could take off into the sunset, because truth be told – he didn't know many other demigods. He'd been at camp for no more than two weeks, and he always had preferred staying to himself.

Mellow, level headed, skilled warrior, and quick witted in the face of danger…

Suddenly, Nico's head shot up. Of course. It was obvious.

He found the Apollo cabin at the archery range, but there was no surprise there. For a moment, he simply admired the group from a distance, unable to distinguish any individual, just watching flock after flock of black arrows soaring from uniform rows of archers. Gingerly, he picked his way around the back of the group, and found the son of Apollo he was looking for at the end of the row.

A bead of sweat trickled down his clenched jaw, his chapped lips pursed against the feathered tip of his arrow, the tendons in his arms tensed. Tristan inhaled softly, pulled his bow back to the fullest extent, and released the arrow with a sharp zing. Peering down the firing range, Nico raised his eyebrows, impressed at the sight the still quivering shaft, embedded dead center in the dummy's chest.

A small smile flitted over Tristan's lips, but before he could notch another, Nico stepped forward.

"Tristan?"

He turned, startled.

"Oh! Hi, um, Nico was it?"

"Yeah, Nico."

Tristan lowered his bow and wiped his forehead with the back of one hand.

"What's up?" he asked cheerfully, when suddenly, he blanched, as if a horrible thought had struck him. "Oh gods, is it that girl? Is she ok?"

Nico shook his head quickly.

"No, no, she's fine. She made a full recovery." Regrettably. "I just was wondering if we could talk for a second."

"Yeah. Yeah, of course."

Tristan dropped his quiver and bow and followed him away from the shooting range. Once they were out of hearing distance of the blond's siblings, Nico stopped and faced him.

"All right, here's the deal: remember the announcement they made at lunch? Long story short, I've just found myself leading a quest that is scheduled to leave as soon as possible."

At the word "quest," Tristan perked up like a blood hound with a scent and his blue eyes widened.

"And – and you want me?"

"Yes."

A grin split Tristan's face.

"Gods, yes!" he fist pumped in a strange little victory dance. Nico watched, one eyebrow quirked. Tristan quickly composed himself and straightened, face serious.

"All right! Thank you, I'm deeply honored. But, I have to ask…why me? I mean," he spread his arms out to gesture at the camp, "You have hundreds of campers to choose from, not to mention many old friends who you surely must trust in battle."

Nico nodded curtly.

"I know, but I've seen enough. You performed admirably in the crisis last evening, have attended more summers than the majority of our recruits, and I've just witnessed your skills with a bow myself."

Tristan dipped his head, but Nico continued.

"All that said, there was another reason. I chose you specifically because of who I was…advised to select as our other quester."

"…being?"

"The girl, Erin."

Tristan's blond eyebrows shot into orbit.

"Come again?"

Nico grimaced and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Um, yeah. That's a long story. Let's just say…she's a bit of a handful and I'll need a steadier head to trust."

Tristan nodded slowly, mulling over his words.

"I thiiiink I understand what you're trying to say."

Nico rolled his eyes disdainfully.

"Uh huh. You'll understand perfectly, probably sooner than you'd like. Come on, let's walk."

With sharp, jerky movements, Erin wrapped her fist around the shaft of her arrow and yanked it out of the tree trunk, grunting in a release of exasperation. The wounded, mutilated tree bark gaped back at her. Erin fixed it with a hard stare of bitter satisfaction before turning and stomping back to her discarded bow.

She started to bend down to retrieve it to fire another round of shots into the defenseless trees, but the frustration won over, and she instead chucked the arrow at her feet and let loose a gusty sigh.

The quiet of the woods was only disturbed by the distant clamor of campers lining up for dinner. Here, in her pocket of solitude, she was alone with her thoughts, her bow, and her anger.

Who did Chiron think he was? She bared her teeth in a soundless snarl and aimed a kick at a pile of rotting leaves, the ancient centaur's words ringing in her skull.

"Hey. Nick said…Nijo…ugh, whatever-his-face. The scrawny dude saidI'm supposed to talk to you again. What is it?"

"I promised we would discuss your punishment at a later point in time. An, there's no time like the present."

"Oookay, no more cheesy one liners, please, and I'll try to concentrate on what you're saying, rather than what century you're from."

"Fair enough. You want to cut to the chase. Nico di Angelo is leading a quest, to discover who or what is responsible for the beast's attacks, and, to end them. He has agreed that you are to accompany him."

"Uh, wow, ok. How about, no?"

"He thought you would say that, and frankly, so did I, although I had hoped you might…cooperate of your own accord."

"Fat chance."

"Please, Erin, drop the act. I know perfectly well what your intentions were from the moment you stumbled in here. I'm afraid I simply can't let you back out on your own again. Firstly, it would be against the oath Olympus swore, secondly, to my duty as protector of this camp, and thirdly, because it is truly unsafe"

"Says who? Don't underestimate me, Chiron."

"Times are rapidly changing, and even a fighter like yourself isn't going to survive on her own. Especially one without the safety net of a godly parent…"

Erin sucked a deep breath through her nose, trying to calm herself. Pressing her back against young pine, she stared up at the sunset peeping between the branches above her. The sky was a deep orange, tinted purple around the edges by the steadily increasing lack of sun. Almost exactly 24 hours to the minute from her near death experience at the border.

This morning she had been correct. She would be leaving this damned place by nightfall. but not how she had expected, not how she had wanted. No, she'd be towing two spoiled little demigods behind her, chasing smoke and demons and monsters until either they or their quarry were dead.

Not her idea of escape.

Not at all.

She lingered for several moments longer, not waiting to face anyone at dinner quite yet. She'd be spending enough time with them in the near future as it was. These might be her last moments of solitude for many weeks to come. This morbid thought brought an audible groan to her lips, and she slammed her head back against the bark a few times in denial.

"Oh yeah? What do you think you could possibly say to convince me to baby sit your little charges?"

"Firstly, none of the campers are not my charges. You are in no position to judge Nico, or any of the others. You know nothing about them, about their pasts, about why they are…the way they are."

"Pft, I couldn't care less."

"Your pride will be your downfall if you're not careful, Erin. And like it or not, you are now one of us. You always belonged here, your parentage automatically makes you one of us."

"I want nothing to do with you people. I think I've made that clear."

"Just our ambrosia."

"…low blow, Chiron."

"It can't have been easy. Living on your own for so long…select few could have survived such an ordeal. You knew where we are located. You would have come to us sometime ago, wouldn't you have? But something was stopping you…something more pressing than your own comfort. Only at your most desperate time, minutes away from death, did you finally come to us."

"Stop, stop now."

"What was it? What could have been so important?"

"Chiron."

"I'm sorry. That was a bit much, but I need to get through to you. But, my point being made – Erin. Would you like to tell me who your mother is now?"

Erin looked up from forest floor, finding that she had sank to her knees in thought. Absently, she ran a hand through the dry needles, trying to swallow the uncomfortable ball of acid burning in her stomach. So fast, everything was happening so fast, and she couldn't get a grip on it. And it scared her. It scared her witless, and she hated it. Her whole life had been one stagnant battle in solitude. In 24 hours, 24 fleeting hours, her entire future had been rearranged. Her deepest secrets thrust into a spotlight, her anonymity stripped from her, and a challenge she couldn't even begin to attack on her plate.

She closed her eyes, crumbling the dry needles between her fingers into powder as a sudden gust of wind scattered them. Laughter and the clanking of silverware reached her ears, and she knew she had no more time to spare.

Up and at 'em, Erin – it was show time.

Chiron, the miracle worker. Really, it was a fitting title considering the news he brought. Now Nico was seriously regretting not trying harder to listen in on his conversation with Erin, because maybe he could have picked up a few tricks in handling the wild child. Through some sort of divine intervention, dark witchcraft, or pure blackmail, Chiron had convinced Erin to accept his "invitation." Although what means the centaur had used, he was unwilling to share.

"In good time," he had chuckled at Nico's aghast expression.

Good time being in less than ten minutes by Nico's calculation. The sun had already disappeared under the horizon, and the remaining edges of pink in the sky were rapidly vanishing, while the shadows of the forest, hills, and cabins were stretching and distorting, blanketing Camp Halfblood in twilight. Nico watched apathetically as the shade of Thalia's old tree reached for him, pooling beneath his sneakers like a well-trained dog, waiting for his command. However, he ignored it, training his gaze outward towards the trail that led from the camp.

He had skipped dinner, saying he needed the extra 45 minutes to prepare their supplies, and because he probably couldn't have choked down anything on his stomach of nerves. He had turned his back on this camp countless times now, and the road was no longer a scary place, but this time he was going to be responsible for two other people. It wasn't just his own life he was taking into his hands, he was taking the lives of total strangers as well, who should be arriving very shortly.

Just at that moment, a silhouette broke the peak of the hill. A few paces closer and Tristan's masculine frame emerged, dressed in a thick orange hoodie and carrying a pack. Nico wondered vaguely where his bow was hidden.

"Hey man!" he called cheerily, jogging the last several yards over, grin in place, "Ready to rumble?"

Nico pursed his lips into a thin, forced smile.

"Yeah. Rumble away."

Tristan bounced to a stop, backpack jingling, and bright expression unaffected by Nico's lack of enthusiasm.

"Erin coming?" Nico asked.

"I think so. I saw Percy taking her to weapons storage," he paused, shifting his weight from one foot the other, unable to meet Nico's eye. Nico titled his head in question, waiting silently for him to spit if out.

"Uh. It…I'm a little confused."

"Do tell."

"Is…is Erin a hunter?" he suddenly spluttered.

Nico blinked, taken aback.

"What?"

"I mean, maybe that's why she was running! She could be a dishonored hunter!"

"Slow down, Tristan, what are you talking about?"

"Tonight at dinner, she sat all alone at the hunters' table. Everyone saw, everyone was staring, and she left the moment she finished eating. I didn't even get a chance to introduce myself."

Nico stared blankly, mouth slack, trying to process this information. Tristan grimaced at the look on Nico's face, and threw a glance over his shoulder.

"No need, your face says it all," he muttered, "Besides, it would be better just to ask the lady in question herself…"

This snapped Nico to attention. He straightened and leaned around Tristan to confirm that indeed, a petite figure was making its way over the peak of the hill. The sight of her silhouette brought a prickling sense of déjà vu from last night, when Tristan and himself rushed to her aid not many paces from where they stood now.

"Hi there," Erin snipped crisply, ignoring Nico, looking over Tristan instead. "And you are…?"

He stepped forward and extended one hand formally. "Tristan Hotch, son of Apollo."

Erin looked from his hand, to his face, and back to his hand, before hesitantly taking another step forward and shaking it. Tristan's smile widened, and to Nico's surprise, she returned it with a small grin.

"Nice to see you conscious this time," he chuckled. Nico stepped forward, tired of being ignored.

"You would have died on our front porch yesterday if it wasn't for him."

Erin threw Nico a scathing look of distaste, before ignoring him again.

"Oh. Thanks."

"No problem, s'what I do. From what I hear, I believe you two already met," Tristan said cautiously, obviously reading the tension between them.

"Sorta." "Not officially," they said at the same time. Nico sighed and moved to extend a hand as well. Better late than never, right? Erin raised a brow incredulously.

"Nico di Angelo, son of Hades."

There was a long moment of dead air where no one moved. Erin simply stared at him, gaze guarded and wary. As if he was trying to pull one over her with a handshake. Nico was just about to lose his patience, when she finally gave in and shook his outstretched hand.

"Erin Montjay. Daughter of Artemis."

No big surprise there, though. xD Review oorrrr [insert standard empty threat] : )

Next chapter: our little trio's adventure starts with a bang, but between facing their first hungry monster and bickering amongst themselves, do they even want to shake their wrong footed start?