Thanks for reviewing. This chapter will be really short but also about Nico. I love him!
Nico di Angelo was wandering. He loved to wander. It helped him think things through. And with Percy Jackson apparently brainwashed in California with a bunch of weird Roman demigods Nico had a lot to think about.
Sometimes he'd just shadow travel to a dark, remote spot. He'd bend the shadows to cover his frame and walk about in damp, cool, solitude. Even the warm sun of early June hardly reached Nico in his refuge of darkness. He wasn't entirely sure where he was but it might have been somewhere in the forests of Maryland. Here, in his lonely sanctuary, he could think.
That was good because there was so much that was bothering Nico. Not only had one of his closest friends disappeared but Olympus was on lock-down and the gods had gone silent. His fellow demigods, in their desperation to fix the problem, had decided to build a giant (awesome) war ship and were planning to drive it to the Roman Camp to get Percy. If they were going peacefully, Nico was pretty sure driving in an epic war ship would be a bad idea but who was he to burst their bubble?
He kicked a pebble on the ground and watched it trace its way through the dirt. Nico liked being alone as much as he liked wandering. He loved his friends but with all the stress camp brought these days it felt good to just get away.
So, as you may guess, he wasn't really expecting anyone to be walking around in the forest; especially a god.
"How's it going, son of Hades?"
Nico jumped half a mile and raised his Stygian Iron sword above his head in defense only to see none other than the messenger of the gods standing in front of him. This couldn't be good.
Hermes looked tired and rather stressed. His hair was considerably messier than usual and he was wearing what appeared to be pajamas. He gave off the aura of someone who had been doing nothing for a long period of time. George and Martha, the two snakes of his caduceus, were with him as always.
"Did we have to ask this one for help? He smells like death," George complained.
Hermes sighed. Nico contemplated what was going on. A god wouldn't just come to see him for no good reason. Something was definitely wrong. Either something had been stolen or "Is someone going to die?"Nico spoke aloud. Some might have said that jokingly but the thirteen year old was completely serious. He watched Hermes' expression contort into a grave mask.
"Well, someone's blunt," Martha observed.
"Demigod instincts," Nico grumbled in reply.
Hermes ignored them. "It definitely doesn't look good. I was going to ask how you're doing and all but if you want me to I'll cut right to the chase," Hermes paused and groaned. He looked considerably older than Nico had ever seen him. "Yeah, my son, he's definitely in trouble. I need someone to go help him and seeing as you're the only major hero of the Titan War that isn't already occupied…"
"What happened?" Nico asked. He couldn't see that he would be getting out of this one and knowing what he'd be up against would be nice.
"Oh, well," Hermes was about to answer but then jumped and looked at the sky. "Shoot! My father is already suspicious of illegal activity. There isn't much time."
"Stupid Zeus…" Martha grumbled. A lightning bolt cracked overhead. Hermes looked down disapprovingly at her.
"Look, sorry, I've got to scram already. I can't really risk getting in anymore trouble. Just head north, you'll have help."
Nico sighed, all he needed was a life threatening quest.
"Don't fail me, Nico di Angelo, son of Hades." Hermes said in a booming, powerful voice. Then everything went black.
When Nico awoke he was lying face first right where he had been previously standing. There was no evidence that Hermes had been there at all, the forest was just as quiet as it had been when Nico arrived. He really wanted to go on with his wandering and pretend that Hermes appearing had just been a funny little dream. But he knew that was impossible. Demigods never had normal dreams like that. Whether Hermes had really been there or simply given him a vision didn't matter at all. No demigod could ignore a direct order from a god like that.
Nico grumbled too himself and inwardly cursed Hermes. Couldn't anyone just leave him alone? One he had managed to pull himself together and accept his fate Nico got up and shadow traveled away.
Okay, short chapter starring the slightly depressed Nico. Poor him. Just wait until he figures out who he has to go questing with. Review if you want. I'm sorry this chapter is short but that's just how it had to be. Thanks for reviewing if you did. Next chapter will be lots longer and finally feature Travis. Also I have a sort of request... not that anyone has to do it. See, I recently read TLO. I fell in love with Leo and think that him and Piper would make an adorable couple, even though I know the chance of that happening is like 1 in 100 because Piper and Jason are will end up together. But still, I set out to write a Leo/Piper fic because they are virtually nonexistant and failed miserably. I just couldn't do them justice. So if anyone can will you consider writing a Leo/Piper fic for me? thanks for reading my rant!