Whatever magical spell or barrier that was keeping Nico from Iris Messaging Will was one of the most annoying things he'd had to deal with. And coming from Nico of all demigods, that was saying something.

That didn't mean he'd stop trying though.

Narrator from Spongebob because he said it best: "Five Minutes Later."

"I'm never using this stupid thing again! Iris, forgive me, but it's. Not. Working!" Nico exclaimed in frustration as he flopped onto the bed overdramatically. Not that he'd ever admit to it.

'Can't believe I skipped out on training with the others for this,' Nico thought miserably.

He just wanted to talk to his boyfriend. To see how he was doing, tell him how much Nico missed the healer, ensure that he was alive and well. Make sure that Reyna was doing okay, see how the kingdom was faring.

Just a small sign. A hint that the people he'd been forced to leave behind were okay.

Anything.

Nico stared at the ceiling, wondering if he should go ahead and try to join the others or if training would be over by the time he made it to the arena.

A knock on the door caused Nico to groan inwardly; he wasn't in the mood for company. Granted, he wasn't in the mood for company very often, but still. It sucked when he had to interact with other people.

But he was a guest at Camp Halfblood, and it'd be rude to ignore whoever was at the door simply because he was feeling antisocial at the moment.

So he pulled himself off the bed while the knocking continued. Demigods were awfully persistent on this island apparently.

Nico opened the door and blinked. Out of all the people he thought would be at the door, he honestly hadn't expected this guy.

To the 'Heroes of Olympus', training was more than just preparing for battle. It gave them something to look forward to, something to focus on. With their skills growing each day, they could work towards returning to Ogygia. Work towards a future where they weren't outcasts or banished heroes.

"I heard Clarisse and Chris might be a thing," Jason said as his sword clanged against Percy's, parrying his offensive move. Percy's eyes widened but he didn't say a word. Again. He hadn't said a word since he'd left Ogygia.

And for such a dumb reason too.

Calypso had fallen in love with Percy when she ran into him in the village one day. He rejected her as kindly as he could, considering the fact that Annabeth was literally standing right behind him. Yet that wasn't a good enough reason apparently, because then Percy was taken into the dungeon.

Annabeth had told the others she had no idea what happened in the day and a half it took for her to sneak into the dungeons and save Percy before stealing a boat to take them to an island she'd heard of. One where they'd be safe.

But something must have happened, because when the blonde saved her boyfriend, he wouldn't speak. For whatever reason, his voice was lost. And even when they arrived at Camp Half-Blood, not a single word passed through his lips.

Even meeting new friends, like Jason, couldn't get him to say anything.

Whatever Calypso did must have really affected him. Of course, he wasn't the only one the Queen had wronged.

Jason himself thought the reason he got banished was pretty dumb as well. He told her, despite all the horrible stuff people said about Calypso, that she looked nice. Apparently, that wasn't a good enough compliment since he didn't call her beautiful or gorgeous.

So bye-bye Jason Grace.

Poor Piper, his wonderful girlfriend, got outcast for trying (and failing) to Charmspeak Calypso into letting the disgraced Grace return. Yeah, the Queen was not happy about that.

Birds chirped and Jason sighed. There had been a lot of birds around lately, and they were awfully noisy. He thought to himself that he'd rather hear Percy's, or Gods forbid, Leo's, puns.

Gods, Leo had been screwed over the most. Sure, Frank changed into an "ugly" animal that needed to be removed to preserve Ogygia's natural beauty, and Hazel was obviously Nico's favorite person so of course she had to go. But Leo…Jason had no idea if Leo would be able to fight Calypso like Annabeth thought they should.

Leo loved her. The old her. The one he claimed was sassy yet kind, who enjoyed caring for her kingdom and all that lived there. The one who enjoyed spending time with Nico and Hazel. The one who kissed him the night before she banished him coldly, stating that Leo was no longer welcome, a threat to her rule.

Speaking of Leo, Jason eyed him warily as he and Percy took a break from their sparring. He'd plastered on another grin yet the son of Hephaestus's stiff posture and the bags under his eyes betrayed his true feelings.

"Are you doing alright, Leo?" Frank called out right as Jason had decided to say something. "Usually you brag a lot more during training."

"I'm great," Leo smirked, though it seemed a little strained. "Just didn't want to make you feel too bad."

"Uh-huh, whatever you gotta tell yourself, Valdez," Piper rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. Jason slung an arm over her shoulders, though the brunette shoved him away. "Gross, you're all sweaty."

"We're all sweaty," Jason retorted.

"No thanks to the sun," Hazel noted as she glanced up at the sky. "Dunno why it's been so cold lately. It feels like the sun is barely here."

"Think something's up with Apollo?" Frank asked. Hazel shrugged, still staring up at the sky.

"Possible," Annabeth leaned against Percy, and Jason could tell her brain was in overdrive. "If only we could use Iris Message, we could try and contact our friends at Camp Jupiter and see if they're experiencing the same problem."

"Yeah…well, we'll find out eventually," Leo said, looking distracted. "I think I'm gonna head out early, head towards Bunker 9."

Jason exchanged worried glances with everyone else, Percy frowning and Piper opened her mouth, as though she wanted to say something. Annabeth subtly shook her head and smiled gently.

"We should all probably call it a day too, hit the showers," Annabeth replied. "Heigh-ho."

Leo nodded, mouthing 'thank you' before he joined in the song.

[Leo:] Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho

[All minus Percy]: Heigh-ho

Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho

It's Home from fighting we go

Before the group could continue their song, or put away their weapons, the ground surrounding them began to shake, the vibrations growing louder as the demigods looked at one another warily.

Then cracks began to appear, separating the earth, boney limbs pushing through the ground. Leo shrieked, though he tried to cough to cover it up. The limbs pulled themselves up, dragging bodies of bones behind them. Skeletons started running towards the seven teens.

They started to drag Percy, followed by Annabeth, then Frank. Hazel was tugged on the wrist (albeit gently, unlike the rest of the skeletons who were roughandling her friends).

"See? Perfectly fine. Little hurt you don't trust me."

"To be fair, I just met you," Nico shot back as he looked at the food in front of him. It did seem like there were no kind of magical effects on the other teen. "I'm a son of a God, forgive me for being a little wary."

"True. But this is no ordinary dish. It's my world-famous recipe, said to bring a smile to anyone who tries it."

"Uh-huh," Nico said skeptically as he grabbed a fork. It couldn't hurt to try it, right?

Piper was dragged, though she was struggling just as much as the rest of them.

"There's something weird about these things. Who's even controlling the skeletons?" Piper shriked as another skeleton came out from behind her and tried to pull her by the waist.

"You said Nico controls skeletons, right Hazel? Maybe it's him?" Jason asked. Then he stared in horror as a terrifying thought. "Oh gods, what if it's Calypso?"

Silence fell over the group before Hazel cried out her brother's name and started to run towards the Hades Cabin, the skeletons disappearing into the ground as their mission was accomplished.

"Shoot, you think the Queen managed to get past our defenses?" Piper sprinted to catch up with Hazel, the others quick to follow. "We gotta help him before she gets to him."

"Yeah we gotta help him!" Annabeth agreed, Percy right on her tail.

"You don't think she'd kill him…would she?" Hazel asked desperately. "We're children of Hades, no way she would risk doing that."

"What do we do?!" Leo exclaimed, ignoring his conflicted heart. He might not have been close to Nico, but he was close to Hazel. He couldn't stand the thought of her finding her brother- no, Calypso wouldn't do that. Right?

"What do we do? We find him and pray Calypso hasn't gotten to him yet," Annabeth shouted. Piper nodded in agreement as they all raced towards the Hades Cabin.

Would they make it in time?

AN: I'm not dead! It's been awhile…..life happened. College, moved out, a new baby sister (that was definitely not expected), etc. But in honor of the Sun and the Star book being released on May 2nd, I'm doing my best to finish this fic by then. Fingers crossed. This chapter was a little shorter but it's mostly just meant to give y'all some backstory before we get to the next major part of the story.

- Kitkat out!