Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Sorry for not updating immediately, I had finals in school.

All I have to say is that I will keep my promises and here is your chapter.

Hope you enjoy.

June: 15 years ago

Zeke and Percy had successfully managed to "apprehend" Miss Acacia.

And by "apprehend", Nico meant she kind of came along willingly.

It annoyed him to no end, having to admit that they may have never needed to go on a manhunt to begin with. To him, it was almost as if she was mocking them, as if her "surrender" was some cruel message that they should be grateful she'd spared the three of her magic.

Then again, maybe the lack of blood sugar was finally starting to affect his judgment.

Whatever the case, they'd gotten her, and that was good. It was very good…

It was also very awkward considering Nico and Acacia currently had their eyes locked in a very intense glare exchange. Well, Nico was the one glaring. Acacia was just looking back at him with a confused, and genuinely innocent, stare. Nico's glare, however, was genuinely icy.

He was beyond irritated. Here she was, sitting right in front of him, and was she telling him anything regarding what was wrong with him…NO. Apparently, hinting about the reason behind his current state was fine; actually telling him must have been illegal.

Nico sighed and let himself slouch against the base of the tree he was sitting in front of. He would get his answers later. It was best not to stress out. That would only cause more problems, especially since it would be dark soon. Nighttime enhanced his powers, which is probably why his little power surge happened to begin with.

He sighed again and ran a hand through his hair, finally breaking eye contact with Acacia. She yawned and promptly curled up on the forest floor, using the messenger bag she'd been found with as a pillow. Nico closed his eyes, at least he could think about what to do with his little power control problem in peace now.

"So, Acacia, you live around here?"

Nico inwardly groaned. The universe just loved to ruin his plans, didn't it? And today, it decided to ruin them in the form of Zeke.

The person in question sat up and pushed a few loose strands of dark hair out of her face, "Yeah, in that small city just a few miles from this forest, the one you visited a few days ago. I live with my grandparents."

Zeke stretched in his place next to Percy, who was using Riptide to reflect sunlight onto different objects, "You like it there?"

Acacia smiled as if remembering a fond memory, "I love it, wouldn't want to live anywhere else."

"What makes it so special?" Percy questioned, not taking his eyes off the spot of light he had created on a tree trunk.

She shrugged, "I guess the fact that I feel so at home. I mean, I know I've lived there for almost all my life, but it just has a warm, comforting feel to it. The same feeling you get when visiting your family during the holidays and whichever house you're at always smells like pastries and chocolate."

"Gods, that sounds heavenly," Zeke's eyes glazed over and he smiled to himself.

Nico rolled his eyes, fed up with all this gushy talk. "C'mon, it can't be like that all the time," he commented bitterly.

Percy gave him a look that practically screamed for him to be nice while Acacia just sighed and offered him a small smile, "I guess not, but it's still my home."

The way she said that almost made Nico feel bad for being so cold…'almost' being the key word there. He was determined to steel himself against her. Nico wasn't the trusting type, but his guard was up more than usual. For some ridiculous reason, Zeke seemed to immediately take a liking to the daughter of Hecate. He was currently firing pointless questions at her like there was no tomorrow. Even Percy seemed to be warming up to her, which annoyed Nico more than anything.

He wasn't quite sure why he was so set on disliking Acacia…maybe it was because there was a small part of him that liked her against his will. Maybe it was because she caused a small, microscopic really, portion of him to melt whenever she spoke. Or maybe it was because whenever he looked at her, really looked at her, a strange feeling entered his stomach that was unfamiliar and almost a cross between butterflies and nausea.

Nico denied all these strange feelings that were occurring. He told himself that it was related to his "illness". That was the only logical reason those things were happening to him, right?

Percy sensed his cousin's sudden discomfort. "Hey, Acacia, what were you doing way out here?" He tried to change the subject for Nico's sake.

"Oh, I was just practicing."

"Practicing what?"

"Just some charms and spells, stuff like that. Out here is the only place where I can really work on my magic, someplace quiet and natural."

"Why's that?" Zeke questioned while twiddling his thumbs.

"Well, magic is natural. The farther away you are from lots of things that are industrial, the better it works. Unless you're a master, then it doesn't really matter where you are, your magic works the same wherever you go."

Percy nodded, apparently interested in the topic, "So what are you, a master, amateur, novice...?"

Acacia shrugged and blushed a bit, "Can't be sure, usually others decide what you are, it's hard for a magician to answer that question themselves. But honestly, it's just hard for me to describe myself."

Nico actually found that understandable considering he couldn't really describe himself either.

What she said next he didn't understand at all.

"Do you three have extended powers?"

Percy looked caught off guard, "Huh?"

"You know…extended powers?"

The boys shook their heads, even Nico, who'd been reeled in to the conversation by curiosity.

Acacia opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself and began to open her bag. It was made of some denim-like material and was rather worn down, but was obviously put to good use. She reached in and pulled out a very large, black, hardback book. It had intricate carvings and its spine was bound with colorful threads that seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. It definitely looked like a sorcerer's book to Nico.

Miss Earhart flipped through the many pages in the book until she found the right one. She lay it down gently onto the grass and beckoned the others over. She pointed to the page she had flipped to, "See, extended powers: powers that allow a person to control elements and/or have other abilities that are semi-related to their own." She tilted the book so that they could get a better look, "It's all right here."

Zeke scratched his head, "All I see are a bunch of weird symbols."

"Same here," Percy squinted at the symbols, trying to make some sense of them.

Acacia blushed again, "Oh, that's right, you guys can't read this. Sorry, sometimes I forget that others can't –".

"I can read it."

Everyone turned to look at Nico, who was sporting a rather calm expression while scanning over the different signs on the pages. He realized everyone was staring at him and looked up, glancing at everyone, "What?"

"You seriously understand this?" Zeke gaped at his younger cousin.

"Yeah, can't you?"

Percy and Zeke shook their heads; Acacia began flipping through the rough pages of her book again. She stopped suddenly and held it up for the sons of the Big Three to see, "Nico, can you read this, just the word and definition."

The son of Hades gazed at the section she had picked at random…or not. Judging by the different illustrations on the pages, Nico guessed it had to do with something dark. That meant she had picked that page on purpose…

He then looked at the symbols. He really could understand them; something in the back of his mind seemed to translate them. It was the same thing that happened when he tried to read Greek, sometimes even Italian.

"Umm," Nico wasn't used to reading and wasn't very good at it, "Umbrakinesis – the power of controlling darkness with the mind."

He glanced at everyone a second time, a bit embarrassed that he'd revealed that he was lower than he should be when it came to his age's reading level.

Percy had noticed and made a mental note to get someone to help Nico read more.

Zeke was still trying to process what Acacia had said earlier.

And Acacia…she was deep in thought. Not everyone could read the type of inscription used in this particular book, usually only elder deities and a few of their offspring could. In half-bloods, the mortal in them usually conked it out of their abilities along with a few other things. Fortunately, Acacia had been spared of all that.

Apparently, Nico had been too, which made Acacia wonder what else hadn't been knocked out of him…

"So, you're saying that we can control more than just the basic stuff we have power over?"

Zeke's voice broke Acacia out of her thoughts. She blinked and answered, "Yep, it takes a lot of work and dedication, but it can be done."

"Well, that's all I needed to hear." Zeke leaned forward and rested his chin in his hands while balancing his elbows on his knees, "You gonna teach us or what?"

Acacia raised a brow, "Excuse me?"

"C'mon, you obviously know all the ins and outs of magic, and you wouldn't have asked us if we had extended powers unless you wanted to show us something."

The daughter of Hecate blushed for the third time that evening, "W-Well, I was actually just curious – and I've only studied extended powers – I mean I've always wanted to actually see them – b-but I would teach you guys everything I know. "

Percy smiled and chuckled a bit, "Sounds like a plan. When we get back to Camp, you can start teaching us."

Acacia's blush faded and she nodded, smiling at the three. Zeke glanced at Nico, who now had his arms crossed and was scowling at nothing in particular, and smirked, "Hey, half-pint, you in or what?"

The son of Hades huffed and looked away from the others. Zeke shrugged and looked back at Acacia, "He's in by default."

She smiled when she caught a glimpse of Nico rolling his eyes at Zeke's antics. Acacia couldn't help but wonder if they were like this all the time.

A sudden loud growl was heard amongst the group. Zeke and Percy looked around as if expecting a monster to appear at any moment. After a few moments of silence and nothing happened, they both looked at each other and then at Nico. Suddenly, everything made sense, and the two started snickering.

The boy had his arms wrapped around his stomach and his cheeks were a bright shade of pink. He was obviously trying to avoid eye contact with everyone.

Zeke couldn't hold it in any longer and began to laugh out loud, "Well, I guess that explains the crankiness!"

Percy sniggered as he stood up, "C'mon, we might as well get something to eat. It's getting late and I want to check into a hotel."

"We're staying in a hotel?" Acacia looked at Percy curiously.

He shrugged, "I don't see why not. We've found you, so there's really no reason to be out here anymore. Plus, I could really use a place with indoor heating. It's freezing out here at night!"

Acacia gave a content sigh and began to stand. Nico, on the other hand, wasn't so happy. Sure, a place with indoor plumbing and mattresses would be great, but he wasn't too thrilled about being in close quarters with the others, especially in his current condition.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do, so he reluctantly got up. Nico would go along with them, but first…

"Hey, Acacia…"

Zeke, Percy, and Acacia all stopped what they were doing to look at Nico. He was looking directly at her with a blank expression, the dark circles under his eyes only stressing his already ominous appearance.

"Why are you so interested in extended powers and enhanced magic? I mean, why the need for more power?"

Nico's eyes were hard, as if challenging her to answer. Whatever answer she gave would affect how he saw her, and both of them knew it.

Acacia was quiet for a short moment before responding. She gave a small smile and Nico could have sworn her eyes sparkled, "There are lots of bizarre places out there and even more bizarre scenarios, might as well prepare for all of them. It's actually kind of fun."

"Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure." – Confucius

Well, another chapter finished. I hope you all noticed all the little important details I put in here. They'll be important later on.

You can expect the next chapter sometime this week.

Thanks for reading,

~Fantasila~