*I'm in the middle of English class right now...but hey, technically, I am doing English :)*

The rest of the evening was spent recuperating from the attack. Leo went to go talk to Festus, his magical dragon head (long story) and Frank and Hazel left to go be by themselves. Piper and Jason had been talking in her cabin but she got so tired that Jason just told her to go to bed. Jason walked back on deck and saw Nico standing by the railing, looking out at the ocean a hundred feet below them.

"Hi.' Jason said cautiously. There was something about Nico that unnerved him. He seemed- more dead then alive sometimes.

Nico glanced up and gave him a swift nod.

"You okay?"

Nico gritted his teeth and gripped the railing so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Of course. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Jason let that question hang in the air. After what he'd been through, the real question was how was Nico still functioning?

"I'm just trying to help."

"Well, I don't want your help." Nico snapped back.

"Jason, I don't know if I've had this clear or not, but the thing is- I don't like you. I don't like any Romans. I've seen your methods, and they're unorthodox to say the very least. But I'm going to put up with it, just for the sake of this god's forsaken quest. Just don't try to be my friend."

"You don't want me to be Percy." Jason said, suddenly realizing this.

"You don't want me to take him place."

Nico's face was all the confirmation Jason needed; he'd hit the nail right on the head.

"You met him when you were what? Twelve?" Jason asked.

"Ten." Nico said curtly,

"They went on a crazy quest that got my sister killed."

"Hazel?" Jason said confusedly.

"But I thought-"

"No," Nico interrupted.

"Not Hazel. I had another sister, Bianca. She joined the hunters of Artemis- Diana for you- and she died. Okay?"

Jason nodded hurriedly. Sometimes Nico seemed as if nothing would stop him from calling an army of the undead to come attack. Now was one of those times.

"I take it you were angry at Percy for a long time after that, huh?" Jason said after an awkward pause.

Nico gave a short, humorless laugh.

"You have no idea. I was angry at the *world* for a long time. But a few years passed and I grew up a lot. Then Percy and I travelled to the Underworld to make him invincible-"

"You what?" Jason said.

"He swam in the River Styx and became invincible. Except when he passed into your Roman camp, that went away."

"Oh- that sucks."

Nico attempted a smile and leaned up from the railing.

"Well, if we survive this, I'll take him back so he can get one again."

His tone was wistful; Nico clearly missed Percy more than he dared admit.

Jason nodded and left him alone, walking back acros the deck. He was about to go back down below when he heard a shout. Whirling around, he saw Nico falling to the ground, writhing in pain and giving another blood-curdling scream.

*What going to happen to Nico? Don't worry, I won't screw with him too much, since I love his character WAY too much for that :)*