A/N (author's note): I have an idea where this story is going, but nothing elaborated yet. This is the first time I write something that centers around OCs, and besides Nico, most of the PJO and HoO characters will only be mentioned. Don't like? Don't read.

I'd be really happy if you'd review, even if it's just a 'thumbs up' or a smiley. It means a lot to me (or to every author, I guess). If you find any mistakes – tell me! Also, to avoid misunderstandings, I changed my spellchecker to British English, and I'll use the British spelling, like 'realisation' instead of 'realization'. And, as you may have noticed: I write 'this is a dialogue, "these are quotation marks inside a dialogue", so don't get confused.'

What else is there to say? Oh, yes. As I promised in the description, here's some more information:

Main Pairing: Nico/OC

Side Pairings: OC/OC, Percy/Annabeth, Jason/Piper, Leo/Calypso, Hazel/Frank

Summary: While on a quest, Nico meets a mortal young woman who can see through the mist, and somehow, they become friends. Nico's life is at a low at the moment, and he needs any consolation he can get. Somebody catches his eye and interest, but is the son of Hades courageous enough to make a move?

Warnings: None yet, probably a bit of angst and homophobic bullying in later chapters. Nothing inappropriate, adult, or suggestive. Rated T because of the aforementioned, and because there'll be swearing.

As you may have noticed, I did not put a warning for slash there. That's intentionally, because boyxboy is nothing that you should warn of. So, don't feel warned, but let me tell you: Nico falls in love with a guy in this story. Don't like? Don't read. Hate it? Piss off and be ashamed of yourself.

Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus belong to me. I own the plot, and the (plenty of) Original Characters (OCs). The cover art was drawn by me and is my copyright/property.

After a last swing of my Stygian Iron sword, the monster dissolved into the usual, yellow dust. Defeating a bunch of empousai wasn't much of a challenge to me. The days when I had to rely on other people to protect me were long gone. There were people I relied on, but I had stopped needing people long ago. Even though there had been no serious threat for seven years now, I had kept training. Today, people considered me a better swordsman than Percy Jackson, who had already set the bar very high by exceeding his tutor, Luke Castellan, a long time ago.

I didn't lower my sword, though. I could still feel somebody nearby. Not a monster, that much was for sure, but no fellow demigod either, and who else would hang out at this factory at night? Unless it was a god, I had no idea.

'Drop your weapon!'

Analysis: Female voice. Cold and determined. Used to giving orders. The clicking sound of metal moving on metal. A handgun's safety being released. Heavy footsteps, probably combat boots. Member of a security firm.

Holding my hands away from my body, I slowly turned around. Opposite to me, maybe twelve foot away, stood a young woman, about my age – that would be twenty-one – with short, black hair, wearing the uniform of a well-known security firm. In her hands, she held a pistol, pointed at me. And, Celestial Bronze armour or not, bullets were still deadly. Besides, at the small distance, nothing would keep this officer from shooting me in the head.

'I said drop your weapon.' I had no idea what the mist made the guard see – a rifle, a baseball bat, who could tell? – but it was obviously fruitless to negotiate. I had three options. One: Take her out – a few skeletons would do. Two: Leaving – even after fighting a bunch of vampire demons, I had more than enough energy to shadow-travel across New York. Three: Talk – why would I want that.

'I'm not saying this again. I have no idea why you are carrying a sword, but you will drop it now and here.' Her fingers tensed, and I knew from experience – military school, remember? That includes combat lessons – that she was about to pull the trigger. Carefully, I bent down and dropped my weapon on the ground. I had no idea why she could see my sword, but that settled the matter: I was going for option three. One and two would serve as a backup plan.

'Um… are you sure this is a sword? Not, dunno – a baseball bat?' I could control the mist very well, and for a moment, the sword turned into a baseball bat, but it turned back into a sword almost immediately. Realization dawned on me. Of course, of all the eight billion mortals on Earth, I had to run into one who could see through the mist. How much were the chances that you'd meet three people with this talent in less then fifteen years?

The guard's eyes narrowed, and the way her hands lifted the gun the slightest bit told me that it would be a dam good idea if I lifted my hands, which I instantly did.

'How – what – how did you do this?' the woman stammered, staring at me and my sword alternating. I decided to take a risk and made a step forward. Immediately, the gun pointed at my head again, and I swallowed visibly.

'Look, I'll explain everything, just – do not freak out and shoot me, okay? I swear on the River Styx that I won't hurt you or run away.' The officer frowned, as if contemplating my words.

Wow. I had to admit, the mortal was good at her job. What unfortunately meant nothing good for me. Instead of letting me pick up my sword again and explain everything, I was tied to a chair opposite to the young woman, the gun dangerously close to her hand, my sword out of reach. Even if I'd shadow-travel a few metres away, it'd take me long enough to recover for her to overpower me again.

'Explain.'

'Your parents or one of them don't happen to be dead?' I asked. Even if I couldn't sense it, she might be a demigod, though it was very unlikely to that she'd survive on her own, but it had happened before.

'I'm the one asking the questions. You're the one answering them.'

Wow, this officer would get along just great with Clarisse. They were definitely on the same page when it came to bullying weaker ones. Even though I usually wasn't said weaker one.

'Fine.' If anything went wrong, I could still dip her in the River Lethe. That wasn't exactly hurt, even though I usually hated to twist my words that way. 'I'm a demigod.' That caused my opponent to snort. 'What, you want to tell me you've run away from the closest Fantasy movie world? Rather the closest asylum.'

I shook my head. 'I'm not trying to tell you I'm the next superman.' I sighed. It would be much easier if I could just show her the introduction film they had showed me at Camp Half-Blood. 'I assume you know the whole Greek myth things, like, Odysseus, the Gods, the mythological monsters, all that stuff?' She nodded. 'Well, they're alive. Mostly. The gods are real, the monsters are, unfortunately, real as well, and so are demigods. Sons of gods and mortals. My father is Hades.' The look on her face clearly said that she was about to call the next police station.

'So, you want to tell me, monsters like, let me think… the Microdae are real?' I shook my head. 'Never heard of them.'

A grin spread across her face. It was the first time that I saw the young woman grin, and she immediately looked a lot friendlier. 'Good, because I just fabricated this one.' She picked up the gun and walked towards where I was sitting. I must have paled, because she waved her hand – the one that didn't hold the gun – in what I supposed was a calming gesture. 'Relax, I'm not gonna kill you.' I heard to metallic sounds and the pressure around my wrists disappeared. 'If you try anything funny, I'll still shoot you.'

As soon as my ankles were free as well, I backed off several steps. 'So, go on' the woman demanded. 'Tell me about these not-so-dead "myths".' And tell her I did. Nothing critical, not like the location of any of the camps, or the names of any of my fellow campers, but I told her about the world of the gods, some monster I'd fought over the years. When I was done talking, the officer frowned, and, to my relief, holstered her gun. 'I know that's not your whole story, but I've heard enough.' That didn't sound very well. 'You've mentioned one word several times – mist. I figure you don't mean normal fog?' I shook my head. 'The mist is the magic curtain that separates our world from the mortal world. Most mortals can't process what they see, so the mist hides it from them. I've once fought a cyclops, and the mortals around me saw a one-eyed beggar trying to beat up a teenager.' I made a pause.

'But you are different. You can see through the mist.'

Her eyes narrowed. 'This sounds very cliché. You know, the prisoner flattering his jailer to have an opportunity to flee. Believe me, I'm not the kind of woman whom you can sleep with and escape afterwards.' Thankfully, she didn't make a move to draw her gun again.

'Don't worry; I'm not into girls anyway.' Woah, had I just told my biggest secret to a complete stranger? But she merely smiled. 'Just wanted to point it out.' I frowned. 'No offence, but aren't you supposed to freak out or something?'

Wow. Who would have thought that this, originally scary, woman could chuckle like that? Me certainly not. 'My best friend is gay, you won't find anyone more tolerate in a ten-miles-radius. You're not out yet?' I slumped into the chair, my body suddenly comprehending what had just happened, increasing my heartbeat beyond belief. 'Nope,' I whispered. 'Only told a handful of people. Used to have a crush on my best friend, but he's got a girlfriend. They know, my sister and my other best friend know, so does my roommate, but besides them, I've never told anybody.'

I felt a warm feeling on my shoulder, and when I looked up, I was surprised to see the young woman smile at me. Her hand resting on my should was what I felt. I had gotten better at socializing during the past years, but I still tensed at the physical contact. I freed myself from her grip and stuttered, 'I, um, don't like to be touched' while blushing. But she just shrugged as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

'By the way, you're free to go' she said, pointing at the door. Carefully, I approached my sword, stopping a few feet away from it and throwing her a questioning glance, asking for her allowance. Not that I needed it, but I didn't want to upset her. She snickered. 'Take it, it's yours.' She scrutinized me. 'It is yours, isn't it?' I nodded. 'I've forged it myself. Stygian Iron, from the River Styx in the—' '—Underworld' she finished my sentence for me. I was already half out of the door when she called me back.

'By the way, my name's Caroline. My friends call me Li.' She gave me a card, which read Captain Caroline Lewis, BLTPRF Security, plus the logo of said security firm, as well as an official address.

'Uh, why do you give this to me, Mrs. Lewis?' I asked. She sighed. 'I think I said, my friends call me Li.' It took me a moment to understand the meaning behind her words, and when I did, I frowned. 'You consider me your friend?' Mrs. Lewis, no, Li, sighed, like, why do I have to deal with this idiot in the first place? 'Not yet, but if you ever need somebody to vent to, or just want to hang out or talk – you know where to find me.' She snatched the card out of my hands and scribbled down an address and a phone number. 'Beware, I sleep with the gun under my pillow, so better don't visit unannounced in the middle of the night.'

I frowned. 'You don't even know my name.' Though, I could change that. I pulled a piece of paper from my pocket – dunno where it came from, maybe there's a god or goddess of things-that-are-just-there-when-you-need-them – and scribbled down an address. 'The name's Nico di Angelo. Whatever you send to this address will reach me.'

Li read the words and frowned. 'DOA Studios, LA? Are you kidding me?' I actually chuckled, something I hadn't done in a long time. 'It's the entrance to the underworld.' She nodded. 'Well, then, goodbye Nico di Angelo.' I was already fading into the shadows. 'Goodbye, Li.'

P.S: To the guest reviewer who asked what Mircodae meant, I just came up with that name. I needed a strange name that sounded like a monster, and the cover of a computer magazine lying next to me on my desk said something about CPU-Microcode, and I transformed the word Microcode into Mircodae, as plural of Mircodai, like in Empousai / Empousae.

— Hashtag