I'm actually kind of surprised I managed to write this today. The brick wall is still there. But my fingers kind of took over and wrote something. It's a little short. Whether it's good or not is your opinion.

Chapter V

Nico

Shadow-travel is second nature to Nico. It takes a lot of energy, but usually he gets where he wants to go. Now, though, he has to transport an enormous statue and two other people. Well, one other person and a satyr, anyway.

To make matters worse, his traveling companions aren't exactly friendly. The Roman, Reyna, is downright hostile, and Coach Hedge swings his baseball bat at anything that moves, screaming "DIE!"

So, yeah. Not exactly Nico's idea of fun. And as they travel through the shadow realm, he can literally feel the energy draining from his limbs.

Plus, his emotions aren't exactly stable. He's distracted. So he's a little surprised when they come out exactly where he was trying to go-a hilltop just outside of Rome.

Nico stumbles as soon as they arrive, exhausted. He would have fallen, too, but Reyna grabs his arm and steadies him. He looks into her face and is surprised to see concern in her eyes. He's too tired for any sort of lengthy conversation, but he managed to summon enough strength to say one word.

"Thanks." He whispers, his voice hoarse. Reyna only nods in response, but she helps him walk over to a nearby tree where he can rest.

He's pretty sure his eyes close before he touches the ground. If not, it's certainly a close-run thing. He's so tired he doesn't even dream, which is a miracle in its own rights. And when he wakes up, he smells food.

Reyna sees his eyes open and walks over.

"The satyr went and got us some food. Would you like some?" Her voice is steady, and her face doesn't reveal any of her emotions. She's excellent at hiding her feelings. But so am I, Nico thinks.

"Sure." He replies in an equally steady voice. "Why not?" He follows her over to the statue, where Coach Hedge has laid out the food. He eats his breakfast quickly, and then looks up at the sun, calculating. He's obviously slept an entire night, otherwise he wouldn't feel so refreshed, and judging from the position of the sun, it's only a few hours until noon.

Reyna stands and voices his own thoughts. "We should get moving soon. Are you ready to shadow-travel again?" She asks Nico.

He nods briefly. "Yeah, I'm good to go. We should probably travel while we can. You know, before any monsters attack." He stands too, and goes to wait in the statue's shadow. It isn't long before he's joined by Reyna and Coach Hedge, who's finishing up a burrito. He waits until they've both grabbed on to the ropes attached to the statue, and then he closes his eyes and concentrates. Cool shadows brush his face, and the voices whisper meaningless words into his ears. This time, his focus on their new location never wavers.

So, naturally, they land in the middle of a pack of monsters. Nico is so drained that he can barely stand, let alone draw his sword and fight, but he can at least figure out the situation.

When he does, he wishes he hadn't. They appeared in the midst of what looks to be at least a dozen dracaenae, along with five empousai, who seem to be leading the group, and several Cyclops. Luckily, though, they're all so confused by Nico's sudden appearance that all they can do is stare at them in shock. That most likely won't last for much longer, though.

Reyna seems to have the same thought. She suddenly whirls into action, lunging forward and stabbing a dracaenae in the heart. Before the rest can react, she's killed three more, and has already engaged a fifth. Then the others yell in anger and surge forward.

Coach Hedge chooses that moment to make his entrance. He leaps into the fray, yelling his favorite battle cry.

"DIE! DIE, you stupid monsters! Die!" He whacks an empousa with his baseball bat, and she explodes into powder all over her sisters.

Meanwhile, Reyna has almost finished with the dracaenae. There are only three of them left, and she's fighting all of them at once with no problem. But what she doesn't notice is the empousa that has circled behind her and is about to pounce.

Nico, knowing there's no way he'll be able to reach her in time, and that Coach Hedge is too far away, whispers a quick incantation, and a skeletal hand breaks through the ground right behind the empousa, grabbing her ankle and using it to pull itself the rest of the way out. It pulls a rib from beneath its tattered shirt and stabs the empousa with it, then proceeds to defend Reyna's back from the Cyclops that have managed to get past Coach Hedge.

Nico slides to the ground, his breath shallow. He's never felt so tired in his entire life. Everything seems muffled, as if there's a blanket wrapped around his head. He can barely hear, and black spots dance in front of his eyes. But he won't let himself pass out, not until he knows the others are safe. But the darkness is so welcoming. All he wants is to sink into blessed unconsciousness. Every breath hurts. He can't stop shaking. His powers take too much out of him.

He returns his attention back to the battle in front of him just in time to see Reyna slash the last Cyclops into dust. The skeleton he summoned has already sunk back into the ground. Coach Hedge is still swinging his baseball bat. He doesn't seem to have noticed that there's nothing to hit anymore.

Reyna seems to realize what bad shape Nico's in, and races toward him, her sword still drawn. But Nico's eyes are already closing.

And, of course, now he has to dream.

Camp Half-Blood lies before him in ruins. Bodies litter the ground. Nothing moves. Nico can feel the death in the air.

Gaea's face swirls on the ground in front of him. "You will be too late. Already, the Romans are marching on the camp. Let them destroy each other, Nico. What have they ever done for you? Neither camp will ever accept you. You are an outcast. You don't belong anywhere. Your sisters, they each found a place to belong. Bianca, before her death, found a place with the Hunters. Hazel is one of the seven. But you. You will never find a place in the world. Not with the camps. Not with your father. And definitely not with Percy Jackson."

Nico trembles. He wants to deny her words, to believe she's lying. But he's felt all of these things himself. And Percy...But he also already knew these things before. He's come to terms with them. And he has found a place with his father, in a way. None of this means that he wants the camps to destroy each other. They don't deserve that. And the gods are flawed. But they're family.

"No, Gaea." He answers. "I won't let that happen. We will reach the camp on time. We will save them. And you won't stop us." And with that, he jumps forward and stomps on her face in the dust.

The dream dissolves into darkness.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that this chapter epicly sucks. It's mostly just a filler chapter, though, so I promise that the next ones will be better. Hopefully.