Chapter 217 - Return to Camp Half-Blood

Compared to Mount Olympus, Manhattan was quiet. It was early in the morning, and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue. Drako deployed Golden Drive, and Zoe sat behind him. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted.

As they trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece glittered, Drako remembered Zeus's daughter. Right now, she was off with Artemis into their next adventure as one of the two lieutenants.

Almost at the same time, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were brought there. It was Argus, the many-eyed security chief, the one who picked them up.

Chiron greeted them at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches.

Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about their strange encounter with Pan's magic. Within an hour, the satyrs ran around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was.

The rest of the group sat with Chiron and some of the other senior campers—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers. There was a new woman that Drako didn't recognize; she was the leader from the Ares cabin, Clarisse. Drako had a strange face while looking at Silena, as he just f.u.c.k.i.e.d her mother.

Drako looked at Clarisse curiously. She looked tired and dirty, especially on her short blond hair. Well, it looked like someone had attacked it with a pair of safety scissors.

"I got news," she mumbled uneasily. "Bad news."

"I'll fill you in later," Chiron said with forced cheerfulness. "The important thing is you have prevailed. And you saved Annabeth!"

"Yeah, but Luke is alive," Drako said.

Annabeth sat up. "How do you know?"

Drako couldn't say that he didn't receive any exp point from him, right?

"I know when I kill someone," Drako explained. "And he wasn't dead. I didn't have a good angle shot, or I will have to hit Thalia first before giving him a killing blow."

Percy nodded. "My father has said the same. The Princess Andromeda is still there in the seas."

"Well." Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "If the final battle does come when Percy is sixteen, at least we have two more years to figure something out."

"It's a waste of time," Drako said. "Trying to save that kid, I mean. Well, you can try if you want, but he is on my list of kill-at-sight."

"Why?" Annabeth stared at Drako. "He is a good boy—"

"He was." Drako corrected her. "He is no longer that childhood friend of yours, Annabeth. People change, he changed."

Annabeth sat back with a pale face. It looked like she refused to believe that.

Chiron's expression was gloomy. Sitting by the fire in his wheelchair, he looked really old.

"Two years may seem like a long time," he said. "But it is the blink of an eye. I still hope you are not the child of the prophecy, Percy. But if you are, then the second Titan war is almost upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here."

"How do you know?" Drako asked. "Why would he care about the camp?"

"Because the gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said simply. "Destroy the tools, and the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. Mortal, demigod, monstrous… We must be prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue as to how they will attack, but—"

There was a knock on the door, and Nico di Angelo came huffing into the parlor, his cheeks bright red from the cold.

He was smiling, but he looked around anxiously. "Hey! Where's… where's my sister?"

Dead silence. Nobody has told him yet. And then he realized why. They'd been waiting for Drako to appear, to tell Nico in person.

"Hey, Nico." Drako got up from his chair. "Your sister is perfectly okay; she is the new lieutenant of Artemis. Isn't that cool? But we have to talk about you, boy. Let's take a walk."

…

He took the news in silence, and Drako didn't know what to think.

"Well, this is a present from your sister." Drako tried to make light of the situation. "It might be a coincidence, but it's the figurine of Hades."

Yes, Drako had explained Nico about his situation. He had to leave the United States and come to Japan with Drako, or his life might be endangered. He is possibly the child of the prophecy, and Kronos can make use of him.

They were standing at the dining pavilion, just where they'd last spoken before Drako went on the quest.

"So… my life is in danger?" Nico asked.

"Yes, there are several gods that want to kill you."

"So… now I have to join you and your mercenary organization, train, and fight the bad boys?" He asked slowly.

Drako nodded.

Nico looked down for a moment. His fist was trembling.

"That's…"

Just when Drako thought that Nico was going to cry, the kid threw his fist to the air and jumped as high as he could.

"That's so cool!"

Before Drako could say anything, he heard a new sound behind him. A hissing, clattering noise, he recognized all too well.

Drako summoned his sword, and Nico gasped. Drako whirled and found himself facing five skeleton warriors, the survivors from the last fight. They grinned fleshless grins and advanced with swords drawn. Drako wasn't sure how they'd made it inside the camp, and it was more like they appear from nowhere.

"They're already trying to kill me!" Nico screamed. "What are these… these things?"

"No, they aren't here for you… or maybe they are." Maybe Kronos already know about Nico, which was his attempt to get him since the skeletons should follow Percy. "Get behind me, they can't do anything to you while I'm here."

The first skeleton charged, and Drako just pushed him aside. Then, he sliced the other four with one movement, but they started to knit back together.

"Run, Nico!" Drako yelled. "Go search for a weapon! You're the only one who can kill them!"

As a son of Hades, Nico has the same powers as his sister. He should be able to kill these skeletons.

But Nico just stayed there, looking shocked. This was too much for the 10 years old.

Drako could fight the five of them alone, but they slowly got closer to him and Nico. It was at that moment that Nico did something.

"No!" Nico shouted. "Go away!"

The ground rumbled beneath them. The skeletons froze. Drako rolled out of the way just as a crack opened at the feet of the five skeletons. The ground ripped apart like a snapping mouth.

Flames erupted from the fissure, and the earth swallowed the skeletons in one loud CRUNCH!

Silence.

In the place where the skeletons had stood, a twenty-foot-long scar wove across the marble floor of the pavilion. Otherwise, there was no sign of the warriors.

Drako whistled. "As expected of the son of the strongest Greek god, you have potential."

Nico looked at his hands and then looked at Drako with dread. "They really want to kill me."

"Yes, they do." Drako nodded.

It seems that Nico didn't really believe that they wanted to kill him.

"I don't want to depend on anyone," he said. Then, Nico looked at Drako with determination. "Please, teach me to fight. Help me get stronger."

[You have successfully changed a person's fate!]

[1 Fate Point obtained]

Drako couldn't smile wider. "I will."

...…

Drako returned to the place Chiron was after leaving Nico with Zoe. The boy was uneasy when he saw the former Hunter, but Drako explained a bit of the situation.

At least, they weren't fighting.

"You really think the first attack will be here?" Drako asked Chiron.

Chiron stared at the hills.

"It will not be until summer, at least," Chiron said. "This winter will be hard… the hardest for many centuries."

"It makes sense, they have to regain their strength," Drako said. "Having Atlas imprisoned again is a huge blow for the Titans."

"It is." Chiron nodded. "I doubt that Artemis could have killed him in that fight, and it probably would have been her the one dead. The right hand of Kronos… it's not a simple Titan."

At that moment, Grover stumbled out of the Big House, tripping over tin cans. His face was haggard and pale like he'd seen a specter.

"He spoke." Grover cried.

"Calm down, my young satyr," Chiron said, frowning. "What is the matter?"

"I…I was playing music in the parlor," he stammered. "and drinking coffee. Lots and lots of coffee! And he spoke in my mind!"

"Who?"

"Pan!" Grover wailed. "The Lord of the Wild himself. I heard him! I have to… I have to find a suitcase."

"Wait, wait, wait," Drako said. "What did he say?"

Grover stared at him. "Just three words. He said, 'I await you'…"

........

And this is the end of this volume!

More than 40 chapters, by far the longest one! So, feel free to tell me your impressions.

There were good fights, interesting ones, problems solved and problems that are coming. There was a little of slice of live at the start of it, a little of lemon at the end of it.

On my personal opinion, I enjoyed writing this volume. I had to put apart all about SlashDog and DxD because I was starting to get bored, but now I'm looking forward to write more than ever.

The next Volume – Fate?

About Clarisse bad news.

Clarisse is not at Camp Half-Blood because she is away on a secret scouting mission for Chiron, but has not been heard from and is considered M.I.A.

After Clarisse went on her quest in the Labyrinth, Clarisse stumbled upon Chris Rodriguez (who she had a crush on) , who was driven to insanity by the Ghost King Minos. She takes him back to Camp Half-Blood, determined to nurse him back to health.

Once Annabeth is retrieved, Clarisse tells the campers and Chiron that she has "bad news for everyone."

This bad news is that the Kronos Army (Luke) is trying to use the Labyrinth to get into Camp Half-Blood. I'm telling you this because I'm not planning to cover that book on this fanfic, although I can change my mind later.