The Scythe of Kronos

Escaping the Crazy Singers

Enjoy, I don't own anything, and most people don't read the author's notes so I am keeping them short.   :)

Nico POV

I always feel very misunderstood. People think that I'm depressed, moody or just hate everyone. Sorry to burst your bubble, but those aren't at all true. Well, I don't particularly like people, but that's because they are just. So. Loud! I don't understand why people can't just keep their annoying thoughts to themselves. And hey, I'm all for a nice debate or a good joke, but I don't need to hear someone ramble for 20 minutes about how they exploded some baboon's hideout (*cough*Leo*cough*).

And come on, do people not know what an introvert is? Let me spell it out for you, in the wise words of a cabin full of living dictionaries (AKA the Athena kids): an introvert is a person who prefers calm environments, limits social engagement, or embraces a greater than average preference for solitude. There. Not so difficult to understand, ok? Good.

You may be wondering something along the lines of this: "Why the Hades is this kid talking about this? We don't even know who he is." I'll tell you. My name is Nico Di Angelo. And it's pretty obvious why I'm telling you this. If you've heard the stories about how these idiots (looking at you, Leo and Percy) – sorry I mean demigods – went on a quest to save the world from the world (If you know you know. I'm not explaining my family tree. Suck it up.), then you know about me (You better). I'm the guy who got trapped in a jar and survived on nothing but pomegranate seeds, survived Tartarus alone, killed a lot of monsters, etc., etc. Basically, I stayed in the background a lot, and people all of a sudden thought that I'm this depressed dead guy (Except for Will, because he actually gets me). Well, I am very much alive, thank you very much. Although there are more people warming up to me now, they still think I'm depressed or evil, and it took like five years to realize that I'm not going to kill them (unless they annoy me. Or threaten Will).

Oh, and for people who think that I have no manners, let me tell you something. I do. I was born in 1932. I grew up with etiquette and manners, people. So shut your faces. Thank you. (See? Manners.)

I'm getting sidetracked. That's ADHD for you. At the moment, I am hiding in the woods next to Camp Half-Blood. Listen, they're doing the stupid thing where they sing stupid songs at the campfire, and I have no desire to be part of that. Last time, Jason was visiting camp and dragged me to the campfire, and got people to chant my name to try to convince me to join in the singing. I refused and ran out of there. People chanting my name? Everyone staring at me? No thank you. I'd rather go through Tartarus again. Well, that's actually debatable. It stinks like half-cooked death down there with a hint of teriyaki sauce, and haunts you for the rest of your life, physically and emotionally. It's horrible to be down there, I remember-. Stop it, Nico, don't think about it.

So, back to the present. I'm hiding in the woods, not exactly feeling like socializing at the moment. I hear a faint rustling around me, and I move my hand to my stygian iron sword and unsheathe it. The hilt is cold against my hand, and the shadows collect around it. I smile. Even a pack of hellhounds wouldn't stand a chance against me.

My powers have grown considerably since Tart- That place and the House of Hades and shadow travelling the Athena Parthenos across the world. I think my dad was impressed with me and gave me a few extra abilities. Percy was so kind as to let me know that my powers got creepier in his opinion, but I think that they are awesome.

I can now turn a living thing into a skeleton by just willing it to, I can see in the dark, I can control dark energy – which I don't completely understand how to do still, but it's still awesome – and even summon hellfire, which is great to freak people out with (And a plus is that Leo isn't immune to it!). I can also tell when people lie to me, which I don't understand how. I just know. Which is... weird. Also, very useful (*cough*Stolls*cough*).