Honestly, the fact that Zedaph and Percy were gone didn't surprise Tango.
He knew where they had gone, even though they hadn't told him. They'd gone after Annabeth.
Tango and Bdubs met up in the woods to discuss this new development.
"The Zoë person left the Hunters she was supposed to bring," Bdubs noticed, somehow. By now, news of the quest had spread through the camp. Phoebe had temporarily moved into the Big House and declared a rivalry between the Hunters and the Hermes cabin, which none of the Hermes kids had taken seriously due to the fact that she had been clearly resisting scratching at her itchy hives at the time.
"So... Percy and Zedaph could be the fifth and sixth quest members," Tango said. "Prophecies have a weird way of always happening no matter what we do."
"So we shouldn't go after them? What if they die? WHAT IF THEYRE THE TWO THAT ARE GONNA DIE?!"
"Oh, I forgot about that part," Tango said, going pale.
"We have to," Bdubs said. "We did last summer. And the summer before. It's tradition at this point."
"Bdubs, it- it's hard to explain, but I get this feeling of impending doom and not happy fun times that would happen if we went."
Bdubs hesitated. "But they could die."
"Besides," Tango continued. "Ren."
"What about him?"
"He can't fight, but he'd be really mad if we left him behind. What if we lost him, or if he fell off another bridge?"
Bdubs angrily kicked a rock into the creek. "Then what are we supposed to do?" he demanded. "Sit here and wait?"
"No," Tango said. "Well, yes. But also, no. The Hunters are still here. Chariot racing is still happening. There's the fact that the Hunters all hate the Stoll brothers now. And I heard Apollo cabin complaining about the Hunters using the archery range. I have a feeling things are going to be plenty interesting here."
Bdubs pursed his lips. "Fine. I guess."
He continued staring into the creek.
Tango studied him. "What's up?"
"What?"
"You've been acting weird. Grumpier... well, grumpier than usual. Ever since a couple weeks after Grian and the Fleece disappeared."
Bdubs sighed dramatically. "None of your business."
Tango rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "Well. If you don't want to talk, then don't talk. But I'm watching." he pointed two fingers at his own eyes, and then at Bdubs.
Then he cracked up. "I can't keep a straight face, you're too short."
That did the trick. Bdubs immediately forgot whatever had been on his mind and yelled, "HEY!"
"Ha!" Tango laughed, dodging Bdubs' attempt to hit him with a stick. He ran. The angry son of Hypnos wasn't far behind.
Tango glanced back and made a face, then stepped to the side and watched Bdubs stumble past him and fall face first into the creek.
Bdubs got up, sopping wet, and wiped water off of his face. "TANGO!"
"What are you gonna do?" Tango teased. "Make me sleep?"
Bdubs hit him.
"Ow!" Tango chuckled, rubbing his head.
"I'm not short," Bdubs grumbled, attempting to wring out his shirt. "I'm average."
"Sure," Tango said, grinning, and walked away. Bdubs, still annoyed, jogged behind him to catch up.
Bdubs headed back to his cabin. Tango went back to his. As he approached the door, a hand grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him behind the cabin.
Tango yelped and turned, bashing heads with one of the Stoll brothers.
"Shh!" Connor hissed. Or maybe it was Travis, but Tango was going to go with Connor. "They'll hear you."
"Who'll hear me?" Tango asked.
"The Hunters."
Tango looked at the twins suspiciously. "Why are you behind my cabin?"
"We need your help," the other twin, who Tango had assumed was Travis, piped up.
"With what?"
"A conspiracy."
Tango facepalmed. "I should have known."
"They want to start a war with the Hunters," Beckendorf grunted. Tango hadn't realized he was there.
"Nooo," Connor and Travis protested at the same time, then Connor added, "They declared war on us."
"And why do you need the Hephaestus cabin for this?" Tango asked. This whole situation was reminding him of when Grian had asked him for help robbing the stock exchange in Season 6.
"Because you guys can do smart," Travis said. "You guys were the reason we won Capture the Flag. We're just asking you to do it again. Simple."
"No, give the credit to the Ares kids," Tango said. "They're the ones who ran in screaming like a bunch of lunatics and surprised them. Or Athena, they're the ones who turned a vague idea into an actual plan."
Beckendorf folded his arms, looking amused.
"Oh, please," Connor said. "Enough modesty, the Ares cabin just followed orders, and Athena-ified or not, it was your guys's idea. You in or not?"
"I'm in," Beckendorf said. "Could use the boredom relief."
Tango felt a smile of his own coming. It had been a while since he'd pranked anyone. "I'm in too," he said. "How do you want to start?"
The Stoll brothers exchanged smirks. Travis slapped Tango on the back. "Just what we like to hear."
Despite slightly feeling like he had just agreed to join another rebellion, Tango grinned back at them.
"So," Beckendorf said. "What do you need us to do?"
"That's the thing," Connor said. "We're not quite sure yet."
"We're going to think on it," Travis added. "If you have ideas, let us know."
Tango and Beckendorf nodded.
"Alright," Travis said. "Allies With The Goal Of Annoying The Hunters, meeting adjourned."
"I didn't agree to that name," Connor protested.
"Can you think of a better one?" Travis argued.
"Herm... Herphaestus?" Beckendorf suggested.
"That sounds like a bad couple name," Tango said.
"Yeah, it does," Beckendorf agreed.
"Name in development," Connor decided, pulling a small notebook out of his back pocket and making a note with a pen that had a massive pink pom-pom on the top.
"NID," Tango mused, pronouncing it literally as nid. "We could be NID. Name In Development."
"That's even worse than Herphaestus," Beckendorf said.
"It's decided," Connor announced. "Name In Development."
"Wait, that wasn't a serious suggestion," Tango said immediately.
Travis nodded along in agreement with Connor. "It's perfect."
Tango found himself grinning again at how purely stupid the idea was.
"Alright," Travis said. "Name In Development, meeting adjourned."
The two Stoll brothers pulled up their hoods and dramatically walked away with an exaggerated attempt at stealth. Connor tripped over his own feet. Travis laughed loudly.
"If they were trying to be sneaky, they failed miserably," Beckendorf observed.
Tango snorted.
Then they both went inside.
~~~
When I don't have Grian to start wars, I have to go with the next best thing
-Indigo