Nikki's POV
I got walked into the Hall just in time to here Ron's little speech about how much of a freak I am and how no one could care less if I was dead. I already knew that so it didn't really hurt, but the fact that he said it in front of every single person in our school kind of ticked me off. Now I was trying make as much space between me and any other human being as possible.
I was tempted to shadow travel to the under world for the night but I didn't think I would be able to take my father saying the same things to me. i was standing in front of a shadow trying to decide where to go when Luna came behind me and gave me a giant hug.
"Hey Nikki. You need a friend, right now." Luna told me. But I just smiled sadly at her.
"No, I think I'm going to go Luna... I don't know if I'm coming back or not though..." I said, and Luna looked up at me sadly.
"We will lose. You know all of us will lose with out you." Luna informed me and I felt a pang of guilt in my stomach. "Thousands will die."
"Fine, fine, sop making me feel bad. But I can't stay here right now. Ron's right I don't belong here." I said I turned away from her I walked into the shadow and felt someone grab my wrist as I went in. I didn't know where I was going to I just thought one word: Home.
Well, apparently home is we're ever will is because I found myself on the floor of the dinning pavilion right next to Will's feet, who was staring down at me with wide eyes.
"Hey Sunshine." I muttered then blacked out.
Will's POV
"No. No. No. NO!!" I thought angrily as I tried to pick up my girlfriend but my hands kept asking right through her. I looked at Kayla trying to get her to understand what I needed She nodded at me and ran towards the infirmary. Everyone was staring at us. Annabeth and Piper ran from their tables to my side as I was now kneeling next to Nikki. Both girls had tears in their eyes as they looked at her.
"Will?" A misty voice asked, I looked up. It was Luna. I wanted to scream her name but I couldn't. I just gave her a small smile, and she smiled straight back. Then Kayla ran back in and handed me 2 canteens and a bag of ambrosia.
"I didn't know what you would need, so I brought all 3." Kayla said. I grabbed the one labeled unicorn drought and started pouring it slowly into her mouth. I handed it back to Kayla then reached out touch her closing my eyes and praying to every god I knew. Then my hand it something soft. I opened my eyes and my hand was on her stomach. Oh thank the gods.
I started checking he vital signs and it seemed like she was going to be alright. I sighed and smiled, as I stared at my Nikki. Then her eyes fluttered open.
Nikki's POV
"W-will?" I whispered. He grabbed me and pulled me close to his chest, then I felt three more people join the hug. I smiled, I guess this was home.
Him, Clarisse, Piper, and Annabeth released me then Will started pointing to his throat angrily. I had no idea what he was doing. I looked at him with my eyebrows raised until Kayla stared laughing.
"He can't talk. He hasn't been able to since he appeared in the corner of the cabin puking his guts out." Kayla told me still laughing.
"Oh! Woops!" I said and pulled the darkness out of his throat.
"Woops?! Seriously?! And where were you?! I thought your dad was punishing you or something! You could have been dead for all I knew!! No IMs! No nothing!" Will started yelling at me.
"Yeah! You can't do that!! The day Percy runs off with Jason to who knows where to skip school I find out you're missing too! It was like the Hera thing all over again!" Annabeth shouted.
"Calm down! Hades and Hecate sent me on a quest. I'm babysitting a British wizard with a lightning scar on his head at the moment so if anyone has the right to be mad it's me." I complained to them.
"Not to mention you have to kill an immortal wizard. The most powerful there has ever been, who would kill you just by pointing his wand at you. Plus the wizard you're babysitting likes to try and get himself killed you actually almost just died having to sacrifice your life for him. And after you did his best friend started tell the whole school about what a freak you are and how you don't belong and how everyone wishes you were dead." Luna added.
"Seriously Luna?" I hissed at her.
"WHAT?! Oh Nikki, are you alright? What do you mean you almost died? Where? And he said what now? Don't you dare believe him Nicole! I will kill this child!" Will shouted, I smirked at him.
"Hey don't forget me, Piper and Annabeth! Piper'll charm speak him then me and Annabeth comes up from behind and she'll stab him with her dagger and I'll stab him with my spear, then we can all take tuns stabbing him as he screams on the floor!" Clarisse exclaimed excitedly. Me and her had become friends ever since I let her visit Silena Beauregard and Charles Beckendorf in Elysium, she kinda became my body guard after that. I liked her, no mushy emotions or feelings just action.
Everyone stared at Clarisse with wide-eyes and she rolled her eyes at everyone.
"Why don't we come and talk about this in the Big House." An formal voice said. I turned and saw my favorite mentor, Chiron, beckoning me to the Big House. I stood up, with the help of an extremely over protective boyfriend, and started following Chiron. Will slipped his hand into mine as we walked.
"I really missed you." He whispered to me.
"Will, I left yesterday."
"Yeah, but I still missed you, Angel."
"Ugh. That one's even worse than Sunshine." I whined.
"Yes, but you stole Sunshine so now you're Angel." He said matter-of-factly. I groaned, as we walked into the rec room. We all sat around the ping-pong table. Chiron stood at the head of the table then looked straight at me.
"Nicole, if you would, please explain you're quest and what has happened so far. " Chiron asked and I nodded my head. I broke into a full report on what had happened for the past few days, Luna filling in all the bad details I had purposefully missed. She actually decided to quote, everything that Ron had said to me in the Hall so by the time I finished everyone was looking at me with pity in their eyes.
"Ugh! Can you guys not. I honestly couldn't care less what the mortals think, plus I'm used to this, it's not as if this is the first time I've ever heard this. Or the second. Or the third. Or the fourth. Well, you guys get it." I said, but they all kept on looking at me, even the Stolls twins felt bad. I looked at Will for help but he had the same look plastered on his face, then he pulled me in for a tight hug.
"Nikki, I'm so sorry. You know we all love you. We don't want anything to happen to-" He started.
"Will! Cantbreath!" I shouted, but was muffled by his chest. He let me go and I started gasping.
"Will, I told you, I don't care! It's fine! Leave it!" I snapped once I caught my breath. "Now, I have to go back tomorrow since, apparently I'm not allowed to not do this quest according to Luna."
"Well, it's true. With out you our world will die. Thousands of innocent mortals will be murdered. We need you Nikki." Luna informed me, it sounded really cringy to me, like from a movie cringy.
"No you don't. You need one of the seven. Someone actually important! But no, my father is the only one willing to send his child on a suicide mission, the only replaceable demigod. And I honestly don't care. Hades seems to really want me dead so, so be it." I sighed. Will opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the room getting like 40 degrees colder. The room turned really dark, then torches with green fire- hell fire- appeared on the walls. I groaned, I hated when my father tried to make a dramatic entrance.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU DISGUSTING URCHIN?!" A cold voice yelled at me. I sighed then stood up, turned and kneeled at the dark shadow in the corner.
"I am so sorry Lord Hades. Please forgive my disrespectful words, I did not mean to offend you, My Lord." I said nonchalantly. Out of the corner of my eye I saw everyone else in the room also get on one knee and faced in the same direction at me.
"If I wanted you dead child I would not have aided you in shadow travelling 4,000 miles after a near-death experience. Without me you would have had to travel to the underworld the long way then face my fury for failing your quest." The voice boomed at me.
"Yes Lord Hades. I'm sorry Lord Hades." I replied, masking my hurt at my father's words.
"Ugh, useless brat." My father yelled then I felt myself being thrown into the wall on my right. I heard many gasps and some shouts at my father, but he ignored them, I could tell he was staring at me to see what I would do. I had landed with a crash on the floor and forced my self to painfully get back onto my knee.
"Yes, My Lord." I muttered, trying to contain my anger. I heard the voice sigh.
"I will not be pleased if you come down to the underworld without your body." It said quietly then disappeared. The room flooded back with light and it raised back to the normal summer heat. I crumbled back onto the ground, which caused Will to run over to me and turn me over.
"Broken ribs. Fractured arm and leg." I told him, wincing. He nodded then grabbed the bag of ambrosia he had stuffed in his pocket. He gently helped me into a sitting position and gave me a square of ambrosia which I nibbled on, immediately feeling better as the taste of Ms. Jackson's (or now Mrs. Blofis) blue birthday cake filled my mouth.
"I'm going to kill him." Will and Clarisse said in union.
"He's a god guys. Plus, that was him on a good day... being extremely nice... Actually, I think that was the nicest thing he has ever said to me before." i realized, smiling to myself. Everyone else in the room looked at me in horror.
"The nicest thing he ever said to you was calling you a 'disgusting urchin'?" Connor asked. I rolled my eyes.
"No, it was when-" I started but Travis cut me off.
"When he called you a 'useless brat'?" Travis questioned.
"No, it was when-" But this time Connor cut me off.
"He said if you died he would you would face his fury for not completing your quest?"
"No it was when-"
"When he-" Travis started.
"NO!!" I shouted, loosing my temper. They all looked at me looking scared, I pinched the bridge of my nose. "No, when he said he wouldn't be pleased if I came to the underworld with out my body. It was basically like him saying he didn't want me to die. Which is basically like 'I love you' from him." I explained but that just made them look more horrified. I just rolled my eyes and stood up dusting myself off.
"Wait a second... did he say you tried to shadow travel 4000 miles?!" Will questioned me after standing up next to me, I looked at him guiltily.
"Well... um... about that..." I started but again Luna had to add her useful commentary.
"Not to mention after suffering extreme blood loss, being seconds away from death, and also shadow traveling with me along with herself." Luna added. I sighed.
"Grazie per quella, Luna." I muttered.
"YOU DID WHAT?!" Will shouted at me. I flinched, I really hated it when people yelled at me, it reminded me of my father. He noticed then forced himself to calm down. "I'm sorry, love. I just don't want you killing yourself trying over-extend yourself." He said quietly and grabbed my hands in his.
"I know, amore mio, I'm sorry." I whispered, looking up at him. He put his hand under my chin and lifted my head up gently as he leaned down. Just as I was about to close eyes I felt him being ripped out of my hands. I opened my eyes to see him on the floor with Clarisse and Annabeth standing in front of me.
"Away demon!" Clarisse shouted at him.
"Keep it PG!!" The Stolls yelled together.
"I am not letting you ruin Nikki's innocence." Annabeth declared. I groaned.
"It's because of people like you guys that we haven't had our first kiss yet." I complained.
"Good! Me and Clarisse have been waiting for Reyna and Thalia to have the 'You break her heart, we'll break your face' speech!" Annabeth told me.
"And Percy and Jason haven't gotten to have an extremely uncomfortable talk with Will, about both of your innocence and trying to find out his deepest darkest secrets before you guys are allowed to start dating." Piper said, I could see Will turning red from behind the two girls, I smiled. He looked cute when he was embarrassed.
"Well me and him have already started dating, and I don't want Percy and Jason harassing him." I told them, moving around my two body guards and helping Will up.
"Thanks." He mumbled still a little pink.
"Yes, well, I am all for young love, but could you all maybe take this outside. I need to decide on what to do about this new quest." Chiron said, looking a little pink himself. I smiled at him.
"Sure Chiron. Come on everyone." I said, walking out of there into the bright sunlight.