𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋

𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐎 𝐜𝐡𝟐|A taste of what is to come

Disclaimers: These are not my characters or original ideas; they belong to Rick Riordan

Nico

It wasn't really the plan to shadow travel directly into the senate meeting but that's what happened.

I just thought Roman camp and then bang I was there. I mean, I was there but normally you don't suddenly appear into a Roman meeting unless you have a death wish, especially when you have a massive black Stygian Iron sword strapped to your belt.

Even Reyna jumped. Sorry Reyna, I cringed in my head. Members of the first cohort began to complain about my entrance and weapon, but Reyna put up her hand.

"Nico? Has anything happened?"
"The boarders are down."
__________

I met Frank and Hazel outside and Hazel immediately threw her arms around me. "Haven't seen you in two months!" she exclaimed. "Nice to see you, man," said Frank. I smiled at them. At least I didn't repel everyone that I meet.

"Is Jason still at Camp Half-Blood?" Frank asked.
"Yeah, he's doing his best to organise things while Percy and Annabeth are away. Also, Chiron was called to Olympus under mysterious circumstances last week- but I think he's due back today. I feel bad for Reyna though, she needs Jason." I said, the others nodding in agreement.
"Tension is high here," Frank said.
"Yeah, some people don't like the alliance with the Greek camp. They especially don't like the fact that we're sending some of the fifth cohort to help you. Reyna is under a lot of stress. After just finished clearing up after the war, they were doing memorials and I'm pretty sure Octavians' was what set off the riots," Hazel sighed.
"I hate that guy - still getting what he wants after his death," Frank muttered and I had to agree with him.
"Graceus scum," someone said to me as I walked.
"My point," Frank whispered and they laughed, my own lips twitching at the corners.
Reyna came out of her mother's temple and walked up to us.
"Get ready to go. Frank, Centurion, you are in charge. Nico, I trust you have sent an Iris message to say we are coming?" I nodded, "Good," she resumed,"If you are all ready, make for Camp Half-Blood."

_________

We'd been traveling for a day. I had been able to shadow travel every now and then, but it was much more difficult to move our group of thirty - I think it would take about 8 jumps to get between camps with the cohort.

Hazel shook me awake, the tent was gone. Then suddenly, she let out a horrified scream. I sat up. She was lying on the floor, a monsters claw straight through her back. She wasn't breathing. Frank was dead beside her. Dagger in the heart. Feeling sick, tears streaming down my face, I reluctantly left them, propelled forward against my wishes.

I left the remains of the tent to see the entire group dead - monsters had been surrounding us. All I could smell was the metallic crimson of demigod blood.

I was frozen, I couldn't move at all. Then the monsters disappeared and I was standing back at the Roman camp.

All of the beautiful buildings were no more, ruins and rubble. Reyna was on her knees, watching the home she had taken so much pride in. A tear ran down her cheek. Then I realised that she had a spear in her back. Stabbed in the back. She fell, also dead.

I walked around, trembling. Then I wasn't there anymore.

I was at Camp Half-Blood. All of the cabins were gone. Some were on fire, some disappeared, some just piles of brick, stone and wood. Some just lost memories. The Big House was on fire and I saw Rachel run out, crying.

"He's dead. Chiron is dead!" she wailed. A Cyclops grabbed her and she screamed as she was thrown. She hit a wall with a sickening crack.

Then I saw them. All of the members of camp strewn across the floor.

Clarisse. Dead. I realised with a start that I would miss her, she wasn't just the girl who dumped new kids' heads in the toilets, she had good intentions at heart.

Calypso. Kind hearted, undeserved terrible fate. Dead. Travis and Connor. They ran out of tricks. Dead. I screamed, vision blurring,

But in the middle of it all was the remainder of the seven, on their knees. Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Piper, Jason. They all had chains on their wrists. And a figure was standing in front of them. I couldn't see who it was. It was as if my vision was blurred in that place.

"I'll do anything, I swear. Leave them alone!" Percy yelled and the entire canoe lake sent a tsunami that covered the whole camp. The only thing it didn't soak was where they and the bodies were.

I saw Piper and Jason exchange their last glances. Leo looked up at the stars as if he was praying. Then the figure laughed and Annabeth was sucked underground. My heart lurched.

Percy ran at the figure, screaming. The earth shook and fissures began to form below him. He didn't care. Vines and mud grabbed him so he couldn't move.

Then Jason caused lightening to hit the figure. The figure didn't even flinch.
"Please." Piper begged, so much charm speak etched into her voice that I had an overwhelming desire to help her. But I couldn't move, I was stuck again.

The figure wavered for a second and I felt a tiny surge of hope. But then the figure simply just laughed.
"No. I'm not falling for that again," she said and Piper was pulled underground like Annabeth.

Jason and Leo stared at where she had been; both of their faces became pure despair. Leo's hair caught on fire and Jason and Percy practically crackled with power.

"To storm or fire the world must fall," the figure said - a woman's voice. I sensed she was smiling.
"So who will it be?"

Everything went dark.

"This is a taste of what is to come, Di Angelo."