The Next Generation: Hades's Helm

Chapter 7: Thunder

Rights to Rick Riordan for the characters Nico di Angelo, Will Solace, Bianca di Angelo, and Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Lena (Strawberry) Ruby, Delilah Dare, Ally Saven, and Thunder are all my OCs though.

When Thunder woke up, Nico was already awake and he was sitting up in bed. He looked pretty nervous about something.

"Hey," Thunder says, looking over at him. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Nico says, looking over at her with a slight smile.

Thunder was about to speak, but Will burst in through the front door before she could. Will looked excited and nervous, all at the same time.

"Nico! Oh, Thunder's here too. Anyways, guys, come on! Rachel's here, and she brought her daughter with her!" Will says excitedly, rushing Nico and Thunder out the door.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Camp Half-Blood's Oracle of Delphi. She had just turned 24 in May. She had sworn off love when she became an oracle, which she thought meant she would never have children. But when she was 20, she had found an abandoned demigod baby in the woods - a daughter of Terpsichore, the muse of song. The gods had allowed Rachel to keep and raise the baby.

The now 4-year-old, named Delilah Aaliyah Dare, had curly auburn hair and amber eyes

Will dragged Thunder and Nico out of the Hades cabin, just in time to see the Dare Enterprises helicopter landing in the fields. Rachel carefully climbed out, before she turned around to help her daughter out safely. Rachel waved to the helicopter pilot and the helicopter flew off.

Thunder smiles. She had seen Delilah a lot, from when she was a baby, when she turned one, and many times since then. Delilah was basically a little sister to Thunder.

Rachel sets Delilah down on the ground. The toddler looked around for a moment before she spotted Thunder. She smiles wide, running towards Thunder and wrapping her arms around her, nearly knocking her over.

"Hey there, Delilah!" Thunder says, laughing a bit. She steadies herself and wraps her arms around Delilah.

Rachel chuckles, walking over to the two girls. She ruffles Delilah's hair, smiling at Thunder. "Hello, Thunder. Sorry about this little speed demon."

"Hey!" Delilah protests, pouting up at her mother. "I'm not little."

Rachel laughs, looking down at Delilah. "That's the part that you get upset about? Not the fact that I called you a demon? Just that I called you little?"

Delilah pauses as if she just realized that her mother called her a demon. "Hey!"

Thunder laughs, picking Delilah up and sitting the young girl on her hip. She turns to Rachel while Delilah wraps her arms around her neck. "What brings you here?"

Rachel smiles and ruffles Delilah's hair again, which makes it even more frizzy than it already is. "Delilah wanted to visit you."

Rachel had decided to stay the night at camp since she didn't have anything to do at her house, and because Delilah wouldn't let go of Thunder. Plus, a lot of the campers would help out with Delilah. Where else are you going to get 30 babysitters for free?

Delilah is sitting in Thunder's lap at the campfire, as Thunder sits next to Rachel. All the other campers were smiling and laughing, singing campfire songs, when suddenly Rachel's eyes widened, her mouth opened, and green smoke started pouring out.

Everyone around the campfire paused, not expecting a prophecy this late at night. Delilah, however, looked horrified and afraid. She had probably never seen her mother issue a prophecy. Thunder covered Delilah's eyes as the prophecy started.

The daughter of Jupiter returns to her roots

Followed by the half-sister of the one who was lost in the land without rain

And the savior daughter of Athena

Three shall go out, three shall return

Two children of Lightning united

Four children of Death meet

To recover Hades' lost helm

While history repeats

Thunder was in shock. She slowly uncovered Delilah's eyes, her eyes wide. The daughter of Jupiter returns to her roots. That had to mean Thunder. Thunder had gotten a quest.

"The one who was lost in the land without rain," Nico mutters. "That's Bianca. But Bianca and I don't have any half-sisters."

"The savior daughter of Athena. Is that Annabeth?" Will asks, looking around at the other campers. The other Apollo kids had already rushed to Rachel to help her.

"No," Thunder says, shaking her head. "It's Ally."

"What?" Nico asks, looking at Thunder, confused. "How would it be Ally? How is she the savior daughter of Athena?"

"Well, she is the daughter of Athena. We know that," Thunder says while Delilah snuggles closer to her. "And her last name is Saven."

"What does Saven mean?" Delilah asks.

"It's German. It means 'to save'," one of the Aphrodite kids says.

It was Strawberry, one of Ally's closest friends at camp. Her real name was Lena, but she didn't like that name. So everyone called her Strawberry.

Why? Well, Strawberry had curly red hair and emerald green eyes. And she hung out in the strawberry fields a lot. So, her nickname is Strawberry.

Strawberry was a year-round camper since her dad had died when she was little. Strawberry wouldn't tell anybody how her dad died, but nobody was bothered by this. She had moved from foster home to foster home until she was 13 and was found by a satyr, brought to camp, and claimed by Aphrodite.

Strawberry is 15 years old, but she and Ally are still close. The two girls often spared together, with Ally winning most of the time.

Strawberry stood behind Thunder, her arms crossed as she put her weight on one leg, looking into the fire. She had been wearing a dark pink shirt and blue denim jeans, a strawberry hairpin in her hair. (Once again, another reason her nickname is Strawberry.)

The Apollo kids were caring for Rachel, one of them giving her a glass of water. Rachel was sitting up, but leaning back against a tree trunk.

"So the savior daughter of Athena is Ally," Nico says, nodding slowly.

"Poor girl. She just got to school for the first time. Now she has to return for a quest," Will adds, frowning slightly.

"That's how demigod life works," Nico reminded Will before returning to Thunder. "You're obviously the daughter of Jupiter in the prophecy. It says to return to your roots."

"Korea," Thunder says, nodding. "I was born in Korea. The quest goes to Korea."

"Recover Hades' lost helm?" Nico says, looking down at the ground, frowning a bit. "If Hades lost his helm, why wouldn't he just send one of his kids to get it?"

"He did," Will said. "The half-sister of the one who was lost in the land without rain. If Bianca is 'the one who was lost in the land without rain', that means it's another one of Hades's kids."

"That's insanity. Hades doesn't have any kids. Other than me and Bianca. Unless..." Nico trailed off.

Will took Nico's hand, looking at him with concern. "Unless what?"

Nico sighs and begins to describe his dream from the night before. About the girl, her dirty appearance, and her scars, the way she killed an empousa with a broken glass bottle, her clothes that looked big enough for a 4-year-old but looked too small on her.

By the time he finished, Will's eyes were wide. "That poor girl. She's probably homeless. And more than likely, severely malnourished."

"Yeah," Nico confirmed, shaking his head a bit.

"My gods... She's probably the daughter of Hades in the prophecy," Thunder said, finally speaking up again. She bounces Delilah in her lap, her arms wrapped around the toddler, who snuggled closer to Thunder.