Butterflies

Chapter 9

Alright. Day three. This is the chapter of plot twists. Sorry that this story has been a jumble, but I've got a plan now. So here you go.
                                 ~O~
Sleeping is a wonderful thing. It allows the mind to parade the endless boundaries of creativity without interruption of the outside world. It is like the better twin of death.

Or maybe not. When your a demigod death might sometimes be preferred. For the dreams of a demigod are like those horrible, disgusting prophecies of death, which is almost worse than the real thing.

So accidentally falling asleep right when you thought your heart couldn't get any lighter was quite the terrible idea.

Green smoke, rotting skeletons, and splattered blood really does make an entertaining dream.

Nico woke with a start. Before he could even register where he was and what he had been doing he jumped up, grabbed his sword, and ran for the big house. His heart beat was thundering from the horrific scenes. He clenched his teeth as he ran to keep from yelling and found his fist clenching with nails biting into his skin.

The sky was darkening, but he tried not to pay attention. The pavilion was full of campers, eating what was probably dinner. Nico's stomach growled loudly and his legs weakened at the smell, but he bit his tongue and increased his speed. Flying past all the tables and smells, he ran up to the head table and stopped in front of Mr. D and Chiron.

"Nick, dear boy. What are you doing interrupting my meal?" Mr. D asked quite unkindly.

"Another quest, sir," Nico breathed and then straightened and sheathed his sword. "I had a dream."

Mr. D rolled his eyes. "How very Martin Luther King of you, Mico. Now can I get back to my dinner?" He turned his attention back to the burger and fries on his plate.

Nico opened his mouth to speak again, but Chiron interrupted him.

"The boy is right, Dionysus. A god is approaching. And by the looks of it, I'm guessing Apollo." Chiron clopped his hooves nervously. "What for, I can't imagine. If Nico is right and it is a quest, it must be quite an important one for the god himself to come."

Everyone in hearing radius looked up at the sunset sky and then all the others followed from curiosity. Apparently the sunset had been paused and then rewound, because the bright ball of light seemed to coming back up the horizon. The closer it got, the hotter it got.

A form came running up to the pavilion, eyes locked on Nico who was still watching the sky. But then the form glanced up at the decending sun and skipped a step. Crashing face first into the grass, Will's gold hair became flecked with brown dirt. He got up quickly and brushed it away, but he was suddenly nervous and angrier than he already had been.

He walked up beside Nico and said quietly, "This can not be good."

"Agreed," Nico replied and then stepped forward, starting towards the spot the sun chariot was bound to land. Will bit his tongue, he still wanted to talk to Nico. About this kiss, about how in love he was, but the boy was still stubborn Nico, even after such a touching scene.

Will grinned. Thank the gods for that. Because he loved Nico and did not need- or want- him to change himself.

The sun chariot landed with a rumble of the engine. The driver shut off the hum and the light faded enough for the form of a bright yellow Mercades to be visible.

Nico walked up to the driver's door just as he got out. The greek god Apollo. He still looked handsome, still looked seventeen, and still acted cocky.

"How are my favorite campers?" Apollo asked grandly when he stepped out of the glowing car.

There was a half-hazard murmur from the pavilion crowd, but it did nothing to deflate the god.

"Great. You are all looking great. Almost as great as me." He laughed and walked towards Chiron, who had come up a few feet behind Nico.

"Apollo, what reason do you have to grace us with your presense?" Chiron asked respectfully, even if the god looked like one of the kids he taught.

Suddenly Will ran up behind Chiron and exclaimed, "What in the name of Olympus are you doing here, dad?"

Apollo's attention switched to Will and he grinned. "My favorite son, how are you?"

Will narrowed his eyes. "That is a lie and we both know it. Also, pretty terribly considering your timing."

"Oh, that's right," Apollo replied. "You had just started to get it on with that Hades boy when my message got through." He grinned as both Nico and Will blushed furiously. "My bad, son, total coincidence."

Will muttered something like, "I don't freaking believe you," but Chiron interrupted him. "And what was that message about?" He asked much calmer than Will.

Before Apollo could reply, Nico spoke up. Mostly he did it just to interrupt Apollo and take a bit of his spotlight.

"It's a quest. Seven demigods. Finding Delphi's spirit and bringing back someone we lost."

There was a clatter of a fork hitting the ground and suddenly Percy stood up.

"You don't mean-"

Apollo held up his hand and interrupted, "I don't. You're not in this mission, Jackson."

Percy looked both relieved and annoyed. "Then who-"

"This son of Hades, actually," Apollo interrupted again. "And before I explain anything more to you all, perhaps you will actually listen to the poem I so brilliantly wrote."

Will groaned loudly. As did the rest of his cabin.

Apollo ignored them. "Ahem." He took out a piece of paper, read something, and then crumpled it up and threw behind him, where it caught fire on the hood of his sun chariot.

"Seven once more will go and seek, to climb the black of Shadow's peak. The spirit awaits them and calls to be found. One of light, of dark, of magic, of sound. Recover the one believed to be lost, but lose another to pay the cost." Apollo bowed dramatically and whispered, "Scene," but no one was listening to him anymore.

Nico stood, jaw set, eyes hard, trying not to any emotion. Will was visibly shaking, though he couldn't tell why. The rest of the campers were dead silent, staring forward with eyes glazed.

Then a voice spoke from the crowd, "Another mission. And one will be lost." The voice was Piper, who looked scared. "But we will recover one lost. That has to be Leo. He's alive. Jason, that has to be him!" She was shaking too, and Jason walked over to hug her. They both looked unsure, but Jason made eyecontact with Nico, who nodded. They wouldn't tell her otherwise until the mission started.

Apollo straightened from his bow and looked around. "Well, I don't know why you are all so glum, but my job is done here. I'll be going now."

Will recovered first and said, "Wait. Dad, how did you get here? I thought Zeus was halting most of the interaction between the camp and the gods."

"Oh, he is," Apollo confirmed. "I snuck away. But come on, what is the worst thing he can do? Send me down here as a mortal?" He started laughing, but it went from loud to nervous to strained. "Well, that's all. I'll be going now!"

Everyone watched as he retreated to his car before yelling out, "But a parting haiku before I go!

"Have fun on your trip! And though one of you will die, you will find your guy!"

And then the engine revved and the sun chariot retreated back into the sky, letting the sunset continue normally. Except the pavilion did not go back to normal. Because a new quest was commissioned, and this time someone would die.