CW: The original version of this episode of Community includes a character using blackface. I do not condone the harmful images portrayed in this episode, and therefore, they are not included in my written adaptation. This episode is not available on most streaming platforms, but if you do intend to watch it, please do so with this in mind. Blackface is wrong, and it will never be okay, even in the field of comedy.

Inspired by Community S2E14: "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons"

Nico POV

"Okay, I don't really do the whole 'emotions' thing, but I've gotta ask. Do you know why Will seems so off?" Annabeth asks.

Nico thought Annabeth was just going to ask for the last of the pizza as she does at every GSA meeting. This is a lot more interesting. "Well, have you seen his Instagram story?"

"The WiFi's down in my apartment, so if I want to check social media, I have to do it here. God, Nico, I feel stranded!" She's so dramatic.

Nico boxes up the last of the pizza and hands it to Annabeth anyway. "Will's dad died the other week. He's probably just grieving."

Annabeth furrows her eyebrows. "Nico, that's not something you can just casually deal with."

"I thought you were the one that didn't do the whole 'emotions' thing."

"Yeah, but his dad died. The least we can do is like, buy him some carnations or something."

"Okay, so buy him some carnations."

"I'm a broke college student!"

Nico crosses his arms. "So am I!"

Annabeth takes another cookie from the tray. "Maybe... maybe there's something else we can do?"

"Like?"

She shrugs. "What does Will do for fun? You know him better than I do."

Nico's ears turn a little red at that comment. Do people see him and Will as close friends? "Sometimes we play MythoMagic together..."

"Great." Annabeth grabs the box of leftover pizza. "My study group is working on a group paper for our mythology class. Tell Will to meet us there for a game of MythoMagic."

Nico chuckles to himself. Annabeth Chase does not know what she's getting herself into.

It's a good thing he never leaves home without his MythoMagic binder.

✎✎✎

Not even half of the people at this table are familiar with MythoMagic. Idiots. All of them are idiots.

Nico brings his fancy MythoMagic dice to create some quick character sheets for everyone in Annabeth's study group. This campaign could go several ways. Either it'll be awesome because they have a lot of people, and big groups are always more fun in MythoMagic, or they'll completely crash and burn because the only people who know how to play are Frank, Jason, Will, and himself.

"Okay, so basically, I'm going to give you all demigod characters to play as, and then I'll explain the quest," Nico says.

"Can my character control fire?" Leo asks. "I've always wanted to be a fire bender like in Avatar: The Last Airbender."

"Probably not," Nico says. "It's more random than anything." He rolls the first die. #3. That makes a lot of sense for Percy.

"Percy, you're the son of Poseidon. Pick a card for your weapon." Nico fans his MythoMagic weapons so Percy can't see.

"Awesome, a sword."

Nico rolls for Percy's powers: water-bending, navigation, enhanced healing... wow, so Percy's a powerful demigod.

Next up is Hazel. Nico rolls an eleven. "Pluto."

"Oh," Hazel says. She picks a weapon card. "This thing kind of looks like a pirate sword," she giggles.

"That's a spatha," Nico explains before rolling for her powers. "You can summon precious metals and jewels."

"Oh, that's nice!"

Nico rolls the die for Jason. "Jupiter."

"Zeus?" Jason asks.

"Jupiter."

"Why's my weapon a coin?"

Nico sighs. "When you flip the coin, it'll turn into a lance or a gladius."

"Cool."

"Also, you can fly."

"Awesome!" Jason pumps his fist.

"Do me next!" says Frank. "I hope I get Apollo."

"Mars."

"Shoot."

"Pick a weapon."

Frank reaches for a card. "A spear..." He seems disappointed.

Nico rolls for his powers, but the die falls on the floor. Oh no, what a shame. He bends over and picks it up.

He feels bad. Instead of telling Frank that all he got was enhanced healing, he says, "Woah, you can shapeshift!"

"That's one of the rarest powers!" Frank says.

Nico rolls the die for Piper. Ten. She's going to hate this. "Aphrodite."

"You wait for just a second-"

"Pick a weapon."

"What the hell is a Katoptris?" Piper asks.

Nico sure is lucky he's wearing a mask because he's making some nasty faces at these noobs. "It's a dagger that shows you the future."

"Sick."

Nico rolls for Piper's powers. "Charmspeak."

"What the hell is a charmspeak?"

"It's kind of like hypnotism," Nico explains.

"Cool."

"You get a magic item since you're a demigod of a weaker deity."

"What did you just say?" Piper chooses a card anyway. "A cornucopia? Should I be offended? You know the first Thanksgiving wasn't all that, right?"

"Moving on," says Nico. "Leo, you're the son of Hephaestus."

"The ugly one?" Leo fakes offense.

"Just pick a magic item."

"Toolbelt?"

Nico groans. "You ever seen Mary Poppins?"

"Yeah."

"It's like a Mary Poppins bag, but just with tools."

"Can I have a weapon now?"

"No."

"Can I be a fire bender at least?"

Nico rolls the die. "Yes, actually."

Nico rolls the die for Annabeth. "Athena."

"Hell yeah." She wipes some pizza grease on her pants and then picks a weapon. "Can I see the future in this dagger?"

"No."

"Can I do anything cool with this dagger?"

"No," says Nico. "It's cursed."

"Fantastic. What are my powers?"

Nico cringes. "Athena's kids don't get powers."

"Excuse me?"

"Pick a magic item."

"I want powers."

"Fine. Pick two magic items."

Annabeth grunts and picks two cards. "Invisibility cap, Daedalus's laptop."

"Feeling better, Wise Girl?" Percy asks. "Oh, wait. You can't water-bend."

"Screw you, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth sits back down in a huff.

"Does Will get to roll for a character?" Piper asks.

Will perks up. "I already have my character. I'm a son of Apollo with magic healing powers, and my item is the Arrow of Dodona. It tells the future, kind of like Piper's knife."

"That sounds cool," says Frank.

"It sure is!" Will agrees.

"What's our quest, Nico?" Hazel asks.

"Glad you asked!" Nico opens this binder. This is his chance to shine. He wrote this quest all on his own, but he's usually a player, not the Oracle, so he's never gotten to actually play it out. Now that he's got a big enough group, he can try it out and hopefully impress Will!

Nico reads the prophecy from his notebook paper: "Seven half-bloods shall answer the call-"

"Is that something we can call people?" Piper asks.

"Also, there's eight of us," Annabeth notes.

"Prophecies always play out," Frank explains. "Just let him finish."

"To storm or fire, the world must fall."

Jason and Leo look at each other. They hold eye contact until Leo pulls his mask down and makes a kissy face.

Nico continues, "An oath to keep with a final breath-"

"Is someone going to die?" Hazel asks.

"And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

"I'm going to have to ask this question again," Annabeth says. "What is the quest?"

Nico smacks his palm against his forehead. "Basically, the Greek and Roman demigods are at war, and it's up to you heroes to travel to Rome and bring back the Athena Parthenos, a long lost statue that will restore peace."

"That doesn't sound so bad," says Percy.

"Also, you have to stop Gaea from rising. She's sort of like Mother Earth."

Jason snickers. "What, did we throw a party or something?"

"Sweep, Jason, sweep!" says Piper.

"No, guys, c'mon!" Nico says.

"Is everybody ready to start?" Will asks.

Hazel shrugs. "I'm still not sure how to play..."

"I can go first," Will offers. "I mean if it's okay with Nico."

Nico has this warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest. He gets it every time Will says something nice to him. He hates it.

"Okay," says Nico. If it weren't for the game, Nico would probably be a complete mess around Will. Thank the gods he's in his element right now. "You're sailing to Rome in a boat that Leo made-"

"Sick!"

"Uh, yeah, and now you're being attacked by venti."

Piper cocks an eyebrow. "Like, coffee?"

"No," Jason says. "They're like wind spirits."

"Will," Nico says. "What do you want to do?"

"I'll go for a strategic attack. Can Annabeth weave a net?"

"Can I do what now?"

"Annabeth," Nico asks. "Will you weave a net for Will?"

"I can weave, but I can't have any powers?" Annabeth asks.

Nico shuffles his cards. "Pretty much."

Annabeth sits back in her chair. "Fine."

Nico rolls the die. "It's effective. What will you do with the net, Will?"

Piper raises her hand like a student in a class. "Can I seduce the venti? You know, since my mom is Aphrodite."

"No. Will?"

"I throw the net at the wind spirit," Will declares.

"You've successfully captured the wind spirit," Nico says. "Now you can sail on."

Will takes a slice of pizza and smiles. "Thanks so much for inviting me to this, everybody! I'm having a super great time."

Everyone grumbles a you're welcome to Will.

"Okay," Nico says. "Next, you come across two cliffs-"

"I seduce the cliffs," says Piper.

"Piper-"

"I. Seduce. The cliffs."

Nico rolls his die. "It's ineffective. Now, it's Jason's turn."

✎✎✎

"Great job, Frank and Hazel! You defeated the dolphin warriors, and now the ship can continue to sail," Nico says.

"Cool!" says Frank.

"Oh, that's nice!" Hazel says.

Nico turns the page in his binder. "Now, you're coming upon a-"

"Hello! Playing a game, are we?"

"Octavian?" Frank gasps in surprise.

Percy rolls his eyes. "Shouldn't you be like, recording rap music for SoundCloud or something?"

Octavian pulls out a seat next to Will and sits down. "Deal me in."

Will stays patient, but probably only because he doesn't know Octavian all that well. "Well, it's a roleplay kind of game, so there aren't any cards..."

"Why do they have cards?"

Nico twists his skull ring. "Those are their magic items and weapons."

"Cool. Gimme some," says Octavian.

"No, it's too late. We're already halfway through the quest."

Annabeth slams her hands against the table. "We're only halfway through?"

"I'll take her cards!" says Octavian.

Octavian is ruining everything.

Nico twists his skull ring so hard he's ready to pull his finger off. "I can't design a whole new demigod character for you at this point, but you could take your turn as a mortal..."

"Works for me," he sneers. "I want to take this guy's bow."

Percy leans forward. "But-"

"Don't you need to roll the die for that?" Octavian asks Nico.

"It's okay, Nico," Will says. "It's only a two in twenty chance for a mortal, anyway."

Nico rolls the twenty-sided die. Nineteen. Great. Just great. "I'm sorry, Will..."

Will passes his card to Octavian. "It's okay. It's a game."

"Can I shoot Will now?" Octavian asks.

"No," says Nico. "It's not your turn and you don't have any arrows."

Annabeth stands up. "Let's take a break."

"Shouldn't we finish the game first?" Piper asks.

"No," says Annabeth. "I need to use the bathroom, and I really need Nico and Octavian to come with me."

Nico doesn't swing that way, but he's pretty sure Annabeth has better taste than Octavian.

Octavian and Nico follow Annabeth out of the study room and down the hall.

"Ow!" Octavian cries when Annabeth slaps him across the face. "I was your teacher!"

"Emphasis on 'was,'" she says. "You're not on the staff anymore, so I can hit you."

"Yeah, but you shouldn't!"

Nico crosses his arms. "You're being a dick. You deserved it."

"Me? I just wanted to play your stupid game!"

"You keep calling it stupid," says Nico, "and you're picking on Will."

"I'm trying to win!" says Octavian.

Annabeth throws her head back and groans. "It's not even that kind of game! Maybe if you took some time to learn the rules, you would have figured that out. It's about teamwork."

"And you need to be nicer to Will," Nico adds.

Octavian laughs. "Why? Are you gay or something? Ha! Nico's a-"

"Mind if I hit him again?" Annabeth asks.

"Please do."

"Ow!"

Annabeth grabs Octavian by the collar of his shirt. "That's homophobic. Take it back."

"Oh, I forgot that you're a lesbi- ow, ow, ow!"

"We can handle whatever you say to us, but you have to be gentle with Will. He... he's sort of grieving right now and we put this whole thing together to make him feel supported," Nico explains. "You can play, but you have to play nice."

"Fine. Fine! I'll play your stupid- ow! What was that for?"

"That one was for fun," says Annabeth.

"Hey, losers!" Piper calls. "We're ready to finish this quest!"

✎✎✎

"To speed up your quest, you may gain the favor of an automaton dragon," Nico explains.

"Oh, let's do it!" says Leo. "With my parentage, it'll be easy to get him on our side, right?"

Everyone seems to agree, so Nico takes that as a sign. "You walk into the forest, and you find the dragon with ease, but not everything is as it seems."

"Oh no," Hazel says.

"Frank, there's a forest nymph guarding the dragon. She says she'll barter for it, but what exactly is it that she wants?"

"Uh, I think I still have a couple of drachmas..." Frank says.

Nico rolls the die. "She does not accept the drachmas. Percy?"

"Can I just fight her?"

Nico rolls the die. "The great god Pan protects the creatures in this forest. You take four damage."

"Ouch," Percy says.

"Step aside, boys," says Piper. "It's my time to shine."

"Oh gods, Piper, please..." says Annabeth. "Shit, I'm saying 'gods' plural now... What is this game doing to me?"

"Are you having fun?" Will asks.

Annabeth grits her teeth in a forced smile. "So much fun, buddy."

Nico continues the game. "Piper, what do you do?"

Piper pulls her mask below her face, exposing a devious grin. "I seduce the forest nymph."

Jason furrows his eyebrows. "Couldn't you just use charmspeak?"

"Charmspeak only works if the person is attracted to you," Frank explains.

"Yeah, and so does seduction!" Jason shouts back.

Nico rolls the die. Sixteen. Holy crap. "The forest nymph agrees to have sex with you."

"Great! I'll start with a striptease."

"The nymph likes this," Nico deadpans.

"I'm naked in the forest now. I invite the nymph to-"

"Wait," says Leo. "Are we all here for this? Like, just watching?"

"It's best not to think of the logistics," Nico says.

"I kiss the nymph!" says Piper.

"She's... she's taking her clothes off..." Nico can't decide whether to laugh or cry.

"Can we skip this part?" Hazel asks.

Nico rolls the die again. "Your seduction works. The forest nymph will let you pass and bring the dragon with you. That is if you can gain the favor of the dragon."

"Who's turn is it?" Jason asks.

"Mine! Mine!" Octavian says.

Nico twists his ring again. Yep, that's going to leave a mark later. "It's Leo's turn. You've got an advantage since the dragon is an automaton, perhaps even forged by Hephaestus himself. What will you do?"

Leo cracks his knuckles. "This is so awesome! I pat the dragon's nose. Just like How to Train Your Dragon!"

Nico rolls the die. "The dragon feels threatened and cowers away from you."

Leo taps the table in front of him. Is that Morse code? "I... I give the dragon a name so he knows he can trust me!"

"What do you name the dragon?" Nico asks.

"Hmm..." Leo ponders. "Festus sounds pretty badass."

Jason laughs. "Dude, you took Latin with us last year. You just named him 'Happy!'"

"Festus likes his new name," Nico says. "He decides that he can trust you. After all, you are the son of Hephaestus."

"Cool!"

"Now it's your turn, Octavian," Nico says.

"I want to pet the dragon too!"

Nico rolls the die. "Festus feels alarmed by all of the attention. He attacks. You lose fifteen damage."

"How many do I have left?" Octavian asks.

"Two. Percy? Your turn."

"Can I use my water healing powers on Octavian?" Percy asks.

Nico rolls the die. "You heal Octavian to full health."

"Great! There ya go, man," says Percy.

"I want to take Rainbow from Percy," says Octavian.

Percy gasps. "No! Not Rainbow! Anything but Rainbow!"

Earlier on in the quest, Percy gained the favor of his father, Poseidon. As a result, he befriended a hippocampus he insists on calling 'Rainbow.' Nico figured that if Happy the automaton dragon could exist, so could Rainbow the hippocampus.

Nico rolls the die. After all, there's only a one in twenty chance of anybody defeating Percy. He's that powerful.

"Twenty," Nico says.

"Goddammit!" Percy shouts. "What does that mean?"

"Octavian takes Rainbow."

"No!" Percy slams his head against the table in frustration. "I thought this was just a game..."

"Guys," Will says. "If we all work together, we can deliver the Athena Parthenos before the Greeks and Romans go to war."

"How exactly can we pull this off if Octavian is working against us?" Annabeth asks.

Will stands up. "We'll have to split up. Hazel can use her newly acquired skill of shadow travel to transport herself, Frank, Percy, and the statue back to camp. Meanwhile, Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Leo, and I can get back to the U.S. and unite the Greeks and Romans before Gaea wakes up."

"Not so fast!" says Octavian. "I attack Will!"

Heads hit the table in exasperation. Everybody groans.

"It's not his turn again already, is it?" Jason asks.

Nico says, "Unfortunately, it is."

"Great," Octavian says, leaving Nico with no choice but to roll the die.

"Will takes four damage."

"I... I fire an arrow!" says Will.

"But Will," Annabeth says, "you only have one arrow left, and it's the Arrow of Dodona!"

Everyone looks at Annabeth because, to be honest, she's the last person anyone expected to get invested in a game of chance like MythoMagic.

"What?" she asks. "I can count, you know."

"It's okay," Will says. "I'll fire it anyway."

"You fire the Arrow of Dodona..." Nico says before rolling the die. He hesitates.

"What are you waiting for?" Leo asks.

Instead of rolling the die and praying for a number high enough to kill Octavian, Nico says, "The Arrow of Dodona has one last prophecy."

Will raises an eyebrow.

Here goes nothing.

"Chuck E. Cheese this evening?"

"Wait, what?" Frank asks.

Will casts his carters aside and beams. "I'd love to go to Chuck E. Cheese! Can we play skeeball?"

Nico packs his dice away in their designated box. "Whatever you want!"

"Wait, what about the game?" Octavian asks. "I was going to kick Solace's butt!"

Everyone ignores him.

"What about Gaea?" Hazel asks.

Will shrugs. "You guys can keep playing without us if you want. Thanks for doing this for me though!"

"I'm sorry about what happened back there with Octavian. I had no idea he was going to just crash our game like that," Nico says.

"It's alright. I still had fun, and it was nice of you to put that together for me."

Nico shuts the door behind him and twists his skull ring for a minute. Then, he says what he should have said earlier. Like, as soon as he heard the news about Will's dad passing away. "I know this doesn't help anything, but I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. I should have said something a while ago."

"Nico," Will says. "Why do you think I've been hanging around you so much lately? You're the only person who doesn't treat me like I'm completely broken because of it. Honestly, it's nice to feel supported, but I don't want to be 'Will Solace: The Guy with the Dead Father.' I just want to be a normal college kid and go to Chuck E. Cheese with you."

Nico opens his mouth, but Will has more to say.

"I just feel like everyone's expecting this reaction out of me any time someone brings it up, but I just... I don't know... I don't really deal with things that way."

"Everyone grieves differently," Nico says. "Just let me know what kind of support you need from me. I'm here whether you want to talk about it or not."

"Right now, I want you to take me to Chuck E. Cheese."

So Nico loads Will Solace onto the back of his Vespa scooter and whisks him away to everybody's favorite college hangout.