Nico

When we got back to the ship, the girls informed us that they wanted to go shopping before we left Australia. We needed a few things too, so we didn't object. Since it would be a few hours until morning, Will and I stayed on deck for the rest the night. Will was passed out on the deck lounge chair while I was sitting in between his legs with my back against his chest. Between the warmth of my baby's chest and the moonlight on us, I was actually pretty content. Leo was flying the ship around the city trying to find a mall that the girls liked. It was actually funny listening to them bicker over what stores they wanted to hit. The fate of the world was in our hands and they were arguing over where they were getting clothes from. I just laid there and smiled, watching the stars pass over above us.

...

Our little shopping stop was definitely needed. We picked up some new clothes, since we didn't pack a whole lot to begin with. We were also getting low on some necessities needed for our love life. After our shopping extravaganza, we were back in the air and on our five-day trip to Greece. By this time, I had been up all night and half of the day, so I was in dire need of a nap. Will changed into a pair of his new tanning shorts, which looked really hot and really revealing. My baby went up to the deck to lay out, leaving me to take a well-deserved nap.

...

Will let me sleep in on the last day of our journey across southern Asia and northern Africa. I would have to guess that we were somewhere over the Mediterranean when I finally decided to wake up. As much as I missed my baby beside me, it was kind of nice having the bed to myself. I started to stretch out, raising my arms above my head. One sniff of my pits told me that I was in dire need of a shower. Reluctantly, I got out of bed and threw on a pair of boxers. I grabbed my toiletry bag and headed to the bathroom.

Between the close quarters and our good friendships, I was becoming a lot less self-conscious about my body. I was really starting to feel more comfortable in my skin, especially around my friends. If I were to take anything away from this trip it would be, I need to be comfortable with who I am. As I stood under the hot shower spray, I realized that I needed to stop caring about what others thought. As long as I had my husband beside me, what the rest of the world thought didn't really matter.

After drying off and getting dressed back in our room, I headed up to the deck to see what was going on. I'd have to admit that going back to Greece wasn't on my top ten list of things to do. I found my baby laying out on the deck He was rocking it in he is new tanning shorts that he got in Sydney. They were rather tight and barely covered his mid-section. His golden tanned skin was glimmering in the afternoon sun. I had to try not to stare before 'little Nico' made his presence known. Instead, I walked over to where Leo was standing at the controls.

"How long until we reach Greece?"

"Well," Leo said, "if the weather stays like this, we'll be over Athens in a few hours. Despite the flame from Olympia, I still think that Athens is our true destination."

"Nico," Will yelled, "get over here before you burn."

I sighed and reluctantly walked over too where my baby was laying out, leaving Leo laughing behind me. I sat down on the lounge chair beside him and he started rubbing sunblock over my exposed skin. I already had a light tan, so, I didn't think that I was in danger of burning. However, I wasn't going to argue with my husband about rubbing running his hands all over my skin. When he was done, I laid down beside him on his lounge chair. I was trying not to get the sunblock on his skin as I snuggled up against him. I still wasn't even sure if sunblock worked on Apollo's children. He seemed to tan so naturally, I didn't think that anything would stop it from happening. I laid beside my husband in the afternoon sun, basting in his and the sun's warmth. I laid with my baby until the ship started to descend over Greece.

...

Leo had the ship hovering over the edge of the city. All of us stood at the rail and looked at the city before us in the light of the setting sun. Normally, the city that gave birth to Western Civilization would have been breathtaking and calm at this time of day. However, the sight before us was far from it. Sirens from emergency vehicles could be heard from the distance. Black smoke was going up into the air around various spots in the city. I was starting to hope that we weren't already too late.

Jason asked, "where do you guys think we need to go?"

Calypso replied, "compared to the rest of the city, the Acropolis looks rather quiet. That might be a good place to start."

I hated to say it, but, I think that Calypso was right. The last time I was here, we had been fighting the Titans and their army of monsters on the Acropolis. That was where a drop of Percy's blood hit the ground and woke the God Gaea from her slumber. A lot of demigods died in the battle that followed and the thought of going back there was making me sick. Will must have felt that I was in pain, because he put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his side.

"For some reason, I think going down there tonight is a bad idea. We should wait until morning and try to mingle in with tourists."

"Yea," Piper said, "I have a bad feeling about this and going during the day should be a lot safer."

"Alright amigo's," Leo said, "I'm going to take the ship back up and circle around the city for the night. I'm not sure if I'll be able to find a safe spot to park the ship, so I might have to drop you guys off and pick you up after. We'll figure all of that out at dinner."

Of course, my stomach took that opportunity to make its hunger known to the group. After it's rather loud growl, everyone started laughing. "It sounds like it's dinner time then."

We discussed our plans for the next day over our dinner. Since nobody really had any plans, it was a pretty short conversation. After dinner, Will and I stayed in the lounge and watched t.v. for a while. I found a zombie movie, which neither of us could understand. The acting sucked, but it more than made up for it in gore. I laid on the couch in front of Will watching the movie. He seemed more interested in rubbing my stomach under my shirt than watching the movie. Between the gore on the screen and my baby playing with my happy trail, I was more relaxed than I've been in weeks. When the movie was over, we got up and took our showers before bed. I fell asleep that night curled up to my sunshine with me head using his shoulder for a pillow.

...

I recognized the scene as soon as I saw it. I was in my father's throne room in the Underworld. As I looked around the room, I saw some of the artwork that my father had bought on the walls. He had the portrait of himself hung directly above the fireplace. It really made me feel good seeing my works on display. I was half afraid that he just stuck them in a closet some place. In front of me was my father's skull throne, sitting vacant. As I approached it, I noticed the curtains to one of the balcony's moving in the light breeze. I went around the skull throne and over to the balcony. Stepping through the curtains, I found my father standing at the rail. He had both of his hands on the obsidian railing, looking out over the Fields of Asphodel.

"My son," Hades said without looking at me, "with the turmoil that Chaos has caused, the increased flow of souls has been wreaking havoc my infrastructure. The EZ-Death lane at the gates is backed up to the Styx. The new expressway is packed soul to soul. And if they wish to be judged, let's just say that it's a good thing they're dead already. We had to add a winding barricade to make room for the line."

"Dad..."

"Enough about my problems, lets discuss yours."

I walked up to the railing and stood beside my father. Looking out over the field of wandering souls, I somehow found it hard to fathom ruling a place like this. Strangely though, I found the screams from the Fields of Punishment soothing.

Hades said, "my son, as you know, fighting in the ancient lands will be more difficult than normal. It will be increasing harder for you to receive any help. Waiting until morning was the right call to make. Don't underestimate your enemy and remember that they are possessed by the ancient one. Use the guidance of the one who sat upon the Acropolis before."

"Thanks for the advice dad."

"You're welcome my son and I love the portrait of me above the fireplace. Your artwork fits the room well."

After he spoke, I was engulfed by darkness and returned to my dreams.

...

I filled Will in on my visit with Hades while we were in the shower. He showered with me, even though it was tight for both of us. As I was washing my baby's back, 'Little Nico' 'accidentally' slipped into my baby. I had to stand up on my toes to make love to Will in the shower, but the extra effort was definitely worth it. Between the hot water and my husband's hot body, I was in Elysium.

We tried to dress like tourists, which wasn't hard since our wardrobe selection was rather limited. The only thing that we were missing was a camera hanging from our necks. Of course, we still had our weapons equipped on us. After getting ready, we headed to the lounge to grab a quick breakfast. Nobody was really that talkative this morning, which seemed to be the case right before we went on a quest. Jason sat with Piper on the couch, holding her in his arms. Leo was fiddling around with some contraption on the table while Calypso drank her coffee. Will and I sat quietly, eating our breakfast across for Calypso. As we were eating the rest of our toast, Jason came over to us.

Jason asked, "any ideas where we should start looking when we get down there?"

"Actually, yes." I told them about the dream visit from my father. A demigod having a visit from their godly parent in their dreams wasn't unheard of. It just seems to happen to some of us more than others.

"The Parthenon would be my best guess."

Leo said, "alrighty then, I don't think that parking the ship down there is a good idea. So, we're going to drop you guys off and you can call me when you're ready." Leo slid the gadget he was fiddling with across the table to Jason. It kind of looked like a hockey puck except it was bronze and had a button in the middle.

Jason picked up the puck and looked at it, turning it around in his hands. "Is this for us to play a hockey game while we're down there?"

"No amigo," Leo replied, "that is an emergency locator beacon. Just press the button in the middle and it'll tell the ship's computer where you're at. Then, we can swoop down and pick you guys up."

"Hopefully before every monster in Athens comes to see where the signal is coming from."

Will nudged me with his elbow and gave me the 'shut your mouth look.' In my defense I had a good point, demigods running around with electronic devices didn't usually end well for us. The signals tended to send out a 'demigod ready to be eaten' alert to every monster nearby.

Will said, "I'm sorry Leo, I can't control his mouth sometimes."

Leo replied, "it's all good, I tried to make the signal low key. It shouldn't send out too many red flags unless, of course, the monster is really close. Now I think it's time to get this show on the road."