Chiron had called Nico to his "office." When he got there, Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Reyna, Leo, Hazel, and Frank were already there. He sat down by Hazel just as Chiron came in.

"You may be wondering why I have called you here," Chiron said. Nico rolled his eyes. Chiron sounded like a teacher.

"Please don't tell me there is another prophecy," Percy said.

Chiron snorted. "Of course not. I have noticed that the war has taken..a toll on the camp. I have seen the toll it has taken on you nine, especially. I pulled some favors with some gods and got them to claim some of their children early. Nine children, ages 5 to 9. And each of you shall be assigned one to show around, help, teach, and hang out with. A bit like being a "Big Buddy" as it is called in the mortal world."

Nico sighed. He could only imagine how scared a little kid would be of him. "Chiron, I don't think me hanging out with a little kid is the best idea. You know, skeleton powers and all that."

Chiron smiled. "I have asked the gods about the kids...personalities. I think you will find that the child assigned to you will not be so easily scared. In fact, I have matched all of you with children based on personality."

Jason, Hazel, and Percy looked excited, Annabeth and Reyna...contemplative, Frank and Leo nervous, and Piper surprised. Nico felt worried. He wasn't exactly a people person.

"Would you like to meet them? They are waiting in the room next to us." Chiron said. Chiron walked over and opened the door. Kids streamed through. They didn't go over to the teenagers but instead hung out by Chiron. He smiled at them. Then he began to list the pairs.

"Percy Jackson, you are with Peter Johnson." Everyone laughed. A boy with curly black hair and dark skin who looked about seven walked forward. Percy stood up.

"I guess you're with me, Peter," he said.

"Once you have received your pair, please leave to give a tour of the camp to them. Tell each other your name, godly parent, and favorite things." Chiron said. Percy and Peter left.

"Hazel, you are with Andy" A boy with an oversized red sweatshirt and mean look on his face got up. He looked about nine. Hazel and Andy left.

"Annabeth, you are with Sydney." A little girl who looked a bit like Annabeth, with blonde ringlets, skipped forward.

"Piper, you are with Bella." A girl of about six, wearing all pink, stepped forward.

"Leo, you are with Carmen." A girl of about nine, wearing a large sweater and clutching a book, stepped forward.

"Jason, you are with Kartika," A girl who looked very young, maybe five, jumped forward, clearly very hyper.

"Reyna, you are with Luis," A boy who looked to be seven, also very hyper, ran forward, and hugged Reyna. She still looked shocked as she was leaving the room.

"Frank, you are with Arthur." A boy who looked about eight walked over to Frank.

Now only Nico, Chiron, and a girl who looked about six were left. Chiron smiled at Nico.

"Nico, you are with Maria." Nico suppressed the urge to gasp. The little girl had the same name as his mother. She skipped over to him. She had two dark pigtails, almost the exact color that Bianca's hair had been, tanned skin, and was missing one of her front teeth. She was wearing a yellow shirt and a rainbow skirt.

"Hi, I am Maria Garcia, it rhymes but I guess you know that I am six and my mom is Iris and I like all the colors and my favorite things are fun and skipping and stuffed animals and unicorns and Mythomagic!" After finishing that exhausting sentence she hugged Nico. He blinked. He wondered what Chiron had been thinking, pairing him up with this little girl. She liked skipping and stuffed animals. Nico was the son of the god of the dead. At least they both liked Mythomagic? Maria waved her hand in front of his face.

"Hellooooo. What about you?" Nico sighed.

"I am Nico, my dad is Hades, and my favorite things are..." Nico blanked. What were his favorite things? "Mythomagic and...shadows?" he said. Maria smiled and grabbed his hand.

"Come on, I want to see the camp!" she said, pulling him toward the door. Nico stumbled after. "And after we can play Mythomagic! Does Hades have blue hair like in the movie? Can you turn blue? Why are you so quiet? Can we play Mythomagic?"

This was going to be interesting.