Compared to Mount Olympus, Manhattan was quiet. It was early in the morning, and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue. Drako deployed Golden Drive, and Zoe sat behind him. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted.
As they trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece glittered, Drako remembered Zeus's daughter. Right now, she was off with Artemis into their next adventure as one of the two lieutenants.
Almost at the same time, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were brought there. It was Argus, the many-eyed security chief, the one who picked them up.
Chiron greeted them at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches.
Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about their strange encounter with Pan's magic. Within an hour, the satyrs ran around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was.
The rest of the group sat with Chiron and some of the other senior campers—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers. There was a new woman that Drako didn't recognize; she was the leader from the Ares cabin, Clarisse. Drako had a strange face while looking at Silena, as he just fucked her mother.
Drako looked at Clarisse curiously. She looked tired and dirty, especially on her short blond hair. Well, it looked like someone had attacked it with a pair of safety scissors.
"I got news," she mumbled uneasily. "Bad news."
"I'll fill you in later," Chiron said with forced cheerfulness. "The important thing is you have prevailed. And you saved Annabeth!"
"Yeah, but Luke is alive," Drako said.
Annabeth sat up. "How do you know?"
Drako couldn't say that he didn't receive any exp point from him, right?
"I know when I kill someone," Drako explained. "And he wasn't dead. I didn't have a good angle shot, or I will have to hit Thalia first before giving him a killing blow."
Percy nodded. "My father has said the same. The Princess Andromeda is still there in the seas."
"Well." Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "If the final battle does come when Percy is sixteen, at least we have two more years to figure something out."
"It's a waste of time," Drako said. "Trying to save that kid, I mean. Well, you can try if you want, but he is on my list of kill-at-sight."
"Why?" Annabeth stared at Drako. "He is a good boy—"
"He was." Drako corrected her. "He is no longer that childhood friend of yours, Annabeth. People change, he changed."
Annabeth sat back with a pale face. It looked like she refused to believe that.
Chiron's expression was gloomy. Sitting by the fire in his wheelchair, he looked really old.
"Two years may seem like a long time," he said. "But it is the blink of an eye. I still hope you are not the child of the prophecy, Percy. But if you are, then the second Titan war is almost upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here."
"How do you know?" Drako asked. "Why would he care about the camp?"
"Because the gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said simply. "Destroy the tools, and the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. Mortal, demigod, monstrous… We must be prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue as to how they will attack, but—"
There was a knock on the door, and Nico di Angelo came huffing into the parlor, his cheeks bright red from the cold.
He was smiling, but he looked around anxiously. "Hey! Where's… where's my sister?"
Dead silence. Nobody has told him yet. And then he realized why. They'd been waiting for Drako to appear, to tell Nico in person.
"Hey, Nico." Drako got up from his chair. "Your sister is perfectly okay; she is the new lieutenant of Artemis. Isn't that cool? But we have to talk about you, boy. Let's take a walk."
…
He took the news in silence, and Drako didn't know what to think.
"Well, this is a present from your sister." Drako tried to make light of the situation. "It might be a coincidence, but it's the figurine of Hades."
Yes, Drako had explained Nico about his situation. He had to leave the United States and come to Japan with Drako, or his life might be endangered. He is possibly the child of the prophecy, and Kronos can make use of him.
They were standing at the dining pavilion, just where they'd last spoken before Drako went on the quest.
"So… my life is in danger?" Nico asked.
"Yes, there are several gods that want to kill you."
"So… now I have to join you and your mercenary organization, train, and fight the bad boys?" He asked slowly.
Drako nodded.
Nico looked down for a moment. His fist was trembling.
"That's…"
Just when Drako thought that Nico was going to cry, the kid threw his fist to the air and jumped as high as he could.
"That's so cool!"
Before Drako could say anything, he heard a new sound behind him. A hissing, clattering noise, he recognized all too well.
Drako summoned his sword, and Nico gasped. Drako whirled and found himself facing five skeleton warriors, the survivors from the last fight. They grinned fleshless grins and advanced with swords drawn. Drako wasn't sure how they'd made it inside the camp, and it was more like they appear from nowhere.
"They're already trying to kill me!" Nico screamed. "What are these… these things?"
"No, they aren't here for you… or maybe they are." Maybe Kronos already know about Nico, which was his attempt to get him since the skeletons should follow Percy. "Get behind me, they can't do anything to you while I'm here."
The first skeleton charged, and Drako just pushed him aside. Then, he sliced the other four with one movement, but they started to knit back together.
"Run, Nico!" Drako yelled. "Go search for a weapon! You're the only one who can kill them!"
As a son of Hades, Nico has the same powers as his sister. He should be able to kill these skeletons.
But Nico just stayed there, looking shocked. This was too much for the 10 years old.
Drako could fight the five of them alone, but they slowly got closer to him and Nico. It was at that moment that Nico did something.
"No!" Nico shouted. "Go away!"
The ground rumbled beneath them. The skeletons froze. Drako rolled out of the way just as a crack opened at the feet of the five skeletons. The ground ripped apart like a snapping mouth.
Flames erupted from the fissure, and the earth swallowed the skeletons in one loud CRUNCH!
Silence.
In the place where the skeletons had stood, a twenty-foot-long scar wove across the marble floor of the pavilion. Otherwise, there was no sign of the warriors.
Drako whistled. "As expected of the son of the strongest Greek god, you have potential."
Nico looked at his hands and then looked at Drako with dread. "They really want to kill me."
"Yes, they do." Drako nodded.
It seems that Nico didn't really believe that they wanted to kill him.
"I don't want to depend on anyone," he said. Then, Nico looked at Drako with determination. "Please, teach me to fight. Help me get stronger."
[You have successfully changed a person's fate!]
[1 Fate Point obtained]
Drako couldn't smile wider. "I will."
...…
Drako returned to the place Chiron was after leaving Nico with Zoe. The boy was uneasy when he saw the former Hunter, but Drako explained a bit of the situation.
At least, they weren't fighting.
"You really think the first attack will be here?" Drako asked Chiron.
Chiron stared at the hills.
"It will not be until summer, at least," Chiron said. "This winter will be hard… the hardest for many centuries."
"It makes sense, they have to regain their strength," Drako said. "Having Atlas imprisoned again is a huge blow for the Titans."
"It is." Chiron nodded. "I doubt that Artemis could have killed him in that fight, and it probably would have been her the one dead. The right hand of Kronos… it's not a simple Titan."
At that moment, Grover stumbled out of the Big House, tripping over tin cans. His face was haggard and pale like he'd seen a specter.
"He spoke." Grover cried.
"Calm down, my young satyr," Chiron said, frowning. "What is the matter?"
"I…I was playing music in the parlor," he stammered. "and drinking coffee. Lots and lots of coffee! And he spoke in my mind!"
"Who?"
"Pan!" Grover wailed. "The Lord of the Wild himself. I heard him! I have to… I have to find a suitcase."
"Wait, wait, wait," Drako said. "What did he say?"
Grover stared at him. "Just three words. He said, 'I await you'…"
........
And this is the end of this volume!
More than 40 chapters, by far the longest one! So, feel free to tell me your impressions.
There were good fights, interesting ones, problems solved and problems that are coming. There was a little of slice of live at the start of it, a little of lemon at the end of it.
On my personal opinion, I enjoyed writing this volume. I had to put apart all about SlashDog and DxD because I was starting to get bored, but now I'm looking forward to write more than ever.
The next Volume – Fate?
About Clarisse bad news.
Clarisse is not at Camp Half-Blood because she is away on a secret scouting mission for Chiron, but has not been heard from and is considered M.I.A.
After Clarisse went on her quest in the Labyrinth, Clarisse stumbled upon Chris Rodriguez (who she had a crush on) , who was driven to insanity by the Ghost King Minos. She takes him back to Camp Half-Blood, determined to nurse him back to health.
Once Annabeth is retrieved, Clarisse tells the campers and Chiron that she has "bad news for everyone."
This bad news is that the Kronos Army (Luke) is trying to use the Labyrinth to get into Camp Half-Blood. I'm telling you this because I'm not planning to cover that book on this fanfic, although I can change my mind later.
That same night, Drako took a plane with Zoe and Nico to Japan.
"Whoa, so this is a plane." Nico was terribly excited.
Sitting in a row of three, Drako was in the middle of the other two. Unlike on the outbound trip, Zoe was not as uncomfortable with Drako.
The trip was not as relaxed as either of them would have liked. Young Nico slept peacefully because he could not understand the danger this plane ride was to them.
The heavens were Zeus' territory. A single lightning strike from him was enough to kill Nico and damage Drako and Zoe.
…
"Are we in Japan?" Nico asked.
"Yes," Drako nodded.
In the end, Zeus decided not to kill Nico. Maybe the god wanted to keep his promise, or perhaps he was afraid of making Drako his enemy. Whatever the reason, everyone had survived that journey.
Leaving the airport, Drako called a cab.
"Drako, Drako, tell me more about your organization."
Nico seemed to be full of energy. Once the scare of the previous night had passed, he seemed to be back to normal.
"Let's see, her name is Akat... Dawn. The name of the organization is Dawn. To make it simple, we take care of defeating the bad guys who are not easy to defeat."
Nico nodded sharply. He seemed to be pointing out all the information in his head.
"Although in reality, the vast majority of Dawn's members are like you, guys with powers, but without fully developing their potential. If we add Zoe, I think we're just six really strong people."
Drako, Kuroka, Mordred, Zoe, Valina, and Lavinia were the only ones who knew how to fight. In other words, they were powerful who could lead a mission or perform individual missions.
Tobio, Natsume, Shirone, or Kouki were next in terms of power or experience. But they were still too immature. Tobio's case is even more special because he could end up being consumed by his own power.
"Are you going to teach me personally?" Nico asked. His eyes were full of hope.
However, Drako shook his head. "I have an agreement with Azazel, the leader of the fallen angels. You will go with the rest of your new comrades to a special institute for people like you, where you will be taught your skills and the knowledge to survive in this supernatural world. As much as the Greeks find it hard to admit, there is much more to the supernatural world than their pantheon."
Nico seemed a little disappointed, but soon took encouragement.
"You're talking about Azazel, that fallen angel in the Bible?"
Drako nodded. Nico let out another "Whoa!" of surprise. There was a smile on his face that seemed impossible to wipe off.
"You'll be surprised when you meet your new companions," Drako said. "There are different races you've never seen before."
Drako was a dragon, Valerie was a vampire, Zoe was an hesperid, Akeno was a fallen angel hybrid, Kuroka and Shirone were hybrids of humans and Nekomata, and Valina was a hybrid of human and devil. Together with the demigod Nico, it made Dawn an organization with an interesting number of races.
The rest of the trip was spent in silence. Everyone was quite tired after all that had happened these last few days. Both Zoe and Drako had been on the verge of death, and that was quite a psychological burden.
...
By the time they got home, it was already noon. Drako paid the cab driver all the money for the trip, and everyone got out of the car.
"Well, we're home now."
In front of them were two large buildings. On the left was an apartment building, and on the right was a large house with many floors.
Zoe and Nico followed Drako to the house on the right. However, something happened when they had just finished crossing the street.
"Drako-Nyaa!"
The house's door opened, and they only saw the figure of a girl before Drako ended up lying on the floor.
When Zoe and Nico reacted again, they found a girl sitting on Drako's waist as she hugged him tightly.
"Are those cat tails?" asked an astonished Nico.
Indeed, the person who had come out to meet them had been Kuroka. She had felt Drako's presence as soon as the cab arrived. Without caring about anything else, she had left everything she was doing to run to her beloved.
"I missed you-Nyaa," said Kuroka as she kissed Drako's face repeatedly.
Drako only smiled as he wrapped his arms around her back.
"Hey, I've only been gone for a week," Drako said.
"For me, that's the same as an eternity-Nyaa."
"Silly..."
For Nico's shock, and not so much Zoe's, Drako sealed Kuroka's lips.
When it seemed that the Nekoshou had calmed down a bit, Drako released her. Kuroka exhaled as her face blushed.
Drako helped Kuroka up, and he introduced her to the two new additions.
"Well, this here is Kuroka, my girlfriend," Drako said. "And these here are Nico, son of Hades, and Zoe, my new Servant."
Kuroka's eyes opened with surprise. She examined Nico from top to bottom as she said, "So this is what a son of Hades looks like, I imagined it differently."
Nico was a little embarrassed to see how Kuroka was examining him without hesitation.
Kuroka left Nico aside when she saw that he was not so impressive. She expected to see some part of a skeleton or something in him, but it seemed that the boy was quite normal. Instead, she became more interested in Zoe.
"Oh, you're the girl from the other day. I'm surprised, of all the people I've met, you're the one I least expected to become my new partner."
Kuroka was sincere. Artemis' lieutenant, someone who had accompanied her for millennia, was not someone she expected to be the new Servant.
"Several things happened in this last week," Zoe said as she looked at Drako. "I'm grateful for this new opportunity Drako has given me, although I'm still a little reluctant to part with Artemis. If anything, I look forward to working with you."
"So do I!" Nico added.
Kuroka smiled as she nodded. "Welcome, we greet you with open arms."
At that moment, the door of the house opened again.
"Kuroka Nee-sama! Why did you run away?" The voice of a young girl was heard. "Wait, this presence... Drako Nii-sama!"
Once again, the footsteps of a person running were heard, and another body fell on top of Drako.
"Another girl with cat tails!" Nico shouted in surprise.
"Long time no see, Shirone."
Unlike Kuroka, Shirone had very low statistics at the moment. That's why even if Drako wasn't paying attention, he had caught her with his arms.
The younger Nekoshou wrapped her entire body around Drako's torso and buried her head in Drako's chest.
"Are the others inside?" Drako asked.
Kuroka nodded. "Yes, they have all come from their training."
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