Nelson's PoV

By the time we finished eating, Grover and Juniper were back, only this time Percy, Annabeth, Reyna, and Gab were following close behind them. "Should we go see if Nico can talk to us? He'll want to hear about this." Grover was saying as they approached our table.

"Definitely. We should also go get the others." Percy said seriously.

"Hey guys, nice to see you back here so soon," Piper said with a smile.

"Hey, we should all sit down and talk about what Grover has to say. Actually, we should probably hold a council meeting, but before we do, you all probably want to know what happened first." Annabeth said.

"All I wanted was to take a walk by myself, and I still run into you lot. What's going on?" Ari came up from behind us with a slightly annoyed expression on her face.

"We got new information about Hades' disappearance, or, more like what is being affected by it," Grover explained. "Also, who are you?"

"My name is Ari," Ari folded her arms across her chest defensively.

As tension started rising between her and the group, Piper broke the silence. "I thought you were with Nico, Ari. Is he still in his cabin?"

"No, but I know where he went. He decided to go to the sword arena. Also, if you're thinking about finding the others, I last saw them in front of the forges. Will is back at the infirmary waiting for Nelson and Gab to get back while he is organizing supplies for capture the flag." She explained.

Reyna nodded. "I'll go get Nico. Frank, can you go get Hazel and her group, and tell them to meet us at the infirmary? Annabeth, can you also go get Chiron? We can hold a council and senate meeting tomorrow, but we need to discuss this with him now." Everyone agreed and ran off to do what they were told. The rest of the group started making their way toward the infirmary.

I looked back around and saw Ari staring after us, lost in thought. "Hey, Ari! Are you coming?" I called out. She shook her head and ran after us.

When we got to the infirmary, Chiron and Annabeth were already there and talking to Will. They stopped talking immediately when we walked in which I found suspicious but didn't question. I heard Chiron was the immortal centaur that has taught heroes for over a millennia, but it was still a shock to see him. His tail flicked back and forth and he smiled at us warmly. "Hello. You must be the new demigods." He said, addressing Ari, Gab, and I. We nodded timidly.

"I'm Ari, daughter of Hades. This is Nelson, and ze is Gab." Ari introduced us. Chiron raised an eyebrow slightly, but didn't say anything. Just then, the rest of the group that had been here before we went on the tours, came walking through the doors. Annie introduced herself, and everyone settled down in chairs or on beds.

"I've been getting strange reports from nature spirits all over the country," Grover began. "Not only are monsters becoming a serious problem, but the dead are starting to rise as well. Sometimes it's just a patch of death that spreads for a few yards and then stops abruptly. Other times zombies and skeletons are coming out of the ground and killing mortals and nature spirits alike. We've lost ten dryads in the past week alone. I've even gotten reports where shadows that seem to come from no where are reaching up out of the ground like a sort of black mist. Anything that walks into it gets either knocked unconscious or dies."

Silence followed Grover's report. Then Nico stood up. "This has to stop. I don't know where my father went, but he needs to be found. This is getting out of hand. I'll look through the Underworld again tonight, but-"

"No, you will not be going to the Underworld tonight," Will interrupted him.

"Excuse me?" Nico turned around to face him angrily. "You can't just stop me from going home. Besides, if this continues then pretty soon all of the Underworld will be spilling out into the world of the living."

"I understand that, but you aren't completely ready to make a jump to the Underworld, Death boy. Let alone, you can't go alone." Will said, crossing his arms.

"I can do what I like, Solace, and don't call me Death Boy," Nico said, his ears turning slightly pink.

"Well what you want to do is going to get yourself killed. Even if you do manage to make it without passing out or fading, you're still going to be extremely tired and unable to defend yourself." Will shot back.

"Guys!" We all looked up, surprised to see that Ari was the one who was talking. "I thought you were going to pull together some kind of council meeting thingy where decisions were supposed to be made there. Also, Nico, I thought three people was the ideal number of people to go on a quest, so if you're going, then I'm going with you." She finished smugly.

"No!" Everyone jumped up and said it at the same time. Well, everyone except Annie, Gab, and I.

Ari looked around angrily. "Why not?"

"You just got here! You aren't trained, you pass out every time you use your powers still, and it's really dangerous right now." Nico exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, you said you were going to train me, and I would like to see my dad. You can just train me on the way. Isn't that what most of you guys did?" She asked pointedly.

"I'm not taking you, Ari. You have to stay here." Nico sighed in exasperation.

"He's right, but he can't stop me from going," Hazel said.

"Hazel-" Nico began.

"You can't exactly stop me from going either. I'm the oldest." Ari said irritatedly.

"Hazel and I are over eighty years old!" Nico exclaimed, rolling his eyes.

"The Lotus Casino doesn't count. Neither does being dead." Ari deadpanned.

"If she's going, then I'm going to," Gab said.

"Guys-"

"So am I," Annie piped in.

"I'm going," I said decidedly.

"You're in a wheelchair for the gods sakes!" Will said.

"No one is going until we hold a meeting," Reyna stood up. She looked furious. "I'll go notify the senate that we'll be having a meeting tomorrow. Nico, swear on the Styx that you won't leave before the meeting."

"Reyna-" Nico started to protest.

"We all know you, Nico," Reyna sighed, "and I'm not letting you go off on your own. I meant what I said. No one is going."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Fine. I swear on the River Styx I will not leave to the Underworld before this stupid meeting tomorrow."

"Or go looking for Hades until after the meeting," Jason spoke up.

Nico looked like he was about to make the zombie apocalypse happen a few day before it was supposed to start. I realized that my earlier assumptions were true. I really really did not want to make him mad. Thankfully, no one died. Instead he muttered, "Or go looking for Hades until after the meeting," through gritted teeth. Thunder boomed outside, making me jump then wince as my stitches stretched.

"Great. Now can you guys please go? I like hanging out and arguing with you all, but I need to talk to Gab and Nelson." Will said. Everyone nodded and left. I knew this was coming. I just wish that I was able to run.

Here is your second chapter as promised! 😁 I probably won't be able to update more tonight, but I hope you enjoy it! Have a great night!