The Plea of Apollo || COMPLETED

24HRS AT CAMP JUPITER: PT2

"I love archery," Frank said as the Seven, Calypso, Nico, Will, and Reyna ate together. Lou Ellen and Cecil were eating with new friends they had made. "Actually, before getting claimed by Mars I had hoped to be claimed by Apollo for that reason. I don't regret my parentage anymore though."

Reyna smiled at him. "He is a very capable Praetor."

Will nodded. Nico had told him about the son of Mars killing hundreds of monsters in Italy as well as commanding the dead in the House of Hades. From what he had heard Frank was pretty amazing; Will also thought being able to change into animals was cool.

"I'm actually not that great at archery," the son of Apollo admitted. "While I'm a great healer at camp and can do a mean ultrasonic whistle, archery really isn't my thing. Nico taught me how to shoot well enough but many of my siblings are better. I also am not very musically gifted other than I can sort of sing and play the lyre."

Frank nodded. "I see. I guess I shouldn't assume every demigod has all of their parent's gifts."

"Yeah! Could you imagine if Leo wasn't the only child of Hephaestus that could set himself on fire?" Jason asked. "His ego would deflate from the size of a watermelon to a raisin."

"I take offense to that!"

Jason rolled his eyes before turning to Percy. "You have a lot of your dad's powers, don't you, Jackson?"

He nodded. "I can do a lot, I suppose. I've never been able to cause earthquakes though."

Hazel turned to Nico. "I'm a little disappointed I can't summon the dead or shadow travel. Yeah, I can summon gold and such, but you got tons of great powers. I think you're even more talented than Percy and Jason combined," she added with a smirk directed at the other sons of the Big Three.

"Hey!" They protested.

"Actually," Annabeth said as she rested her head on her hand in thought, "Hazel has a point. He can shadow travel, summon skeletons, ghosts, and zombies, release souls, control shadows, make walls and weapons out of earth, and sense life-forces."

"He can also navigate through dreams as well as put others to sleep, induce fear, and control bones," Reyna added from what she witnessed during their mission to return the Athena Parthenos. "He can also make the temperature drop when he's angry."

Jason and Percy gaped at the son of Hades is shock. "That's not fair!" They whined, looking at one another in agreement. "Why are you so overpowered?"

Nico shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Although I'm also the King of Ghosts," he said with a smirk.

Leo chuckled. "Forget Jason being blond Superman; it looks like we have a gay Goth one instead."

"Wait," Calypso interrupted. "Did someone mention dream walking? I thought only some children of Hypnos could do that. The same with his ability to put others to sleep."

"I'm not a child of Hecate but I can still use magic," Hazel interjected.

The demigods sat for a moment, thinking things over. "Maybe," Annabeth said after a few minutes, "you two are also legacies as well as children of Hades. Hazel might be a legacy of Hecate and Nico a legacy of Hypnos."

"He can sleep like the dead for hours, even a few days," Reyna commented.

Suddenly Percy grinned, staring at Nico. "You know, there was that one time in the Underworld where you said, and I quote, 'With great power... comes great need to take a nap'."

Nico rolled his eyes. "I do enjoy sleep..."

Will put an arm around the son of Hades, smiling brightly. "You are so cute!" He squealed much to his boyfriend's embarrassment.

"Get a room you two," Leo said in a mock stern voice. "Actually, don't. My little brother is too young for such romantics."

"What? Don't tell me..."

The son of Hephaestus grinned wickedly. "That's right, Neeks. From now on I am also your big brother! Jason, Percy, and I will all take it upon us to both protect and embarrass you until death do we part."

"I can arrange that." Nico grumbled before resting his head against Will's shoulder. Dealing with Percy and Jason's antics was stressful already. He didn't need another honorary brother causing trouble!

A few minutes later, Reyna and Frank stood atop one of the tables before explaining the different options of what game they could play. The choices were as follows: Deathball, Siege, Chariot racing, and Gladiator fighting. No one wanted to play Deathball since getting shot at with acid and poison didn't sound pleasant. Chariot racing wasn't exciting enough, and despite the Ares cabin whining they did not pick Gladiator fighting. Many of the Greeks wanted to play Siege since it was so similar to capture the flag. Reyna explained the rules to everyone, stating afterwards that the Romans would defend the fortress while the Greeks (and Hannibal) tried to seize their banners. Everyone roared when the Praetor jumped down, leading hordes of demigods to the Field of Mars.

"We'd better keep an eye out for that jerk from earlier," Will whispered to his boyfriend as they walked a little bit behind their group of friends.

Nico nodded. "When I was made honorary senator a year ago he was furious since it took him a long time to become one while I just got the job after a day. Hank and I never met eye to eye. He was friends with Octavian, who I also disliked and who also hated me."

"Well he and his goons better not try and mess with my Death Boy or they're in for a world of hurt!"

"Sunshine, you're really not that scary. I'll handle the fighting if it comes to that."

Will crossed his arms, meeting Nico's eyes seriously. "Nico, I know I'm a healer and am not a very good fighter but I will never let anyone talk to you that way. If they try to hurt you I will put my pacifism aside to protect you. I can't always let you be the hero, because then what would I be?"

The dark-haired teenager suddenly stopped, ignoring the campers walking around them as he stared at the son of Apollo.

"Will, you are a hero. Even before saving Apollo and defeating Python you saved countless lives with those hands of yours," he stressed as he grabbed Will's hands for emphasis. "You delivered Coach's baby, stood up to Octavian, and your whistle stalled the fighting just long enough for Reyna to deliver the statue to Half-blood Hill. You were also there for me, keeping me from fading even during the start of a war. You made me realize, along with a few others, that I do belong somewhere. Don't ever say you're not a hero, because without you I may not be where I am today. I would surely be nowhere near as happy."

"Now," the son of Hades said before pushing Will (before he could exclaim something sappy) in the direction of the siege tower, "we have a game to win!"