A/N: A short little one-shot I came up with that may become longer if it's liked. This is set four years after TLO and everyone is growing up and growing apart, however Nico is still just wandering. Read and review please, especially if you want me to add to this!

Disclaimer: Not mine!

The Ghost King

I stepped out of the shadows, moving smoothly from one place to another. My ADHD mind flicked to the fact that it had once been much more difficult for me to travel like this, but now a days, I was used to it. Well, after six years of almost constant travel, I was bound to build up some kind of resistance.

The rain lightly pattered around me as I joined the few pedestrians that dared the weather, emerging from my shadowed alley into the dark twilight. Streetlamps and restaurant signs glittered off the wet pavement as I moved along. No one much looked at each other, which was okay by me, too busy hiding under umbrellas or yesterday's newspaper. Hmm, this doesn't look like New Orleans, where am I?

I stopped in front of a sign and snorted. It was your average city marker, or in this case, town marker, listing the size of the town, any points of interest, and, of course, the name, Normal. Of all the places to find myself… it's been awhile since the shadows dropped me someplace I actually hadn't intended to go. Someone was seriously messing with me. Why would I, of all people, end up someplace called "Normal"?

Shrugging my shoulders, I turned away from the sign, looking across the little downtown that I had stumbled upon. Nothing like sightseeing, at least for a little while. The neon signs of some small bars promised alcohol and 24/7 Cubs baseball. Probably somewhere in Illinois, I decided. A Children's Discovery Museum was across the street from me, but the lights were out. It was too late for kids to be out, or too early. I sighed and began to walk, not entirely sure where I was heading and not particularly caring. I had nowhere to be and nobody was waiting for me.

I've been a loner for awhile, ever since my sister Bianca died six and a half years ago. I like it this way. I mean, things have improved slightly. I've been included at Camp Half-Blood and I've spent my summers there ever since Percy Jackson made the gods promise everyone should be included. But during the rest of the year, I prefer to wander. It's been…educational.

Perhaps I should back up. My name is Nico di Angelo, and I'm a half-blood, or demigod, they're pretty much the same thing.

"But demigods?" you splutter. "That's like in legends and Disney movies."

"Yep," I would tell you. "But don't mention the Disney movie part to some of the more up and ups, they're still sore about it. Especially to my dad."

My dad? Oh yeah, he's Hades, and no, his hair is not blue fire. If you know your Greek mythology, your actual Greek mythology, then you've got a pretty good idea what a demigod's life is like; one bucket of suck after another, and if you're very lucky, you don't die.

Of course, things have settled down a bit since Kronos was defeated. A lot of the more disruptive monsters have been lying low for the past four years, which has been nice on us older kids, but has been driving some of the younger campers up the wall.

I rolled my eyes as I splashed down the street. The rain was getting heavier now and thunder was rolling in the distance. I remembered the most recent antics of the Hermes cabin. It was smaller than it had been in previous years, now that more children were being determined, but it still packed a punch, especially when one of the minor god or goddess cabins got involves, like in this case, Hecate.

In end of summer spirits, one of the Hermes counselors had started to tell a really creepy ghost story around the last campfire. I mean, my dad's the Lord of the Dead, and it was creepy. The basic premise of it was that there was an evil goddess who tortured souls that weren't quick enough about reaching the Underworld. Of course none of it was true, but it reminded me too much of Melinoe and sent a shiver down my spine.

Once the counselor reached the freakiest part, before the goddess grabbed the poor soul, a bunch of the Hermes kids, aided by Hecate magic to look like tortured souls, jumped out from behind the campfire circle, whooping and wailing like banshees as everyone screamed. Looking back on it, I wondered why we hadn't noticed the missing campers, it was always a good idea to keep an eye on Hermes kids, but at the time I just jumped and turned, reaching for my Stygian ice blade that wasn't at my hip. At any other time, this would have been a bad thing (it was in my cabin on my bed), but as it was, it was a good thing I didn't have it, I might have accidently skewered someone.

I stood tense for a minute before sighing and letting out a half-hearted chuckle, finally catching on to what had happened. Everyone else was slowly realizing this as well, and either laughed good naturedly or complained, some doing both. The Ares kids vowed revenge and Chiron sent us off to bed with the traditional end of summer reminder to get out of our cabins before the cleaning harpies arrived.

I wandered back to my cabin, still empty even though the pact of the Big Three was over. Either my dad hadn't had any more kids, or they weren't old enough to need training. I flopped onto my bed in the Hades cabin, relishing in the only place I felt at home. Sure, I could stay year round at Camp Half-Blood, but I don't think I could stay cooped up like that. I had tasted independence when I was 10 and wandering the world, practicing my powers. I don't think I'd ever be able to stay in one place for a long time ever again. Not to mention all the half-bloods that had become my close friends had graduated two years ago.

It was kind of an unspoken tradition that once (if) a camper reached college age, they graduated from Camp Half-Blood. They could come back to visit but they were no longer campers. I had seen the Stoll brothers, Annabeth, and some of the others around, but it just wasn't the same without them there. It was hard to make friends when you spent more time with dead people than live ones. But that was 2 weeks ago since summer ended and I'd left Camp Half-Blood for the year.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" asked a voice, jolting me out of my reminiscing. On the street next to me was a police car. The passenger's side window was rolled down and a cop was leaning across the passenger seat, peering suspiciously at me.

I realized my appearance probably wouldn't help any plea of innocence I might have. I wore a long dark trench coat, having outgrown my aviator's jacket awhile ago. Underneath my trench coat, I wore a grungy t-shirt for some rock band I had never heard, nothing like freebies. My jeans and sneakers were in no better shape, and my beat up backpack slung over one shoulder was more duct tape then fabric. I was tall and thin, towering over a lot of people I knew, and my dark hair nearly brushed my shoulders.

I bit back the traditional response "I didn't do anything!" and simply stuttered, "Uh, well, you see." Normally I was much better at making up stories at a moment's notice. It was a skill any demigod developed; it helped keep the mortals at ease. My mind scrambled for a lie, but all it could think about was the Stygian ice blade that rested against my thigh, hidden by my trench coat.

"Nico? What are you doing out here?" said a familiar voice. I whipped around, hardly believing my ears.

"Percy?" I said. He looked different than when I had seen him last, about two years ago. He looked definitely older now (duh), and taller. His hair was still wild and kinda long for a guy, but I knew it didn't compare to mine, so I guess I wasn't much of a judge. And, of course, his iconic sea green eyes shone in the gloom as the storm finally arrived.

He grinned at me and walked forward, resting a familiar hand on my shoulder. "I told you, Nico, the supermarket was just down the street to the left. You must have taken a wrong turn right out the door, though how you got lost in Normal is beyond me." That's Percy, Master BS-er. He must have gotten lessons from Annabeth.

The police officer grunted like he wasn't fully convinced.

Percy adopted a somewhat apologetic expression and quietly snapped his fingers. "I'm sorry, officer. I'll keep better track of my cousin."

"Cousin, eh?" said the officer, settling back into the driver's seat, like that answer solved everything.

"Yes, officer."

"Well I better not see you two out again. You may both be college students, but you still have curfew," he said, and he drove away, rolling up his window as he went.

College student? I knew I looked old for my age (16), but I also knew I didn't look like I was in college. Unless…

"Chiron finally taught you how to manipulate the Mist?" I asked, feeling slightly jealous, as we both began to walk down the street. I was now sopping wet.

"Yep," he said cheerfully, swinging his right arm that I now realized carried a grocery bag as he walked. "Taught me right before I left. So, what brings you to Normal?"

"I could ask you the same question," I retorted. "I thought you were going to some little nowhere town to—oOoh."

"To get my teaching degree," finished Percy. "Back to my question."

"I don't really know," I said. "I was shadow traveling to New Orleans, and I just stepped out here."

Percy frowned slightly and then shot me a questioning look.

"No, it's been awhile since I've gone where I didn't want to go," I said, guessing the silent question he was asking.

Percy sighed. "Well, as long as Thalia doesn't show up, we should be fine." He offered a smile.

I nodded, hoping again that this was just a mistake and not someone messing with me. If I was very lucky, that would be the case. "Well, at any rate," I said, "it's good seeing you."

"You too," said Percy. "Everything's been quiet at camp?"

"Yeah, monster-wise," I said, "but, you know, it's camp, never too quiet. What about here?"

"It's been really quiet here," said Percy, brow furrowing slightly as a bolt of lightning flashed overhead followed by a quake of thunder. "Mostly I see the smaller monsters and when they see me, they always bolt."

"Well, you did have a hand in killing Kronos," I tried reasoning, even though I knew that couldn't be right. A scent of one of the Big Three kids was like a monster magnet. Even though it had been relatively quiet, I still had a monster run-in about once a month.

Percy shrugged like he didn't believe what I said either. "I guess I'm just worried about getting out of practice."

A thunderbolt struck suspiciously close to where Percy and I were walking, hitting a tall oak tree, severing it down the middle. The air smelled like ozone as I tried to blink the spots from my eyes. It felt like my eyebrows had been fried off.

"Have you done anything to upset a certain lightening wielding god?" I asked when I could finally talk.

Percy stared stunned at the tree and then shook his head. "Let's get to my dorm room," he muttered grabbing my shoulder and yanking me down the street at almost a sprint.

Percy raised his dry protection on himself right before he walked in his dorm. In an instant he was as wet as I was. He muttered something about his roommate getting suspicious before we wandered into the dorm.

"Welcome to Watterson Towers, one of the tallest residence halls in the United States," he said to me as we stopped in the lobby to dry off a bit.

"Oh," I said, trying to look interested, "fascinating."

Percy laughed. "Yeah, that was basically my reaction. I'm on the first floor, fortunately, I didn't want to give Zeus any excuse to fry this place."

A crack of thunder rocked the building and we both looked at each other wide-eyed before heading toward a stairwell to Percy's room. Even though he was technically on the "first floor", he still had to go up a flight of stairs to get to his residence hall. Go figure.

Knocking on his door, he then opened it, revealing a room that was only slightly messier than the Poseidon cabin had been when Percy had lived there. Piles of dirty clothes surrounded unmade beds, food wrappers overflowed a garbage can, and in the middle of it all, sat one of the most typical college age guys I have ever seen. He was clearly not a demigod.

He wore a black t-shirt advertising for some technology company I had never heard before over a pair of faded jeans. His stocking feet were crossed beneath him as he gazed intently at the TV before him, wildly firing at a couple of attacking zombies.

"You got the goods?" he asked without looking at us, bespeckled eyes not leaving the TV screen.

"Yep," said Percy, finally revealing what he had gotten in the grocery store: a multi-pack of Ramen, a box of chocolate-chip sundae Poptarts, and Mountain Dew Game Fuel—the basic demigod/college student food of choice.

Percy's roommate grunted and I knew that nothing short of the apocalypse or an attractive, eligible young woman would distract him from his game. Percy sighed, putting a can of Game Fuel within his roommate's reach before settling on his bed, clearing off enough dirty clothes on his roommate's bed to leave a spot for me to sit. I sat down, facing Percy across the narrow room.

"Brandon is a business major," he said, making random small talk. Apparently Brandon was deep enough into his game that he didn't care if we talked, though Percy lowered his voice slightly. "He's cool and he can get all these free computer upgrades from his work, it's just…" His voice trailed off.

"It's not like the old days?" I tried, not meeting Percy's eyes.

"Yeah." Percy sighed, leaning against the wall. I noticed that even though I was still dripping wet, Percy was dry again. Why couldn't Hades have useful powers like that? No offense, dad.

"Have you seen anybody from camp since you left?" I asked when the silence got too long and quiet.

"I haven't been back to camp in two years, what with school and a summer job. I haven't even been to the ocean," said Percy, sighing and shaking his head. "I keep in touch with Annabeth and Grover, when I can, he's still traveling, but you're the first I've actually seen."

I nodded. Looking at Percy now, I realized how restless he was. I knew just sitting here in this room was driving me nuts as zombies screamed on the TV and guns fired. Being constantly ready for fights for two and a half years had made its mark on me, and that was four years ago. I knew Percy must be feeling it too, but probably a lot worse.

What are demigods supposed to do when everything settles back down? When they grow up? Try to be normal? How do you do normal? Well, I guess living in Normal is a good start, I thought wryly.

"So, are you headed anywhere?" asked Percy. The silence had gotten long again.

"Nowhere in particular," I said, trying to sound off-handed, but I noticed Percy frown. "I like wandering," I tried to justify. "I don't think I'd be able to just settle for a year. Besides, it's not like I have a family to go to."

He winced. "What about your future, Nico?" asked Percy. "You know, later on, beyond this," he said, gesturing vaguely around his dorm room. It was kinda nice when Percy treated me like he was my older brother, but also completely irritating. "I know it's weird to think about, but you're growing up. You're going to have to get a job and make a living.

"Thanks, Chiron," I said sarcastically, "I've already heard this sermon." I grimaced. I hadn't had any formal schooling since before WWII and I don't even remember it now. I still knew how to read and do basic math, though my dyslexia made reading a pain, and I was too far behind to start now.

Percy made a face and I sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do," I admitted quietly.

"Well," said Percy, brightening with an idea, "for starters, why don't you spend the night? I've got a sleeping bag somewhere you could borrow if you want."

I looked at Percy and then my eyes slid to the door. It would be nice to not have to sleep in a graveyard or some abandoned hotel. I didn't really have anywhere to go, but I still felt reluctant.

"Won't you get in trouble with the school for having me spend the night?" I asked, fishing for an excuse more than anything.

"Nope, school don't notice nothing," said Brandon startling me, I'd almost forgotten he was there. After firing his gun one more time, he shut off the game, standing and stretching in the same motion. "If you two are done talking, I'm gonna go to bed." And he walked out of the room, zombie-like himself, and down the hall, grabbing his tooth brush and tooth paste before heading to the communal bathroom.

I looked at the clock. It was 3:30 am, definitely time to be getting to bed. One more thing was bothering me, though.

"How much does he know?" I asked, sliding off Brandon's bed and moving over to Percy who had begun to rummage through piles of clothes, looking for his spare sleeping bag.

"Nothing, as far as I know," Percy replied, digging through a particularly foul pile of underwear. I decided that this room was going to be declared a biohazard sooner or later and refrained from helping him. "I think he knows something's different about me, but he doesn't pry, pretty much minds his own business. Maybe he just assumes it's 'cause I'm from New York," he quipped, flashing me a cheeky smile before returning back to his search. "I take it this means you're staying."

"For the night," I said, trying to feel like I still had some control over the situation.

Percy just nodded, still smiling, and slung the sleeping bag over to me, gesturing to a space of miraculously clear floor for me to lie down on, tossing me an extra pillow before he slumped onto his bed, for all intents and purposes falling asleep in an instant.

I laid out the sleeping bag in the clear space, kicking off my shoes and leaving my trench coat in a pile before sliding into it. I inhaled deeply, settling in to the sleeping bag and gagged. It would be my luck that the bag had been under the pile of toxic waste underwear.