This is Night. I have edited this chapter. The story will act as if it had been updated, but it is really just newer versions of each chapter. Thank you so much for your support.

This is my first story, so I apologize if there are any grammatical mistakes. This AU takes place years after the events of Breaking Dawn. In this universe, the Twilight novella took place in Canada, and the Cullen/Hale family moved back to Forks two years ago. The Quileute clan remains in Forks and Jacob is with them. For alterations to the PJ and HOO series, it takes place after the Giant War. My inspiration for Nico's powers comes from my friends and a meager amount of research as well as Wikia. So you may see strange traits attributed to the main character later in the story. In addition, I started to write this a while ago, so some things from BOO have not been included and I haven't read it. Any spoilers were just told to me by my friends, but it's minimal, so if you haven't read the book either, you won't really learn anything.

With that said, I do not own Twilight or Percy Jackson. Those two works belong to their respective authors, Stephenie Meyer and Rick Riordan. Please enjoy.

Mostri in Occidente

His feet crunched on the cold ground, permafrost melting beneath the leather of his boots as he stared impassively at his target. The woman was nestled in a ring of people, her aura warm with life—a lie and a cover-up for an escaped soul. He let a cruel smirk lift the corner of his lip as he watched the woman and her companions gathered around a fire, blending in with the mortals. Three souls overdue and clinging to whatever false life they had left, hiding themselves. The hunter stayed in the shadows and waited for his prey to detect his presence. Under the cover of the night, he started the attack.

Lilian pulled her coat tighter around her body and blew air into her frozen palms. Marcus and Wilson sat on either side of her and together they huddled close to the fire. Among the homeless people, they did not look like escaped souls in their rags and grayish states. Normally, they would have stayed near the hospital where people were always close to death. But lately fate has been intercepting those would be deaths and the coin toss changed to go against her favor. She needed to last long enough in this world to establish a connection and stay. Lilian tugged her hat down lower to cover her face.

There had been rumors about why people could escape death and stay alive. Wilson said it was because Thanatos had lost his touch and could no longer control who went in and out of the doors. Marcus stated Satan was giving them redemption and peace of mind, to wreck the world above for all the misfortune that was committed against them. Her companions were strange, their beliefs odd, but they stuck together. Lilian noticed that those, the stragglers, had disappeared first when they were alone. So she stayed with the devil-worshipper and the polytheist, as long as the Devil could not reclaim her soul. With her hands over the fire, she ignored the muttering of her companions. Marcus looked over his shoulders and tapped her shoulder.

"What's going on?" He asked and she noticed it. A silence had settled and the people around them had slowed. Their hearts were still beating, but there was no reaction. It was as if the world had slowed down and a chill spread up her spine. Simultaneously, the three turned around to see an obscure figure in the shadows.

"He's here." Wilson stood and put on his gloves. "We need to get near civilization. He is coming."

"Who is coming?" She cried desperately as she climbed to her feet. Her question was soon answered.

"Did you really think you could escape the Underworld?" The figure stepped out of the shadows, black mist curling around its profile. He threw out his hand and a three foot long sword extended into his palm. A wicked grin crossed his face and Lilian felt it—the shift in the air, the cold seeping from his mass, and the imminent death she was about to experience. "You can't escape judgement."

"We need to go!" Wilson yelled and they took off running. The three souls fled, kicking up gravel and dirt as they sped with inhuman speed out of the alleyway. And the ghost that was chasing them stalked behind, boots echoing on the asphalt.

"What is that?"

"That was the Reaper, Death's right hand and the Punisher to some people. I know him better as the prince of the Dead."

"You make him sound like the boogeyman."

"He is the boogeyman. If he sets his sights on you, you are dead." Wilson said with crispness in his tone. "No one escapes him and neither can w—"

A dagger plunged into Wilson's back, and he went down. His body convulsed before being swallowed by a shadow and Lilian screamed. Marcus grabbed her hand and pulled her to scramble ahead. They slipped into the streets and blended in with the crowd.

"Oh my god. It took him." She was hyperventilating.

"We need to keep moving. I don't think he will find us here." Marcus kept his arm on her arm to keep her steady and forward. They shuffled through the crowd for a while and he smiled as the moon began to appear in the sky.

"Good we lost him." Then, a flash of black mist and there was a sword through Marcus's abdomen. Lilian let out a shrill cry and pulled away as her former companion fell to the ground at the feet of the Reaper. The woman continued to run, letting her feet take her through the darker street paths and hoping that he wouldn't be able to catch her. She wanted to live; she wanted this second chance at life more than anything.

Suddenly she was caught, black wisps and gray smoke curling around her ankles and latching on like shackles. "No, no, no…" She was sucked in by the feet into a graveyard. The Reaper was sitting on a headstone, hoodie covering his face.

"Please let me go. I promise I won't do anything wrong. I swear it." She pleaded with him.

"I don't want to hear your pleas. They mean nothing to me." His voice was deep and husky, with an undetectable accent. He pulled down his hood and Lilian gasped. He was beautiful as all deadly things were.

"Please, I'll do anything." The beautiful man shook his head and gave her a soft smile.

"You'll find peace in Asphodel." And then she saw the black blade and no more.

Nico reclined on his black bed and relished the silence hanging in his room. There was a certain stillness he appreciated, especially on a night as dim as this one. So far October had been oddly chilly, but so many nights in the Underworld had made Nico immune to such change. The dark prince stretched out a pale, slender finger to which the shadows raced around. He sighed. Nico could point out all the shadows that lingered in the corners farthest from his bed. The Greek fire gave off enough color to give a green tint to the room. Nico could have been spending his time doing something productive, instead of waiting for Jason to visit him. What on earth am I doing here?

The Ghost King was currently hiding residing in his cabin per request of his sister. If he said 'friends', it would feel like too much of a stretch. Jason no longer lived at camp and he would never stay to see Percy or the others. He never really considered them friends at all. Yes, the son of Hades knew he had allies; people who, at one point, cared about him, but did he truly have people that knew him? Years after the last war, Nico considered most of them nothing more than acquaintances. He knew he should have felt more ashamed by the admission, but the cold hard truth was stuck in his stubborn mind. His chest swelled with air, but nothing else. No emotion gripped him or came to pass. He knew he would never feel again. His heart was as cold as the rest of him. His new personality did not stem from a lack of companionship, but the lack of communication over the years. Nico was lost. He did not know where he would fit in now.

A good bit of time had passed since the Giant War. Nico had spent a while in camp, but as soon as the winter solstice arrived he left. At the age 14, Nico had made an agreement with Jason and Percy before three cousins had split paths. When Percy went to New Rome for university, Nico and Jason would teach the other campers. It was a given because Nico was the second best swordsman and Jason could wield one as well as a spear. Nico had spent a few months helping the younger campers develop their survival skills. He helped Lou Ellen hone the magical abilities of the Hecate Cabin and aided the Stoll brothers in teaching the Hermes Cabin how to throw daggers blindfolded. Being multitalented, the camp had looked up to him and even idolized him for a while. However, as time passed, Camp Half-Blood was once again nothing more than a fleeting memory of warmth. Nico never minded being ostracized by his fellow Greeks. It simply gave him a push, told him his help was not wanted anymore and he could go back to sneaking around, to being Nico, to being silent, and to being gone.

He had gone back to the Underworld where his stepmother still glared at him with scorn and contempt. Nico shrugged off her looks; he had seen and dealt with much worse. He lived there for two years and had only resurfaced two weeks ago to say hello to his sister before heading back on another assignment. Nico never thought she would have been worried, but she had gazed at him as if he was a ghost. Perhaps I am, he mused with sick satisfaction. His once olive tinted skin was even paler than before and stood out more when he was donned in black. He was always donned in black; it helped emphasize his aura of dark power and magic.

But Nico had always been powerful, whether it came to combat or magic, he was one of the best fighters the world had seen in decades. His powers came in quicker to overcompensate for the seventy year time lapse he suffered from. It was not hard for the average mortal to see that he was a creature of absolute terror and darkness. His powers stemmed from his cool strength, determination, his keen instincts, and his intellect. During his stint in the Underworld, Nico had become more than his teenage moniker of the Ghost King and evolved into a revered figure to the occupants in the dark realm. He was better at controlling his powers. And on his sixteenth birthday, a milestone for demigods, his father had given him a choice. In order to remain in the Underworld, Nico would have to accept more powers and become a god.

It was a wonderful gift to try and bestow upon a child who did not have much to live for besides his father's approval. But Nico was not ready to become a god. So they compromised. Nico would continue his training and honing his advanced capabilities, but would remain in the mortal world until his twenty-first birthday.

He ran errands for this father now, rounding up rogue souls and murdering those who had escaped Thanatos too many times. It was an easy job and he was good at it. The dark prince was interrupted from his musings by the solid knock on the cabin door. Lazily, he waved and a silver of shadows rose from the darkness and opened the door.

Jason Grace was not expecting to be swallowed by darkness the minute the door opened for him. The Greek fire only lit so much for the young man to see. He groaned internally. There was a high possibly that his cousin was hiding in the shadows. The son of Jupiter was tempted to summon a bolt of lightning to see, but Jason was not the type of person. He entered even furthered to see the pale figure lying on top of the coffin-like bed.

"What are you doing here?" The voice was deeper, colder, and gave off an aura of fear and despair. It was so much different from the voice of the young teenager Jason saved the world with. He tried to hide his shiver and folded his arms.

"Why didn't you tell me you were back? I had to find out from an Iris message from Reyna that you were on your way here." Nico snickered at his cousin's attempts to scold him.

"Ha," he barked in laughter. "Lascia fare a Reyna dirti, piccolo traditore."

"English please,"

"Sorry, it doesn't really matter. I spent the last seven months speaking in Italian, so I am getting back into the English language." Nico rose from his bed and Jason could not believe how much he changed.

Time had been kind to the demigod, letting him age into a handsome young man. His long bed hair reached his chin and retained its bedhead look with a little fringe hanging over his eyes. With long eyelashes and high cheekbones, Jason could almost say that Nico looked effeminate. Yet, his sculpted face had retained an angular jaw structure, letting masculinity show. He stood a surprisingly tall height, towering over Jason by two inches. Nico was wearing a jacket, a black tank, and dark skinny jeans, two daggers strapped to his upper thigh. Even in a safe place, he couldn't let himself be unarmed.

"You got taller. Finally hit your growth spurt?" Jason joked. Nico raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't expect me to say 5'6" forever did you? That is just insulting." He stood in front of his cousin and peered down at him.

Jason could see Nico's eyes. There was once a time when they were rich brown, according to Percy, but now they were menacing orbs of black. The green light did not make his eyes any less ominous and the more he stared, the more Jason saw something. He swore he could see shadows lingering in them, tiny wisps lashing out into the whites of the pupils before retreating back into the irises. His eyes screamed with madness and genius, an odd mixture that scared Jason half to death. He could see himself dying, Piper dying, and the entire camp burning in a single flame. He took a step back from the other boy.

"What really happened to you?" Jason couldn't help but ask.

"When I went into the Underworld, I came into my inheritance." He answered nonchalantly.

"And your inheritance allows you to do that. What kind of inheritance is that?" Jason frowned. What is Jason freaking out about? Then he realized. His eyes. Nico swore internally knowing that Jason had just seen some of his own fears. His powers were truly manifesting into terrible weapons.

"I'm sorry. I just got off an assignment and I forgot to tone my powers down." He apologized.

"This worries me. This whole situation makes me more worried about you. And I am not the only one. Hazel and Percy—" Nico ran a hand through his unruly, dark curls.

"I am not a child, Jason. I am more than capable of taking care of myself without your worrying. I'm alive, aren't I?"

"There was a time when you were worse off than this and you fled camp. I didn't sleep for weeks." Jason reached out and clamped a solid hand on his shoulder. "I just want you to be okay. You're like the little brother I never had." Jason stepped back and gave him an appraising glance. "And you are as pale as a ghost."

"But I am not as thin as a rake." Nico pointed out and Jason chuckled.

"That's true. You're definitely more built now. We should spar sometime." Jason continued as he punched his cousin in the arm. "Yeah, you have more muscle. You've been eating more."

"Yes, mom." Nico deadpanned. "How's Piper." He asked as he slipped on some fingerless gloves.

"She's great. She has been pretty busy with the wedding shopping." Nico raised an eyebrow.

"You got engaged?"

"At least a month ago," Jason nodded. "I didn't know where to send the wedding invitation, but that was the original reason I came by." He handed him a thin envelope.

Nico opened it and pulled out the invitation. It was a cream sheet with light pink decals, written in fancy Ancient Greek and Latin. The corners of his lips turned up a little but he tampered down the emotion, hoping that Jason did not catch his initial reaction. Unfortunately, Jason did.

"I know you want to smile." He teased.

"Shut up." Nico barked. "Congratulations."

"I have a favor to ask of you."

"You need money, a skeleton army to decorate the wedding pavilion, or a golden statue?" Nico smirked.

"Actually, I want you to be in the wedding party." Jason said bluntly. Nico could not keep the surprise off his face.

"You mean a groomsman, but…that is to say…I don't know…why?"

"You're a trusted friend, Neeks. We have been through a lot together and there is not anyone else I would want to stand next to when I marry the love of my life."

"Wouldn't Leo be standing next to you?"

"You would still be close by, though." Jason grinned.

"Alright, I will be in the wedding party. I'm glad you didn't ask me to be the flower boy. I promised that position to Hazel." Nico paused before turning towards the door. He felt a shift in the air and stilled. "Iris message me the details. I got a job to go do." The pale man stepped into his cousin's shadow and disappeared without a second thought.

They clung to the dark shadows beneath the trees, bows and arrows ready for release at a moment's notice. Thalia barely moved, waited for the rustle of the leaves. The Hunters had been moving through Washington for less than two hours when they came across something strange. After discovering two dead bodies in the woods, Thalia had been on alert.

Artemis had recalled her troops and they were supposed to rendezvous in Port Angeles. The goddess claimed she had found someone else to deal with the problem while they moved their operation to England. Yet, Thalia felt conflicted. As Hunters, they should be the ones to deal with the problem, not some outsider.

"You are thinking about something, Grace. Care to share your thoughts?" Sophia, her second in command, asked. The girl's blond hair was in a braid over her shoulder, her bow and arrow on her back.

"Why did you put it away?" She asked incredulously.

"The goddess said that we should not worry with it. She found someone else to do the job. Should we not honor her wishes?"

"We are. I am only scanning the perimeter. I do not trust this area. We are deep in the forest and I would prefer to not be taken by surprise." Suddenly, there was a rustle to her left and then nothing.

Two figures ran through the brush—a woman and a man. The woman had long flowing blond hair, fair skin, and a beautiful face. The man had dark hair, tan skin, and a pleasant face as well. However, the most distracting feature was their red eyes. The two ran at remarkable speeds that Thalia could barely follow with her eyes.

"Go!" The Hunters fanned out among the trees and raced to keep up with the fleeing pair. Behind them were three giant wolves.

Thalia knew wolves; the Hunters had some. But these were massive beasts that did not even compare to Orion's hunting dogs. They were large creatures, some even as tall as she was and were chasing the pair deeper and deeper into the forest. The Hunters merely chased them in the trees and did not interact. Then, the wolves stopped and turned to face the trees. The foremost one sniffed and growled, and more wolves emerged.

"Sophia, tell Chloe to take the girls deeper to Port Angeles. We will provide some cover."

"Υποχώρηση. Συνάντηση στο σημείο ραντεβού." The other girls nodded and ran off, leaving the daughter of Zeus behind.

"On my count, three…two…one." Together, the two Huntresses fired off arrows that merely bounced off the wolves flanks. The first wolf, the alpha Thalia suspected, let out a low growl. It was threatening and rumbled in the airways.

"I suggest you use lightening, boss. We need to leave soon and I don't fancy becoming dog food." Sophia handed her an arrow. Thalia steeled her nerves, aligned the arrow and concentrated. Clouds gathered around their position and the sky sparked with electricity. Thalia blew out a breath and released her arrow. Then the two girls fled, Thalia watching over her shoulder as the wolves did the same.

She arrived in Port Angeles thirty minutes after the rest of her group.

"Dear cousin, what did you get yourself into?" Thalia looked up as her cousin smirked, stepping out of the shadows. The other Huntresses glared at him, some taking up bows and arrows and pulling out knives.

"Thalia, tell your friends to put away their toys. Artemis sent me here to collect information about those monsters for you."

"Since when would Artemis get a man to perform a Hunter's job?" A girl spat the word 'man' like it was poison. Nico rolled his eyes.

"Since you are heading to the British Isles for a more important assignment. You can ask your goddess if it worries you so much." Thalia waved at her Hunters to let him through their tight crowd. The son of Hades had grown to be much taller than her and Thalia did not doubt that he could take her in a fight. Something about his aura screamed danger and pain.

"Is this a new gig you have going for ya'? Mercenary work," She looked him over. Her cousin shrugged.

"Gives me something to do with my infinite amount of free-time and new powers. It's also something I am very good at." He gave her a roguish smirk. "So what is your monster problem?"

"We encountered two human-like beings in the forest 2 meters from our camp in Forks, Washington. We were packing up when Nyla alerted us about a foreign presence approaching our area. Earlier today we had found two dead bodies in the forest around there."

Nico nodded with professionalism and no play. "Did you engage them?"

"We shot at them, but our arrows bounced off. Considering we were using normal shafts and celestial bronze, there is a possibility we might have needed to use imperial gold or a more reactive substance. I electrically charged an arrow and it pierced the leader and the wolves fled after that."

Nico sucked in his cheek. "I'll investigate and report back to you to contact Artemis. I'll message you by the end of the week."

"It's a Saturday night."

"Then Saturday morning unless it's an inconvenience. I won't try to talk outside of that time frame." He turned on his heels and started to walk away.

"Death Breath, be careful. Those wolves are nothing like Lycaon's breed or even Orion's hunting dogs. They're definitely bigger and faster. Same goes for the two pair we were chasing. The woman and the man look normal, but their eyes are blood red and they are extremely fast. Most importantly, they can smell us. " Nico nodded again, processing the information.

"Have fun in England, Pinecone face." Her cousin dissolved in his own shadow. She didn't bother to give him a parting glance. She just hoped he would check in with their friends. If only he knew how many requests she got to report to them if she had seen him. She took out a drachma and turned to the bathroom. In fifteen minutes, she would tell Annabeth. That would handle everything.

Nico arrived in at an intersection of trees and road. He blinked once and then twice. He was on something soft and dewy, the scent of grass filing his nostrils. He sniffed derisively. The teenager was in the middle of a very green forest. The ground was rich with grass and moss. Green leaved bushes were in every direction and moss covered the tree trunks. To be honest, his step-grandmother/ aunt would love this place. This resulted in Nico's opinion of absolutely hating it.

Nico knew he couldn't stay in the same spot for long. His scent was still strong without any protection and the monsters Thalia mentioned could be anywhere. And even without it, anyone passing on the road would be put off by the sight of a tall teenager in black leather jacket, black shirt, black jeans, and combat boots in the middle of a densely green forest in the evening. Nico snickered at the thought. I'd probably look like a serial killer.

The demigod moved forward, wandering aimlessly along the edge of the road. Twigs crunched under his boots and moss clung to the bottom of the soles. He groaned. His shoes would be receiving a special wash after his trip. All of this for a paycheck.

Not a literal paycheck, but close to one. Nico's job extended to a few gods and goddesses beyond Hades himself. His usual clientele consisted of Hecate, Thanatos, Hypnos, or, if he was feeling a bit like a masochist, Nyx. They weren't the most cheerful of immortals, but they did give him interesting assignments. The request from Artemis had been a surprise. The goddess chose him based on his abilities, which really warred against her 'no-men allowed' policies. However, she needed someone capable of tracking magical signatures or someone attuned to the mythological creatures. And there were a shortage of people willing to do that.

His assignment was simple: learn what creatures were brewing in Forks, determine if they were a threat, and neutralize if necessary. The threat part depended on whether the monsters were targeting people, demigods, or were just plain freakish. The foremost and the latter weren't supposed to be primary concerns, but Thalia had said that they could sense them. So, Nico would contact her to send the message to the goddess while he continued his reconnaissance mission on the West Coast. Of course, if they felt like an Underworld creature, Nico would follow his father's instruction. Hades had told him that Washington held other strange fiends that walked the line of life and death and he had a list of those who were slowly escaping him to that fate. Nico's secondary task would be to capture them. But Nico wondered how. The teenager had arrived with a little more than his daggers, his sword, the clothes on his back, and his intellect. He could summon his dog for the supplies from his personal storage, but that would take a permanent location to store the materials and he did not have any lodging as of yet.

After a few minutes of walking and pondering, he came across the town known as Forks. The town was small from his perspective. Nico trudged through the dreary town. It looked so green, so gray as if someone had stripped the life from it. It did not help that it had begun to rain on him; he had been forced to enter a shop and purchase himself a hat—a plain gray beanie that covered most of his hair, but many wispy strands eventually ended up plastered to his wet skin.

His boots continued to pound on the wet concrete, making sloshing noises. People were walking around now, entering stores, exiting cafés and moving along as though the rain hardly affected them. He walked along the street, dodging people at times to avoid getting himself wet from the passing cars driving over puddles. Along with the old businesses lined up across the streets, the town seemed overly fond of old cars. Not sports cars and classics, but older models of newer cars and dirty trucks with muddy beds. His stomach growled, the sound covered by the rumble of thunder. Nico shrugged at his options. The teenager was hungry from a combination of exercise and using his powers. Although they no longer drained him at a rapid rate, the aftereffects always caught up with him eventually.

From outside, he could see many people within a cozy looking diner, some eating at a bar. He rolled his eyes. It was not McDonald's, but it would have to do. In this small town, there bound to be someone who knew where to find a place to stay for the time being. Nico opened the door and was glad that there were other soaking wet patrons taking up space. As long as he wasn't the odd one out, the demigod was fine. So the son of Hades blended into the crowd of patrons and perched himself on an empty stool. He sighed. He already had a feeling this would be a long job.

This was the first chapter of And the Light Embraced the Shadows. Renesmee will be introduced in the next chapter, rest assured. Please Review and give me some critiques. Thank you.

Also, I do not speak Italian so I am sorry if I offended you by suing a translator, but I really wanted to have Nico speak in his native tongue.

Translation:

Lascia fare a Reyna dirti, piccolo traditore- Leave it to Reyna to tell you, little traitor.

Υποχώρηση. Συνάντηση στο σημείο ραντεβού. – Retreat. Meet at the rendezvous point.

And this was the official first edit. To any new readers, this chapter overlaps with elements from the second chapter which is currently being edited. To my old followers, thank one of your fellow fanfictioners for pleading with me to make updates as I refurbish in order to show progression and the different changes. Thank you all for the support and I wish you a happy holiday season. ~Night. Edit made 12/21/2015.