A/N: Sorry for the wait, etc. etc. etc. Now it's time for *drumroll* a Nico chapter!

Nico opened his eyes slowly, blinking rapidly as he stared up at the dark green "Majesty" canopy above the bed. Wait . . . bed? He sat up slowly, taking in the massive bed he was in. The canopy curtains were closed, but they were made of a gauzy material that he could see through faintly. He did not recognize the room he was in. It was large and looked expensive, like the master bedroom of a palace or really, really fancy hotel suite. Slowly pushing back the black satin sheets and black velvet covers, Nico crawled to the end of the large bed, taking the edge of one of the curtains and pulling back slightly. Nothing looked familiar.

A great carpet lay on the ground, the scenes on it depicting power, torture, and various beings in the throes of passion. Nico wrinkled his nose in distaste, wondering who the heck would want to see that every morning and night. But even as he looked at it, it began to change. He stared, amazed, as the carpet's design faded into giant black rose, its vines curling outward to the edges of the carpet.

Okaaaay, that was weird, Nico thought, sliding off the bed and standing in the middle of the room. The walls were made of dark red wood, polished to a light shine. The entrance was a double door, facing the bed. A black vanity and dresser sat off to the side, and he blinked blankly when he saw his clothes neatly folded on the vanity's chair.

Quickly he checked to make sure he was still wearing something, and sighed with relief when his hands came in contact with soft silk. Wait . . . silk? He pulled at his shirt and saw he was wearing black silk pajamas.

"What is going on here?" he asked aloud, trying to think of the last thing he remembered. He had gone to the beach, had he not? And then something had happened . . .

"Do you like it?"

Nico whirled around, hand automatically going to his side where his Stygian iron sword usually hung. He grasped at nothing. Feeling vulnerable and uncomfortable, Nico crossed his arms tightly over his chest and scowled at the girl who had suddenly appeared in this strange room with him.

She looked to be around fifteen or sixteen, but she was petite so she stood only a few inches taller than Nico. She looked like a normal teenage girl, aside from the fact she was wearing a long black cloak over her regular jeans and dark purple t-shirt. The cloak seemed to shimmer and the black moved almost like liquid over it. Her long blonde hair was almost white and straight, falling down her shoulders but pulled back from her face. She had large gray eyes, almost the same color as Annabeth's, Nico thought. But while Annabeth's eyes were intimidating, and sometimes scary, this girl's were soft and it almost looked as though she were not really seeing him at all, but looking beyond him. Like she was daydreaming or something.

"Who are you?" Nico demanded when she said nothing else, simply stared at him with a funny little smile that made him decidedly uncomfortable.

"Oh, right, how rude!" the girl exclaimed, hand flying to her cheek. "Adorable little thing doesn't even know who it was that saved him! Well, Nico di Angelo, Son of Hades, I am Lilith, Daughter of Morpheus."

She beamed at him as if she expected him to know her. Nico just stared back blankly.

"What am I doing here?" he asked finally. "And where is my sword?"

Lilith waved a hand in dismissal. "You won't need that here, silly. There's nothing to fight! Do you like your room? I designed it how I thought you'd want it."

"It's nice. What am I doing here?"

The girl sighed, unclasping her cloak and tossing it over the vanity chair. "I saved you, Nico. I took you away from that awful waking world and put you in this place, where you can be safe and have anything you ever wanted." She grinned.

"What do you mean 'waking world'?" Nico demanded, frowning once more. "Am I asleep?"

"Mmmmm, in a way," Lilith conceded reluctantly. "But please don't dwell on that, Nico. You'll ruin all the fun."

"Fun?" Nico looked at her incredulously. "You think keeping me here against my will is fun?"

"Well, you don't want to go back do you? I mean, what with what you did and all . . ."

"What I did?"

Lilith frowned, delicate eyebrows meeting over a small, upturned nose. It might have been cute if Nico had not been too busy noticing how . . . wrong everything felt. It seemed unreal, standing here in a sort of dream world, talking to a daughter of Morpheus who looked way too peppy for her own good. He had never met a child of Morpheus before, but he had always thought they would be lethargic and sleepy.

"Yes, silly boy. What you did. Don't you remember? Oh, it was so exciting. You almost killed Percy Jackson! In fact, you would have, if that pesky daughter of Athena hadn't gotten in the way." Lilith pouted, but Nico felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him.

"I . . . but Percy's invulnerable."

"Except for one spot," Lilith reminded him. "It's in the small of his back, if you didn't know. You were heading straight for it."

"But I-I would never hurt Percy!" Nico exclaimed, his hands dropping to his sides. They twitched agitatedly, missing his sword. "Percy's my best friend, and I don't have a lot of friends. Why would I try to kill him?"

"Oh, poor dear. I forgot that you'd be more clear-sighted in here. That certainly takes the fun out of things, but I suppose I'll just have to adapt. Let's just say . . . you weren't completely yourself. Unfortunately I almost lost you when that Athena girl got in the way. Ugly witch got through to you, almost made me lose control."

"Lose control . . ." Nico suddenly remembered something from that day on the beach (was it yesterday? A week ago? A few hours ago?). "I . . . got angry at Percy. I-I fought him. And then Annabeth . . ." His dark eyes widened in dismay. "I wounded her! She was dying!"

"Yeah, didn't expect that. Who knew she would do a stupid thing like throw herself on your sword? Crazy, huh?"

Nico reached out and grabbed Lilith's forearm in a tight grasp. She winced slightly, but he simply tightened his grip. "Is she alright? Did I kill her? ANSWER ME!"

"Okay, chill out. The girl's going to be just fine. Unfortunately."

Nico released her and sagged against the bed post closest to him. "Ugh, what have I done?" he muttered, covering his face with his hands.

"Oh, come on!" Lilith complained. "Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase are nothing. Sure, they defeated Kronos, big deal. They're not as powerful as you are, Nico. And they're standing in your way." She reached out and brushed her fingers through the boy's dark hair.

Nico jerked away and flung himself on the bed, burying his face in the black satin pillows. He felt as though a weight had been placed on his chest and was squeezing his lungs so severely he could not breathe. He remembered everything now. The battle in the hotel and at the beach; Percy's desperate attempts to communicate with him; Annabeth's horrified face when the boys fought; her life force draining away by his hand. . . .

The bed dipped slightly as Lilith sat down beside him. A warm hand rested on his back, and he shifted away, too angry to speak to her, even though he wanted to scream and curse and make her let him go. But then what would he do? He remembered the haunted look on Percy's face as he watched his girlfriend die. How could Nico go back and face that? Annabeth might still live, but that would not take away what Nico had done. It was unforgivable. Just thinking about it, Nico was not sure he would even be able to forgive himself.

"You can be happy here, Nico," Lilith said quietly. "With me. You can have anything you want. Just say it—just think it—and it'll be yours, I promise."

Nico turned over to face her, frowning. "Bianca was never really there, was she?" he asked glumly.

Lilith shook her head, smiling ruefully. (At least she had the decency to do that, Nico thought.) "But you can have her back, Nico. Here . . . she can be with you."

She lifted her eyes and stared off at the back wall. Nico's frown deepened and he sat up, turning his head to follow her gaze. A figure seemed to materialize out of the wood. As it came forward, familiar features began to form. Long black hair pulled back in a braid, olive skin and compassionate black eyes, a silver hoodie, a floppy green hat. Nico could not help but give a small cry as his heart twisted painfully in his chest. Standing before him was his sister, looking at him with such affection and concern, that for a moment he did not care if she was not real. Sliding off the bed, he broke through the canopy curtains and flung his arms around Bianca's waist, almost knocking her off her feet.

"Nico, Nico," she murmured softly, holding him closely, stroking his hair. "I've missed you so much. I'm so glad you're here."

Even as he thought he never wanted to let go, Nico stepped back out of her arms, shaking his head slowly. "No," he murmured. "No, you're not really here. She's just doing this to make me want to stay."

Bianca gave him a small smile. "Is that such a bad thing though?" she asked. Reaching forward, she laid her palm against her brother's cold cheek. "We can be together here, Nico. We can be a family again."

A lump was stuck in Nico's throat, and he found he could not speak for fear of choking on his words. Instead he simply shook his head weakly, wanting nothing more than to agree, but knowing he had to resist Lilith's attempts at keeping him in this place.

"I love you, Nico. Don't you want your sister back? Don't you love me too?"

"Please . . . don't," Nico croaked, feeling like a little boy again, something he hated more than anything. It made him feel weak, vulnerable. And Hades would not stand to have a weak son.

"But Nico," a new voice spoke from behind him. It was not Lilith. "You can have me too, you know. If you wanted. You can have anything."

Nico knew the voice, and he did not want to turn around. But this new person took his hand and turned him toward her. Annabeth. Inwardly he moaned. How did Lilith get through his defenses so well? She was using the two people he loved most against him.

"Nico," Annabeth said, smiling faintly. She looked beautiful. Her curly golden hair was down against her shoulders. She wore her usual Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, necklace, and shorts. The only thing missing was her bronze dagger at her side. She held his hand up between them, stroking the back of it with her thumb. "I've seen the way you watch me, Nico," she said, and her smile turned playful. "I know you want me; I can see it in your eyes. In this place you can have me. There's no Percy, no Athena. Nothing that can keep us apart."

Bending forward, she lightly kissed his forehead. Nico felt his face go red. He felt a painful ache move down through his body, and hastily stepped back, bumping into Bianca who had moved up behind him.

"I want us to be together, little brother," she said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind and pressing her cheek against his dark hair. "Don't you love me enough to stay?"

Annabeth trapped him from the front, running her hands down his thin chest. "Don't you want me enough?" she asked in a low, sultry voice, licking her lips slowly.

Nico squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his fists at his side. "Alright, ENOUGH!" he shouted as loud as he could. Instantly the two girls pressing in on him vanished. He felt the weight of Bianca's arms lifted; Annabeth's wandering hands disappeared. Heaving a sigh of relief, Nico opened his eyes and shot a death glare in Lilith's direction.

She wore an amused smile, and he wished he had his sword so he could use it to wipe the smug look off her face.

"What . . . was that?" he demanded through gritted teeth.

"Oh, Nico, don't tell me you didn't like it." Lilith stood and walked around the bed. She placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned forward to look him straight in the eyes. It took all his willpower not to shove her away. Instead he stood still, breathing heavily, glowering darkly.

"You can have anything you want in here, Nico," Lilith told him. "You don't have to worry about pain or sorrow or hunger. I know what you dream about, Nico. I know what thoughts come into your mind as you lay dreaming. You want your father's love, his acceptance. You want your sister to return. You want Annabeth to take notice of you. I can give you all these things. All I ask for in return . . . is that you help me."

"With what?" Nico growled.

Lilith straightened, releasing his shoulders and laying a hand on his head. "Oh, nothing big," she said lightly. "Just a little plan I worked up to help my father with something. All I want you to do is shadow travel me places. That's all you need to do. And in return I can give you . . ." she spread her arms wide, "everything."

Behind her appeared Annabeth and Bianca again. But this time they were not alone. Hades appeared, smiling (actually smiling!) at him; Maria di Angelo, his mother, held out her arms to him; there was Mrs. O'Leary the hellhound, taking up half the room, her tail pounding joyfully on the floor; his Mythomagic game, cards, figurines and all; his iPod and dock from his cabin at Camp Half-Blood; a brand new aviator jacket.

He could not help but be impressed by Lilith's power, even as he backed away from it all. He knew he should refuse. What kind of hero would he be if he gave in? But as he looked from one familiar face to the next, he felt his will crumbling. What did he have back in the outside world anyway? Campers who avoided him, a father who only accepted his presence, a long-time crush in the arms of his best friend who now surely hated him . . . and a quest that seemed to have been taken from his hands. The quest . . .

"I have a quest . . ." he started, but Lilith cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"I'm sure that Artemis fellow has it all under control. He seemed quite capable of handling it himself. I'm sure he wouldn't mind taking over completely."

"I'm sure he wouldn't," Nico admitted darkly.

"So, what do you say?" Lilith asked, watching him closely.

He looked at her, then at the people and things behind her, and sighed dejectedly.

"Give me time to think about it, at least," he muttered, feeling like a failure already.

Lilith clapped her hands in delight, everything she had conjured disappearing in wisps of gray smoke. "You'll say yes," she said with a grin. "I have this way with people. They always say yes to me."

She ruffled his hair and then disappeared herself. Nico was left alone in the large room, which seemed about ready to swallow him up. He sighed and gripped his hair with both hands.

"This seriously sucks," he muttered, before turning and throwing himself back on the bed. What he would not give to go back in time and refuse the stupid quest. At least back at Camp things were better than this. Sure he had been avoided, but at least he still had had Percy and Annabeth and Mrs. O'Leary as friends. Now he had nobody.

"The Oracle probably saw this coming," he said to himself, flipping over to frown up at the ceiling. "She knew I would fail. At least they have Artemis to get it done." He spat the name out as though it tasted bad. "Well, who cares? Someone here needs my help with something I know I can do. Would it be so bad if I helped her out, just a little?"

But if he expected an answer, he received none. Instead the oppressive silence that followed weighed heavily on him, and guilt and doubt began whispering dismal thoughts in his ear.

This is a very weird chapter. I wasn't planning on having an OC, but Lilith insisting on putting her in the story and apparently she's very hard to dissuade. . . . Next chapter will deal solely on Artemis Fowl. (Sorry he's been downplayed lately, but this is Artemis set in the PJatO universe. If it was the other way around (with the PJatO characters in Ireland with the LEP and the Fowl Mansion), then the story would be focused more on Artemis. But yeah, this is set in the PJatO section of the site for a reason).

Then after that there'll probably be a chapter devoted to Percy and Annabeth; then maybe one focused on Rachel. Not sure yet. But the next one definitely will be with Artemis. And Butler and Holly! And the Stoll brothers! XD

But in the meantime review and tell me what you think of this chapter!