Leo didn't die, no Calypso.

Disclaimer: Ha. No.

Nico was having a good day. So far, anyway.

The birds were singing, the kids were laughing, and there was a gentle breeze blowing through the trees around him. As good as all that was, there were better things. Like:

No one had tried to talk to him all morning. No one had tried to make him participate in the camp activities. And no one had come bursting into his cabin uninvited.

Not that he was there now, but it was the principle of it.

The only bad thing about today was that Will had to go help a satyr find a baby pegasus. Pegasi didn't really like the son of Hades, so Nico stayed behind, even though Will protested.

Now he was sitting on a bench outside the pavillion, eating lunch. Or, picking at it.

It had been months since the fight with Gaia, and everyone was back in good spirits.

Mostly eveyone. There was some new kid from the Aries cabin, Johnothon, who thought he was all that and more. Annoying. Especially when he took out his insecurities on other campers. Just last week, he'd convinced two twelve year olds to go into the forrest alone, beat up a Hermes kid for bumping into him, and harrased an Aphrodite girl for pictures.

Frankly, Nico was getting tired of it. Just because John was bigger than everyone, he thought he could do whatever he wanted. Some of the other campers had called him out on being a jerk, but he just waved them off like he was used to it. Even Chiron and Clarisse hadn't been able to punish him enough.

All of these things added together made John one big asshole. Which may have been what set Nico off.

Leo Valdez. Nico had never really gotten to know the kid, even when they were all living on the same boat. To Nico, he was just some loudmouthed smartass who liked attention. But he never hurt anyone. He generally kept to himself, and never went looking for trouble.

And now the latino was approaching the pavillion, no doubt for food.

He'd been in the bunker for an entire week, and Nico never thought he'd see a tired Leo. Someone must've been bringing him some form of nutrition during that time, because he was no scrawnier than before.

Leo had just gotten his food, a burrito, and was already heading back in the direction of the bunker. He passed Nico and gave him a smile and a nod. Nico didn't smile, but he nodded back.

That's when John showed up. He came out of nowhere and put a large hand on Leo's chest.

"Where do you think you're going pipsqueak?" He sneered. Nico hoped Leo wouldn't open his mouth and say something stupid.

"Your mom's house. We have something special planned tonight." Leo smirked.

Oh for gods sake.

Johnothon's sneer turned into a scowl. "I'd say the same back to you, but you don't have a mom, do you?"

Leo's smirk dissolved.

"In fact, word is that she's dead because of you," He went on.

Leo couldn't look him in the face anymore. He pushed off the hand on his chest half-heartedly and tried to go around the mountain of a boy.

Johnothon wasn't having it. In one swift move, he had Leo pinned against a nearby tree, his hand back on Leo's chest.

Leo's burrito lay in the dirt, and John stepped on it for emphasis. "What? Leaving so soon? I was just getting started."

A solid punch landed and Leo's head went sideways. He kept it there, not moving an inch.

"Hey!" Nico had had enough. He stood up, food forgotten. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"

Johnothon lowered his hand, which was poised to make another strike at Leo. "Well, lookee here. Goth boy does talk! Why don't you just wait your turn, I'm kind of in the middle of something."

"Stop it. We both know you're just doing this for attention. Newsflash, your dad doesn't care if you pick on everyone. You can't even hold a sword correctly."

John dropped his hold on Leo, who just stared in shock. "You're the fag, aren't you? Yeah, I seen you and Sunshine boy around camp together. Couple a' fags."

"Don't call him that! He deserves more than having to listen to shit from you!" Leo yelled at John.

John's face twisted into a contorted smile. Before Nico had time to blink, the giant mass twisted around and punched Leo again, this time just above his chest. There was a loud snapping sound and Leo cried out and fell against the tree, gasping.

Nico saw red. There was a deep pull in his chest and he went with it.

Bone hands clawed their way up from the earth around Nico. Shadows dripped from his sword that hung at his side.

By this time, people began to notice what was going on outside. They stood from a distance, watching in shock, but no one made a move to stop him.

"What'r... What's this!?" John backed up only to fall backwards over a skeleton halfway out of the ground.

John screamed and tried to run, but the skeleton held his ankle, and more surrounded him, holding him down by his shoulders.

Nico started a slow walk towards the panicing boy. "You hurt, pick on, make fun of, or even look at someone the wrong way again, and I swear to Hades I will come after you. And next time, I just might let the dead take you."

John nodded uncontrollably, eyes wide in fear. The skeletons released him and stalked back to their respective graves. John was running away before he even got up.

Nico turned his attention to Leo. "Hey. You okay?"

Leo's eyes were borderline glazed. "Peachy. You know, I came out here to have a good time and honestly I'm just feeling so attacked right now." He tried to laugh at his own joke but a wince cut it off.

Nico looked closely at where John had punched him. "Well, bad news is you have a broken rib, good news it's only one rib."

Leo nodded and grit his teeth. "How about my precious face? I kinda need that."

Nico glanced at the bruise blossoming on his cheek. "Just a bruise," He smirked. "I think its improved to be honest."

Leo feigned shock and opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment, Piper, Jason, Percy, and Annabeth ran out of the pavillion to meet them.

Piper went in for a hug at Nico, and he stiffened through it. "Thank you so much! We didn't even know what was going on, and no one would move to let us through-"

"It's fine, really." Nico pushed her away softly. "It was just-"

"The right thing to do." Percy finished. "You're a great person, you know that Nico?"

Nico blushed. "Really, stop. Geez, all this attention, you'd think I was the one with a broken rib."

"Nope, that'd be me!" Leo piped up. "And not that I'm ungrateful or anything- because I am really grateful- but can I please get some medical attention?"

Annabeth knelt down by Leo. "Fractured rib. Let's get you to the infirmary."

Jason helped Leo up by his shoulders. "I'm sorry this happened in the first place, we should've taken care of that jerk the first time he did something wrong."

Leo smiled. "You don't have to worry about him anymore. Nico's got this thing under control."

Annabeth quirked an eyebrow, but stayed silent.

"So, to the infirmary? This is starting to hurt."

"Yeah. Come on Jason, we'll get him there." Piper said. She and Jason walked on either side of him in that direction.

"And we had better round up these people before they freak. Not everyday something like this happens. It's usually Percy we expect it from." Annabeth laughed. "But you did good Nico. Thanks."

Nico only nodded, leaving the two of them to calm everyone down. But he'd used his powers, even if it was for a good cause. Maybe Will shouldn't know about this...

When Will returned that night, he asked Nico if anything interesting happened that day.

"Nope, just another boring day of camp."

A week later, Nico walked into the trainig arena because Chiron had forced him to. Percy was talking to Will.

'Uh oh.'

Will looked around and caught sight of Nico.

"Nico! What part of doctor's orders do you not understand!"