Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Nico was sitting in the Fields of Asphodel, back against a poplar tree when he saw Percy Jackson for the first time. He hadn't known Percy's name or godly parent then, but he knew that boy was important. Dark hair, orange shirt, green eyes too bright to be one of the dead. He carried a carnation and walked with a girl who was also living.

Living...why were they down there and living?

Nico stood up from his position and started to follow them. It had been years since he moved, maybe even a decade. He couldn't remember much. Ever since that old ghost taught him English, the years had passed too quickly.

"So," the boy said, not noticing his new stalker. "How's immortality treating you?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "It's not immortality, Percy." Percy. His name was Percy. "You know that. We can still die in combat. It's just...we don't ever age or get sick, so we live forever assuming we don't get sliced to pieces by monsters."

"Really? That's possible?" Nico's question made both of them jump and turn around. Percy drew his sword while the girl drew her bow. "Are you a minor goddess?"

Judging by their faces, both could tell he was different from the other shades immediately. But that didn't let them lower their guard.

"Who are you?" the girl asked. "What do you want from us?"

"And how long were you listening?" Percy wondered.

Nico looked into those green eyes and felt warmth for the first time since he died. "I...I saw you walking and saw that you weren't dead. What are you doing down here?"

The shades had started to close in. Before the two could answer, Nico took their hands and started to run. "Hurry before they get you!"

They stumbled after him. He could hear Percy's voice, low and almost a whisper. "We don't have any other choice, Thalia. And he seems to be helping us."

Nico couldn't hear much else. It was hard to hear lately. Maybe he had spent too much time blocking out the moans of the shades.

He finally stopped when they were clear of most of the shades, on the outskirts of the Fields. He let their hands go. "What are you doing down here? And where do you need to go?"

Percy held the flower out. "We need to follow this flower. Persephone has us on a task-"

"Persephone does?" Nico scowled at the name. "And you listened to her?"

"Percy, don't say anything else. We have no idea who this kid is." Thalia looked to Nico. "Tell us who you are. You're dead, aren't you? Why are you different from the other ghosts?"

Nico looked at the flower some more in curiosity. "Yeah, I'm dead. I thought that was obvious."

Percy couldn't help but grin. "Most obvious things fly right over her head-"

Thalia slapped Percy on the back of the head before turning her attention to Nico again. "Answer the rest of my questions. Why shouldn't we just ditch you and continue on?"

"Cause you're two people that have never been in the Underworld before, I'm guessing." Nico looked them both over. "And you're both alive. I know my way around, I can help you out. And the other ghosts don't mess with me."

"Because you're one of them-"

"Because I'm their boss." Nico smiled proudly. Damn, he had to stop his childish side from leaking through in front of new people. It had just been so long since he had someone to talk to...

"Huh?" Percy stepped back. "Are you a god?"

Nico shook his head, his heart sinking. "Don't be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you. I...My dad runs this place. I shouldn't say his name, though. If he sees I'm out of the Fields, he'll be mad."

Both paled. If he didn't know any better, Nico would think they had become shades themselves.

"You...are a child of the Big Three..." Thalia looked as if she was trying to swallow something that wouldn't go down.

"We're lucky you're dead," Percy blurted. "The prophecy won't depend on you if you're down here."

She elbowed him in the side. "Really? 'We're lucky you're dead'?"

Nico watched the two bicker before looking back at the flower. "Your flower lost a petal. Are you gonna tell me what you're doing so I can help? If Persephone issued you guys to be here then you're probably helping my dad, so I should help."

"I'm Thalia," Thalia dropped her cold regard for Nico, her blue eyes turning more friendly. He wondered what had changed it for her. "This is Percy. This flower is apparently leading us toward the thief of your father's sword."

"If he gets out of the Underworld, we'll probably never find him," Percy finished. "Can you help? Like...can you go far from where you were?"

Nico shrugged. "Let's see. It's been a while since I've taken a walk."

He stretched his legs as they walked to the Fields of Punishment. Even though he was dead, he felt sore all over. He could hear Percy and Thalia whispering to themselves, most definitely about him, but he couldn't understand most of it. But sometimes, he picked out a phrase or two.

"He seems so starved for attention," Thalia whispered. "And he was really nice to risk his father's wrath."

"Imagine sitting in those fields for years. You'd be starved for attention, too." Percy whispered back.

They started to get covered in soot as the screams were heard. Nico wasn't bothered much, he had heard many screams on a battlefield long ago. But he could tell his two new friends were bothered.

"Don't worry about them," Nico assured. "They must have really done something bad to end up here. So it's okay to let them scream."

The flower tilted again. Percy stopped. "Guys, up there."

Nico looked to the hill that it pointed to. "Oh...come on."

"Is that who I think it is?" Thalia asked.

Nico nodded. "The number one expert on cheating death."

They found their way to Sisyphus. Nico could tell Percy and Thalia were still wary of him but had started to warm up to his ghostly figure. Percy even stood between old Sisyphus and Nico, his sword out as if to protect.

"Ask him about it while he's in between attempts," Nico directed. "Hey, Sisyphus!"

Thalia glanced over at Nico's sudden yell. "Wait until we're ready next time."

"Oh, no!" Sisyphus's screams almost silenced her comment. "You're not fooling me with those disguises! I know you're the Furies!"

"We're not the Furies," Percy said. "We just want to talk."

"Go away!" Sisyphus shrieked. "Flowers won't make it better. It's too late to apologize!"

"Look," Thalia tried, "We just want-"

"La-la-la!" he yelled. "I'm not listening!"

Thalia caught the old man by the hair when he tried to run. "Stop it!" he wailed. "I have rocks to move! Rocks to move!"

"I'll move your rock!" Thalia offered, causing Nico's eyes to widen slightly in respect. "Just shut up and talk to my friends."

"You'll...you'll move my rock?" Sisyphus asked.

"It's better than looking at you." Thalia turned to Percy. "Be quick about it." She shoved Sisyphus away and moved to the rock.

"We're looking for someone," Percy started. "The flower is helping us find him."

"Persephone!" he yelled. "That's one of her tracking devices, isn't it? I fooled her once, you know. I fooled them all!"

Percy looked at Nico in confusion, who couldn't help but smile at being able to show off all he knew. He had been building his memory for decades. "Sisyphus cheated death. First, he chained up Thanatos, then got his wife to give him messed up funeral rites, and tricked Persephone to let him go back to the upper world. The sun shines up there...it's been a while since I've seen the sun..."

Percy looked between the two dead souls before looking back to Sisyphus. "So this is your punishment. Rolling a boulder up a hill forever. Was it worth it?"

"A temporary setback!" Sisyphus cried. "I'll bust out of here soon, and when I do, they'll all be sorry!"

Nico sighed. "It's locked down, you know. The Underworld. How would you get out?"

Sisyphus cackled. "That's what the other one asked."

"Someone else asked your advice?" Percy asked.

"No wonder the flower pointed to him," Nico muttered.

"An angry young man," Sisyphus recalled. "Not very polite. Held a sword to my throat. Didn't offer to roll my boulder at all."

"What did you tell him?" Nico asked. "Who was he?"

"Oh...it's hard to say..." Sisyphus massaged his shoulders in a similar way Nico had done his own. "Never seen him before. He carried a long package all wrapped up in black cloth. Skis, maybe? A shovel? Maybe if you wait here, I could go look for him..."

"What did you tell him?" Percy asked.

"Can't remember."

Nico blinked for a second before pulling his sword out of the holster on his back where he used to keep his gun. He remembered the day he was given it, remembered the Fury who made him promise not to tell anyone. "Try harder."

The sword made both Percy and Sisyphus jump. No doubt they both hadn't noticed it before.

"What kind of person carries a sword like that?" Sisyphus asked.

"A son of H...Hades," Nico answered, praying his father ignored the use of his name. "Now answer me!"

"I told him to talk to Melinoe!" Sisyphus answered. "She always has a way out!"

Nico put his sword back. "Are you crazy? That's suicide."

Sisyphus shrugged. "I cheated death before, I could do it again."

"What did the young man look like?" Nico asked. Percy stayed silent, having seen the way Sisyphus now responded to Nico. Throwing around the name of Hades in the Underworld really did its work.

"Um, a nose, a mouth, one eye..."

"One eye?" Percy whispered in recognition. Before they could ask anything else, Thalia yelled "Incoming!" from the top of the hill, and the boulder came rolling down. They jumped out of the way but Sisyphus wasn't so fast.

"Come on," Nico started off, leaving Percy and Thalia no choice but to follow. "Melinoe's cave is this way."

"What did I miss?" Thalia whispered to Percy. Percy told her most of the conversation, but he still didn't know Nico's name. He called him "him", or "the kid". Before they could get further, Nico turned around in irritation.

"My name's not 'kid'," he crossed his arms.

"It was just a-"

"Friends don't call each other that." Nico jabbed himself in the cheat. "I'm Nico. Nico di Angelo."

His could feel his accent grow thicker at his name. He had been learning English from ghosts, but his native tongue would always be Italian, even if he hadn't spoken it in a while.

"Friends?" Thalia mumbled to Percy.

"Okay, Nico, I'm Percy Jackson." Percy ignored Thalia and shook the dead boy's hand. "I'm a son of Poseidon. Thalia is a daughter of Zeus."

"Oh..." Nico looked at them in shock. "You've got powerful parents."

"You do, too, kid," Thalia responded.

"Nico, not kid." Nico corrected. "Anyway...we should head to Melinoe's cave." He started walking. "So this guy stole dad's sword?"

Percy nodded. "He's working for Kronos."

"Oh, isn't Kronos trying to come back or something?" Nico asked. "I've heard rumors."

Percy told him everything that had happened so far but spoke quickly to save time. By the time they got to Melinoe's cave, Nico had made up his mind about something he'd probably regret later. "I...I want to help you guys with the fight against Kronos."

Thalia's eyes widened in shock. Percy actually stopped walking, causing the other two to stop with him.

"You...what?" Percy asked. "But you're...you're..."

"Dead, yeah, I know." Nico looked between them. "But I want to help. I...I want out of this place. Please."

"What if your dad catches you?" Thalia asked. "You don't want to end up like Sisyphus."

"Dad won't say anything. As long as we don't bring it to his attention, we should be good." Nico looked into Percy's eyes. "Please. Please let me help. Take me out of here."

Percy smiled at him. "Okay."

"Are you insane?" Thalia asked. "We're going to have hell to pay."

"It'll be all my fault," Nico assured her. "I promise. And I can help. I can move the shadows, and talk to the dead, and probably other stuff, too."

Thalia sighed. "This was never my idea, keep that in mind."

Nico grinned. "So I can go with you?"

Percy nodded. "You can see the sun. Weren't you talking about how you miss it?"

Nico's heart started to race as he nodded. "Yeah, I really do. It's too dark down here."

Chapter Text

"Nice day for a stroll," Thalia muttered. "The Hunters are probably feasting in some forest glade right about now."

"The Hunters?" Nico asked, perking his head up. "Is that what you are?"

She nodded. "Follows of Artemis. You know who that is, right?"

"Yeah, moon and hunt goddess," Nico remembered. "She can make you immortal?"

"Not immortal, you heard me explain that earlier."

"So who is this Melinoe?" Percy spoke up.

"Long story," Nico said. Maybe he would have told it, but that's when the daimones attacked. Keres. Demons.

He remembered the fight, remembered what they had said. Their new master...Iapetus... Then Percy got clawed, and Nico felt that his feelings were a crush for the first time.

But it was wrong...that's what he had always been taught. He was from the 1900s, had lived from 1930 to 1944. Everything he had ever known had been hate in a war that nearly destroyed the world.

He finished the monsters off in seconds before following Thalia to Percy's side. After having Percy pass out a few times, they bandaged his shoulder and got him propped up before he decided to pass out again.

It was silent as Nico watched his breathing, watched his chest rise and fall. He didn't know much about medicine and health besides that. "He's still breathing, that's good."

Thalia looked over at him as she got a small bag out of her pocket. "This is ambrosia. It should help somewhat."

"You're going to try to do something?" Nico asked. "He needs healing from one of the gods and I doubt there's anything we can do."

"Well, we've got to try," Thalia replied. "If he dies, his mom will kill me."

Nico looked back over at Percy's pale face. "When do you think he'll wake up?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think it'll be in time to catch the guy?"

"I don't know."

"Do you know anything?" Nico asked.

"Yeah, that you're annoying as hell." Thalia sighed. "Look, Nico. You're not helping by asking all these questions. I know you haven't had someone to talk to in a while. I get it. But now's not the time to talk."

Nico sat down and looked at his pale arms. He was looking more as he did when alive than dead, and he wasn't sure if that was good or bad. But he wasn't going to ask Thalia in the mood she was now in.

"The Keres?" Percy woke up with the question on his lips.

"Gone for now," Thalia answered. "You had me worried for a second, Percy, but I think you'll make it."

"The Keres will be back," Nico warned.

Percy tried to sit up, causing Thalia to help him. "Slow," she said. "You need to rest before you can move."

"There's no time." Percy looked at the flower Nico had taken after his fall. "One of the daimones mentioned Iapetus. Am I remembering right? That's a Titan?"

Thalia nodded. "The brother of Kronos, father of Atlas. He was known as the titan of the west. His name means 'the Piercer' because that's what he likes to do to his enemies. He was cast into Tartarus along with his brothers. He's supposed to still be down there."

"But if the sword can unlock death?" Percy asked.

"Then maybe," Nico cut in. "It can also summon the damned out of Tartarus. You guys...we can't let them try."

"We still don't know who them is," Thalia said.

"The half-blood working for Kronos," Percy thought. "Probably Ethan Nakamura. And's he's starting to recruit some of H...Nico's dad's minions to his side—like the Keres. The daimones think that if Kronos wins the war, they'll get more chaos and evil out of the deal."

"They're probably right," Nico admitted. "My father tries to keep a balance. He reins in the most violent spirits. If Kronos appoints one of his brothers to be the lord of the Underworld-"

"Like the Iapetus dude," Percy cut in.

"Then the Underworld will get a lot worse." Nico finished. "The Keres would like that. So would Melinoe."

"You still haven't told us who Melinoe is." Percy pointed out.

Nico chewed his lip. "She's the goddess of ghosts—one of my father's servants. She oversees the restless dead that walk the earth. Every night she rises from the Underworld to terrify mortals."

"She has her own path into the upper world?" Percy asked.

Nico nodded. "I doubt it would be blocked. Normally, no one would even think about trespassing in her cave. But if this demigod thief is brave enough to make a deal with her-"

"He could get back to the world," Thalia supplied. "And bring the sword to Kronos."

"Who would use it to raise his brothers from Tartarus," Percy guessed. "And we'd be in big trouble."

Percy stood up, almost blacking out, but Thalia caught him just in time. "Percy, you're in no condition-"

"I have to be." Just as Percy spoke, another petal fell off. "Give me the potted plant. We have to find the cave of Melinoe."

They let him get up but kept close in case he needed it. Nico quickly learned to keep his sword out, an action that kept most of Hades' minions at bay. But he didn't like using a sword much, and Percy and Thalia didn't seem to like it at all. But it made the walk go smoothly until they got to the Lethe.

"Oh, no," Nico muttered. "The River Lethe." He cursed in Italian as he put his sword away again. "We'll never make it across."

"There's got to be a way," Percy swore.

Thalia got closer and knelt by the bank, but Nico grabbed her shoulder. "Be careful. That's the Rive of Forgetfulness. If one drop of that water gets on you, you'll start to forget who you are."

Thalia backed up. "I know this place. Luke told me about it once. Souls come here if they chose to be reborn, so they totally forget their past lives."

"Luke?" Nico asked.

Thalia ignored him. "I could shoot an arrow across. Maybe anchor a line to one of those rocks."

"You want to trust your weight to a line that isn't tied off?" Nico asked.

Thalia frowned. "Yeah right. Works on the movies, but no."

Nico looked at Percy and frowned. "You look terrible. You should sit down."

"I can't," Percy dismissed. "You need me for this."

"For what?" Thalia asked. "You can barely stand."

"It's water, isn't it? I'll have to control it. Maybe I can redirect the flow to get us across." Percy answered.

"Wow." Nico couldn't help but grin. "That's an awesome power." He frowned. "But it probably taxes you. In your condition, it's safer if we do the arrow thing."

Percy ignored him and moved toward the Lethe. "Stand back." Then he went all Moses and the Red Sea on the River Lethe. "Go, I can't hold this for long."

Thalia and Nico made it to the other side. As soon as they did, Thalia looked to Percy. "Walk."

"I can't." Percy looked ready to fall over.

"Yes, you can. We need you."

Percy tried. He got halfway across but then fell, the river falling over him. Nico thought he had just witnessed another death, but then Percy climbed out of the river and passed out in front of them.

Nico cursed in Italian again. "He's not dead. He's breathing."

Thalia ran to Percy' side and dragged him further from the banks. "Help me out here, Nico."

Nico moved to help her. "Why's he dry?"

Thalia looked up after they had laid Percy down and got some nectar out. "Part of his son of Poseidon powers."

"Awesome." Nico watched her. "Does that mean the river didn't touch him?"

"I don't know." Thalia fed him some nectar before pulling it away, his eyes struggling open. "We can't risk any more nectar. He'll burst into flames."

"Percy, can you hear me?" Nico asked.

"Flames," Percy muttered. "Got it."

"We're close." Nico and Thalia helped him stand up. "Can you walk?"

He stumbled, but he walked. They followed a path up the mountain, eventually getting to the cave.

"I don't like this," Thalia swore.

"A creepy cave, a goddess of ghosts, what's not to like?" Percy joked.

As in response, Melinoe showed up. Nico didn't hear much of what was happening, instead his eyes on the goddess of ghosts. The goddess that had purposely taken the form of his mother, the last day he had ever seen her. She still stood there in her old dress, her white gloves damp as she patted her soaked cheeks. "Why did you leave me?"

"Enough," Percy stepped forward, causing Melinoe to turn to him. "You're not anyone's mama."

Nico blinked the tears out of his eyes as he watched, just then noticing that Thalia had also been affected.

"Where are your ghosts?" Melinoe asked Percy in irritation.

"My...I don't know. I don't have any."

She snarled. "Everyone has ghosts, deaths you regret. Guilt. Fear. Why can I not see yours?"

"I've made peace with them," Percy answered. "They've passed on. They're not ghosts. Now, let my friends go!" He lunged for her with his sword.

"What is that?" Thalia finally snapped out of it. "Where-?"

"It was a trick," Nico answered. "She fooled us."

"You are too late, demigods," Melinoe swore. "The deal has been struck."

"What deal?" Percy asked. Nico got his own sword out.

Melinoe hissed. "So many ghosts, young demigod. They long to be unleashed. When Kronos rules the world, I shall be free to walk among mortals day and night, sewing terror as they deserve."

"Where's the sword of Hades?" Percy asked. "Where's Ethan?"

"Close," Melinoe promised. "I will not stop you. I would not need to. Soon, Percy Jackson, you will have many ghosts and you will remember me."

Thalia notched an arrow and aimed at her. "If you open a path to the world, do you really think Kronos will reward you? He'll cast you into Tartarus with the rest of Hades' servants."

Melinoe barred her teeth. "You're mother was right, Thalia. You're an angry girl. Good at running away, not much else."

Thalia shot the arrow but Melinoe disappeared as it hit her, leaving them alone. "Stupid ghost." Nico could see her eyes were red as if she actually had cried.

"The thief?" he asked. He was shaken up, that was for sure. It had been forever since he had seen his mama.

"Probably in the cave. We need to stop him before-" Percy looked down as the flower lost its last pedal. "Too late."

A man's laughter echoed down the mountain. "You're right about that."

A teenager stood at the entrance to the cave, the sword of Hades in hand. Next to him was a giant of a man with eyes of pure silver.

"And now I will destroy you," Iapetus finished.

"Master," Ethan, Nico guessed, interrupted. "We have the sword, we should-"

"Yes, yes," the titan said impatiently, "You've done well, Noaka."

"It's Nakamura, Master."

"Whatever, I'm sure my brother Kronos will reward you. But now, we have killing to attend to."

"My lord," Ethan persisted, "You're not at full power. We should ascend and summon your brothers from the Upperworld. Our orders were to flee."

Iapetus growled at him. "Flee? Did you say flee?"

"Master, please."

"Iapetus does not flee. I have waited three eons to be summoned from that pit. I want revenge! And I will start by killing these weaklings."

The fight started. Nico couldn't remember why, couldn't remember how, but he summoned some undead to help. They kept Ethan occupied as Percy fought Iapetus. Before long, they both ended up in the Lethe.

When they came up, Iapetus looked at Percy and smiled. "Hello? Where am I?"

"You're my friend," Percy blurted. "You're...Bob."

"I am your friend Bob!" Bob cheered. As he did, Ethan took off running for the cave. The sword of Hades still laid on the ground.

Nico picked up the sword with respect, his mind still on what he had done. "I can't believe those skeletons fought so well..."

Thalia lowered her bow and looked to him. "That power is going to come in handy."

Percy couldn't help but grin despite his exhaustion. "We did it."

Chapter Text

After Bob healed Percy, nobody needed convincing to take him with them. But Nico was reluctant to go to the palace, and in the end, hung out around its outskirts as Thalia and Percy went in. Eventually, Nico sat with his back against the palace and tried not to feel like he had been abandoned.

Before Thalia and Percy, it had been so long since he had seen another living soul. He craved their touch, craved their voices, craved their...liveliness. He had sat in those fields for too long, had surrounded himself with shades and shut his own feelings out, making himself a husk of what he used to be in hopes to fit it. But meeting Thalia and Percy had changed everything.

Now, life beckoned him. It called in whispers and screams and with each blink of his eyes. Live again, laugh again, see the sun and feel the breeze and walk the earth with the dirt between your toes. Live. The calling was too intense.

"Nico, are you ready?"

Nico looked up at Percy's voice, having half thought that the two demigods had abandoned him. Now they stood before him, Percy having three roses in hand.

"You came back!" Nico stood up, his eyes watering. "I thought you had left."

"It was a long talk." Percy scratched the back of his head. "But we have three flowers. We can all leave."

Nico looked at him in shock. "She gave you three? Why?"

"They probably know what's going on," Thalia admitted. "She didn't say anything about the third. Nor did your father."

Nico ran a hand through his dark curls. "You're serious?"

Percy handed the flowers out. "We're serious. Now...we have to step on them and envision where we want to go. If you come with me, I can take you back to my apartment until we get things sorted out. I don't think having a child of...your father at camp will sit well. Not until this prophecy is over."

"Okay," Nico accepted. "But how am I supposed to envision your apartment?"

"We'll just have to...try?" Percy guessed.

Nico sighed but couldn't help but smile. "As long as it gets me out of this place, I don't care where it takes me. So there's nothing to lose."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hands. He had physical hands. They were still pale, nothing as they were when he was alive, but they were hands. And his feet, they were the same. And his arms and legs and neck and face...

"Nico?" Percy knocked on the bathroom door, barely heard over the roar of the shower. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah!" Nico looked up from his hands and let the hot water hit his face. "Sorry, almost done!"

The steam filled the room, fogged up the mirror. Nico's old uniform laid on the floor, the khaki they had gotten from the British when the tides turned. Volunteers, recruits, Monte Cassino.

Nico shivered despite the hot water at the onslaught of memories. Maybe his momma had been right, maybe he never should have joined. But there was no going back now.

He turned the water off and let the room fall into silence. Heat and steam still lingered in the air, catching his attention for a few seconds as he dried himself off. The towel Percy had given him was the softest thing he had felt in decades.

The clothes he had also been provided laid on the ground by his old uniform. They were Percy's, that much was certain, but they were obviously well liked. Used, stained, but still in good condition. A blue hoodie, black sweatpants. They smelled amazing.

When Nico was dressed he opened the bathroom door and peeked out into the hallway. He could see the living room down the hall, could hear Percy talking in a low voice to his mom.

"Percy, I'm done." Nico took a step out of the bathroom before stopping. He hated to intrude. "These clothes are comfortable."

Percy grinned as he met up with him in the hall. "That's good." He gestured to the old uniform Nico carried. "Do you want my mom to wash that? She offered."

"Oh...yeah, if that's okay." Nico held it out. "Do you still have my sword?"

"It's in my room." Percy took the clothes carefully. "Come on, let's sit in the living room. Dinner's cooking."

Nico followed him into the small living room, his bare feet padding against the floors. "What about my boots?"

"Also in my room." Percy sat on the couch. "We can also clean those if you want."

"Can I...wear them?" Nico asked. "I don't want my feet bare."

"Oh...yeah." Percy stood up again. "Come on. I'll give your clothes to mom while we're up."

Nico followed him into the kitchen, finding Sally at the stove with her hair tied back in a ponytail. As soon as she saw Nico, she rushed over to him with a large smile. "How are you feeling?" She hugged him close, catching him off guard.

"I..." he stood stiff for a moment before hugging back. "I'm doing good."

Sally kept him close for a minute before letting him go. "Are you hungry?"

He nodded immediately. "The food smells really good."

"Good." she smiled at him before seeing the clothes Percy held. "Are those ready to be washed?"

He nodded before setting them on the counter. "Is it okay if Nico stays with us until we can get this all sorted out?"

"Of course," Sally responded without a second thought. "Nico, why don't you sit down and tell me a bit about yourself while dinner cooks?"

"Um..." Nico sat at the small table and shuffled his feet. "I don't like bare feet...can I wear my boots?"

"Oh, right, I'll get them." Percy left the room quickly at the request.

"I'll get you some warm socks, too." Sally insisted. "You can come to the store with me tomorrow and pick some stuff out."

"But...I don't have any money..." Nico mumbled.

"I'm paying." she set a cup of coffee down in front of him. "Any cream or sugar?"

Nico looked at the coffee in shock before shaking his head. "No, thank you." He sipped at it as Percy reentered the room.

"Here." Percy set the boots down by Nico and watched him put them on. "You know you can borrow some of my tennis shoes if you want."

Nico shrugged. "I like my boots." He wrapped his hands around his coffee mug once they were on, his eyes moving to Percy. "Does your mom like to talk?"

Sally and Percy both laughed. "What?" Nico asked.

"She likes talking, but it's mostly to get into your business and to see if you're alright." Percy shook his head at his mother. "You know that's true."

"If you just told me everything, I wouldn't be like that." Sally sat across from Nico at the table. "Why did you ask?"

Nico couldn't help but smile at the environment. Those two...they really made him feel as if he was home, even if he had only known Percy for the day. "I like talking. It's been a while since I've been able to talk to people."

"Tell me about yourself," Sally invited. "I'm sure Percy wants to know, too. So, where did he find you?" She looked to her son in confusion. "Didn't you say you had problems with the Underworld today?"

"His dad runs the Underworld," Percy cut in. "So Nico really helped us out down there."

"Even with him, you never should have gone down there," Sally scolded. "There's a reason only the dead are allowed down there, Percy."

"I was dead." Nico blurted out, silencing the two. He didn't know why he did, couldn't even explain it to himself. But it was almost like he needed to put it out there, make sure they knew what they were getting into. Did this woman want to open her apartment to a dead boy?

"You don't look very dead to me." Sally went to stir the boiling pot on the stove. "Though you are skinny. Can you still eat, then?"

Nico's eyes widened slightly at how well she had taken it. "Um...I think I can. I think I'm alive again, kind of. I mean...I basically have a body."

Percy sat by Nico. "Do you know how that works?"

Nico shook his head. "No idea. But this can't be my original body. And I'm not a spirit anymore, I have mass."

"What happened to your original one?" Percy asked. "Was it given Greek burial rights?"

"Nope," Nico sat back against the wooden chair. "It probably ended up in a mass burial or something. There were too many bodies."

Percy frowned at the information. "How exactly did you die, Nico?"

Nico rubbed his hands together to keep warm. It was freezing in the Upperworld. "I was shot, I think. During the battle. We were trying to get Rome back from the army. They were still on Germany's side, but we joined the Allies. I volunteered and they didn't ask much about my age... It's not like we were real legal or anything."

Percy looked disturbed at the information. "You were in the war? So you grew up in Italy? How's your English so good?"

Nico couldn't help but smile. "That's all you have to ask? How my English is so good?"

Percy shrugged. "If I was you, I wouldn't want to talk about the fighting."

Nico nodded. "Well, I had a ghost teach me English. I had more than enough years to learn."

Percy laughed. "Yeah, you did."

Chapter Text

Nico sat on the cold fire escape, the sound of the city cutting through the night. As he watched, clouds passed over the moon.

"Come on..." he looked back down at his hand, frowning at how it kept melting in and out of the shadows. "Come on...come on..."

He tried to clench his fists at a sudden chill, able to feel his bones scraping together. He didn't know if he'd ever be warm again. It was too cold, even if he was alive again. Always. Not even the sun was warm.

And his body... It hadn't felt like this when alive. Nico could physically feel his bones, felt like a walking skeleton that cracked and groaned with each movement. He didn't feel alive, hadn't felt alive since he had died. Gaining what they called a body hadn't helped.

"Nico?" Percy's tired voice came from the window. "What are you doing out there?"

"Nothing." Nico quickly hid his hand. "Just...sitting."

Percy rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "You sure...?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah. The air is nice. And the moon is out."

"Okay..." Percy looked him over before heading back to bed, his exhaustion winning over his curiosity. As soon as he was gone, Nico looked back to his hand to find that it had solidified. Gray. His skin was still as gray as it was down in the Fields, just as gray as the other shades.

He didn't know much about those who came back to life, but he was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to be like this. Nothing in the tale of old Sisyphus resembled it. It scared him, to think that something was wrong. Scared him enough that he crawled back into the room and laid on his makeshift bed in the dark. He didn't want to die. Not again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next night, Nico sat on the fire escape again. With more practice, he could move some of the shadows that rested at his feet. But it was never for long, and after he did he almost passed out in exhaustion. But every time he practiced, he could go longer and do more.

A week after he had first shown up at Percy's, he thought of the old tale he had once heard. He could remember how some of the ghosts he summed talked about it. Achilles. The River Styx. Invincibility.

It had been when he was learning English, many years after he had died. As one of the final lessons, the old ghost had him read some Greek myths from an English book. Nico still didn't know where he had gotten the book, and the reading itself was even harder because of his dyslexia, but he had managed to get through it. In the end, he remembered looking to the ghost as if his old obsessions with the myths had come back full force.

"Minos?" Nico asked. "Was it really true?"

"What, master?" He was smirking.

"Does the River Styx really do that to people?" Nico closed the book and set it aside before pulling his knees up to his chest. "Can it really make you invincible besides one part of you?"

"And why do you need to know?"

Nico faltered. "I...I just thought...if dad had done that to Bianca and I and our mom, none of that stuff would have happened. Momma wouldn't have died...neither would have Bianca. But I don't even know if they're dead because they're not down here."

"The Fields of Asphodel are larger than they appear, even to you, master," Minos answered. "There are many in the Fields that you haven't seen."

"I know, I know. You can't even tell the difference." Nico wrapped his arms around his legs. "They're shades. They don't really have a difference, anymore."

"But you aren't. Do you know why?"

"Because of my father," Nico answered glumly. He then frowned. "So if Bianca was in the Fields...she wouldn't be a shade. Then why can't I find her?"

"Some souls aren't yet destined to meet." Minos picked up the book. "Your lesson is finished for now."

"No, wait." Nico sat forward and scrambled to grab him. "Don't leave, yet. Please. We can talk some more. Yeah? I...I have questions about the lesson!"

"I've been told to instruct you and only that-"

"And it's about the lesson," Nico promised. "So, does the Styx really do that?"

"Yes, but there are many risks involved," Minos answered. "Yet without its powers, Achilles wouldn't have been the warrior he was. If his mother hadn't dipped him in it, he wouldn't have won the battles that he did."

"Wow..." Nico let Minos go but immediately regretted it, the old ghost vanishing into thin air.

"Percy!" Nico scrambled back into the room. "I have an idea on how you can beat Kronos!"

Percy startled awake before blinking away his sleep. "What...?"

"I have an idea!" Nico jumped on Percy's bed in excitement. "To beat Kronos."

"Don't say his name," Percy warned. "Names have power."

"Fine, whatever." Nico pulled his hoodie close as another chill shot through him. "But I have an idea. You're going to be the one in the prophecy, right?"

Percy turned the lamp beside his bed on. "Yeah, unless another child of the Big Three pops up."

"And you're the most powerful demigod we have on our side," Nico continued. "So we just need to make you invincible and we might win."

"Make me invincible...?"

"The River Styx!" Nico beamed. "I really remembered something important. Minos said that it was the only thing that made Achilles win his battles. But it's dangerous. We just need to take the chance, I think."

Percy blinked. "Nico...um..." He shifted uncomfortably. "You're saying you want me to bathe in the River Styx?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah."

"Um..." Percy looked around before scratching the back of his neck. "Why don't you get to sleep, Nico? We can talk more about this tomorrow."

Nico crawled off of Percy's bed and to his own pile of blankets. "Are you going to do it, though?"

"Nico...I..." Percy swallowed thickly. "I don't know, okay? Just let me think on it."

Nico frowned but nodded. "Yeah, alright. And I can tell you more about it if you want."

"In the morning." Percy turned the light off and laid back down. Just before he fell back asleep, Nico tugged at his arm.

"Percy?" he whispered. "Are you still awake?"

"Unfortunately." Percy turned to face him. "What, Nico?"

"Um..." Nico shrugged. "Nothing." He crawled again to his blankets. "We will talk about it tomorrow?"

"Yes, Nico. Now get some sleep."

Nico bit his lip to stop himself from saying anything else. He was tired, sure, but not physically. And the cold had gotten too harsh to stop shivering. So he buried himself under the blankets, made the shadows move about him. They listened, they always listened. And they comforted him.

Chapter Text

"Master, Lord Hades sends me."

It had been cold all night, all day. Had been cold for weeks and years and lifetimes. Nico couldn't remember the last time chills weren't burrowing into his bones. Warmth and heat now seemed like a far off land, a legend, a fairytale. The hoodies and sweaters Percy loaned him didn't help, but it was better than having bare arms exposed to the wind. Wind, cold, chill. It reminded him that he had no place on this earth.

But there he was, looking up at a sky he never should have seen again, when he heard the voice. A voice he knew all too well. In the darkness, he turned to see that the voice had solidified into a figure.

The old demigod king looked just as he had before- pale, bearded, maliciously cold eyes and tendrils of Mist coiling off his robes. He was more solid than Nico remembered, though he now was out of the Underworld. But how...

"Why are you here, Minos?" Nico hissed. He slid the window shut before they could wake Percy. "Shouldn't you be in the Underworld?"

"Shouldn't you, master?" Minos replied. "I won't dwell on the question much as it is something Lord Hades needs to ignore, at least for the time being. But as you are in the world of the living, for whatever reason, you need to be able to protect yourself."

"I have my sword." Nico moved his shoulders, feeling the familiar weight of the weapon on his back. "Isn't that enough?"

"If a simple sword was enough, you wouldn't have told your fellow demigod about an old lesson of ours." Minos eyed him. "You've been practicing with the shadows, have you not?"

Nico shrugged. "I can move them. But what's that going to do? I might as well be one of them and that's not good... Minos, why am I not like the other undead?"

An emotion Nico didn't recognize flashed over the ghost's face. "I'm sorry?"

"The undead. Like Sisyphus, or...or...well, I can't remember who else cheated death. But they never looked like...this." He gestured to himself. "I'm still like a shade. I'm gray. My hands turn to shadow and I feel so...so...cold."

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that or dwell on the topic. But I can help you learn more about your powers, learn how to fight."

"You've already said that." Nico looked through the window, saw Percy's sleeping form. "But...I do want to help him against Kronos. I want to pull my own weight. It's the least I can do. He took me in and he...he's the reason I'm out of those fields."

Minos smiled. "Very well, master. Shall we start?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nico worked until he dropped. Literally. After one last jump in the shadows, he collapsed onto the Jacksons' couch. He could feel his arms melt into it, could barely breathe in and out. Exhaustion. Pure exhaustion. But the feeling gave him hope that he was actually alive again.

"Nico?!" The voice seemed to be coming from underwater. Too jumbled. Too far away. Nico let his eyes slide shut despite its persistence. The old saying "I can sleep when I'm dead" had been extremely inaccurate, and all being dead had done was add to his insomnia.

He crashed.

There were no dreams, no...nothing. He was gone from the world for however long he slept, and it wasn't upright good or bad. It was just...there.

When he did open his eyes, however, and was met with blue eyes he had never seen before. Blue eyes of a blond boy around his age. Blue eyes...that were adorable.

"What the hell?" Nico winced as his own thoughts came to a sudden halt. This was the second boy he had met, the second his mind somehow someway saw as attractive. "Damn you..."

The boy blinked in surprise before stepping back. "Um...Percy?! He's awake!"

Nico then noticed that he wasn't on the couch, but on his bed in Percy's room. The second thing he noticed was that he was bare-chested and fucking cold. The third thing was that his hands were actually solid.

"What the fuck?!" Nico slid back on the bed and wrapped a blanket around himself as Percy came running into the room. "Why did you undress me?!"

"Nico, Nico," Percy pulled the blond boy back. "He's a healer, from camp. I was worried. You came and you weren't...you were almost all gone and I needed someone who knew healing."

"I thought camp couldn't know about me." Nico started to calm but kept his chest covered.

"I won't tell anyone," the boy spoke up. "I'm Will Solace. It's nice to meet you, Nico."

Nico stared at this boy as he felt the familiar feelings he got around Percy. "What. The. Hell." Was he cursed to feel like this for every teenage boy he met?

"Um..." Percy seemed to be just as confused as Nico felt internally. "Nico? You okay there?"

Nico looked between them before running a hand through his hair. "Damn." He had almost given it away. "What happened to me?"

Percy jumped into a topic he knew about. "You disappeared for a week and then showed up here almost completely gone. Gave mom and Paul a heart attack."

"You had a lot of darkness in you," Will picked up. "I got a lot out with my abilities but it took some time." Nico then noticed how exhausted he looked. "My dad's Apollo, the sun god among other things. So I kind of have light powers."

Nico looked him over again. "So...you took shadows out of me?"

Will nodded. "I put them into myself, where the light quickly got rid of them. I could have put that light into you but..."

"It might have sent you back to the Underworld," Percy shrugged. "We don't know much about you yet, Nico. Or...your situation, I guess."

"But...you told Will what you know?" Nico asked. "You told him that I'm...that I'm..."

"Yeah, he told me." Will smiled at him as if he wasn't looking at the undead itself. "So if you're ever like that again, you can come to me. I can help without questioning you."

Nico made a small movement that could either be taken as a nod or muscle spasm. "Um..."

Percy handed him a hoodie. "Will, want me to walk you out?"

Once Nico got the hoodie over his head, he saw that they were both already gone, which was somewhat of a relief. Boys...why did he feel this way about boys? In his old life, his first life, his short life, he would have been hated. Shunned. Possibly killed. Boys didn't like boys. Not in this way.

But there he was, with butterflies and a racing heart. Because a boy with blond hair had come to fight Percy for a spot in Nico's heart. A spot neither knew about. A spot that they never should have been able to fill.

What would his mother think? He tried to remember her gentle manners and words. She always assured them that she loved them. Would she still if she knew the truth?

Then there was Bianca. Feisty, serious Bianca. Nico could only imagine what had happened to her, what her feelings evolved into. Did she even still love him by the time he died? By the time she died? Had she even died, or was she an old woman growing sick in a nursing home, somewhere in what was once a battle raging Italy?

Had her love for him lived that long? Would it have if she knew he liked boys?

Nico pulled the covers over himself, buried himself in blankets as the cold buried itself in him. Whatever it took, he wasn't going to tell his new friends. Not when it was a possibility that they would leave him for it.

Chapter Text

When he woke up next, it was dark in the small bedroom. He could see Minos's ghost, however, could see its outline in the pale moonlight. He wanted more training. He always wanted more training. And as much as it pained him, Nico tore himself from his bed and did as he was told.

His powers would grow fast, Minos warned. They had stopped during his time in the fields, and now they were ready to make up for the lost time. He needed to be prepared. He needed to harness them. If it hadn't been for the upcoming war, Nico wouldn't have wanted to.

What was so great about his powers, anyway? The shadows didn't speak, the skeletons he learned to raise didn't do much better. And he yearned for conversation, a yearning he wasn't sure how long would last. But as he was away from Percy, training, all he could do was want to talk to him again.

He crashed again, this time more violently. When he awoke, Will Solace was over him, his eyes closed and blond hair shinning. His hands were against Nico's bare chest, over his heart.

"Stay still," Percy's voice ordered. Nico couldn't see him as the shadows danced around his vision. "Let Will do his work."

Nico focused his attention on Will Solace, looked at that perfect face as he felt himself gain control. He could feel the shadows melting out of him, feel them as they transferred over to Will. And damn, was Will good to look at. Nico wasn't sure if it was his powers or his looks that actually ended up helping him.

Will opened his eyes, the blue irises full of shadows. Before Nico could speak, he blinked and they were gone.

"Am I going to have to ban you from using your powers?" Will asked.

"Huh?"

Will looked to Percy in exasperation. "That took longer than usual. I was afraid I might have to do it in parts."

"And if you had to?" Percy asked, standing by the door. His arms were crossed and he was in full worried parent mode, which Nico found cute. Damn, everything was cute about these two boys. Their eyes, their hair, their differences, Percy's height, Will's freckles, the way they talked and breathed and-

"He would get sicker while we waited in between," Will answered. "Who knows if it would kill him in that time or not."

Nico rolled his eyes. "It wouldn't kill me. I'm fine. Totally fine. Percy, have you thought about that thing I asked you?"

Percy's eye twitched. "No, I haven't."

"Hurry up and think on it," Nico ordered. "We could do it soon, all we need is-"

"Nico, Will's here to help you, not to talk about that." Percy cut in. "We can talk about that later."

Will cleared his throat. "Okay... Nico, you need to have ambrosia or nectar when you're training with your powers. They aren't like Percy's. They're like mine. You can't use it too much at a certain time. They can consume you."

"Warning taken." Nico swallowed thickly. That boy's face when he got serious...

Will forced a hoodie over Nico's head. "And keep the warmth in. You may have been dead but you're not anymore."

"Noted."

Will cracked a smile. "Promise to take care of yourself? I have to get back to camp, now. I doubt having three demigods sitting together for so long is good."

"How long have you been here?" Nico asked.

Will shrugged. "Couple hours?" He looked to Percy, who nodded. "Yeah, a couple of hours."

"Doing what?" Nico asked. "You couldn't have spent that much time on me...right?"

"Is that shocking?" Will asked.

Nico nodded. "I'm literally a dead boy."

"Not anymore." Will patted his shoulder before getting up. "Take care of yourself. You've got people that care about you, you know. You can't go throwing yourself into the shadows all the time."

"I'll try not to." His breathing was getting heavier. Why was his heart beating so fast? Damn that Will. Damn these crushes. Damn his gayness.

Damn, he was gay. Nico let it sink in as he finally admitted it to himself. He was gay. These crushes, they weren't curses. They were just...him. He could imagine that Percy felt that way about most girls, and a lot of girls felt that way about Percy. It was just...

"I'm a teenager." Nico groaned.

Will glanced him over before chuckling. "Yes, yes you are. Are you just now realizing that?"

"I...it's nothing." Nico wrapped a blanket around his shoulders, trying to keep the shivers in. "Thanks for helping again."

"No problem." Will's smile was blinding. "I'll be going, now."

Nico tried not to show his disappointment at his words. "Oh..."

"I can show you out," Percy spoke up. "Do you have a ride back to camp?"

Will gave Nico one last smile before following Percy out of the room. "Yeah, I have bus fair..."

Nico laid back in his makeshift bed as he waited for Percy to return. The war was getting closer, he could feel it. Something big was going to happen. And he needed to get Percy prepared.

When Percy walked back into the room, Nico sat up with a serious face and stressed voice. "The River Styx. You need to decide."

Percy hung his head. "I know."

Chapter Text

It was a week before Percy's sixteenth birthday when he didn't come home from his outing with Rachel. Nico had teased him about the fact that it could be a date, but he knew just as Sally did that Percy's heart belonged to Annabeth. It hurt, hurt a lot, actually, but Nico had accepted long ago that Percy was straight. Looking at that boy, living with him...there was no way he was gay.

So he had started to try to think of him as a friend, maybe a brother with how close they had been living. And now, with him gone...

Nico put on his old uniform before putting Percy's hoodie over it. He was busy packing a bag of ambrosia and nectar when Sally Jackson appeared in the bedroom doorway. "Nico...are you going to find him?"

"Yeah, I should be able to shadow travel to where his soul is." Nico grabbed the bag and stood up. "I'll find him and see what's going on."

Sally pulled him into a hug. "Stay safe, Nico. And do what Will told you when it comes to your powers."

"I will," he hugged her for a second before pulling away. "And don't worry too much, okay?"

She forced a smile. "I'll try not to."

Nico stepped to the darker side of the room, tried not to already miss his bed as he focused on Percy's lifeforce. He wasn't too far, was still in New York's area. With one last deep breath, he stepped into the shadows and melted into the darkness.

He stumbled out into what appeared to be a cabin. The first thing he saw was Percy Jackson, sleeping on one of the beds. No one else was in sight, but the early morning sun streamed in through the window.

"Percy," Nico hissed. "Percy, wake up!"

Percy jumped awake and fumbled around for Riptide. Before he could take his sword out, however, he noticed Nico and relaxed. "What are you doing here?"

"You went out with Rachel and never came back." Nico sat by him on the bed. "What happened? Your mom's worried."

Percy rubbed at his face. "Nico, things are happening. The war...it's closer than we've really been imagining. Yesterday, Blackjack..." He slipped into the story about what happened, the boat and Beckendorf's heroic death. Nico listened with rapt attention but with a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

After he explained the previous day, he told Nico what he had a dream about the night before. Rachel, Typhon,...

"So are you staying here until this is all over?" Nico asked. "You're not coming home?"

"Nico...I..."

"I'm staying with you, then." Nico decided. "Your mom has Paul, she'll be okay. But...you're the only one I really trust in this life."

Percy's eyes softened. "Of course I'd be fine with it. But...how are we supposed to explain who you are? If they find out about your father-"

"We don't have to tell them," Nico insisted.

"Okay, but what about where you came from?" Percy asked. "You...you don't look like one of us, Nico. No offense."

Nico stood up and looked his hands over. "I...I know I don't...but please, Percy?"

Percy got up and started to get dressed. "Stay here. I'm going to go get Annabeth."

"What? Why?"

"She'll know what to do," Percy insisted. "Just stay here until I get back, okay?"

Nico nodded reluctantly. "Okay."

Percy ran out of the cabin, leaving Nico alone. He couldn't understand how Percy could stand to sleep there alone. It was too cold, too lonely.

When Percy came back, he brought a girl Nico immediately recognized as Annabeth Chase. Blonde hair, gray eyes, calculating look. As soon as she walked in the door, she laid eyes on Nico and went to shout, but Percy quickly covered her mouth.

"Annie, please hear me out." Percy closed the door behind them. "Please."

Annabeth moved his hand off her mouth. "Percy Jackson, what did you do?"

Percy scratched the back of his neck, shifting nervously as he looked around. "Well, you see...this is Nico di Angelo."

"And...?"

"And...he's dead," Percy blurted. "Well, he was dead. We brought him back to life, Thalia and I. Zeus wouldn't kill his daughter so can't kill me for it, right?"

"Excuse me? What were you thinking?!" Annabeth stepped closer. "How did you do it? Did Ha-"

"We really shouldn't mention names," Nico said. "We're trying to keep this on the down low."

Annabeth looked him over. "How long ago did Percy do this?"

"Um...awhile..."

"Where have you been staying? I'm guessing with him, since you're wearing his stuff?"

Nico nodded.

"Do you know who your godly parent was? Scratch that, it would have to be someone related to the underworld if you were a shade but still have memories from your life..."

"How'd you know I was a shade?" Nico asked. "My skin?"

She nodded. "So, who's your parent?"

"The name I had just stopped you from saying," Nico admitted. "That was another reason Percy was hiding me."

"Oh...Oh, gods." Annabeth cursed in Greek. "Another of the-"

"We're not saying it." Nico cut in. "Please don't say it. We can't draw attention to this. I just want to help in this war. Let me help in this war. Don't send me back to the fields. I'll do anything."

"You're...desperate," Annabeth commented.

"He spent too many years in the Fields of Boredom." Percy watched the daughter of Athena. "I brought you here because I don't know what to do."

"You already took him. There's no point in taking him back." Annabeth held a hand out to Nico. "Come on, let's go see Chiron."

Nico's eyes widened. "Chiron? The Chiron?"

Annabeth nodded. "He'll have the final say on what to do. If we tell him everything, he'll know what the best plan is."

"Annabeth..." Percy stepped forward. "What if he forces us to take him back to the Underworld?"

"I don't think he will." Annabeth kept her hand out, eyeing Nico. "Come on. Everything will turn out for the best. You have to remember that you are dead, Nico."

Nico took her hand. "I...I trust you."

Annabeth smiled. "Okay. Now, let's get going. If you can help us in the war, it'll be a major turning point in our favor."

"And...you do think I'll be able to help?" Nico asked as he followed her out. "I can control the shadows, and travel through them, and recently we started working on raising the dead."

"We? Percy's been helping you?"

Nico cleared his throat. "Um...no. A ghost has. He said dad sent him but I don't really believe that part."

"A ghost has?" Percy ran to catch up with him. "Is that where you've been disappearing to?"

"Um...is that bad?" Nico asked.

"You should have told me," Percy replied. "I could have gone with you to help you, made sure you were okay."

"I was okay," Nico gestured to himself. "I'm okay."

"You almost faded multiple times."

"Faded?" Annabeth asked. "Explain."

"When I use too much of my shadow abilities, I start to...fade into them..." Nico looked around the camp as they walked, tried to see passed Annabeth and Percy, who sandwiched him in between them so that he wasn't clearly visible to any passers. The fresh air and the smell of strawberries were enough for him, though. "Will Solace can help, so it's not too dangerous."

"Will Solace...son of Apollo?" Annabeth glared at Percy. "Will Solace knew, and I didn't?"

Percy held his hands up in surrender. "I needed someone to heal him. Then...then I..."

"He was scared to tell you." Nico finished. "He was scared you'd hate him for bringing someone back from the dead. Someone who really didn't necessarily deserve it but could use it, I guess. And-"

"You overtalk, Nico," Annabeth commented gently. "We'll work on it. Now, let's visit Chiron." She gestured to the Big House as they got closer. "Ready?"

Nico nodded. "Definitely."

Chapter Text

Nico couldn't stop his legs from jostling about as he waited in the rec room of the Big House. Percy and Annabeth had explained to Chiron before leaving to do their chores, leaving Nico alone as Chiron handled something else.

He clung to Percy's hoodie, one he had claimed as his own not long after showing up at Percy's house. It was an old one but still smelled like the son of Poseidon, and Percy claimed he didn't use it anymore. So that left it in Nico's possession.

It was blue, just like everything else of Percy's. A few holes had been stitched over the years, and one had been stitched during Nico's use of it. It felt like home.

"Mr. di Angelo." Chiron wheeled himself into the room, causing Nico's attention to quickly turn to him. He still couldn't believe that he had met the Chiron. "I'm sorry for taking so long. Travis and Connor Stoll have already made a mess this morning."

"It's okay, sir." Nico stopped his nervous movements and sat straight, making sure to keep his posture right in front of a superior. "Are Percy and Annabeth almost back?"

"They will be, soon." Chiron closed the door before wheeling himself across from Nico. "I thought we could talk alone, Mr. di Angelo."

A thousand scenarios ran through Nico's mind, all relating to Chiron sending him back to where he came from. Some were more violent than others.

"If Percy had come to me, I would have told him to leave you in the Underworld," Chiron started. "However, now that you're here, it would be pointless to bring you back."

Nico tightened his grip on his hoodie. "That's what Annabeth said. But she wanted to check in with you, first. And I wanted to meet the Chiron. You trained the heroes I read about when I was taking my English classes."

Chiron held up a hand. "We still have important things to talk about. We can't miss the point."

"And...what's the point?" Nico asked.

"You were dead, that much would be obvious to anyone that saw you. That's enough to stop a feud between the gods for breaking the promise between them. Your father swore, along with the other two of the Big Three, not to have children. And he didn't. But you were brought back from the dead, something that shouldn't be allowed."

"But Percy and Thalia brought me back," Nico argued. "The other two children of the Big Three. Their fathers won't punish them, right?"

"I can't speak for them," Chiron said. "But I can say that bringing you back to the Underworld will, in fact, do no good. So there's nothing we can do about that problem."

"So...what are we going to do?" Nico asked.

"You'll stay here, at camp." Chiron decided. "It's the safest option for you. And I would avoid water and the sky if I was you. You don't want to give vengeful gods the ability to harm you."

Nico nodded in acceptance. "So I can help in the war, sir?"

Chiron nodded. "You may help turn the tide. I must warn you, however, that it isn't going to be like the war you previously fought in. It won't be a battle of weapons or money. This will be pure will, powers against powers, youth against a deity older than the modern world. You won't be facing humans who fall from a gunshot or two. Your sword and powers will be your weapons, and when you're no longer strong enough to use them, you won't have anything left. There's no draw, no surrender. There's no treaties or rules of war. You need to remember that. And those who fight beside you are children. They have never fought in a war before."

"Yes, sir. I'll keep that in mind, sir."

"Then yes, we would appreciate your help. But as you have not been in the demigod world long, I would like your word that you will listen to your demigod superiors."

"Of course, sir."

Chiron sighed. "Now, I've heard you've been training with your powers?"

"Yeah, and I'm getting really good!" Nico held a hand out and brought Chiron's shadow onto his palm. "See? I can move them, and make them do things for me, and move through them. Minos said it's called shadow travel, which probably isn't the real name for it but it's fine. And I'm working on raising the dead. Maybe they can do stuff for me, too. And I sword fight with Percy sometimes."

Chiron suddenly looked years older. "Did you say Minos?"

Nico nodded. "Is something wrong with that, sir?"

"Nico, listen to me." Chiron leaned forward, his face gravely serious. "I do not want you to speak to that ghost anymore, or listen to his plans."

Nico's face fell. "What? Why? He helps me. He's been helping me ever since the fields. He taught me English. He helps me with my powers."

"Do you know his past, young demigod?"

Nico shrugged. "He was a king of Crete or something. A son of Zeus, right? He's a judge in dad's kingdom, now, but he helps me out."

"Did he tell you anything about his kingship?" Chiron asked. "Anything about the Labyrinth, or the Minotaur?"

"No, not really," Nico admitted. "Why? Did he do something bad?"

Chiron nodded. "It's time you know who the original king of Crete was, Nico."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Percy came back to get him, Nico could tell something had happened. As soon as they were away from Chiron, Nico elbowed him roughly. "What happened?"

Percy sat on the side of the Big House porch and looked out over the strawberries. "Annabeth and I had a fight."

"Oh." Nico sat next to him. "This isn't a good time for fights, you know."

"I know, Nico. Just...what did Chiron say?"

Nico smiled. "I can help fight. He warned me about a lot of stuff but feels it's best that I help."

"Good, good." Percy sighed in relief. "We really need you."

They sat in silence for some time, Nico taking in the smell of the strawberries and the way the breeze felt against his cold bones. Even though the war was coming, the peace that settled over him beat anything he had ever felt before.

"We should let the others know who you are," Percy finally said. "If they're going to fight with you, they'll need to trust you."

"I doubt they'll trust me, but okay." Nico got up. "I'll go talk to people? I mean, I like talking to people, and you seem like you need some time. I know you love Annabeth and everything-"

"I don't love Annabeth," Percy rejected.

Nico shrugged. "Whatever you believe." He stretched, felt his joints crack and pop. The sun shining down on them kept most of the cold out for the time being, but he'd still never think of camp as warm. Nothing was warm, anymore. You have to remember that you are dead, Nico.

Death. Maybe it wasn't the absence of life, but just the absence of heat.

He kept his hands deep in his pockets as he made his way around camp. Most demigods were focused on their tasks and their tasks only. Yet one girl spotted him and grew a face of anger.

She had brown hair and brown eyes, and was actually pretty tall and built for her age. She stormed over to Nico, spear in hand. "And who are you? You shouldn't have been able to get past the borders."

Nico kept his hands in his pockets as they started to gather a crowd. "Um..."

"Is that Jackson's hoodie you're wearing?" she asked. "What the-"

"Clarisse!" Will Solace was suddenly in front of Nico, though the later wasn't sure where he had come from. He was wearing his camp shirt, shorts, and sandals that probably weren't meant for fighting. "He's already talked to Chiron, I saw Percy take him there. His name's Nico di Angelo."

Clarisse crossed her arms. "Nico di Angelo? And what is he? He looks more like a zombie than anything."

Nico poked his head out from around Will. "Seeing that I was dead, that would make sense."

Will facepalmed. "What don't you understand about keeping it on the down low?"

"Solace, explain," Clarisse commanded. "How haven't the gods-?"

"Thalia and Percy got him out," Will started. "He's been staying with Percy. Now that the war's here, however...he came to camp. He just talked to Chiron and Chiron didn't tell him to get lost or anything."

"He actually said I can help in the war," Nico pipped up. He stepped around Will and walked over to Clarisse, his hand out to shake. "Nico di Angelo, son of the Underworld, at your service."

Clarisse studied him. "Son of the Underworld? As in your father is Ha-"

"We shouldn't say his name," Will cut in.

"But yeah, that's him." Nico bit his lip.

Clarisse shook his hand. "Surprised you came out and just said all of that, di Angelo."

Nico grinned. "Yeah, well, it's not like I can keep the undead fact a secret."

"Where were you in the Underworld? The Fields?" she asked.

Nico nodded. "Percy's started to call them the Fields of Boredom, which I agree with."

"Clarisse, you can't be serious," another camper spoke up. "You're befriending the enemy!"

Before Nico could defend himself or even see who had spoken, Will Solace and Clarisse La Rue had stepped between him and the speaker.

"Are you adding to the feud?" Will growled out. "You Ares kids need to learn your place!"

Clarisse pushed him aside. "Not all Ares kids are assholes. Hey, you! You're on cleaning duty for the month! Di Angelo over here is pretty cool, I like him. If I hear one more word like that, you'll answer to-"

"Ms. La Rue, please refrain from threatening younger campers." Chiron was suddenly beside them, though Nico hadn't noticed him get through the thickening crowd. "And I speak to all my campers when I say that Mr. di Angelo will be welcomed here. He plans to aid us in our fight, and we sorely need his help. Now, if you need me to show you the seriousness of the situation again, you can breeze through the mortal newspapers we have gathered. Tython is on his way here. We need to prepare."

Nico almost saluted Chiron but stopped himself just in time. Damn, was everyone staring. He started to shiver as the sun disappeared behind a cloud.

"Di Angelo, come with me," Clarisse turned to him. "I want your opinion on who should have rights to this chariot. We were..."

Chapter Text

Nico made the mistake of taking a nap. He was exhausted, cold, sick and tired of all the stares. So Percy let him use his cabin, where he immediately fell asleep on Percy's bed.

But it didn't come without a price.

His dreams shifted from old memories of the war to what looked like a throne room. Before him, a man stood that looked all too much like him.

"Father?"

"Nico." Hades was wearing his robe made from tormented souls, the faces all too distracting for his son. "We can't talk for long. I don't need anyone else getting word of this."

Nico stared at him, stared into dark eyes that looked so similar to his own. "You really are my father..."

Hades sighed. "Listen to me. I have a deal for you. If you do what I want, I'll make sure you figure out what happened to your family."

Nico stepped forward. "Seriously?"

Hades nodded. "But I need you to-"

"I'll do anything," Nico promised. "You'll really tell me what happened? I couldn't find Bianca or momma in the fields, no matter how long I searched. And-"

"Silence!" Hades ordered.

Nico shut his mouth and straightened up.

"Good. Now..." Hades crossed his arms. "You're planning on taking Percy to the Underworld to bathe in the River Styx, are you not?"

Nico nodded. "I've been trying to get him to agree, sir."

"Get him to agree," Hades ordered. "And bring him here, to my palace, when you do."

"...why?" Nico asked. "What do you want with him?"

"I need to talk to him. Now, do you agree?"

"I bring him to you, you tell me about momma and Bianca?" Nico asked.

Hades nodded.

"Then yes, of course, I agree."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They burned Beckendorf's shroud, a sight that sobered the entire camp. Nico sat and stared at the flames as others left, soon only him, Percy, Clarisse, and Chris left to stay with Silena.

He wanted to go to the Underworld, check on his soul for her. But he wasn't sure if he'd make it back.

"Hey, Silena, I'm really sorry." Percy's voice caused Nico to look over. He had walked over to the poor girl, no doubt feeling some kind of survivor's guilt. Nico had had his fair share of it in the past. "Silena, you know Beckendorf carried your picture. He looked at it right before we went into battle. You meant a lot to him. You made the last year the best of his life."

Silena sobbed worse.

"Good work, Percy," Clarisse muttered.

"No, it's all right," Silena said. "Thank . . . thank you, Percy. I should go."

"You want company?" Clarisse asked. Silena shook her head and ran off.

"She's stronger than she looks," Clarisse muttered, almost to herself. "She'll survive."

"You could help with that," Percy suggested. "You could honor Beckendorf's memory by fighting with us."

"Not my problem," she growled. "My cabin doesn't get honor, I don't fight."

"All right," Percy told her. "I didn't want to bring this up, but you owe me one. You'd be rotting in a Cyclops's cave in the Sea of Monsters if it wasn't for me."

Nico walked over to them, then, knowing where this was heading. He could hear an old memory chanting "fight" as two soldiers got on each other's last nerves.

She clenched her jaw. "Any other favor, Percy. Not this. The Ares cabin has been dissed too many times. And don't think I don't know what people say about me behind my back."

"So, what, you're just going to let Kronos crush us?" Percy asked.

"If you want my help so bad, tell Apollo to give us the chariot."

"You're such a big baby."

Nico and Chirs got between them at the last minute, Clarisse having charged before Percy could blink.

"Whoa, guys," Chris said. "Clarisse, you know, maybe he's got a point."

She sneered at him. "Not you too!" She trudged off with Chris at her heels.

"Hey, wait! I just meant-Clarisse, wait!"

Percy looked to Nico as the fire from Beckendorf's shroud died. "Come on."

"Where...where are we going?" Nico asked, following after him. "We just did a shroud and you almost got in a fight, which you would have totally lost."

"I need a break." Percy looked at him. "I don't know how you don't."

Nico shrugged. "I'm used to a lot happening."

They walked into the sword arena. Immediately, a hellhound was at Nico's feet, rolled over to expose her stomach. She was at least the size of a truck, but that didn't stop Nico from petting her.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a hellhound?!" Nico looked up at Percy with a large grin. "Can I play with her? Can I walk her? Does dad know you have her?"

"I kind of inherited her," Percy admitted. "And yeah, go for it."

Nico played fetch with her for a while, his old love for the monsters coming back. Even the ones that weren't tame always were drawn to him. In the Underworld, they didn't attack. In the very few times when they got into the fields, he'd play with them until they left, or until Minos yelled at him for it.

"What's she barking for?" Nico asked, the game of fetch soon coming to an end.

"She has to, uh, go to the bathroom." Percy opened the gates of the sword arena, the hellhound bounding into the woods. "Come on, let's follow."

"What's her name?" Nico asked as they walked.

"Mrs. O'Leary," Percy admitted. "Yeah, it's strange, I know."

Nico chuckled. "I like it."

They followed her into an old clearing, where instead of using the facilities, Mrs. O'Leary laid again at Nico's feet. Nico kneeled next to her but eyed the two who were already in the clearing.

The tree nymph was pretty but seemed to have been crying for days. Beside her, there was a very old, very fat satyr. "Will someone-what is this underworld creature doing in my forest!" he yelled. "You there, Percy Jackson! Is this your beast?"

"Sorry, Leneus," Percy said. "That's your name, right?"

Nico looked between them. "You know them, Percy?"

Percy didn't get to answer, Mrs. O'Leary's loud bark setting off the satyr.

"Make it go away!" he screamed. "Juniper, I will not help you under these circumstances!"

"Percy," she sniffled. "I was just asking about Grover. I know something's happened. He wouldn't stay gone this long if he wasn't in trouble. I was hoping that Leneus-"

"I told you!" the satyr protested. "You are better off without that traitor."

Juniper stamped her foot. "He is not a traitor! He's the bravest satyr ever, and I want to know where he is!"

"WOOF!"

Leneus's knees started knocking. "I . . . I won't answer questions with this hellhound sniffing my tail!"

Nico looked to Percy. "Want me to take her on a walk?" When Percy nodded, Nico set off with Mrs. O'Leary close behind. It was the last thing he expected to be doing at the camp Percy constantly talked about, but it was quite peaceful in the forest, even with a hellhound for company.

He gave them some time before coming back. Leneus had gone, leaving Juniper and Percy alone in the clearing. Nico walked up to them with his hands in his pockets, Mrs. O'Leary close behind.

As soon as Juniper saw him, she was in front of him with tear-stained eyes. "You're a son of Hades, right? Percy said so. Would you be able to tell if Grover is alive?"

Nico looked between her and Percy. "Um...didn't you say he's a satyr?"

She nodded.

"Then sorry, but my powers only really work on human souls..." Nico glanced away. "It's not like Grover would go to the Underworld if he were to die. He'd just be reborn as a plant or something."

"We'll find him, Juniper," Percy promised. "Grover's alive, I'm sure. There must be a simple reason why he hasn't contacted us."

She nodded glumly. "I hate not being able to leave the forest. He could be anywhere, and I'm stuck here waiting. Oh, if that silly goat has gotten himself hurt-"

Mrs. O'Leary bounded back over and took an interest in Juniper's dress. Juniper yelped. "Oh, no you don't! I know about dogs and trees. I'm gone!"

She disappeared, leaving Nico and Percy alone once again.

"So..." Nico thought back to the dream of his father. "Have you thought about what I offered?"

"Nico, I don't know," Percy said. "It seems pretty extreme."

"You've got Typhon coming in, what . . . a week? Most of the other Titans are unleashed now and on Kronos's side. Maybe it's time to think extreme."

Percy looked back toward the camp. Even from this distance, they could hear the Ares and Apollo campers fighting again, yelling curses and spouting bad poetry.

"They're no match for the Titan army," Nico said. "You know that. This comes down to you and Luke. And there's only one way you can beat Luke. We can give you the same power," Nico urged. "You heard the Great Prophecy. Unless you want to have your soul reaped by a cursed blade . . ."

"You can't prevent a prophecy," Percy said.

"But you can fight it. You can become invincible."

"Maybe we should wait. Try to fight without-"

"No!" Nico snarled. "It has to be now!"

Percy stared at him. He hadn't seen his temper flare like that in some weeks. "Um, you sure you're okay?"

He took a deep breath. "Percy, all I mean . . . when the fighting starts, we won't be able to make the journey. This is our last chance. I said I was going to help in this war, and that means doing whatever it takes to stay alive and defeat Kronos."

"All right," Percy decided. "What do we do first?"

Chapter Text

Nico di Angelo. Percy still wasn't completely sure how he felt about him. He was dead, or he used to be, and that was enough to unnerve anybody. But that wasn't what bothered Percy.

No, what bothered Percy was how Nico acted sometimes. The unusual anger, the way he was hiding something, the undeterred need to constantly train. When they were in the demigod world, he wasn't the same person as he was back at the apartment.

When they were home, Percy sometimes caught himself feeling as if Nico was his brother. He was a talkative kid, his gray skin not defining him. He was polite to Sally and Paul, though his 40's manners didn't quite get why they were living together before marriage. And to be honest, he could be pretty funny. Percy enjoyed sharing a room with him.

But then he had started going off and training, had started coming back nearly dissolved. Percy wasn't the only one that noticed the difference.

"Percy, can I talk to you?" Sally kept her voice low, Paul having gone to bed the hour before and Nico having already disappeared with that ghost.

Percy nodded and followed his mom into the kitchen, where she made two mugs of hot chocolate. When she was done, they sat at the table in silence.

Eventually, Sally spoke again. "Percy, are you going to tell me what's going on with Nico?"

Percy froze. He had been trying to keep it from her, not wanting her to worry. But here they were.

"I just...feel as if he's changing," Sally continued. "He's always so exhausted. He fell asleep at breakfast this morning, Percy."

Percy scratched the back of his neck. "From what he's told me, he's been training at night. He's practicing with his powers."

"Is he taking care of himself?" Sally asked.

Percy didn't touch his hot chocolate. "That's the reason Will Solace has been stopping over sometimes. He helps Nico."

"What can I do?" she asked. "How can I help him? He's such a nice boy."

"I don't think we can," Percy admitted.

Maybe after the war, things would go back to how they were. Percy could only hope. Because even after what happened that day, he still thought of Nico as a brother.

~

AN: at this point, Nico and Percy visit Luke's mom and Sally just as they did in the books. Nothing really changes so I'm not going to copy it down, so just insert it here.

~

They shadow traveled to Central Park. Mrs. O'Leary went sniffing around a cluster of boulders.

"It's okay, she just smells home," Nico said.

Percy frowned. He could never be as comfortable with this as Nico was. "Through the rocks?"

"The Underworld has two major entrances," Nico started. Percy could tell he was about to rant. "The first is in LA. Most souls go that way. But there's a smaller path, harder to find. The Door of Orpheus. You know who he was, right? I read about him in my English lessons."

"The dude with the harp."

"The dude with the lyre," Nico corrected. "He used his music to charm the earth and open a new path into the Underworld. He sang his way right into dad's palace and almost got away with his wife's soul. But he didn't trust dad and the whole quest failed."

"So this is the Door of Orpheus. How does it open?" Percy asked.

"We need music," Nico said. "How about your singing?"

Percy blushed at the memory. Nico often heard him singing in the shower before he eventually broke the news that it was able to be heard throughout the apartment.

"Um, no. Can't you just, like, tell it to open? You're the son of Hades and all."

"It's not so easy. We need music."

Percy turned around. "I have a better idea. GROVER!"

They waited for a while. Nico finally agreed to after Percy explained to him about the empathy link, sitting on the cold ground with his arms wrapped tightly around himself.

"This reminds me of something," Nico whispered after some time. Percy had sat next to him, the cold feeling finally mutual.

"What's it remind you of?" Percy asked.

Nico reached a finger out and trailed it over some of the dirt. "The war." It was the only thing he didn't talk about, and Percy knew better than to bring it up. Over the weeks of knowing Nico, he had learned to change the subject as quick as possible.

"Nico, why are you so okay with going back to the Underworld?" Percy asked. "Aren't you scared you're going to get stuck down there again?"

Nico moved his face into the shadows, something he only did when Percy caught him in a lie. "Everything will be fine. We're not going near the fields."

"Yeah, whatever you say." Percy looked away from the son of Hades, knowing that he was hiding something. "So, how does it work again?"

"I'll explain better when we're down there." Nico's shivers were growing more violent and intense. His teeth began to chatter. "B-But you'll have t-to anchor y-yourself using a happy thought. A s-strong thought."

Percy focused more on his link as the fear that Nico would freeze to death kicked in. Grover. Something hummed back. Then an image came into his head, showing Grover asleep in some clearing.

Grover, wake up.

Unnnh-zzzzz.

Dude, you're covered in dirt. Wake up!

Sleepy, his mind murmured.

FOOD, Percy suggested. PANCAKES!

Grover woke up, but it was more violent than Percy anticipated. Memories came shooting forward before the whole image shattered.

"W-What happened?" Nico caught him before he could fall on his side.

"I got through. He's . . . yeah. He's on his way." Percy pulled himself up.

A minute later, the tree next to them shivered. Grover fell out of the branches, right on his head.

"Grover!" Percy yelled. Nico jumped in surprise.

"Woof!" Mrs. O'Leary looked up.

"Blah-haa-haa!" Grover bleated.

"You okay, man?"

"Oh, I'm fine." He rubbed his head. "I was at the other end of the park. The dryads had this great idea of passing me through the trees to get me here. They don't understand height very well."

"Good to see you, G-man," Percy said. "This is Nico di Angelo."

Grover kept a noticeable distance from Nico but kept the question in that might be seen as rude. But Percy could tell what Grover wanted to ask. Why are you in Central Park with a shade? Nico still shivered to himself, either not caring or not noticing Grover's look.

"Perrrrcy!" Grover bleated. "I missed you! I miss camp. They don't serve very good enchiladas in the wilderness."

"I was worried," Percy said. "Where've you been for the last two months?"

"The last two-" Grover's smile faded. "The last two months? What are you talking about?"

"We haven't heard from you," Percy said. "Juniper's worried. We sent Iris messages, but-"

"Hold on." He looked up at the stars like he was trying to calculate his position. "What month is this?"

"August."

He paled. "That's impossible. It's June. I just lay down to take a nap and . . ." He grabbed Percy's arms. "I remember now! He knocked me out. Percy, we have to stop him!"

"Whoa," Percy said. "Slow down. Tell me what happened."

He took a deep breath. "I was . . . I was walking in the woods up by Harlem Meer. And I felt this tremble in the ground like something powerful was near."

"You can sense stuff like that?" Nico asked, having curled into a small ball.

Grover nodded. "Since Pan's death, I can feel when something is wrong in nature. It's like my ears and eyes are sharper when I'm in the Wild. Anyway, I started following the scent. This man in a long black coat was walking through the park, and I noticed he didn't cast a shadow. Middle of a sunny day and he cast no shadow. He kind of shimmered as he moved."

"Like a mirage?" Nico asked.

"Yes," Grover said. "And whenever he passed humans-"

"The humans would pass out," Nico said. "Curl up and go to sleep."

"That's right! Then after he was gone, they'd get up and go about their business as nothing happened."

Percy stared at Nico. "You know this guy in black?"

"Afraid so," Nico said. "Grover, what happened?"

"I followed the guy. He kept looking up at the buildings around the park like he was making estimates or something. This lady jogger ran by, and she curled up on the sidewalk and started snoring. The guy in black put his hand on her forehead like he was checking her temperature. Then he kept walking. By this time, I knew he was a monster or something even worse. I followed him into this grove, to the base of a big elm tree. I was about to summon some dryads to help me capture him when he turned and . . ." Grover swallowed. "Percy, his face. I couldn't make out his face because it kept shifting. Just looking at him made me sleepy. I said, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'Just having a look around. You should always scout a battlefield before the battle.' I said something really smart like, 'This forest is under my protection. You won't start any battles here!' And he laughed. He said, 'You're lucky I'm saving my energy for the main event, little satyr. I'll just grant you a short nap. Pleasant dreams.' And that's the last thing I remember."

Nico stood up, shaking as if he was in the Arctic. Percy knew the cold night couldn't be helping Nico's lack of heat. "Grover, you met Morpheus, the God of Dreams. You're lucky you ever woke up."

"Two months," Grover moaned. "He put me to sleep for two months!"

"Why didn't the nymphs try to wake you?" Percy asked.

Grover shrugged. "Most nymphs aren't good with time. Two months for a tree- that's nothing. They probably didn't think anything was wrong."

"We've got to figure out what Morpheus was doing in the park," Percy said. "I don't like this 'main event' thing he mentioned."

"He's working for Kronos," Nico said. "We know that already. Minos said so. A lot of the minor gods are. This just proves there's going to be an invasion. Percy, we have to get on with our plan."

"Wait," Grover said. "What plan?"

Percy quickly told him their plan to go to the River Styx.

"You're not serious," he said. "Not the Underworld again."

"Again?" Nico whispered.

"I'm not asking you to come, man," Percy promised. "I know you just woke up. But we need some music to open the door. Can you do it?"

Grover took out his reed pipes. "I guess I could try. I know a few Nirvana tunes that can split rocks. But, Percy, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Please, man," Percy said. "It would mean a lot. For old times' sake?"

He whimpered. "As I recall, in the old times we almost died a lot...okay, here goes nothing."

Grover played a few tunes and eventually, the rocks split open, revealing a triangular crevice that opened up to a black staircase.

Percy turned to Grover. "Thanks . . . I think."

"Perrrrcy, is Kronos really going to invade?"

"I wish I could tell you better, but yeah. He will."

"I've got to rally the nature spirits, then. Maybe we can help. I'll see if we can find this Morpheus."

"Better tell Juniper you're okay, too."

His eyes widened. "Juniper! Oh, she's going to kill me!"

He started to run off, then scrambled back and gave Percy a hug."Be careful down there! Come back alive!"

Percy finally turned to Nico when Grover had gone, stopping in his tracks when he saw how he had changed. After the entrance had opened, the son of Hades looked as if he was staring into his worst nightmare.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked, reaching out to touch Nico's arm. He had never felt something so cold.

Nico didn't move. "Just wake Mrs. O'Leary."

Percy did as he was told. As soon as the hellhound was awake, she bounded down the steps and out of sight.

"Ready?" Nico asked him. "It'll be fine. Don't worry."

He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

Did he think he wasn't going to ever come back? Percy saw him stare up at the stars as if he would never see them again.

And then they walked into the darkness.

Chapter Text

Nico lagged behind, causing Percy to feel more uncomfortable in his decision. "You okay?"

"Fine." What was that expression on his face . . . doubt? "Just keep moving." No rants, no spiraling off into other topics. Nico only didn't talk when something was wrong.

When they emerged on the rocky cliff, Nico stopped beside him. Percy could see he had finally stopped shivering, which was odd considering where they were. But he looked terrified.

"So, Nico . . . how do we do this?" Percy asked. He wanted to get it over with for both of their sakes.

"We have to go inside the gates first," he said.

"But the river's right here."

"I have to get something," he said. "It's the only way."

Nico started off towards the gates, leaving Percy no choice but to follow. Why Nico would want to get close to those fields, he had no idea. But everything around them acted as if they were supposed to be there. Even Cerberus didn't attack, instead playing with Mrs. O'Leary.

They slipped into the Fields of Asphodel. Nico was starting to shake but not from cold. After a minute of walking, he grabbed onto Percy's arm. Percy was so sure a shade had that he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Sorry," Nico whispered.

"It's fine."

They got out of the fields and started for the palace.

"Hey," Percy said, "we're inside the gates already. Where are we-"

They stopped walking. The Furies had appeared above them, circling overhead.

"I've done what my father asked. Take us to the palace." Nico let Percy go.

Percy tensed. "Wait a second, Nico. What do you-"

"I'm afraid this is my new lead, Percy. My father promised me information about my family, but he wants to see you before we try the river. I'm sorry."

"You tricked me?" Percy was mad enough he couldn't think. After everything he had done for him... He lunged but Alecto grabbed him.

"Oh, don't struggle, honey," his old math teacher cackled in his ear. "I'd hate to drop you."

Mrs. O'Leary tried to jump to reach him but was too far beneath them.

"Tell Mrs. O'Leary to behave," Nico warned. He was hovering near in the clutches of the third Fury. "I don't want her to get hurt, Percy. My father is waiting. He just wants to talk."

When did you talk to him? Percy wanted to ask. Had everything about sneaking out of the Underworld been a lie?

"Mrs. O'Leary, down! It's okay, girl. All right, traitor," Percy growled at Nico. "You've got your prize. Take me to the stupid palace."

They were dropped in the middle of the palace garden. The only guards were what looked to be old soldiers, and Nico was eyeing them as it he once knew them.

Percy stared at the three empty thrones. Then the air shimmered. Three figures appeared- Hades and Persephone on their thrones, and an older woman standing between them.

"-told you he was a bum!" the older woman said.

"Mother!" Persephone replied.

"We have visitors!" Hades barked. "Please!"

"Percy Jackson," he said with satisfaction. "At last."

"Hmmph," the older woman said. "Demigods. Just what we need."

Nico knelt but kept his eyes glued on Hades. "Father, I have done as you asked."

"Took you long enough," Hades grumbled. "Your sister would've done a better job."

Nico twitched. Percy couldn't help but also wonder what had happened to his sister.

"What do you want, Hades?" Percy asked.

"To talk, of course." The god twisted his mouth in a cruel smile. "Didn't Nico tell you?"

"So this whole quest was a lie. Nico brought me down here to get me killed."

"Oh, no," Hades said. "I'm afraid Nico was quite sincere about wanting to help you. The boy is as honest as he is dense. I simply convinced him to take a small detour and bring you here first."

"Father," Nico said, "you said if I brought him, you would tell me about my sister and mother."

Persephone sighed dramatically. "Can we please not talk about that woman in my presence?"

"I'm sorry, my love," Hades said. "I had to promise the boy something."

The older lady harrumphed. "I warned you, daughter. This scoundrel Hades is no good. You could've married the god of doctors or the god of lawyers, but noooo. You had to eat the pomegranate."

"Mother-"

"And get stuck in the Underworld!"

"Mother, please-"

"And here it is August, and do you come home like you're supposed to? Do you ever think about your poor lonely mother?"

"DEMETER!" Hades shouted. "That is enough. You are a guest in my house."

"Oh, a house is it?" she said. "You call this dump a house? Make my daughter live in this dark, damp-"

"I told you," Hades said, grinding his teeth, "there's a war in the world above. You and Persephone are better off here with me."

"Excuse me," Percy broke in. "But if you're going to kill me, could you just get on with it?"

All three gods looked at him.

"Well, this one has an attitude," Demeter observed.

"Indeed," Hades agreed. "I'd love to kill him."

"Father!" Nico said. "You promised!"

"Husband, we talked about this," Persephone chided. "You can't go around incinerating every hero. Besides, he's brave. I like that."

Hades rolled his eyes. "You liked that Orpheus fellow too. Look how well that turned out. Let me kill him, just a little bit."

"Father, you promised!" Nico said. "You said you only wanted to talk to him. You said if I brought him, you'd explain."

Hades glowered, smoothing the folds of his robes. "And so I did. Your mother- what can I tell you? She was a wonderful woman. About a year after you enlisted, she died."

"And my sister? And where are their souls?"

"Not important," Hades snapped.

"What? Of course it's important."

Percy plucked a ruby off the nearest plant and threw it at Hades. It sank harmlessly into his robe. "You should be helping Olympus! All the other gods are fighting Typhon, and you're just sitting here-"

"Waiting things out," Hades finished. "Yes, that's correct. When's the last time Olympus ever helped me, half-blood? When's the last time a child of mine was ever welcomed as a hero? Bah! Why should I rush out and help them? I'll stay here with my forces intact."

"And when Kronos comes after you?"

"Let him try. He'll be weakened. And my son here, Nico-" Hades looked at him with distaste. "Well, he's not much now, I'll grant it would've been better if it was Bianca. But give him two more years of training. We can hold out that long, surely. Nico will turn sixteen, as the prophecy says, and then he will make the decision that will save the world. And I will be king of the gods."

"You're crazy," Percy said. "Kronos will crush you, right after he finishes pulverizing Olympus. And can Nico even turn sixteen? He's dead!"

Hades spread his hands. "Well, you'll get a chance to find out, half-blood. Because you'll be waiting out this war in my dungeons."

"No!" Nico said. "Father, that wasn't our agreement. And you haven't told me everything!"

"I've told you all you need to know," Hades said. "As for our agreement, I spoke with Jackson. I did not harm him. You got your information. If you had wanted a better deal, you should've made me swear on the Styx. Now, go to your room I have prepared!" He waved his hand, and Nico vanished.

"That boy needs to eat more," Demeter grumbled. "He's too skinny. Needs more cereal."

Persephone rolled her eyes. "Mother, enough with the cereal. My lord Hades, are you sure we can't let this little hero go? He's awfully brave."

"No, my dear. I've spared his life. That's enough."

She shrugged indifferently. "Fine. What's for breakfast? I'm starving."

"Cereal," Demeter said.

"Mother!" The two women disappeared in a swirl of flowers and wheat.

"Don't feel too bad, Percy Jackson," Hades said. "My ghosts keep me well informed of Kronos's plans. I can assure you that you had no chance to stop him in time. By tonight, it will be too late for your precious Mount Olympus. The trap will be sprung."

"What trap?" Percy demanded. "If you know about it, do something! At least let me tell the other gods!"

Hades smiled. "You are spirited. I'll give you credit for that. Have fun in my dungeon. We'll check on you again in- oh, fifty or sixty years."

~~~~~~~

"Percy!"

Percy woke up and lunged out blindly. Before he was fully awake, he had Nico pinned to the floor of the cell with the edge of his sword at his throat.

"Want . . . to . . . rescue," he choked. He twitched as if his old instincts wanted to fight back.

"Oh, yeah? And why should I trust

you?"

"No . . . choice?" he gagged.

Percy let him go. He watched until he finally realized why Nico wasn't getting up.

Nico was laying on the floor, gasping for breath but Percy didn't think it was from the choking anymore. His hands were clenching where he was once shot. His eyes, wide open, seemed to be looking at something besides the ceiling of the cell.

"Oh, no..." Percy had heard of PTSD before, had thought Nico had it, had even prepared himself in case of flashback. But he still wasn't ready.

Though he was angry, he knew getting him out of it was for the best. The list of things to do ran through his mind.

Play loud music? Didn't have any. Have him grip a piece of ice? Nico's hands were cold enough. Have him sniff something strong? No strong scents were around. Have him bite a lemon? Yeah, he doubted the Underworld had any.

"Um...okay, okay..." he was just thankful no one was around. "Here goes nothing..."

He sang as loud as he could, wincing at each voice crack. Eventually it just turned to screaming with a hint of rhythm.

But it worked. After five minutes, Nico blinked as his breathing slowly came under control. "What the...?"

Percy stopped immediately. "Oh, thank the gods."

Nico blinked again before scrambling to his feet. "What did you do to me?! You shot me!"

"Nico, no... Do you know where we are?" Percy asked. "You betrayed me, you gave me up to your father! The father I didn't even know you spoke to! Then you had a flashback because of your PTSD, and possibly the fact that I had my sword to your throat."

Nico pulled his hoodie off and then his uniform top, his hands fumbling over his old scars. Percy had only ever seen them once or twice.

"You really didn't shoot me..." Nico closed his eyes. "Oh gods, what was that?"

"PTSD."

"I don't know what that is!"

"Because you were born before it was known!"

"You think I care?!" Nico got dressed. "Just forget it. Forget it. It...it was just like a nightmare, that's all. Look . . . right now, we need to leave. I put the guards to sleep, but it won't last."

They snuck out. Every time they came to a skeleton guard, Nico just pointed at it, and its glowing eyes dimmed. Unfortunately, the more Nico did it, the more tired he seemed. They walked through a maze of corridors filled with guards. By the time they reached a kitchen staffed by skeletal cooks and servants, Percy was practically carrying Nico. He managed to put all the dead to sleep but nearly passed out himself. Percy dragged him out of the servants' entrance and into the Fields of Asphodel.

Percy almost felt relieved until he heard the sound of bronze gongs high in the castle.

"Alarms," Nico murmured sleepily.

"What do we do?"

He yawned then frowned like he was trying to remember. "How about . . . run?"

Running with a drowsy child of Hades was more like doing a three-legged race with a life-size rag doll.

The sound of gongs rolled across the fields. Ahead loomed the walls of Erebos, but the longer they walked, the farther away they seemed. Percy was about to collapse from exhaustion when he heard a familiar "WOOOOOF!"

Mrs. O'Leary bounded out of nowhere and ran circles around them, ready to play.

"Good girl.'" Percy said. "Can you give us a ride to the Styx?"

Percy pushed Nico onto her back. Then he climbed aboard, and she raced toward the gates. Cerberus barked, but he sounded more excited than angry. Fortunately, he didn't follow, and Mrs. O'Leary kept running.

She didn't stop until they were far upriver and the fires of Erebos had disappeared in the murk.

Nico slid off Mrs. O'Leary's back and crumpled in a heap on the black sand.

Percy took out a square of ambrosia. It was a little bashed up, but Nico chewed it.

"Uh," he mumbled. "Better."

"Your powers drain you too much," Percy noted. "You're lucky you didn't turn into a puddle of shadows."

He nodded sleepily.

"Whoa, zombie dude." Percy caught him before he could pass out again. "We're at the river. You need to tell me what to do."

He fed him the last of the ambrosia, which was a little risky, but it seemed to do the trick. Nico shook his head a few times and struggled to his feet.

"My father will be coming soon," he said. "We should hurry."

"So . . . I just jump in?"

"You have to prepare yourself first," Nico said, "or the river will destroy you. It will burn away your body and soul."

"Sounds fun," Percy muttered.

"This is no joke," Nico warned. "There is only one way to stay anchored to your mortal life. You have to . . ."

He glanced behind Percy and his eyes widened. Percy turned and found himself face-to-face with a Greek. For a second he thought it was Ares, because this guy looked exactly like the god of war- tall and buff, with a cruel scarred face and closely shaved black hair. He wore a white tunic and bronze armor. But his eyes were human- pale green like a shallow sea- and a bloody arrow stuck out of his left calf, just above the ankle.

"Achilles,"

The ghost nodded. "I warned the other one not to follow my path. Now I will warn you."

"Luke? You spoke with Luke?"

"Do not do this," he said. "It will make you powerful. But it will also make you weak. Your powers in combat will be beyond any mortal's, but your weaknesses, your failings will increase as well."

"You mean I'll have a bad heel?" Percy said. "Couldn't I just, like, wear something besides sandals? No offense."

He stared down at his bloody foot. "The heel is only my physical weakness, demigod. My mother, Thetis, held me there when she dipped me in the Styx. What really killed me was my own arrogance. Beware! Turn back!"

"I have to," Percy said. "Otherwise I don't stand a chance."

Achilles lowered his head. "Let the gods witness I tried. Hero, if you must do this, concentrate on your mortal point. Imagine one spot of your body that will remain vulnerable. This is the point where your soul will anchor your body to the world. It will be your greatest weakness, but also your only hope. No man may be completely invulnerable. Lose sight of what keeps you mortal, and the River Styx will burn you to ashes. You will cease to exist."

"I don't suppose you could tell me Luke's mortal point?"

He scowled. "Prepare yourself, foolish boy. Whether you survive this or not, you have sealed your doom!"

With that happy thought, he vanished.

"Percy," Nico said, "maybe he's right."

"This was your idea."

"I know, but now that we're here-"

"Just wait on the shore. If anything happens to me . . . Well, maybe Hades will get his wish, and you'll be the child of the prophecy after all."

Nico frowned. Maybe he was also thinking of how he could possibly reach 16.

Then Percy jumped.

Chapter Text

Nico stared into the water of the River Styx, half convinced he had killed Percy Jackson. Damn, could this day get any worse? His father was an asshole, he betrayed Percy's trust, he had to walk through those fields.

And a different feeling reminded him of where he belonged. Only down there, among the dead, did he finally not feel the cold.

He never should have listened to Minos or his father.

Percy burst out of the water, sending him scrambling back in surprise. That skin that was once so beautiful, not steaming and bright red.

"Are you okay?" he asked.. "Your skin. Oh, gods. You're hurt!"

"I'm fine . . . I think." The color of his skin turned back to normal. Mrs. O'Leary came up and sniffed him with concern.

"Do you feel stronger?" Nico asked."Is it-"

His questions were cut off by his father's voice. "THERE!"

An army of the dead marched toward them. A hundred skeletal Roman legionnaires led the way with shields and spears. Behind them came an equal number of British redcoats with bayonets fixed. In the middle of the host, Hades himself rode a black-and-gold chariot pulled by nightmare horses, their eyes and manes smoldering with fire.

"You will not escape me this time, Percy Jackson!" Hades bellowed."Destroy him!"

"Father, no!" Nico shouted, but it was too late. The front line of Roman zombies lowered their spears and advanced.

Mrs. O'Leary growled and got ready to pounce. Maybe that's what set Percy off. He was protective of his dog. Or he was just sick and tired of how Hades was acting. Nico would fully agree, if that was the case.

Percy yelled, and the River Styx exploded. A black tidal wave smashed into the legionnaires. Spears and shields flew everywhere. Roman zombies began to dissolve, smoke coming off their bronze helmets.

Percy charged. All Nico could do was watch, eyes wide, at the display of power. The curse of Achilles. It really worked.

What Nico would have given to have had that before he died. Maybe he could have won the war, or at least changed its course. He could have been something more than one of the many to die.

How had his war ended? It was then he realized that he had never really found out.

Percy broke through the enemy line and leaped into the black chariot. Hades raised his staff. A bolt of dark energy shot toward him, but he deflected it off his blade and slammed into Hades himself. They both tumbled out of the chariot.

Percy's knee was planted on Hades's chest. He was holding the collar of his royal robes in one fist, and the tip of his sword was poised right over his face.

Silence. There was no army left.

Hades swallowed. "Now, Jackson, listen here. . . ."

"Just because I'm a nice person," Percy snarled, "I'll let you go. But first, tell me about that trap!"

Hades melted into nothing, leaving him holding empty black robes.

Nico whistled.

"I think the river thing worked," Percy said.

"Oh gee," Nico said sarcastically. "You think?"

Mrs. O'Leary barked happily and wagged her tail. Nico was about to go on about how awesome that was, but Percy spoke before he could.

"Go back to your father," he told Nico. "Tell him he owes me for letting him go. Find out what's going to happen to Mount Olympus and convince him to help."

Nico stared at him. "I . . . I can't. He'll hate me now. I mean . . . even more."

"You have to," Percy said. "You owe me to."

Nico looked down at the beach of the river. It was as dark as ever. "Percy, I told you I was sorry. Please . . . let me come with you. I want to fight."

"You'll be more help down here."

"You mean you don't trust me anymore," he said miserably.

Percy didn't answer. Nico could feel their friendship breaking, could feel his made up world crash down around him. He was dead. The dead didn't have friends. They didn't go into the world of the living. They were trapped.

"Just go back to your father," Percy said. "Work on him. You're the only person who might be able to get him to listen."

"That's a depressing thought." Nico tried to keep his breathing under control. Panic was rising up in his chest. He wasn't getting out of there. "All right. I'll do my best." Hold back the tears. Keep them hidden.

"Now Mrs. O'Leary and I have to go."

"Where?" Nico asked. His hands were shaking.

"To get this war started. It's time I found Luke."

Percy left, then, on the back of Mrs. O'Leary. Nico wanted to run after him, scream, yell. He wanted to demand that he bring him back to the world of the living. But he couldn't. And he doubted he'd be able to leave on his own.

"No..." he sunk to his knees, stared into that hopeless river. He needed to get out of there. He needed to.

But there was nowhere to go. Panic, fear, death.

~~~~~~~~~

Nico stayed cleared of three things in the Underworld: the Fields of Asphodel, Persephone, and Hades. As long as he did, the panic wasn't too bad. But it never went away, just as the cold had stayed when he was on the surface.

Unlike the first time he was dead, nothing kept him in the fields. He could wander as he pleased, learn from any ghost he wanted. And now, sick and tired of trying and failing to find his mother or sister's ghosts, he decided to try to conjure them.

He dug a hole in one of Persephone's flower beds, then poured a goblet of wine into the hole and began to chant. "Let the dead taste again. Let them rise and take this offering. Maria di Angelo, show yourself!"

An image formed. It was a scene rather than a single ghost. In the mist, he saw himself and Bianca as little children, playing in the lobby of an elegant hotel, chasing each other around marble columns.

His mother sat on a nearby sofa. She wore a black dress, gloves, and a black veiled hat. On a chair next to her sat Hades. He was leaning toward her, using his hands as he talked, like he was agitated.

"Please, my dear," he said. "You must come to the Underworld. I don't care what Persephone thinks! I can keep you safe there."

"No, my love." Nico had long since forgotten her voice. "Raise our children in the land of the dead? I will not do this."

"Maria, listen to me. The war brewing in Europe has turned the other gods against me. A prophecy has been made. My children are no longer safe. Poseidon and Zeus have forced me into an agreement. None of us are to have demigod children ever again."

"But you already have Nico and Bianca. Surely-"

"No! The prophecy warns of a child who turns sixteen. Zeus has decreed that the children I currently have must be turned over to Camp Half-Blood for proper training, but I know what he means. At best they'll be watched, imprisoned, turned against their father. Even more likely, he will not take a chance. He won't allow my demigod children to reach sixteen. He'll find a way to destroy them, and I won't risk that!"

"Certamente," Maria said. "We will stay together. Zeus is un imbecile."

Nico smiled at her courage. He hadn't remembered this from his childhood.

Hades glanced nervously at the ceiling. "Maria, please. I told you, Zeus gave me a deadline of last week to turn over the children. His wrath will be horrible, and I cannot hide you forever. As long as you are with the children, you are in danger too."

Maria smiled, and again it was creepy how much she looked like her daughter. "You are a god, my love. You will protect us. But I will not take Nico and Bianca to the Underworld."

Hades wrung his hands. "Then, there is another option. I know a place in the desert where time stands still. I could send the children there, just for a while, for their own safety, and we could be together. I will build you a golden palace by the Styx."

Maria di Angelo laughed gently. "You are a kind man, my love. A generous man. The other gods should see you as I do, and they would not fear you so. But Nico and Bianca need their mother. They are only children. The gods wouldn't really hurt them."

"You don't know my family," Hades said darkly. "Please, Maria, I can't lose you."

She touched his lips with her fingers. "You will not lose me."

The scene changed. Maria was older, more worn. Bianca was sitting beside her on the same couch. With a start, Nico realized that it had to have been after he was already at war. Why hadn't his father taken them already?

"Maria, please." Hades was begging again. "Zeus grows more impatient each day. No doubt he's going to get Nico killed-"

"Don't talk like that," Maria put a hand on his shoulder before looking to Bianca. "Bianca, dear, I think we should do what your father says."

Bianca twisted her hands nervously. "A place where time stands still? I...I'm still scared, momma."

"I'll come with you," her mother assured. "Wait for me while I get my purse."

She kissed the lord of the dead and rose from the sofa. Hades watched her walk upstairs as if her every step away caused him pain.

A moment later, he tensed. Bianca looked to the father she knew so little of. "Wha-"

"No!" Hades said. But even his godly powers were too slow. He only had time to erect a wall of black energy around his daughter before the hotel exploded. The force was so violent, the entire mist image dissolved.

When it came into focus again, it showed Hades kneeling in the ruins, holding the broken form of Maria di Angelo. Fires still burned all around him. Lightning flashed across the sky, and thunder rumbled. Bianca stared at her mother in mute terror.

The Fury Alecto appeared behind them, hissing and flapping her leathery wings. Bianca didn't notice her.

"Zeus!" Hades shook his fist at the sky. "I will crush you for this! I will bring her back!"

"My lord, you cannot," Alecto warned. "You of all immortals must respect the laws of death."

Hades glowed with rage. Nico himself felt chilled at the words.

"Take her," he told Alecto, choking back a sob. "Wash her memories clean in the Lethe and bring her to the Lotus Hotel. Zeus will not harm her there."

"As you wish, my lord," Alecto said. "And the woman's body?"

"Take her as well," he said bitterly. "Give her the ancient rites."

Alecto, Bianca, and Maria's body dissolved into shadows, leaving Hades alone in the ruins.

"I warned you," a new voice said.

Hades turned. A girl in a multicolored dress stood by the smoldering remains of the sofa. She had short black hair and sad eyes. She was no more than twelve.

"You dare come here?" Hades growled. "I should blast you to dust!"

"You cannot," the girl said. "The power of Delphi protects me."

"You've killed the woman I loved!" Hades roared. "Your prophecy brought us to this.'"

He loomed over the girl, but she didn't flinch.

"Zeus ordained the explosion to destroy the girl," she said, "because you defied his will. I had nothing to do with it. And I did warn you to hide her sooner."

"I couldn't! Maria would not let me! Besides, she was innocent."

"Nevertheless, she was your child, which makes her dangerous. Even if you put her away in the Lotus Hotel, you only delay the problem. Bianca will never be able to rejoin the world lest she turn sixteen."

"Because of your so-called Great Prophecy. And you have forced me into an oath to have no other children. You have left me with nothing!"

"I foresee the future," the girl said. "I cannot change it."

Black fire lit the god's eyes. "Then, Oracle, hear the words of Hades," he growled. "Perhaps I cannot bring back Maria. Nor can I bring you an early death. But your soul is still mortal, and I can curse you."

The girl's eyes widened. "You would not-"

"I swear," Hades said, "as long as my children remain outcasts, as long as I labor under the curse of your Great Prophecy, the Oracle of Delphi will never have another mortal host. You will never rest in peace. No other will take your place. Your body will wither and die, and still the Oracle's spirit will be locked inside you. You will speak your bitter prophecies until you crumble to nothing. The Oracle will die with you!"

The girl screamed, and the misty image was blasted to shreds. Nico fell to his knees in Persephone's garden, his face slack with shock.

Standing in front of him was the real Hades, towering in his black robes and scowling down at his son.

"And just what," he asked Nico, "do you think you're doing?"

Nico stared up at him. Every time he looked the god in the eyes, he felt just as dead as he truly was. "I... Bianca...momma..."

Zeus had killed his mother. Zeus had most definitely got him killed on the battlefield. Zeus had done who knows what to his sister.

"Never do that again." Hades warned. His voice sent shivers down Nico's spine. "If you do, I'll put you back where you belong."

Nico swallowed thickly. "But...you're not going to now?"

"No," Hades growled. "You need your training incase this Percy Jackson fails."

"Will you help in the war?" Nico asked hopefully.

Hades scowled and disappeared into the darkness. Nico could do nothing more than stare at where he once was.

In the image, they had spoken about him as if he was already dead. Had he been? He'd never be sure. And had Bianca truly been sent to this place where time stands still? Was she still alive?

Chapter Text

Nico spent the days, or what he assumed were days (the sun didn't exist in the land of the dead), thinking about Percy Jackson and the war on the horizon.

He was guilty, guilty beyond measure, and he still couldn't believe that he had betrayed Percy. Would they ever go back to the friendship level they had? He wasn't sure if they would ever even be friends again.

But Percy had left him with a task. He wanted him to get Hades to fight. So that was what Nico busied himself with doing.

"You have to!" Nico insisted. He was following his father around the dinning room, hands moving as he spoke. Demeter and Persephone sat behind them at the breakfast table.

"I don't have to do anything!" Hades' eyes blazed. "I'm a god!"

"Father," Nico said, "if Olympus falls, your own palace's safety doesn't matter. You'll fade too."

"I am not an Olympian!" he growled. "My family has made that quite clear."

"You are,'' Nico said. "Whether you like it or not."

"You saw what they did to your mother," Hades said. "Zeus killed her. And you would have me help them? They deserve what they get!"

Persephone sighed. "Could we please not talk about that woman?"

"You know what would help this boy?" Demeter mused. "Farming."

Persephone rolled her eyes. "Mother-"

"Six months behind a plow. Excellent character building."

Nico stepped in front of his father, forcing Hades to face him. "My mother understood about family. That's why she didn't want to leave us. That's why she didn't want me to leave her when I went to war. You can't just abandon your family because they did something horrible. You've done horrible things to them too."

"Maria died!" Hades reminded him.

"You can't just cut yourself off from the other gods!"

"I've done very well at it for thousands of years."

"And has that made you feel any better?" Nico demanded. "Has that curse on the Oracle helped you at all? Holding grudges is a fatal flaw."

"For demigods! I am immortal, all-powerful! I would not help the other gods if they begged me, if Percy Jackson himself pleaded-"

"You're just as much of an outcast as I am!" Nico yelled. "Stop being angry about it and do something helpful for once. That's the only way they'll respect you!"

Hades's palm filled with black fire.

"Go ahead," Nico said. He was already dead, wasn't he? He didn't have anything to lose. "Blast me. That's just what the other gods would expect from you. Prove them right."

"Yes, please," Demeter complained. "Shut him up."

Persephone sighed. "Oh, I don't know. I would rather fight in the war than eat another bowl of cereal. This is boring."

Hades roared in anger. His fireball hit a silver tree right next to Nico, melting it into a pool of liquid metal.

Nico flinched, saw it come toward him just as a bullet once did. But he didn't see it melt like the others did. No, his eyes flickered to an old battlefield, and he felt bullets once again rip through his flesh.

"The boy has PTSD, I've seen some other demigods do work with it. It's from trauma, Hades."

Nico kept his eyes closed but took in the sounds and smells around him. A strong feeling of home had washed over him.

"Even if he does, what am I supposed to do? I am ruler of the Underworld! There is a war above our heads!"

The second voice was much closer. But Nico was so warm, so tired, so peaceful. He didn't want to move.

"A war the boy wants you to fight! A war he is willing to fight in his condition! That should show you he is passionate about it!"

"My children have been passionate about many things. If I had joined in on them, this world would have been ruined."

"This boy is different than your other bastards. You and I both know it."

Nico didn't feel any pain, didn't taste any blood, didn't smell the stench of the battlefield. He moved his arm slightly and realized he was being held close to someone. Someone warm.

"And what if he is? If he fights in this war, his trauma will be worse. If I take him from this Underworld to fight, Zeus will have my head! The boy's dead, Persephone!"

"Zeus will know you did it to save Olympus!"

Right, he was dead. The warmth of the Underworld was what was filling his old, tired bones.

"Zeus will welcome my son to fight, but as soon as the battle is over he'll cast him into punishment! You know Zeus, Persephone! You know what he's done! That's why I can't take my own daughter out of an eternal limbo!"

Nico cracked his eyes open at the mention of his sister. "Bianca...?"

The two voices stopped, the room once again becoming quiet. The least person he expected to see holding him was Hades, but there he was in the god's arms. Warmth. Home. Family.

It was the first time he ever felt comfortable in the land of the dead.

"You woke him up." Persephone sat on the bed besides Hades. They were in Nico's room in the palace, a room he hadn't ever tried getting used to. "Nico, your father and I have decided to-"

"Persephone." Hades laid Nico down on the bed and stood up. He wasn't used to being a father, that much was evident. He wasn't used to having to care for someone. But he still stared down at Nico, still looked at him as a father should. "Nico, do you truly believe in the side of the war you have chosen to fight?"

Nico sat up in the bed and backed up to the corner, looking at Hades and Persephone as he tried to figure them out. Did he have a...flashback? Was that what Percy had called it? Some disorder or illness Nico had originally thought the boy had made up?

"PTSD..." he drawled out slowly. "You know what it is, don't you? You said it, Persephone."

Persephone gave Hades a heated look. "See? The boy's in need of some help. You should have seen this a long time ago, as you are the boy's father."

Hades crossed his arms. "And why do you care, if he's one of my many bastards?"

"Why don't you?" Persephone asked. "He's your son, whether you like it or not. And we don't have any of our own. With his mother gone, I can take him in as my own."

Nico looked between them as the conversation left what was important again. "Um..."

"He's dead, Persephone. He was sentenced to the Fields of Asphodel!"

"And yet here he is," she replied, "ready to fight in a war on the surface to save Olympus! He's dead and has PTSD and he's willing to! Then there's you, hiding out down here because of some little grudge."

Nico looked to Persephone in a new light, but Hades just seemed even more pissed off, as if he saw this side of her often. It must have only been behind closed doors and in dark halls. Never in any myth did Nico see Persephone truly stand up to her husband.

Was it because of him? It was something only his mother had once done for him.

"It isn't some little grudge," Hades hissed. "They've nearly banned me from Olympus, cast me out from the 12, sent me and my children into shame. They don't deserve to be saved."

"Dad," Nico felt his chest just to make sure the bullets hadn't been real. "The world is in the best state with them in power. If the titans regain control, the world will go into chaos. Don't do it for the gods. Do it for the world. Bianca's going to need a world to live in."

Hades looked between his wife and son, looked to the ceiling in exasperation, gave one simple nod and walked out.

"Did...did he just say yes?" Nico scrambled to his feet and looked to Persephone. "Did he just say he'd fight?"

She stood up and straightened out her dress. "Are you really going to fight with us, Nico?"

Nico nodded in determination. "Course."

She grabbed his shoulders and leaned down to look him in the eye. "Then you need to take charge of your flashbacks. If they happen out on that battlefield, you'll be once again cast into the Underworld. And there won't be another chance to bring you publicly back."

Nico looked into her green eyes, saw the life she breathed into flowers. "Do you know how I can?"

She nodded. "We need to hurry. Come, I'll teach you some things. Then we must prepare for war."

Chapter Text

Nico sat on his bed in the Underworld, eyes on his fingerless gloves. Black against gray skin, a gift from his new stepmother along with a thick, long sleeved shirt. He would be cold on the surface, they all knew it. He would always be cold in the land of the living.

And now it was time for battle, whether they were ready or not. He had seen battle before, had gone through its hell. He thought he was ready, but him and Persephone were still deathly afraid that he would have a flashback on that battlefield.

Not to mention after the battle, when it was possible that Zeus might cast him into eternal punishment. He would be cheating death, after all.

Nico zipped his boots and stood up. A helmet over his head, his sword on his back. He was ready for war.

"Son of Hades." Kronos spit on the ground. "Do you love death so much you wish to experience it again?"

"Your death," Nico said, "would be great for me."

"I'm immortal, you fool! I have escaped Tartarus. You have no business here, and no chance to live."

Nico pulled his sword off his back, tried to keep his eyes off of Percy Jackson and the ones that fought at his side. No doubt they were wondering who he was. "I don't agree."

The ground rumbled. Cracks appeared m the road, the sidewalks, the sides of the buildings. Skeletal hands grasped the air as the dead clawed their way into the world of the living. There were thousands of them, and as they emerged, the Titan's monsters got jumpy and started to back up.

"HOLD YOUR GROUND!" Kronos demanded. "The dead are no match for us."

A harsh war horn sounded, and as the dead soldiers formed up ranks with their guns and swords and spears, an enormous chariot roared down Fifth Avenue. It came to a stop next to Nico. The horses were living shadows, fashioned from darkness. Holding the reins was Hades himself, with Demeter and Persephone riding behind him. Hades wore black armor and a cloak the color of fresh blood.

Hades smiled coldly. "Hello, Father. You're looking . . . young."

"Hades," Kronos growled. "I hope you and the ladies have come to pledge your allegiance."

"I'm afraid not." Hades sighed. "My son here convinced me that perhaps I should prioritize my list of enemies." He glanced at Percy with distaste. "As much as I dislike certain upstart demigods, it would not do for Olympus to fall. I would miss bickering with my siblings. And if there is one thing we agree on-it is that you were a TERRIBLE father."

"True," muttered Demeter. "No appreciation of agriculture."

"Mother!" Persephone complained.

Hades drew his sword. "Now fight me! For today the House of Hades will be called the saviors of Olympus."

And the battle started, and all the senses came back to Nico. The adrenaline, the fear, the courage, the taste of blood and the same sense of mortality. He was killing, others were being killed. Everyone that fell on that battlefield would wish for another chance.

But the army he fought for now was nothing like the army he once did. Now, it was swords against nonhumans, powers and blood and going against every boundary your body set up. Raw. It was using every last ounce of strength, it was crawling and sprinting and still holding your sword even when you couldn't keep it up anymore.

Once upon a time it was guns, it was soldiers in a line, in a trench. It was bombs in the distance, it was talk of a worse battlefield on a western front. It was only two bullets, the two bullets that killed him. It was laying there as he died, not needing to try to keep fighting.

In the midst of it, he saw Sally and Paul. He protected them, protected Percy's family, protected the ones that had once shown him love. If anything, he hoped it would show Percy that he could trust him again.

Exhaustion. Battle. Blood. What he once feared would set him into a flashback was now something he would eventually flashback to. Everything in him wanted to collapse, wanted to melt into the sidewalk and into the palace of his father.

But it was war. You couldn't just stop. It was something he had mistaken in his first war. If you stopped, you died.

So he kept on fighting.

Nico stumbled over to Persephone after the battle had ended, ready to fall face first into the concrete. A cut on his cheek dripped blood down his gray face, his knuckles had been broken after a punch to a giants leg. When he finally got to his step mother, he couldn't do anything more than grin.

"You did good, young demigod." she pushed some hair from his face, his helmet having been thrown off long before. "Now go to your father. He's going to Olympus to make sure Percy Jackson actually won. Go with him."

No matter how tired he was, Nico willingly ran to catch up with his father. The god looked down at his son, wiped some blood off his cheek, led him to the elevator. Those around them didn't seem to believe that Hades could act like such a father.

"We really won?" Nico asked on the way up to Olympus. "The war is over?"

"We will see." Hades didn't seem to want to believe that Percy actually came through. "You did good, Nico."

"Thank you."

They emerged onto Olympus and walked into the throne room to find the gods repairing their ruined thrones. Nico didn't expect some of them to congratulate Hades, but they did. No one said a word to him, but that was good.

Zeus could send him into eternal punishment. He could decide his fate.

Percy was nearby, along with Grover and Annabeth. Nico watched them, unsure if he should interrupt yet craving communication. Especially when it was possibly that he may never have communication again.

Other demigods up there were watching him in confusion, in fear, in pure curiosity. It wasn't everyday that a shade appear from the fields and help win the war. But he was on their side, he had shown that.

The meeting soon started, killing any chance Nico had at talking to Percy. He sat at the foot of his father's throne, eyes on his shoes as Zeus spoke.

"As for my brothers," Zeus said, "we are thankful-" He cleared his throat like the words were hard to get out. "-erm, thankful for the aid of Hades."

Hades reached down and patted Nico on the shoulders, and that was it. Zeus went on to the next god as if Nico wasn't even there. It would have been seen as rude, and was to anyone that didn't know the situation, but Nico felt so much relief he could have sunken into the floor.

If that was how Zeus decided to play out the situation, he was thankful for it. Being ignored by the gods was his gift, it seemed, as the others got theirs. It was his gift to be allowed in the land of the living, on Mount Olympus, anywhere but the fields.

It was a gift that changed his hatred for Zeus into a mild dislike.

Chapter Text

Nico stepped out of Olympus as soon as the meeting was over, not having had time to appreciate the land of the living this time around. He looked at the sun, tried to feel what once gave him heat. He followed the cracks in the buildings, saw where each of his skeletons came out to help.

The sun looked the same as it did in Italy, and the clouds that passed could have had twins decades ago.

He was still distracted by the sun and the clouds when he ran into Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Literally.

He hadn't seen the girl before, but she didn't kill him on sight despite his appearance. Instead, she stepped back and eyed him wearily. "You fought for Percy?"

She had red hair tied back in a ponytail, freckles on her pale face, paint splattered on her clothes. Even though the war had ended, she still had a spark of desperation in her eyes.

Nico nodded. "Yes, I did..."

"I'm Rachel, Rachel Elizabeth Dare." she had her hand on a pegusas's mane. "Tell Percy I'll have Blackjack back soon. I'm going to camp."

Nico frowned, his hand itching for his sword. "Why?" He paused, feeling her life source. "You're human. You won't be able to get into camp."

She shook her head. "You're wrong. Everyone has been so wrong. I know what I'm fated to do. The oracle."

Nico thought back to the time he had visited camp, the mummy in the attic of the Big House. Then there was the memory he had seen of his father cursing the oracle, claiming that no one would be able to take it over.

"You'll die," he stated. "It's a suicide mission."

Rachel mounted Blackjack despite his words of warning. "I've got to go."

"Rachel, do you really not value your life?" he reached out, tried to grab her before it was too late. But she flew away on Blackjack, flew away to what he thought would be ultimate demise.

Without a second thought, he ran to find Percy. Maybe his old friend would know what to do.

A life. It was for a life. He fought through his exhaustion, fought through his aching bones and the way they cracked and groaned. Running for where he last saw Percy, he could only hope that he would get there on time.

Nico found Percy at the bottom of the Empire State, with Annabeth, Grover, and his family. As soon as they made eye contact, Percy's face fell. "What's wrong?"

Nico came to a stop beside them, his heavy breathing almost masking his words. "It's Rachel. I just ran into her down on 32nd Street."

Annabeth frowned. "What's she done this time?"

"It's where she's gone," Nico said. "I told her she would die if she tried, but she insisted. She just took Blackjack and-"

"She took my pegasus?" Percy demanded.

Nico nodded. "She's heading to Half-Blood Hill. She said she had to get to camp."

Percy and Annabeth looked at each before running off, leaving Nico no choice but to follow. He was alive. If he could save a life with that privilege, he wouldn't hesitate.

"She'll never get through the defenses," Annabeth said. "Peleus will eat her."

"We've got to hurry." Percy glanced at Nico. "I don't suppose you could conjure up some skeleton horses."

Nico was having trouble breathing. If he had an actual mortal, human body, he probably would have passed out by now. "So tired . . . couldn't summon a dog bone."

When they got to the river, he expected Percy to go off on his own, maybe somehow swim to camp with his powers. Instead, three hippocampi answered the son of Poseidon's call.

"You want me to get on that?" Nico asked. "I was told to stay away from water. Your dad's going to kill me."

"Nico, no time!" Percy jumped on the nearest one. "Come on!"

Nico glanced at the ground before jumping on the last available one, swallowing back his fear. Percy was there. Percy wouldn't let his father harm him... Right?

They arrived on the shore at Camp Half-Blood, a camp Nico wasn't too excited to return to. There was nowhere for him to rest, nowhere for him to eat. The father he had grown fond of was thought of in fear. Those who knew him let him be, but those who didn't looked as if they had just seen their worst nightmare.

But he wasn't there to think of how long he was staying. He was there to save the life of Rachel Elizabeth there.

Argus was waiting on the shore, his hundred eyes catching Nico off guard but not scaring him. Actually, Nico found it pretty cool. There were few things he hadn't seen yet in the mythological world, and this was one.

"Is she here?" Percy asked.

Argus nodded, didn't speak a word.

"Is everything okay?" Annabeth asked.

He shook his head before leading them up the trail, to the Big House that Nico had only see once before. But now, something was different and it was definitely something wrong.
Green light shot out of the windows. Rachel Elizabeth Dare stood at the bottom of the porch steps. Her arms were raised towards the house, open as if she was accepting something.

"What's she doing?" Annabeth demanded. "How did she get past the barriers?"

"She flew," one of the satyrs said. "Right past the dragon, right through the magic boundaries."

"Rachel!" Percy called.

"You can't interrupt." Chiron warned.

"I thought you explained things to her!"

"I did. And I invited her here."

Nico looked between the two before whistling. "That's some drama."

Percy stared at Chiron in disbelief. "You said you'd never let anyone try again! You said-"

"I know what I said, Percy. But I was wrong. Rachel had a vision about the curse of Hades. She believes it may be lifted now. She convinced me she deserves a chance."

"And if the curse isn't lifted? If Hades hasn't gotten to that yet, she'll go crazy!"

Nico thought back to the curse his father had planted on the oracle, thought back to its rules. Hades had been accepted onto Olympus as a hero, his son was standing in camp without anyone saying otherwise.

He stepped back, stopped trying to fight what was happening. Maybe it was time the curse was lifted.

The Mist swirled around Rachel. She shivered like she was going into shock.

"Hey!" Percy shouted. "Stop!"

Rachel opened her eyes and turned. She looked like she was sleepwalking. "It's all right." Her voice sounded far away. "This is why I've come."

"You'll be destroyed!"

She shook her head. "This is where I belong, Percy. I finally understand why."

Nico watched as the oracle was transferred, as Apollo himself came to watch. He saw Percy's desperate pleas to save his friend, saw the sight that most demigods wouldn't see in their lifetimes.

Rachel's lifeforce almost went out completely, like a flickering fire still fighting to provide heat. It flickered, it faded, then suddenly came back full force.

Apollo drifted down from the porch. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the new Oracle of Delphi."

"You're kidding," Annabeth said.

Rachel managed a weak smile. "It's a little surprising to me too, but this is my fate. I saw it when I was in New York. I know why I was born with true sight. I was meant to become the Oracle."

Fate. Nico definitely believed in fate. It was the only reason he was alive again. No other heroes got the chance that he did.

Percy blinked. "You mean you can tell the future now?"

"Not all the time," she said. "But there are visions, images, words in my mind. When someone asks me a question, I . . . Oh no-"

"It's starting," Apollo announced. Rachel doubled over like someone had punched her. Then she stood up straight and her eyes glowed serpent green. When she spoke, her voice sounded tripled- like three Rachels were talking at once: "Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire, the world must fall. An oath to keep with a final breath, And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

Nico stared at her, having dismissed most of the prophesy until the last section. The Doors of Death. He had heard of those before.

At the last word, Rachel had collapsed. Percy caught her and helped her to the porch. Her skin was feverish.

"I'm all right," she said, her voice returning to normal.

"What was that?" Percy asked.

She shook her head, confused. "What was what?"

"I believe," Apollo said, "that we just heard the next Great Prophecy."

"What does it mean?" Percy demanded.

Rachel frowned. "I don't even remember what I said."

"No," Apollo mused. "The spirit will only speak through you occasionally. The rest of the time, our Rachel will be much as she's always been. There's no point in grilling her, even if she has just issued the next big prediction for the future of the world."

"What?" Percy said. "But-"

"Percy," Apollo said, "I wouldn't worry too much. The last Great Prophecy about you took almost seventy years to complete. This one may not even happen in your lifetime."

"Maybe," Percy said, "but it didn't sound so good."

"No," said Apollo cheerfully. "It certainly didn't. She's going to make a wonderful Oracle!"

Nico looked at this man, looked at Will Solace's father. There were too many similarities for him to feel too comfortable.

He walked to the strawberry fields and sat beside them, taking in the smell he would always associate with Camp Half-Blood. It felt good, the end of a war. It felt good to soak in the sun even though he was shivering. It felt good to smell strawberries even though he could still smell the blood.

Nico didn't know how long he sat there, but time certainly passed. Campers came from the scene of the battle, helping each other walk, carrying broken weapons, dragging the dead.

"Hey, kid." The rough voice caught him off guard. When he looked up, he saw Clarisse standing there with eyes just as broken as his own.

"Clarisse." Nico watched her as she sat beside him. "Was this your first battle?"

She scowled. "No, for your information. So if you were just trying to-"

Nico held his hands up. "Sorry, sorry. I was just...I can see the toll it took on you. You weren't like this the last time I saw you."

Clarisse glared at him. "Look, I came here for a favor. You're the son of Hades, right? You should be the one to do the death rites. I lost a good friend. You're going to make sure she gets to Elysium."

Nico swallowed thickly. "Um...yeah, I can do the death rites. I don't know if some of the campers will like me doing it-"

She dragged him to his feet. "Come on. I'll take care of that."

Chapter Text

As the dead were rounded up, Nico gave them proper funeral rites. They burned the shrouds that night at the campfire. There was too much smoke, the fire was too big. It should have heated him like everyone else but he still shivered.

When the camp went to dinner that night, Nico held back. All the other campers had a table to go to, somewhere they belonged. Yet there was nowhere for him to sit, nowhere his father was welcomed. So he shrank back, watched from the shadows.

Campers ate and left rather quickly. Nico thought it was a little odd until he noticed them hiding out, hidden around the pavilion as they watched Percy and Annabeth, the only two left at dinner. When they kissed, they were outed and carried off to the lake.

It shouldn't have hurt, and he didn't expect it to, but the kiss sent a sharp pain into his heart. Percy Jackson, the one to rescue him from the Underworld. Percy Jackson, the one to invite him into his home. Percy Jackson, the one he betrayed.

Percy Jackson, the one that was now dating Annabeth, the one Nico knew he had to get over.

But his heart still hurt.

"Mr. di Angelo, may we speak?" Chiron wheeled over to Nico when most of the campers were gone.

"Course." Nico tore his eyes away from where Percy Jackson was sitting to look to Chiron. "What about?"

Chiron looked the son of Hades over. "Why aren't you with the rest of the campers? They've seem to have warmed up to you after the battle."

Nico shrugged. "I mean, they have. But..." He sighed. "I don't know."

Chiron gave him a smile. "You'll have a place at this camp, Mr. di Angelo, whether you believe so or not. The curse of the oracle ending should be proof enough. And the reason I've come to speak to you, son of Hades. We'll be building new cabins for those gods who don't have one. Your father is included."

"You...really?" Nico asked. "My father will have a cabin?"

Chiron nodded. "Yes, indeed. It seems you will have a place at this camp."

Nico didn't agree but thanked the old centaur for telling him the news. Of course, he'd help with the construction. He'd even design it if he needed to. But he wasn't fully sure that he was staying.

The next day, he raised some skeletons to start the construction after going through a quick blueprint with Annabeth. Solid obsidian walls with a skull over the door, torches that burned with green fire 24/7, and an extensive heating system inside so that if he did stay there, he wouldn't shiver all night long.

During the cold nights, he returned to the land of the dead to sleep in a warm bed. Hades and Persephone had agreed with him on one thought that gave him relief whenever he went to the Underworld now. Zeus had given him his gift, and it was the gift of ignoring him. If he stayed out of the air and sea, maybe he could go wherever he wanted (including both the land of the dead and the land of the living).

As a summer camp, Camp Half-Blood lost most of its demigods during the winter. A week after these demigods left for the season, Nico was sitting on his bed in the Underworld when his father told him about the Romans for the first time.

"You...you're really serious?" Nico asked. "They could have helped in the war, they could have stopped some of the deaths. Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Hades's serious tone didn't falter. "They aren't meant to mix, Nico. They can't. When they meet, they cause bloodshed. It has happened before."

Nico frowned. "We're all different people. This is a different time, dad. I should know better than anyone. When I was born, people like me would have been killed. Boys couldn't like boys. But now that's different."

And that's how he came out to his father without even thinking it through.

They stared at each other in silence as the minutes itched by. Nico himself had frozen in embarrassment, old instincts screaming at him to run away. But his father was Greek, after all, and the Greek gods were known for their sexual encounters both hetero and homosexually.

Finally, Hades broke out in a sharp laugh.

"I'm sorry," Nico apologized. "It wasn't mature of me to just spit something out like that, and it wasn't anything to do with the topic at hand..."

"Son, son, don't apologize." Hades moved a hand to his stomach. "That's the hardest I've laughed in a couple decades."

Nico let the tension drain from his shoulders. "So...um, as I was saying, times change."

"That they do." Hades stood up. "But trust me, Nico. Times have changed many times before. History repeats, even the mortals realize it. If the Romans once again meet the Greeks, there will be bloodshed."

"Okay," Nico accepted. "I'll work on keeping them apart."

Hades gave him a soft pat on the shoulder before leaving the room. Nico watched after him before sitting back on his bed, taking in the heat of the Underworld. The Romans...his father hadn't told him just to keep the camps apart, he knew that for sure. But if not for that, then for what? It was a riddle that kept him up all night.

Chapter Text

The morning the Hades cabin finished constuction, Nico met Will Solace for the first time after the Battle of Manhattan.

Nico was sitting on the front steps of his new cabin, taking in the sunlight after a long night in the Underworld. No matter how many times he did this, he could never get used to the light, to the life washing over him.

"Did you design it?" Will Solace sat next to him after giving the new cabin a good look over.

Nico shrugged. "I told Annabeth what I wanted, she put the blueprints together. Skeletons did the rest."

Will took his hand, causing Nico to jump in surprise. "You're still full of darkness. Have you had any healing since the battle?"

Nico shook his head. "Have you?"

Will Solace had changed. He looked exhausted after days treating the wounded, but that wasn't all. Something else was weighing heavy in those blue eyes.

"I didn't suffer any injuries after the battle." Will closed his eyes, and Nico could feel the darkness draining out through his hand, filtering into the son of Apollo. "You seem to have gotten better control of your abilities."

Nico waited until Will opened his eyes again to nod. "Having to go to war kind of made it more important to get under control. And I think Minos was right when he said that my power will grow fast because of my time in the fields."

Will didn't take his hand back, instead looking into Nico's dark eyes. "So, how's it feel to be a head counselor?"

"I could ask you the same." Nico didn't take his hand back despite the instinct to do so. "You have all your siblings to take care of. I'm kind of just my own thing."

"Well..." Will frowned. "It's hard thinking that Lee's gone..."

"He made it to Elysium," Nico supplied. "Eternal peace, sort of."

Will nodded, his smile once again returning. "It's good having you here at camp, Nico. Are you planning on staying?"

Nico shrugged. "Don't know."

"Well, for whatever it's worth, I think you should." Will glanced down at their hands with a faint blush before standing up. "Come on."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Where are we going?"

"The infirmary." Will pulled him to his feet. "You need some nectar. And..." He put his hands on Nico's cheeks and looked at the sloppy Band-Aids Nico had put on the deep cut. "We can get this closed."

Nico twitched. "Um..."

"Come on." Will pulled him away without waiting for an answer. Without another option, Nico followed.

Part of him wondered why Will had stayed for the winter, but it wasn't too much to guess. He had an infirmary to run, a cabin to watch over, too many siblings newly dead to pick a substitute. Not to mention a home life he never spoke about.

As they walked through camp, the few campers that were out and about gave them curious looks but no words were said. Maybe they liked Will Solace too much to say anything. Maybe they were scared of Nico di Angelo.

When they got to the infirmary, Will sat Nico on an empty bed before bringing a tray over. "Take the Band-Aids off your face."

Nico did as he was told, frowning when the smell of blood leaked into the air. "It's just a cut. I've gotten worse."

Will couldn't help but laugh. "I know that, Nico. You didn't die from a little cut. But it still needs to be healed."

Nico let Will drip some nectar onto his face, having to stop himself from completely relaxing into his soft touch. Will Solace, his crush (he was starting to think this crush was stronger than the one he had on Percy) was touching his face. He was being gentle, he was healing him.

Love trickled into Nico's heart.

"What happened here?" Will picked up Nico's right hand, frowning at the swollen and bruised knuckles.

"Punched a giant in the leg, I think," Nico recalled. "I don't remember much. Whenever I try to think back to the battle, I just remember...remember the battle I died in."

Will gave him a small piece of ambrosia in silence before wrapping his knuckles with an ace bandage. When he was done, he gently set his hand down. "There..."

Nico thought back to the night of the death rites, to Will's sad eyes as he watched the bodies of his siblings go up in flames.

"I know what it's like, to lose a sibling," Nico offered up. "I mean, I thought my sister was dead for years. I just recently found out that she's been in a time altering hotel. It's...it's hard to go on knowing that they can't, but you get through it."

Will sat next to him, his smile fading. "Does it ever get easier?"

Nico reached over and wrapped his fingers around Will's tan hand. "I wish I could say so."

Will clung to his hand, his blue eyes crystalizing with oncoming tears. "Do you ever feel guilty for being here when they can't?"

Nico shook his head. "I believe in fate, Will. I really do. It's fate we're here and they're not. We can't help that."

"I know, I know." Will sighed. "I don't know, I can't help it much. I keep thinking about what would happen if I did certain things in the battle, if I had traded places with Lee."

"But you didn't." Nico pulled his shirt up and showed his scars. "Look, I was shot in the chest, right by the heart. I could think about what would have happened if they were inches to the side, if the bullets hadn't ripped through so violently, but it's pointless." He let his shirt drop. "The Fates had me die that day. I can't help that."

Will looked up at the ceiling lights. "You should stay, Nico. You're good to talk to. And...and I enjoy when we talk."

"Me, too." Nico stared at that beautiful face, looked into those hurting eyes. "And besides, the Fates may decide when we die, but we choose everything else. I chose to go to war, so that's how they killed me. But I carved into my destiny with the blood of that war."

"You think it's good to carve your own destiny?" Will asked.

Nico nodded. "We need to make our own choices."

Will looked over at him, stared into his dark eyes. How could they be so dark, so black and bottomless, so inviting? "Then I'm going to."

He leaned in, kissed a shade on his pale lips.

Chapter Text

Nico didn't know what to think, didn't know how to deal with this thing in his life. Will Solace, Will fucking Solace, had kissed him, had told him he wanted to keep kissing him. Wanted a relationship.

It was so different, so new, so extraordinary. He honestly didn't know how to handle it. Back in his first life, he hadn't even thought about dating anyone. Sure, some of the boys he fought with were hot, but back then he hadn't accepted his sexuality or even thought that he could be gay. Instead, he simply decided that those boys were people he shouldn't be around.

Now, in a world where a boy wanted to be with him, where a boy actually like him, where he and his father both accepted his sexuality... Nico hadn't ever experienced this before. What was he supposed to do?

He could have asked Persephone, but her love story hadn't been normal. His father had kidnapped her, forced her to marry him. He was definitely not going to reenact that.

Percy was another option, but Nico wasn't sure if he wanted the son of Poseidon to know about his budding relationship. Was he homophobic? Was Annabeth?

Nico sat in his cabin, his head in his hands. The extensive heating system blew over him but he wasn't in the mood to enjoy it much. Not when Will Solace was on his mind.

A knock on the door broke him out of his thoughts, causing him to lift his head in attention. "Come in."

Will Solace slipped into the cabin and closed the door behind him, his blue eyes darker in the low lighting. When their eyes met, a soft blush crossed his cheeks. "Nico."

Nico broke the eye contact and looked to his lap. Butterflies seemed to have erupted in his stomach. "Will...I'm sorry for running off."

"If you don't want to be with me, it's okay." Will stepped forward. "Just say so. I don't want to make you do anything. I just...I don't know why I acted so quickly."

"We barely know each other," Nico said. "And I...I don't know if I can be gay in public..."

Will frowned. "Don't let any homophobic asses hold you back. Besides, people are a lot more accepting now."

Nico shrugged. "Even if. And I have no idea what my momma would have said or what Bianca would say... I just...I can't be in a full relationship yet."

Will's head jerked into a nod. "O-Okay..."

"But," Nico continued, "you can kiss me and stuff...I like kissing you... I just don't want to make it official... Not yet."

"You like kissing me?" Will grinned as he covered the distance between them.

Nico scratched the back of his neck. "I...yeah, I do... But don't tell anyone. Please."

"I won't." Will sat next to him and grabbed his gray hand. "I won't until you're ready."

Nico hesitated before leaning his head on Will's shoulder. "Thanks, Will."

"My pleasure."

Nico stepped out of the shadows and into his cabin, an old bookbag thrown over his shoulder. Inside were new weapons of Stygian Iron he had forged during his weekend in the Underworld.

He went to set the bag down but froze when he saw Will Solace, the son of Apollo sitting on one of the beds with a large grin on his face.

"What do you need?" Nico asked, setting the bag on an empty bed. "Is something wrong?"

Will shook his head. "You've been gone for days. I missed you. I just came to say hi."

"Oh," Nico blinked. "Hi, I guess." He sat next to Will and grabbed his hand. "Anything happen when I was gone?"

Will shook his head. "It's been nice and dull since the war."

"Don't jinx it," Nico warned. "You're going to jinx it."

Will kissed his cheek, a soft touch that sent Nico melting into the bed. "I thought you believed in fate, not jinxes."

Nico found the strength to roll his eyes. "You can believe in more than one thing." He looked over, stared at those lips, wanted to kiss them so badly.

Will put a hand on Nico's cheek. "You're not ranting like you usually do."

Nico leaned into his hand and closed his eyes. "You make words kind of hard, Will."

Will laughed as he leaned in for a kiss, which Nico happily accepted.

Nico stared into the mirror, tried not to grin as he finally didn't hate his reflection.

His skin was still gray, but lighter than it once was. Everyone around him doubted that it would ever return to its original olive color, but that was alright. It was a reminder that it was a gift to be in the land of the living.

His sword was on his back, the old habit dying hard. On each of his arms was a Stygian Iron dagger, strapped under Percy's old hoodie but over the shirt Persephone had given him. On his hands were still those fingerless gloves.

On his thigh he had a shorter sword, strapped over his old uniform bottoms. He had gotten the idea from Annabeth's dagger and the way she carried it, and soon learned that he liked to soak in the ideas of those around him.

Nico's hair had gotten longer, and instead of cutting it he drew it back in a short ponytail, the action barely possible. He didn't forget the forced shaving of the army, didn't forget its restraints.

His weapons were ready, he was ready. The Doors of Death had been opened, the rumors had circled fast through the Underworld. His one goal, now, was to find his mother's spirit and return her to the land of the living.

Nico had told Will that he was just going to the Underworld like he always did, just for a visit and maybe a new weapon. He didn't say anything about the Doors of Death or the possible spirit he could bring back. Cheating death could get them in the Fields of Punishment, so he definitely didn't want to get the word around that he was trying to. And the fact that Will Solace worried easily...

Sighing, Nico stepped out of his room and left the palace. He really needed to work on clearing Will from his mind when he was on a mission. That blond hair, those blue eyes... Damn, did they distract him.

He knew his mother hadn't ended up in the Fields of Punishment, his father would never had allowed it. But since she wasn't a demigod or a fighter, his first stop was unfortunately the Fields of Asphodel, his least favorite place in the Underworld.

As a shade, he fit in easily. The spirits ignored his presence as they did the first time he had been there. And yet, still as a shade, the whole area gave him small panic attacks as he walked.

He never wanted to be stuck there again. He never wanted to feel the loneliness, feel no human touch, never see the stars and the sun and even the damn cold moon...

If he was in charge, he'd get rid of those fields entirely.

Nico looked for hours, but his mother was never found. Her face never showed up, even though he had been having a hard time remembering it. Had that been it? Had he passed her without a second thought because he couldn't remember the face of his own mother?

He was about to slump back to his room when he saw Hazel Levesque for the first time.

She wasn't a shade, and that was what got his attention immediately. She sat under a poplar tree just as he once did, curled up as she watched the shades go by. And her aura...

Roman. Pluto. A death that never should have happened. Fate.

Nico stood over her, catching her attention almost immediately. "What's your name?"

"Hazel...Hazel Levesque."

"Hazel, I came down here looking for my mother. But you're my family, too." he knelt next to her. "I'm Nico di Angelo, son of..." He remembered his father's words. "Son of Pluto. You're my sister, aren't you?"

She looked at him, reached out and touched his hand. "Yeah."

"Come on," he pulled her to her feet. "We don't have much time, we can't let anyone see. But you deserve a second chance just as I got."

His theory long ago seemed to have been proven right once again. Not everyone who cheated death came back the same. It seemed it was random, was depending on your past, was fate.

Hazel was different. She didn't look like a shade by the time he got her to the Wolf House. She looked just as human as any other, with dark skin and gold eyes and such an innocent smile. She looked alive, and she had that privilege, but she got something from her death that he hadn't.

Flashbacks. They weren't from PTSD, they weren't from anything but the fact that she had been dead. He hoped they would stop soon, had told her they would, but all he could do was comfort her when they were over.

Because of this, he spent time at the Wolf House that he really shouldn't have. It had been awhile since he had been to Camp Half-Blood, but the only thing he missed was Will Solace. The rest of camp had never really set in as a home for him.

He watched her train, picked up a few Roman moves himself. And then, finally, he shadow traveled her to Camp Jupiter.

Chapter Text

Nico didn't make it back to Will Solace before or after Jason Grace and Percy Jackson went missing. Instead, he spent his time with Hazel, in the Underworld, or searching for Percy Jackson. He didn't say a word to his father, didn't say a word to Persephone, but the neverending search took its toll.

He never spent a night at Camp Jupiter, never spent a whole day. They looked at him strangely, saw him only as an armed shade. Maybe he was, but he wanted to be a little more.

Nico himself had made up the title Ambassador of Pluto. It gave him a purpose there, gave him leverage over some of the others. His facts and rambles and rants were trusted despite his appearance.

That day, he had come from the Underworld for a senate meeting. Talks of a new camper were spreading through camp, so he went to his father's shrine and sat in front of it, waiting for his sister before he did anything. After Percy and Jason disappeared, he started looking at each choice he made before he made it.

The Romans and Greeks, he knew of each bomb and how they would interact if they ever met. He thought maybe, just maybe, they could get through this new threat without meeting.

But then his sister came up the hill.

"Hey, I've brought a friend," Hazel greeted. "This is Percy Jackson. He's a good guy. Percy, this is my brother, the son of Pluto."

Nico stared at Percy Jackson, saw his unfocused and confused eyes, felt sudden relief at knowing he was alive. But there was also a sudden panic melting into his veins. This Greek was here...

"Pleased to meet you." Nico held his hand out to shake. "I'm Nico di Angelo."

Percy shook his hand, and when they both drew their hands back, they studied each other closely. Nico could feel Percy's life source and see that he was okay, but something was different. What once leaked into his aura from the Styx had seemed to have vanished. And his confusion, his deep, deep confusion...

"I...I know you," Percy scowled.

"Do you?" Nico looked to Hazel, wondering just how confused Percy Jackson really was.

"Um...Percy's lost his memory." Hazel explained what had happened since Percy had gotten there and how he had arrived. "So, Nico... I thought, since you've been traveling all over. Maybe you've met demigods like Percy before, or..."

Nico's face twisted into the darkness of this new lie. Without another word said, Hazel got the message to drop it.

'This story about Gaea's army," Nico said. "You warned Reyna?"

Percy nodded. "Who is Gaea, anyway?"

Still as clueless as ever, Nico thought warmly. His brother hadn't changed. "She's the earth goddess. The oldest goddess of all, like ever. She's in a deep sleep most of the time, ever since the old days. She hates the gods and their children. Like, if she was awake... We'd all be slaughtered."

"Mother Earth is...evil?" Percy asked.

Despite the dark situation, Nico couldn't help but snort. "Very. She convinced her son, Kronos...I mean, Saturn, to kill his dad, Uranus, and take over the world. The Titans ruled for a long time. Then the Titan's children, the Olympian gods, overthrew them."

"That story sounds familiar." Percy seemed surprised. "But I don't think I've ever heard that part about Gaea."

"Then you haven't heard it from Nico," Hazel joked. "He goes on and on about whatever he's talking about."

Nico sighed. "Yes, Hazel, I tend to over talk." He looked to Percy. "Gaea got mad when the gods took over. She took a new husband, Tartarus, and gave birth to a new race of giants. They tried to destroy Mount Olympus, but the gods finally beat them. At least...the first time."

"The first time?" Percy repeated.

Nico swallowed thickly as the topic melted into rocky territory. "Last summer, Saturn tried to make a comeback. There was a second Titan war. The Romans at Camp Jupiter stormed his headquarters on Mount Othrys, across the bay, and destroyed his throne. Saturn disappeared..." He hesitated, keeping his eyes on Percy for any signs of recognition. If Percy was with the Romans without a memory, he wasn't meant to have one.

"Um, anyway," Nico continued, "Saturn probably faded back to the abyss. We all thought the war was over. Now it looks like the Titans' defeat stirred up Gaea. She's starting to wake. I've heard reports of giants being reborn. If they mean to challenge the gods again, they'll probably start by destroying the demigods..."

"You've told Reyna this?" Percy asked.

"Of course." Nico clenched his jaw. "As I am what I am, some of the Romans can't trust me. That's why I was hoping she'd listen to you. Children of Pluto...well, no offense, but they think we're even worse than children of Neptune. We're bad luck. And the fact that I'm not fully..." He cleared his throat. "alive, I guess you could say."

"Percy," Hazel spoke up, "look, the giants aren't the worst problem. Even...even Gaea isn't the worst problem. The thing you noticed about the gorgons, how they wouldn't die, that's our biggest worry." She looked to Nico, no doubt wondering how much she should say in front of Percy. In all honestly, Nico was surprised she had gotten that close to her own act of cheating death.

"Nico and I," she said, "we think that what's happening is...Death isn't-"

She was cut off by Frank running up to meet them. Just as he usually was, he didn't look at Nico like he was just a shade, but like he was Hazel's big brother. "Hey, Nico..."

"Frank," Nico greeted.

"Reyna sent me to get Percy," Frank explained. "Did Octavian accept you?"

"Yeah," Percy said. "He slaughtered my panda."

"He...oh, the augury? Yeah, teddy bears must have nightmares about that guy. But you're in! We need to get you cleaned up before evening muster."

"You're right," Hazel said. "We better-"

"Frank," Nico interrupted, "why don't you take Percy down? Hazel and I will be along soon."

"That's...that's a good idea," Hazel said. "Go ahead, guys. We'll catch up."

Percy looked to Nico before they could separate. "I'd like to talk to you some more. I can't shake the feeling..."

"Sure," Nico agreed. "Later. I'll be back here tomorrow."

"You will?" Hazel blurted.

"Go on, Percy," Nico said. "Settle in." He turned to Hazel. "My sister and I need to talk."

Nico watched Percy Jackson walk off with Frank Zhang, a sight he never thought he'd really see. Maybe the world really was falling apart.

"You know him, don't you?" Hazel asked once they were gone, her eyes never leaving her brother's scarred face.

"Percy Jackson..." Nico never thought he would have said that name to a Roman. At one point in his life, he never thought he'd even talk to a Roman. "Hazel, I have to be careful with what I say. Important things are at work here." They've got to be. "Some secrets need to stay secret. You of all people should understand that."

"But he's not like...like us?" she asked.

"No," Nico said. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more. I wish I could. But if I did..." He shook his head. "I can't interfere. Percy has to find his own way at this camp."

"Is he dangerous?" she asked.

Nico thought back to the Underworld, when Percy had completely destroyed an army of Hades'. "Very. To his enemies. But he's not a threat to Camp Jupiter. You can trust him."

"Like I trust you," she said bitterly.

Nico looked away, tried not to think about everything he kept from her. "Look, I know this is hard. But you have a second chance, now. You can make things right."

"Nothing about this is right," she said. "If they find out the truth about me... They know about you, but you aren't part of the legion like I am. If they find out one of their own is..."

"They won't," Nico promised. "They'll call a quest soon. They'll have to. You'll make me proud. Trust me, Bia-" He stopped himself from saying his sister's name, snapped out of an eerie peace that had been settling over him. When he wasn't thinking hard, sitting with Hazel at camp felt like sitting with Bianca in Venice. "I'm sorry."

"Is it true about death?" Hazel asked, changing the subject. "Is Alcyoneus to blame?"

"I think so," Nico said. "It's getting bad in the Underworld. Dad's going crazy trying to keep things under control. From what Percy said about the gorgons, things are getting worse up here, too. But look, that's why you're here. All that stuff in your past...you can make something good come out of it. You belong at Camp Jupiter."

After a moment of silence, he turned to see why his sister wasn't talking to find her unconscious. Another flashback, it seemed. But nothing like his own.

Percy followed Frank down the hill, his eyes often trailing behind him to where they once were. That Nico di Angelo, Hazel's brother...something about him made Percy's brain tumble inside out.

He should have known who it was just like he should know where he came from. But those memories were behind something he couldn't budge, something that had been built up by something far more powerful than himself.

"Frank, is Nico...?" Percy didn't quite know how to finish his question. "His skin..."

Frank looked uncomfortable. "There's a reason why you haven't heard about him from the other Romans yet. They don't like to accept him around here. But what I've gotten from Hazel, he was a shade for awhile in the Fields of Asphodel. Something happened, I don't know what. But the gods are aware and haven't sent him back."

Percy thought back to the hoodie Nico had been wearing, the blue fabric that now smelled like earth but looked all too familiar. "Could I have known him before?"

Frank shrugged. "Nico's closed up around everyone but Hazel. Even if he did, you're not going to get it out of him."

They got to the baths, then, and all questions about Nico di Angelo were halted until Percy saw him again.

At dinner that night, Percy kept his eyes on Nico's gray face as nostalgia washed over him. "Where did you get your hoodie?"

Nico seemed to freeze for a millisecond before looking down at what he wore. "That's an odd question."

Hazel giggled. "He always wears that, Percy. He doesn't seem like the guy to wear blue, I know."

Nico cleared his throat. "I get cold easily. It helps. I got it..." He cleared his throat. "From someone I used to know."

Was it me? "Oh, okay," Percy said. "I was hoping I could talk to you some time, about where I might have seen you before."

"Sure," Nico agreed. "But the thing is, I spend literally most of my time in the Underworld. So unless I've seen you there-"

"Ambassador from Pluto, they call him," Dakota spoke up. "Reyna's never sure what to do with this guy when he comes around. You should have seen her face when he showed up with Hazel, asking Reyna to take her in. Um, no offense."

"None taken." Nico kept his eyes away from Percy. "Dakota was really helpful, standing for her."

"Yeah, well...she seemed like a good kid. Turned out I was right. Last month, when she saved me from...uh, you know."

"Oh, man!" Frank looked up. "Percy, you should have seen her! That's how Hazel got her stripe-"

Nico suddenly shivered, silencing them all. Percy though it was pretty warm, but Nico looked like he was in the arctic.

"You okay?" Hazel whispered, putting a hand on her brother's arm.

Nico nodded as he stood up, his eyes darker than usual. Anyone that saw him knew he wanted out of there. "Hazel, how about we give you and Frank some time to get Percy oriented? Dakota and I can visit the praetor's table. We can discuss strategies for the war games."

"Strategies for losing?" Dakota muttered.

"Let's go!" Nico grabbed Dakota's ear and dragged him off, leaving Percy once again staring after the son of Pluto.

Chapter Text

Nico stayed for the war games, spent the night in the Underworld, and came back for the meeting the next day. When the quest was prepared and all formalities were over, he pulled his sister aside before she could go far.

"I'm going back to the Underworld," he explained. "Dad's going to need all the help he can get. The Fields of Punishment look like a prison riot. The Furies can barely keep order. Besides...I'm going to try to track some of the escaping souls. Maybe I can try to find the Doors of Death from the other side."

"Be careful," Hazel warned. "If Gaea is guarding those doors-"

"Don't worry," Nico smiled. "I know how to stay hidden. Just take care of yourself. The closer you get to Alaska... I'm not sure if it'll make the blackouts better or worse."

"If we free Thanatos," Hazel said, "I may never see you again. Thanatos will ignore you but send me back to the Underworld..."

Nico reached out to hold her hand. "I wanted to give you a chance at Elysium. I knew how hard the fields could be. If...if worse comes to worse, you'll at least be in a better place. But...but I don't want to lose my sister." He kissed her forehead. "Good luck, Hazel." And with that, he melted into the shadows.

Sure, he helped his dad for a little bit, but he couldn't do much. Shades didn't listen to shades. The prospect of life caused rebellion. Before long, he knew his father needed a long term solution instead of a helping hand.

But where he thought those doors were...

Maybe the rumors were false. Maybe they were anywhere else in the Underworld. But he looked. And soon he knew that where he most dreaded to go was where they had been all along.

So he got his weapons, gave the sun and the moon one last goodbye, and prepared to never see the land of the living again as he descended to the edge of the pit.

As he got closer, Nico could feel it pulling him in. Before he even fell, he finally saw that there were things worse than death.

And then, well...he couldn't say if he jumped or fell, if he went willingly or not. Because before he knew it, he was free falling into a pit that no one had ever returned from alive. A pit that was designed to torture and kill. A pit he never should have gone near.

But he had, and for the first day of falling, his fingers scraped against the walls in hopes that he could catch himself. But by the second day, there were no walls to try and grab onto.

The darkness was darker than any shadows he had traveled through. The cold... He couldn't move his muscles, they seemed to have frozen in outstretched positions. His teeth chattered, his lips and face ached. Nico was half convinced that the cold would kill him before the fall had a chance to.

But it didn't. By day nine, the heat started to kick in. At first it was relief. Then...then it was such an unbearable pain that he felt as if he was on fire.

"Phlegethon..." His throat had dried long before, but the word morphed into existence on his lips. He knew the rivers of the Underworld, could only hope that the temperature he was feeling was from what he would land in. It would hurt, it would hurt like hell, but it was the only thing he could fall into and survive.

And when the air turned to poison and his lungs felt like giving up, he fell into the river of flames.

It burned, it hurt like hell, the heat was too intense. Oh gods did it hurt. The fire ran into his lungs, filled what should only have been filled with air. Every breath felt like the end. Just the river itself was worse than anything he could imagine.

But the River Phlegethon was nothing compared to the rest of Tartarus, a fact he would soon learn the hard way. A fact he might not survive learning.

Nico thought he would experience death again. He thought, over anything, that he would feel the unmistakable feeling of your soul leaving your body, the fact that your time was up and you would never get another chance.

But that didn't happen.

Instead, he went through hell. He went through what, he could positively say, was worse than death.

And in this hell, in this pain and torture, he missed his days in the fields, knew that he should have been happy where he was. Because the fields hadn't hurt. It hadn't tortured. It hadn't taken every last bit of humanity left in him.

Because down here, in the depths of Tartarus, he regretted ever going after Thalia and Percy that day. He regretted ever deciding to live.

Ever since he was a soldier on a distant battlefield, Nico had been able to see through the Mist. In all honesty, he couldn't not see through it. Maybe it had been his powers deciding to protect him one day, when instead of a soldier attacking him, an ancient monster had decided to. But whatever the case, he could never get back to what it once was.

And now, as he saw Tartarus for what it really was, he could only pray for the Mist to return to his eyes. For he couldn't walk without feeling the body beneath his feet, couldn't drink from the Phlegethon without seeing the vein that held the water. He passed tumors, couldn't hide behind them, passed cells and blood and oh damn so much blood.

There was a reason nobody survived Tartarus. For once you were within the god, there was no way to escape.

His every cell fought against you just as a body's would any intruder. But even if a wronged cell killed the host, it would go down with its victim.

But Nico believed in fate. He always would. And if the Fates had brought him back from the dead to go through this hell, maybe, just maybe something good would come out of it.

So he kept going, even when his sanity was slipping. He kept going, even when every breath felt like his last. He kept going, even when he knew that it would haunt him until the end.

Chapter Text

Nico wasn't sure how long he had been fighting through Tartarus when he came face to face with the twin giants. It had felt like weeks, like years, felt like his whole life he had been running and fighting and hiding. No sleep. He never had allowed himself to sleep.

When you were in Tartarus, you either kept moving or you died. Only the dead could rest.

He was exhausted, only the Phlegathon's fiery taste keeping him awake. When he met those giants, it took all he had to not fall over. When they attacked, he had no chance.

And that's how Nico ended up in a bronze jar, weapons useless on trying to escape. The air was stiff, he could barely breathe, his muscles ached and burned as they were finally put to rest.

He didn't have many options. Instead, he had pomegranate seeds in his pocket and the ability to go into a death trance. He had never tried it before, but Hades had told him about it just incase of the worst.

So despite the pain and exhaustion, Nico let himself fall into the most painful of his abilities. The death trance shut down whatever it could in his body, made it so he barely stayed alive. Just like the Fields, he sat not fully knowing what was life and death.

Nico broke out of his death trance after falling from the jar, his head smacking against the floor. He let out a soft groan, everything in him feeling as if he was still sinking in the River Phlegethon. His muscles still burned, his head and stomach ached, all his energy seemed to have been sucked out of him. But when he heard the sounds of battle, his instincts from Tartarus caused him to start to crawl.

Keep moving. The pit seemed to whisper in his ears. Don't stop. Stop and you die.

Never stop.

A girl he didn't know swooped in and pulled him to the far wall. He didn't have the energy to fight nor did he feel as if he should. She was standing over him, weapon in hand, protecting him from whatever the danger was.

She was pretty, and Nico might have liked her if he was straight. Brown, choppy hair, eyes that never stayed one color. He wanted to get up and help her, fight alongside whoever else was there, but his arm wouldn't move to his sword no matter how hard he tried.

Keep moving, don't stop. People said no one ever left Tartarus alive, but they had it backwards. Tartarus never left you.

With a groan of pain and the use of every last bit of strength, Nico grabbed the dagger he had strapped to his left arm and pulled it free. The stygian iron was cold, but something in the cold comforted him enough to rise to his feet. In Tartarus, it was hot. It was burning, it was fire. Heat meant fear. Heat was danger. Heat meant you needed to run run run away.

But the cold was the living world, was his weapons, was his new heart beating in his gray chest.

Nico saw what the girl had been holding off and raised his dagger. Two leopards were advancing towards them, making Nico wonder how the fucking hell they got there. But it wasn't the time for questions, and it wasn't the time to stand still.

"What's that weapon do?" he hissed, eyeing the odd looking cornucopia in her hands. "Can it distract them?"

She glanced down at him, her eyes widening slightly when she saw that he was up. "Yeah, I can handle them. Stay back." A pot roast shot out of the cornucopia and over the leopards heads, successfully turning their heads aside. "See?"

Nico went to advance for the kill but his legs gave out. He would have faceplanted into the concrete floor, but the girl caught him just in time. "Woah, there. You need to be resting."

He couldn't rest. A battle was around him, was right in front of his face. If Tartarus had taught him anything, he couldn't ignore danger that wasn't even ten feet away.

Nico slipped his dagger into her hand. "Don't touch blade. Finish them off." His vision was blurring, and if he was still in that pit, he'd be refilling his stomach with the fires of the Phlegethon. But he wasn't, and it had probably been days since he last had it, and his body was collapsing in on itself.

Nico laid his head on the cold ground, watched her do as she was told. She was a good fighter, he had to hand her that, and the fear of what was happening hadn't gotten to her. He wanted to join her, wanted to help her, but he couldn't even get his mouth to move.

He must have blacked out a few times, maybe even three. Nico couldn't explain what was happening or who was around him, but finally found it in himself to focus his gaze when his sister's face came into view. Suddenly, he realized he wasn't in that underground room anymore.

"Shh, relax." Hazel sat him back once he tried to sit up. "It's okay. We're on our way to Annabeth, but right now you're safe. We're on the Argo II, Leo's boat."

Nico didn't know who the hell Leo was or why they had chosen a boat as transport, but he raised a hand to rub at his raw eyes. "Hazel...I'm sorry...I was a trap, wasn't I? You guys came and saved me even though you knew..."

"Of course we did," she assured him. "You're my brother, Nico. We weren't just going to leave you to die." She took a deep breath. "Nico, I know you're hurt, I know you're tired, but we're running out of time. I need you to tell me what you found out about the Doors of Death."

Nico accepted another spoonful of nectar before nodding. "Okay...okay... I... Hazel, I went looking for the Doors of Death. They're...they're in..." He was sitting still. He had to keep moving. "Tartarus..." He scrambled to his feet, grabbed his sword off his back. In one last stumble of words, he explained everything he knew about those doors.

"Nico!" Hazel grabbed his arm to help him stand. "You need to take it easy. You..." She paused when she realized what he had said. "Oh, Nico..." She turned to where the other demigods were, some Nico had never seen before. "You guys need to hear this."

Nico fought to stay still, feeling more comfortable in Hazel's arms. The sword he had drawn was now used as a walking stick. When he surveyed the teenagers in front of him, his eyes locked with Percy Jackson's.

Percy's eyes had changed just as Nico's had. He had seen worse war, had felt pain and loss and suffering. It was the eyes of someone who had lived to tell the story of survival, even though it was quite ugly.

Jason Grace was there, also, a sight Nico was quite surprised to see. Next to him was the girl that he had just fought alongside with. She held his dagger out, which he happily accepted.

"Thanks," he whispered.

Frank was there as well, standing by the last boy of the group. Nico hadn't seen him before, his impish attitude and blazing eyes setting Nico more on edge.

Percy Jackson broke the silence. "You knew about both camps all along. You could have told me who I was my first day at Camp Jupiter, but you didn't."

"Percy, I'm sorry. My dad told me about Camp Jupiter. He told me the gods had kept the camps separate for centuries and that I couldn't tell anyone. The time wasn't right. But he said it would be important for me to know..." He coughed, his raw throat feeling just as he did when he drank the Phlegethon, but the healing properties weren't there.

His legs shook. He would have went down, but Hazel caught him.

"I thought dad meant because of Hazel." Nico choked out, knowing he had to get the words out. They needed to know what to do. "I'd need a safe place to take her. But now... Now I think it was all leading up to make me look for the Doors of Death."

"Did you find the doors?" Percy asked.

Nico nodded. "I...I looked all over the Underworld, I thought I could go wherever I wanted. But...but I walked right into it, Percy. I walked right where Gaea wanted me to go. It was a black hole."

"Um..." Frank looked uncomfortable. "What kind of black hole are you talking about?"

Nico opened his mouth, but his raw throat couldn't get the words out. He looked to Hazel, tried to keep his tired eyes open.

"Nico told me that the Doors of Death have two sides, one in the mortal world and one in the Underworld," Hazel picked up. "The mortal side is in Greece. It's heavily guarded by Gaea's forces. That's where they brought Nico back into the upper world. Then they transported him to Rome."

"Where exactly in Greece is this doorway?" Cornucopia Girl asked.

Nico took a deep breath, forced the words to come out despite the pain. "The House of Hades. It's an underground temple in Epirus. I can mark it on a map, but...but the mortal side of the portal isn't the problem. In the Underworld, the Doors of Death are...are in..."

Percy's face turned white. "Tartarus. The deepest part of the Underworld."

Run! Don't stop-! Nico broke away from the thoughts by looking back into Percy's eyes. "I fell into the pit, Percy. The things I saw..." His muscles started spasming in hopes to start moving again.

Phlegethon. He needed some damn Phlegethon.

Hazel lowered Nico to the ground. "Let your legs rest." She looked to the others. "No mortal has ever been to Tartarus. At least, no one has ever gone in and returned alive. It's the maximum security prison of Hades, where the old Titans and other enemies of the gods are bound. It's where all monsters go when they die on earth."

No wonder I went down there, Nico thought.

"Now I understand why dad couldn't close the doors," Nico continued. "Even the gods don't go into Tartarus. Even the god of death, Thanatos himself, wouldn't go near that place."

The Latino boy looked over from the wheel. "So let me guess, we'll have to go there."

Nico shook his head. "It's impossible. I'm the son of Hades, I've been in two wars, and even I barely survived. Gaea's forces overwhelmed me. They're so powerful down there...and even just...just Tartarus itself... No demigod would stand a chance. Insanity is spread around like air down there."

"Then we'll sail for Epirus," Percy said. "We'll close the doors on this side."

"I wish it was that easy..." Nico stumbled to his feet again despite Hazel's warning. "The doors would have to be closed on both sides to be sealed. It's like a double seal. Maybe, just maybe, all seven of you working together could defeat Gaea's forces on the mortal side, at the House of Hades. But unless you have a team fighting simultaneously on the Tartarus side, a team powerful enough to defeat a legion of monsters in their home territory..."

"There has to be a way," Jason said.

Silence fell over them. Nico looked between them all, looked over whom he assumed to be the seven of the Great Prophesy. Annabeth was the only one missing. He was going to question where she was, but Percy beat him to it as the ship started to sink from the sky.

"We'll figure out the Tartarus problem later," he said. "Is that the Emmanuel building?"

The Latino nodded. "Bacchus said something about the parking lot in back? Well, there it is. What now?"

"We have to get her out," Percy said, and Nico assumed "she" was indeed the missing daughter of Athena.

"Well, yeah," the Latino agreed. "But, uh... There's a parking lot in the way."

Nico rolled his eyes. "You got a canon or something? Just break the fuck through."

Percy nodded at Nico before looking at the satyr Nico hadn't noticed before. "Bacchus also said something about breaking through. Coach, you still have ammo for the ballistae?"

The satyr grinned. "I though you'd never ask."

Chapter Text

Nico had first started fighting when he was 14 years old. Now, seventy years later, he wondered if that was what life always was. At least it was for a demigod, that is. Monsters never stopped respawning, Tartarus showed him that. Gods never died. In the back of his mind, he knew that he himself would always exist in one way or another.

Because souls weren't ever destroyed. The amount of matter on earth would never change. Even if he died again, he would forever live in his father's palace, maybe become one of his soldiers. He would forever exist. But even with that thought, he'd always have one goal. And that was to never experience Tartarus again.

Now, as he watched Percy and Annabeth fall into that pit, all he could do was shake and feel the fear of seeing them broken just the way he was. Percy Jackson. Percy was down there, down in pure hell...

His first life had been less painful than this.

"They're not dead," Nico spoke up. "I would be able to feel it if they were." He was sitting against the large mast, the others around him as they stared up at the sky miserably.

"How can you be sure?" the Latino asked.

"Percy's like my brother. If his soul entered my father's kingdom, I'd know it." Nico nibbled at another piece of ambrosia despite the risk.

"He's right," Hazel agreed.

"I should have been paying attention." Jason looked like he wanted to punch something. "I could have flown down and saved them."

"Me, too..." Frank moaned.

Cornucopia girl put a hand on Jason's shoulder. "It's not your fault, either of you. You were trying to save the statue."

"She's right." Nico pulled himself to his feet, still able to smell the air of Tartarus around him. Was he only hallucinating, forever stuck in that pit? He hated those thoughts more than the voice of Tartarus. "Even if the pit hadn't been buried, you couldn't have flown into it without being pulled down. I'm the only one who has actually been into Tartarus. It's impossible to describe how powerful that place is."

He closed his eyes, tried not to picture his fall down and his attempts to catch himself on the walls. His fingers were still bloody. "Once you get close, it sucks you in. I never stood a chance."

Frank sniffled. "Then Percy and Annabeth don't stand a chance either."

Nico played with the dagger on his arm. "Percy is the most powerful demigod I've ever met. No offense to you guys, but it's true. If anybody can survive, he will, especially if he's got Annabeth at his side. They're going to find a way through Tartarus."

Jason stared into Nico's black eyes. "To the Doors of Death, you mean. But you told us it's guarded by Gaea's most powerful forces. How could two demigods possibly...?"

"I don't know," Nico admitted. "But Percy told me to lead you guys to Epirus, to the mortal side of the doorway. He's planning on meeting us there, and I'm not failing him again. If we can survive the House of Hades, fight our way through Gaea's forces, then maybe we can work together with Percy and Annabeth and seal the Doors of Death from both sides."

"And get Percy and Annabeth back safely?" Latino asked.

"Maybe... I don't know how they'll manage it, but Percy and Annabeth will find a way. They'll journey through Tartarus and find the Doors of Death. When they do, we have to be ready."

"It won't be easy," Hazel said. "Gaea will throw everything she's got at us to keep us from reaching Epirus."

"What else is new?" Jason sighed.

"We've got no choice," Cornucopia Girl agreed. "We have to seal the Doors of Death before we can stop the giants from raising Gaea. Otherwise her armies will never die. And we've got to hurry. The Romans are in New York. Soon, they'll be marching on Camp Half-Blood."

"We've got one month at best," Jason added. "Ephialtes said Gaea would awaken in exactly one month."

Latino straightened in determination. "We can do it."

Nico looked over at him and felt that everyone else did the same. Nico wasn't sure his name, wasn't sure his godly parent, but he didn't look like much. All Nico knew about him was his ethnicity, or the looks of it, and from his days in the 40's...

They had programed him to like only some races. Now, Nico wanted to prove them wrong. And his first step was to stop thinking of him as "the Latino".

"The Archimedes sphere can upgrade the ship," the boy said. "I'm going to study those ancient scrolls we got. There's got to be all kinds of new weapons I can make. We're going to hit Gaea's armies with a whole new arsenal of hurt."

Jason clapped him on the shoulder. "Sounds like a plan, Admiral. You want to set the course?"

"Yeah." Admiral agreed. "Festus, raise the sails. We've got some friends to save."

Piper was not having a good day, wasn't having a good week or month. To top it all off, they had lost Percy and Annabeth into an abyss that they were sure to die in.

Annabeth had been the leader of their quest, they had all agreed so. And when a leader was lost, so was most of the morale.

She, Jason, Leo, and Frank sat in the mess hall, eyes looking gloomily at their plates. Hazel was up on deck, trying to get her brother to also come down. And that brother...Piper wasn't sure what to think of him.

"Nico, you need to eat," Hazel came into the room, pulling her brother along behind her. "And I want to actually introduce you to the ones you don't know. If we're all going to be a team, then we need to trust each other."

She sat her brother down before sitting next to him. "Everyone, this is Nico di Angelo, son of Hades. Nico, you know Frank and Jason." She gestured to Leo. "This is Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus." She turned to Piper. "This is Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite."

Leo raised his hand as if he was in school. "Can I ask a question?"

Hazel stared at him before nodding, obviously expecting the worse.

Leo looked to Nico, his eyes sliding over him as it did any machine that needed fixing. "What are you? I would assume all children of Hades are like that, but Hazel is normal."

Piper elbowed Leo just as Jason did, but the question was valid enough. Nico di Angelo had gray skin, with black eyes and black hair. A small scar ran horizontally over his cheek, framing the cheekbone that stuck out unhealthily. He was too skinny, was skin and bones, and she had to wonder when the last time he had eaten was. But he had been in Tartarus, had been a prisoner of war. She understood why he couldn't have.

His blue hoodie reminded her of Percy, killing her mood even more. It was ripped in multiple places, showing the gray skin beneath. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and on the back of his forearms were two dagger holsters. He also had two swords, the larger of them on his back and the smaller hanging from his waist. And besides the blue hoodie, he wore an old war uniform bottom.

"Leo," Hazel started.

"It's fine, Hazel." Nico stared into Leo's eyes. "All souls that come back from the dead have different experiences. I still have the characteristics of a shade. Maybe I still am one, who knows. We stopped trying to figure it out a long time ago."

"Percy was one of the ones that helped him live again," Hazel offered. "That's why they're close. He's probably closer to him than any of you are."

Nico laid his head on the table. "Don't remind me."

"We'll get him back," Jason spoke up. "Him and Annabeth. You got through it by the skin of your teeth. They can, too."

Nico picked his head up to look at him. "You really believe that? Honestly?"

Piper put her hand on Jason's shoulder. "We have to, Nico."

Chapter Text

Nico hated the Argo II.

As soon as the emergency meeting was over, Hazel led him to the sick bay where he basically collapsed into one of the beds. Leo pulled a couple of sleeping pills from his tool belt (Nico wasn't sure how it worked, but he trusted Hazel who in turn trusted Leo). After Nico took them, he fell into such a deep sleep that he had no dreams or even a feeling of reality.

The next thing he was aware of was waking up to the ship jolting.

Every muscle ached, and as he stood, he felt like his brain was scrambled. How long had it been since he got rest? His body was getting tired of keeping up with him.
Nico got to the deck to find Hazel and Leo, the later waving around one of his controls. Beneath them, a beautiful countryside went on for miles.

"Another way," Leo muttered. "Do you see one?"

Nico walked over to his sister and new aquaintance, eyeing the map. "You're trying to get over the mountains?"

Leo nodded. "Stupid rock gods attack us every time we try."

"It's our fault," Hazel said. "Nico's and mine. The numina can sense us."

Nico nodded at her. "Makes sense. Earth spirits don't like the children of the Underworld. We get under their skin, literally. But the Athena Parathonos... That thing's like a magical beacon. They can sense it."

"So crossing the mountains is out," Leo said. "Thing is, they go a long way in either direction."

Nico stared down at the map of his homeland as Hazel offered up another choice. He could point out where each battle had been, could even point out where he had died.

"Whatever we do," he spoke up, "we have to hurry. Every day Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus..."

He reached a finger out and touched the spot where he had died. As soon as he did, an old sort of electricity ran through his veins and Hazel gasped. "Arion!"

"What?" Nico asked.

Leo yelped in excitement. "It's her horse, man! You missed the whole part. We haven't seen him since Kansas!"

Nico looked between the two demigods, but Hazel didn't seem in the mood to explain. Instead, she watched as her horse grew closer to the ship.

"We have to meet him," she said. "He's here to help."

"Yeah, okay," Leo said. "But we talked about not landing the ship on the ground anymore, remember? You know, with Gaea wanting to destroy us and all."

"Just get me close, and I'll use the rope ladder," Hazel said. "I think Arion wants to tell us something."

Nico glanced away but let her do what she wanted. When she was on the ground, she hugged the horse and began petting its mane.

"Hazel!" he yelled down. "What's going on?"

"It's fine!" she called up. "Arion wants to take us somewhere!"

"Um..." Leo pointed North. "Please tell me he's not taking you into that."

Nico looked where Leo had pointed, frowning at the dark storm and funnel like cloud. He could remember his mother's voice, remember the warning she gave about funnel clouds.

"I'll be okay!" Hazel answered. "Stay put and wait for me!"

"Wait for how long?" Nico asked. "What if you don't come back?"

"Don't worry, I will." she promised. And with that, she mounted Arion and rode off.

Nico stared after her in silence before looking over at Leo, who was back at his controls. "Do you think she'll be alright?"

Leo nodded. "I wouldn't worry much, dude. Your sister's a good fighter."

Nico took a deep breath. "How long was I asleep?"

"Three days or so," Leo said. "You haven't missed anything."

Keep moving. Nico shuffled from one foot to the other. "Hazel loves horses. I'm glad she has one." He took one of his daggers and twirled it in his hands. "How do you handle being so ADHD?"

Leo snorted. "What?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "It's easy to notice. You're all over the place. I'm asking you how you handle it. I..." He paused, didn't want to talk about Tartarus or what happened down there. "Certain circumstances have gotten me wanting to constantly move. I'm asking you how you handle it."

Leo reached into his tool belt and started pulling out different tinkering toys. "Keep your hands busy. That's what I have to do."

Nico hesitantly took one, his instincts yelling at him not to trust the son of Hephaestus. But Hazel did, and he trusted Hazel. "Thanks, Leo..."

Leo nodded once before focusing on the controls again. His hands moved quickly, his eyes scanned everything in sight. He lived up to his parentage.

"It's Nico, right?" he asked after a minute of silence.

Nico tinkered with what he had been given, constantly moving but staying still. It was the only solution he could think of at the time. "Yeah, Nico di Angelo."

"Nico, I'm sorry about what I said." Leo was oddly serious, something Nico could already tell didn't happen often. "Asking...asking what you were."

"It's okay." Nico shrugged, his hair falling into his eyes. "I'm used to it. I'm dead, you know? I should expect questions."

"I almost died," Leo offered up. "When I was a kid."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "But you didn't, right?"

Leo grinned. "Right. I was running away from another foster home, and I was in the city. I didn't think about the street much until I ran into it. Was an inch off from getting hit."

"You were a foster kid?" Nico asked.

Leo frowned. "Bad memories. You get it, right?"

Nico nodded. "My...my mom died. I saw a flashback of it. Yours did too, I'm guessing?"

"Fire," Leo mumbled. "Her workshop burned down with her in it."

Nico finally looked up from his hands to face Leo. "If you want, after this is all over...I can check on her soul for you. If you want, that is."

Leo started to work on the controls again, his hands seeming to need to be busy when thoughts filled his mind. "Yeah, thanks."

Nico peered over his shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"We need to go faster," Leo said. "This baby can already go pretty fast, but we need to get there in time."

Nico watched him for a minute in silence before speaking. "Can I help?"

Leo looked back at him. "You can try."

Nico pursed his lips for a minute before speaking again. "Look, I don't like you very much. When you're hyper and making jokes, it can get annoying. But I'm trying to like you. And this is the first time I've had a conversation with you that I didn't want to slap you."

"Um..."

"But my sister likes you," Nico continued. "But she's dating Frank, I think. So, what's your relationship with her?"

Leo held his hands up in surrender. "I'm not trying to get with your sister, man. She's just a friend."

"You swear?"

"I swear."

"But you don't have a girlfriend," Nico said. "Right?"

"Yes, I'm single," Leo admitted. "And your sister's a pretty girl. But I'm not...okay, I shouldn't have said that. She's with Frank, man. I'm not going to go after a girl that's already dating someone."

"But if she wasn't?" Nico asked. "What would you do if her and Frank broke up? She's my little sister and she's going through a lot so you better stay away. Promise me you won't try to get with her, no matter what."

"I promise, okay?" Leo swore. "I swear on the Styx. Okay?"

Nico unclenched his jaw. "Okay."

Leo stood for a minute before grinning. "Do you have another sister that-"

"Leo."

"Sorry."

When Hazel came back, Nico and Leo were immediately at her side. Nico helped hold her up, while Leo kept his hands back to not upset Nico after the talk they had had.

"What happened?" Leo asked.

Hazel didn't answer. Her hands were trembling along with her lips, and Nico wasn't sure if she was about to cry or not. "Hazel?"

"I met Hecate," she choked out. Nico sat her down as she explained what had happened, the crossroads that had been presented to her.

"Hazel, you met Hecate at a crossroads." Nico took her hand as the news soaked in. "That's...that's something many demigods don't survive. And the ones who do survive are never the same. Are you sure you're-"

"I'm fine," she insisted.

"What if Hecate is tricking us?" Leo asked. "This route could be a trap."

Hazel shook her head. "If it was a trap, I think Hecate would've made the northern route sound tempting. Believe me, she didn't."

Leo pulled a calculator out of his tool belt and started punching in some numbers. "That's...something like three hundred miles out of our way to get to Venice." Venice. The name sent shivers down Nico's spine. "Then we'd have to backtrack down the Adriatic. And you said something about baloney dwarfs?"

"Dwarfs in Bologna," Hazel said. "I guess Bologna is a city. But why we have to find dwarfs there... I have no idea. Some sort of treasure to help us with the quest."

"It is a city," Nico clarified. "Historic."

"Huh," Leo said. "I mean, I'm all about treasure, but-"

"It's our best option." Nico helped Hazel to her feet. "We have to make up for lost time, travel as fast as we can. Percy and Annabeth's lives might depend on it."

"Fast?" Leo grinned. "I told you, I can do fast." He hurried off to the console and started to work again.

Nico gently took Hazel's arm and guided her to a part of the ship out of earshot. "What else did Hecate say?"

"I can't," Hazel said. "I'll tell you later. Right now, we should rest while we can. Tonight, we cross the Apennines."

Chapter Text

Nico's body begged him to sleep again, but Tartarus beat his own thoughts down and refused to let him lay in a bed. Besides, the only two open were Percy and Annabeth's, and that felt wrong.

So Nico climbed the large mast and sat on top, his black hair blowing in the breeze of the dark night. He had never flown before, but he found it surprisingly comforting. It was as far from the Underworld and Tartarus as he could get.

When the stars clouded over and he was afraid sleep would take him, he climbed back down and to the mess hall. There, he communed with the dead in hopes to find out anything about the quest. The main piece of information he received was that only one of the children of the Underworld would make it to the doors.

Nico must have fallen asleep at one of the chairs, because before he knew it he was in a dream, vision on the Underworld.

Persephone and Hades were seated on Nico's bed in the palace, neither seeming to realize they had a type of visitor. Persephone was rubbing Hades' shoulder, the god's face full of anger but also concern.

"He will come back to us, one way," Persephone said. "He's a good fighter, you saw that in the Battle of Manhattan."

"He fell into Tartarus, Persephone!" Hades stood up with clenched fists. "There's no worse fate for a demigod!"

"That doesn't mean you will go after the Fates themselves!" Persephone grabbed his hand and pulled him back down. "He may be your only demigod son, and my only stepson, but we need to let him continue on. You're a god, Hades. You cannot interfere. You cannot curse the Fates just as you once did the Oracle. You need to be the god your son thinks you are. That means you can't go around punishing others."

Hades turned to retort, but the vision cut out and Nico's dream was thrown elsewhere.

The darkness of Tartarus leaked in. It never left, you could never escape. No demigod made it out of Tartarus alive. Nico knew it to still be true.

His nightmares for the rest of the night consisted of memories. The pain he had felt down there, the Phlegethon's fiery waters, just the fall down. When Nico woke up, he stared at his bloodstained fingers and wished he could wash them somewhere. Maybe then he'd stop smelling their iron scent.

Slowly, the others started to filter into the room for breakfast. Nico didn't look anyone in the face, but he noticed that Leo and Hazel both sat by him without question.

"So." Jason broke the silence. "Now that we're here..."

Nico looked up to see Jason had taken the seat at the head of the table. No one was protesting, but Nico didn't like it much. Not after he learned that Annabeth had been the previous leader of the group.

It was silent around them. The morale was just as low as it had been in a far off war, somewhere in the 40's, a place Nico could hardly remember yet still not forget...

"I communed with the dead last night," Nico said. "I was able to learn more about what we'll face. In ancient times, the House of Hades was a major site for Greek pilgrims. They would come to speak with the dead and honor their ancestors."

Leo frowned. "Sounds like Día de los Muertos. My Aunt Rosa took that stuff seriously."

Frank grunted. "Chinese have that, too. Ancestor worship, sweeping the graves in the springtime. Your Aunt Rosa would have gotten along with my grandmother."

"Yeah," Leo said. "I'm sure they would have been best buds."

Nico cleared his throat. "A lot of cultures have seasonal traditions to honor the dead, but the House of Hades was open year round. Pilgrims could actually speak to the ghosts. In Greek, the place was called the Necromanteion, the Oracle of Death. You'd work your way through different levels of tunnels, leaving offerings and drinking special potions-"

"Special potions," Leo muttered. "Yum."

Jason gave Leo a look, but Nico didn't mind the son of Hephaestus much anymore. He could picture him as a young kid, scared of fire and himself after witnessing it kill his mother.

"The pilgrims believed that each level of the temple brought you closer to the Underworld, until the dead would appear before you." Nico pulled one of the tinkering objects out of his pocket and began working with it. His feet tapped erratically. "If they were pleased with your offerings, they would answer your questions, maybe even tell you the future."

"And if the spirits weren't pleased?" Frank asked.

You've been sitting too long! Move! Run! "Some pilgrims found nothing," Nico said. "Some went insane, or died after leaving the temple. Others lost their way in the tunnels and were never seen again." The insane. Was he one of them?

Nico stood up and paced. "The ghost I spoke to last night, he was a former priest of Hecate. He confirmed what the goddess told Hazel yesterday at the crossroads. In the first war with the giants, Hecate fought for the gods. She slew one of the giants, one who'd been designed as the anti-Hecate. A guy named Clytius."

"Dark dude," Leo guessed. "Wrapped in shadows."

Hazel turned to him. "Leo, how did you know that?"

"Kind of had a dream."

As Leo explained his dream, Nico paid attention but didn't look over at the other demigods. He didn't need to see anymore despair on their faces.

"So, the giant is Clytius," Jason said. "I suppose he'll be waiting for us, guarding the Doors of Death."

"And the woman in Leo's dream?" Frank asked.

"She's my problem." Hazel's determination made Nico proud of his little sister, but still worried. Leo had claimed she was a good fighter, and Nico had seen her at the Wolf House, but he never truly went through a real battle next to her.

"Hecate mentioned a formidable enemy in the House of Hades," Hazel said. "A witch who couldn't be defeated except by me, using magic."

"Do you know magic?" Leo asked.

"Not yet."

Nico put a hand on Hazel's shoulder. "You'll be able to learn, I promise."

"Do we know who the woman is you have to use the magic against?" Leo asked.

Hazel shook her head. "Only that..." She looked up at Nico, who shook his head. No, she shouldn't tell people her secrets, shouldn't speak of something she was hoping would never happen. "Only that she won't be easy to defeat."

The others obviously noticed the silent conversation between them, but Nico didn't give them a chance to speak up.

"There's some good news," he said. "The ghost I talked to explained how Hecate defeated Clytius in the first war. She used her torches to set his hair on fire. He burned to death. In other words, fire is his weakness."

Nico looked to Leo and gave him an encouraging nod. "That's a good thing. We have something against him."

"It's a good lead," Jason agreed. "At least we know how to kill the giant. And this sorceress... Well, if Hecate believes that Hazel can defeat her, so do I."

Nico turned to glare at Jason and ask who the hell he was to say anything about Hazel, but before he could she started to speak again. "Now we just have to reach the House of Hades, battle our way through Gaea's forces-"

"Plus a bunch of ghosts," Nico added. "Lots of angry, unfriendly ghosts."

"-and find the Doors of Death," Hazel continued. "Assuming we can somehow arrive at the same time as Percy and Annabeth and rescue them."

"We can do it," Frank said. "We have to."

Nico pictured a similar war council long ago, with the same determined but weary faces, and the sounds of bombs in the distance. He wasn't aware of the present until he heard old Morse code being tapped. He blinked and saw that Leo was tapping I love you into the table, which made him frown in confusion.

Before he could ask exactly who Leo was thinking about, he was launching into the wall and his vision turned black.

Chapter Text

When Nico woke up, he was told about everything that had happened. Dwarfs in Bologna, the fact that everything had been handled. But he didn't dare lay down to sleep, nor did he plan to in the future. He already wasted too many hours staying still when monsters could be on him, tearing his flesh and breaking his bones and setting fire to the remains and-

No. He wasn't going to let one war, what he had seen to humans, mix with what happened down there. He didn't need anymore torture in his life, especially if it wasn't even real.
But the thoughts continued all night, the war seemed like yesterday. He wasn't sure the mentality behind it until the ship docked at a city he knew all too well.

"Venesia..." Nico whispered. "Siamo qui."

"English, di Angelo." Leo came up beside him and also leaned on the rail. "Or Spanish. But I don't know how the others would feel about that."

Nico shook his head in disbelief. "I'm back home. I never believed it...never thought we'd actually make it..." He climbed onto the rail and kept himself balanced as he looked across the now peaceful city. No more smoke, no more riots and bomb sirens and soldiers going off to war.

"You were born here?" Jason Grace came up to them, eyes blurred from the second half of the night watch.

Nico nodded. His legs itched to run into the city, to grab one of the gondole and ride it through the canal. But there were barely any left, and those that were there were packed with noticeable tourists.

What had become of his city? The lions of St. Mark still decorated the area, but nothing was as grand as it used to be. The waters were polluted, modern industry had taken over. He couldn't help but wonder if his old home was still here, or if even that had been destroyed, turned around, made into something he wouldn't recognize.

The rest of the demigods came up one by one, taking a place beside them at the railing. Last to do so was Frank, who took a spot by his girlfriend.

"What are they?" Hazel asked. Nico turned to see what she was looking at, finally understanding their uncertainty when he realized that they probably hadn't seen katobleps before.

"Mamma! Mamma!" Nico tugged on his mother's hand as he pointed to one of the animals tottering around. "Can I pet it?"

Maria looked down at her son, a familiar smile on her lips. "I've told you before, my son. No petting stray cani. It's dangerous."

As they walked passed, Nico looked at what everyone called cani. They weren't like other cani he had seen, with wagging tails and different colors and sizes that made every one unique. These were different. They were always the same color, same size and shape, same everything. And that same everything was what made him so curious.

"Dogs?" he asked for confirmation. "That's what they're called in America! Dogs!"

She nodded. "No petting stray dogs, Nico. Not even in America."

He was pulled back into the present violently by Leo's butchering of the Italian language.

"The Black House," Nico translated. "Calle Frezzeria is the street."

Nobody questioned his second language, mostly because his accent was still so thick.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, causing Jason's eyes to flicker upwards. "Maybe I should stay on board," he said. "Lots if venti in the storm last night. If they decide to attack the ship again..."

"I'll go," Frank spoke up.

Leo patted him on the shoulder. "Awesome. If you pass a hardware store, could you get me some two-by-fours and a gallon of tar?"

"Yeah, that's not going to happen." Nico smiled from his perch. "I'll go with Frank. You may need some more translating. And..." His smile turned cold. "Lots of death. Restless spirits, I can sense them. If I go, I may be able to keep them at bay."

Leo scratched his head. "Lots of death, huh? Personally, I'm trying to avoid lots of death, but you guys have fun!"

"I'll go, too." Hazel said. "Three is the best number for a demigod quest, right?"

"All right, then." Nico wasn't sure if he was excited or anxious. "Let's go find the owner of that book."

Nico may have forced them to make a detour, first.

"The Mist should hide our weapons and...my skin." Nico had to force himself not to run as he made his way down the old street. Memories were coming up before him, he could see himself as a child running through the streets and over the bridges. The katobleps didn't attack but they never got close. "Don't pet the cani," he muttered.

"Hm?" Frank asked.

"Nothing." Nico's heart beat faster as they grew closer and closer to his childhood. "We're going to need one of the boats."

"And how do we get that?" Hazel asked.

Nico shrugged. "It's been decades. I'll have to ask around. Just stay close and don't pet the dogs."

He was aware of Hazel giving Frank a questioning look, but he didn't bother to think much about it as he charged through the city, asking citizens here and there about how to get a boat. It was only then that he realized he didn't have a key anymore and someone had probably taken over his old house. Were their still di Angelo's to have inherited it? Or did it go to another family, an investor, someone who couldn't care less about this little dead boy who wanted to come inside.

"Nico." Hazel grabbed his elbow, stopping him from rushing off to a new person to question. "Please, tell me what's going on. What are you trying to do? Maybe I can help."

It had been years since he had been so exposed to his Italian roots. Ever since he had died on that battlefield in a pool of his own blood, mixed with the blood of so many others, he hadn't talked to another Italian. He hadn't had a conversation in his native language. Instead, he was forced to take in English as it was forced onto him. And even though he had gotten used to it, had gotten used to English and America and all the different races aboard the Argo... Now, it the midst of his childhood, of his roots, of where he belonged, he felt like English had faded to the back of his mind.

It took some effort to use English to answer Hazel's question.

(maybe he just didn't like to speak it)

"I want to visit my old home," Nico said. "Please. I just...I just have this feeling, like we need to go there. I don't know why, but we have to. And to do so, we need a boat. It's one of the ones on the canal. But..."

"But someone else probably lives there," Hazel guessed.

Nico nodded. "We would have to sneak in."

Hazel looked like she was thinking for a minute before getting another determined look. "I have an idea. Frank and I will go get Piper, you'll get a boat. Okay?"

Nico frowned. "Piper? Why?"

"Just...trust me." Hazel kissed his cheek before leading Frank off.

Then he was alone, but he wasn't scared. The city was familiar despite the years that had gone by. In his mind, he knew he could beat any mortal that messed with him. He had been through two wars, was in the middle of one now, had gone through Tartarus and made it out alive.

(if he was alive. was he still dead?)

Nico got a boat like Hazel told him to, and before long, he was driving them down the canal and to the house that sent shivers down his spine when he saw that it was still standing.

"What do we need, again?" Piper asked. She looked confused on why she had joined, maybe even disappointed that she couldn't stay back on the Argo II with her boyfriend. But Hazel had gotten her for a reason, they all knew it.

"Number 1704," Nico said. "We need to get in. Hazel, what's your plan?"

Hazel turned to Piper. "Can you charmspeak the owner, get them to leave for a couple hours so we're in the clear?"

Piper nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

"What's charmspeak?" Nico asked, looking down at them. He was aware of his own smile, the wind hitting his face and blowing his hair and blurring his eyes. The water below him smelled like Percy, and he wondered how the son of Poseidon was doing in the deepest parts of the Underworld, a place he never should have seen or witnessed.

"A power from my mom," Piper answered. "It's...I can easily persuade people. It should work good enough on any mortal."

"Right." Nico steered to the front door, docked the boat and looked to the daughter of Aphrodite. "Do your work."

Just as expected, Nico didn't recognize the man at the door. But he kept his eyes on him as Piper's charmspeak worked, as he left without complaint or much conversation. Nico wondered how he had gotten the building.

"Let's go in," Nico choked.

The building...everything about it was still beautiful. He skipped the entrance rooms, however, and ran up the steps like he once had as a kid.

The living room was...was everything. It stopped Nico in his tracks and provided an onslaught of memories he had nearly forgotten. Coming back from Christmas mass, finally being able to open their presents, their nonno watching over them with strict love, the doors closed to the balcony but the canal just as beautiful and lively as ever.

Then their were the newer ones, ones Nico didn't like to remember. Bianca crying into her mother's arms on the couch, the boy she loved having been given a star and put on a train and never seen again. But they all knew the name Auschwitz by then.

There was Nico, his uniform on and his hair cut short, hugging his family one last time as he prepared to go off. Combattente per la liberta, Bianca liked to call him. Freedom fighter. He wanted to promise he'd help liberate her old boyfriend, but somehow he knew he'd never make it to Germany.

"Nico." Hazel put a hand on his arm, her voice light and soothing. "You okay?"

He nodded, and suddenly the past wasn't playing out before his eyes any longer. "Memories."

"So, this is where you grew up?" Piper asked. "Nice place."

"Nonno was rich." Nico stuffed his hands in his pockets and moved to another doorway in the room. "My old room's still on this floor. I just...I just need to check it."

(they didn't stop him, but their minds were still on that quest with giants and monsters and a flying boat while his was on nothing more than a family home and bomb raids and canons that did more damage than guns)

His room had been turned into an office. The windows were open, showing the view and letting the cool air in. A desk, lots of books and notebooks, papers scattered everywhere. But he ignored this as he went to the corner, kneeled down next to the wall and edged out one of the bricks.

"We can leave notes where no one will find them." Bianca took the brick out and held it in front of her younger brother's face. She wasn't more than twelve but already knew the need for secrecy. "If you check and there's a note there, read it. Replace it with one of your own."

Nico looked at her, reached in and took the note laying there. His eyes read over the fancy script. 'Penso di amare un ragazzo' I think I love a boy.

He looked up at her, grinned, wrote back on the paper and stuck it in the hole. 'Does mamma know?'

Bianca read the paper, looked at him and shook her head. The message was clear. Nobody else needed to know.

Nico's heart nearly stopped when he saw the letters inside, still neatly folded and addressed from a girl so many years prior. A girl changed from war just like her brother.

"They're from Bianca." Nico extracted them as the three other demigods watched. Beneath the last letter was an old shoe box, which he also took out. "It's where we hid everything. These must have piled up after I had left."

Nico,

We might leave before you're back. Dad wants to take us to America again. If you need to find us, he's trying to get us to go into this hotel. I don't want to, but he said it'll keep us safe from the war.

Bianca

The next was more rushed.

Nico, we're leaving in a couple days. Mamma finally agreed. I don't want to leave you, but dad thinks you're not coming back. Please come back.

Then one last final one. The last words from the sister he so desperately missed.

Nico, he won't let me pack much. I'm leaving everything here. Bring it with you when you come looking for us.

When you come looking. She had been so hopeful, still waiting for a brother who would never return.

But would he? She was still in that hotel, still waiting, trapped in limbo without another familymember around...

"All of you, listen to me." His voice was hoarse with emotion, he wanted to curl up and cry for a couple days. "Please."

"We are," Hazel assured. "Tell us what's wrong."

"Bianca, my full sister, she's in a hotel somewhere in America that slows down time. She's probably still around my age. And...And she's just sitting there, waiting for me. And we're at war, who knows who will make it out alive. I need you to promise that if I don't, one of you will get her and bring her to Camp Half-Blood."

Hazel looked like she didn't want to think about it, the prospect of any of their deaths, but she nodded her head and her curly hair bounced. "I promise."

"We'll try our best to figure out what hotel," Piper agreed. "We'll get her to safety."

Nico handed each of them a note. "So you don't forget. I can't...I can't have you forgetting. Just keep it, please."

They each pocketed it, and Nico wondered how he had gotten so close to the other two demigods to the point of trusting them with this.

(but war either made family or enemies, and it didn't care about blood relations)

Nico picked up the old shoe box, handed it to Piper. "Take this back to the Argo. We'll continue looking for the book."

Piper accepted it easily, holding it to her chest protectively. "Will do. Where do you want me to put it when I get there?"

Nico thought back to the ship, to the many different rooms. "Percy's cabin. Put it under his bed for me. If we don't survive, someone will find it."

Chapter Text

After watching his sister almost die, and himself being turned into a corn plant, Nico was happy to leave Venice behind as they sailed down the Adriatic. But the water smelled too much like Percy, and he got sea sick too quickly, and after being in Venice his English didn't come out well.

The first night, he locked himself in Percy's cabin and took the shoe box in his lap. It was old, the lid was falling apart, and he wasn't sure what to expect inside. But he swore to get it back to Bianca somehow.

When Nico finally opened the box, his heart nearly stopped when he saw what was inside.

(di Angelo heritage hadn't died yet)

He recognized his mother's necklace before anything else. It laid in its own small box, its diamonds sparkling as they were once again exposed to the light. He remembered the day she had got it, the first time he had met his father. Hades liked to come every once in awhile with gifts.

Nico kept it in its box and could only hope that it would one day hang from Bianca's neck. It's what his mother would have wanted, it's what his father would have wanted.

But his father still had Bianca locked away and wasn't doing a damn thing about it.

There was also two pairs of diamond earrings, one belonging to his mother and one belonging to his sister. He kept them with the necklace, knew he couldn't let anyone get close to what his sister thought was most important to protect.

The last object in the box was an old combat knife. He could still remember the day his father had given it to him, Maria's insistence that he was too young, his nonno locking it away until he was "old enough". He thought he should have been old enough when he went to war, but it seems fate had other things in store before he could claim the adulthood.

Nico picked it up, looking at the jeweled hilt and black blade. Maybe his father knew even back then that he'd always be a fighter.

He strapped it to his thigh next to his shorter sword and felt fully armed for the first time in his life.

Tartarus still screamed that he wouldn't escape.

Nico could only hope that the Mist kept Percy and Annabeth shielded from something he could never forget.

Nico took a deep breath before knocking on the door to Piper's cabin. As soon as he did he retracted his hands and stuffed them in the hoodie's pockets, out of sight and out of the cold.

(the hoodie didn't smell like Percy anymore)

"Come in!"

When Nico stepped into the room Piper was sitting on her bed, brushing through her hair. She looked slightly surprised when she saw that it was him, but that quickly faded as she set the brush down. "What's up?"

"Um..." Nico sighed. "Fuck it. I need you to show me how to put my hair up. It's fucking annoying me but I don't want to cut it because if I cut it I'll be going off to war all over again."

Piper blinked a few times before laughing. "Come sit, di Angelo, and be glad I have an extra hair tie to give you."

Nico liked to spend his time up on the top of the mast despite his little knowledge of boats. But it was farthest from the ocean and Percy's scent, and the wind was loud enough to keep the voice of Tartarus on the down-low.

When he thought about the others on the Argo II, he was proud of the relationships he had formed. He was closest to Hazel, and surprisingly Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite. He knew that she knew about his secret love. She didn't know who he loved, but she could feel it rolling off him in waves.

"Do you know how Jason and I met?" she asked the day after they had visited Venice, standing beside him on watch.

Nico shook his head. "I met him a couple times at Camp Jupiter, but he didn't have a girlfriend. So...new relationship?"

"You can say." Piper leaned against the rail. "Hera took his memories, put him on our school bus, and made me think we were dating. She gave me memories of our first kiss and everything. I...I always feel as if he doesn't feel like I feel for him, because he doesn't remember as much as I do, even though it was fake."

Nico pulled his hair up into a small ponytail just as she taught him. "I have feelings for someone who doesn't feel the same, also. Just be glad he likes you somewhat, Piper."

She looked over at him, the different colors in her eyes unnerving. "You don't have to tell me who, but you can if you want."

"Not yet." Nico played with his new knife. From the first time he held it, it felt right. "I'm not ready yet."

She nodded, didn't press it, stared into the water. "Do you think Percy and Annabeth will live?"

Nico sighed. "I hope so. Without them, we'll never be able to close those doors."

What was said was true and he knew it to be so, and it kept his hope from rising too high. Because their souls were weak, somewhere where human souls didn't survive. And they kept getting weaker.

But if it was in their fate that they had fallen, he knew they were meant to be down there. Whether it be to succumb to an honorable death, or to close the doors and save them all.

But fate was fate, and the Fates wouldn't spin a world in which they themselves died.

Nico was just about to come down from the mast himself, but the giant turtle decided to knock him off. And for the second time, he blacked out on the Argo II.

He really wasn't liking that little fact.

Chapter Text

Nico still hated the Argo II. With each new monster, each seperate task and delay, he felt like he was going stir crazy.

Then he had to be reminded of his least favorite place.

When Jason finished telling them about his dream, about the letter from Percy and Annabeth, Nico felt like he was trying to swallow the Phlegethon all over again.

"A letter from Percy and Annabeth?" Piper asked, shaking her head. "But how-"

"You won't want to hear the only explanation I can think of," Nico cut in. "So drop it and be thankful that you know they're alive."

Silence. It still shocked them when they were reminded that he had gotten out of that pit, had survived to tell the tale. The tale he would never tell.

The topic started again, slowly, as they spoke about Reyna and her plans to meet up with them. Sure, they needed all the help they could get, but Nico wasn't sure how she'd get to them in one piece.

"Well, technically we've been in Croatian territory for the past day or so," Leo said. "All that coastline we've been sailing past is it, but I guess back in the Roman times it was called...what'd you say, Jason? Bodacious?"

"Dalmatia," Nico corrected. "Croatia used to be Dalmatia, a major Roman province. You want to visit Diocletian's Palace, don't you?"

Jason nodded. "It's where Reyna will go first, because she knows I will go there."

"And why would Reyna think that?" Piper asked. "Because you've always had a mad fascination with Croatian culture?"

"Reyna and I used to talk about Diocletian," he said. "We both kind of idolized the guy as a leader. We talked about how we'd like to visit Diocletian's Palace. Of course we knew that was impossible. No once could travel to the Ancient Lands. But still, we made the pact that if we ever did, that's where we'd go."

"Diocletian..." Leo looked between Jason and Nico. "Why was he so important?"

Nico was about to answer, but the others started going off about things that weren't really important. Even Hazel added in to the conversation, talking about what they told her back at her old school. Finally, Piper ended the useless conversation.

"So, why is the palace so special?" she asked.

"It's said to be haunted by the ghost of Diocletian," Nico said.

"Who was a son of Jupiter, like me," Jason added. "His tomb was destroyed centuries ago, but Reyna and I used to wonder if we could find Diocletian's ghost and ask where he was buried...well, according to the legends, his scepter was buried with him."

Nico frowned at the memory, another legend to read while learning the language he was now stuck in. "Ah...that legend."

"What legend?" Hazel asked.

"Supposedly Diocletian's scepter could summon the ghosts of Roman legions, any of them who worshipped the old gods," Nico answered.

Leo whistled. "Okay, now I'm interested. Be nice to have a ass-kicking army of pagan zombies on our side when we enter the House of Hades."

"Not sure I would have put it that way," Jason muttered. "But yeah."

"We don't have much time," Frank warned. "It's already July ninth. We have to get to Epirus, close the Doors of Death-"

"Which are guarded," Hazel murmured, "by a smoky giant and a sorceress who wants... Well, I'm not sure. But according to Pluto, she plans to rebuild her domain. Whatever that means, it's bad enough that my dad felt like warning me personally."

Nico's expression dropped at the mention of Pluto. He missed his own father, missed Persephone, even missed Demeter and her crazy mutterings.

"We won't take long in Split," Jason said. "But looking for the scepter is worth a try. While we're at the palace, I can leave a message for Reyna, letting her know the route we're taking to Epirus."

Nico nodded. "The scepter of Diocletian can make a huge difference. You'll need my help."

"Hey, sounds fun." Piper squeezed Jason's hand and gave Nico a smile. "I'll come, too."

Nico gave her a sad smile. "I'm sorry, but it should just be Jason and me. Diocletian's ghost might appear for a son of Jupiter, but any other demigods might scare him. And I'm the only one who can talk to his spirit. Even Hazel won't be able to do that."

The ship's bell went off before anyone else could say something about the arrangements. Leo looked up, understood Festus and his creaking noises. "We're here. Time to Split."

Nico rolled his eyes and slapped Leo on the back of the head, but the son of Hephaestus didn't take it maliciously.

Jason stood. "Frank, you're in charge of defending the ship. Leo, you've got repairs to do. The rest of you, help out wherever you can. Nico and I..." He turned to look Nico in the eyes. "We have a ghost to find."

Nico wanted to ask who Jason thought he was, to order the whole crew around, but he kept his mouth shut and listened to the praetor. Nico had never been the leader, not in any war or battle. He was used to playing his part.

And his part? He did the dirty work, what needed to be done, what no one else wanted to do. Finding the doors, going through Tartarus, killing all those people with just a gun.

Once they docked, Nico and Jason got off the ship and joined the crowd of tourists. Nico kept a hand on his new dagger while they walked, his boots flinging the gravel around them.

"Are you seeing this?" Jason asked.

Nico looked to where Jason was, his eyes narrowing when he saw the angel at the ice cream stand. "Yeah, let's head over."

As they got closer, Nico tried to feel the life source of the...thing. But he didn't feel a soul and he definitely didn't feel the pull of the Underworld.

"He's not a returned spirit," Nico murmured. "Or a creature of the Underworld."

"No," Jason agreed.

Once they got close, the angel sped off and away from the crowded shops and crowds. It headed toward the palace, which loomed over the whole area.

"I'm guessing that's the palace," Jason said. "Come on."

They tried to catch up, but the spirit was too fast. Eventually, Jason grabbed Nico and flew them without asking. When they finally landed, Nico pulled away with a low grunt. "Don't touch me. And this...this is the peristyle. It was the entrance to Diocletian's private residence."

Jason cleared his throat. "How do you know what this place is called?"

"I've been here before." Nico's eyes darkened as the memory of a summer vacation. "With my mother and Bianca. A trip from Venice. The first time I was maybe...six?"

"That was when, the 1930's?"

"Thirty-six, probably," Nico said. "Why do you care? Do you see that winged guy anymore?"

"No... I just...can't imagine how weird that must be, coming from a different time," Jason said. "And dying... I just can't imagine it."

"No, you can't." Nico clenched his fists and tried to ignore the distant gunfire in his mind. "Look, I don't like talking about it. Hazel and I had it worse. Bianca will hopefully have a better transition. She didn't have to die and readjust to this world. She's in a casino where time stands still. It's probably been months, maybe a year to her."

"Percy told me about that place," Jason said.

Nico frowned, not remembering telling Percy anything about it. But he shook his head and tried to fight off more memories. "I don't want to talk about it. The flashbacks...especially in these lands, where I fought and died... Me having a flashback won't help us."

Jason was silent, apparently deep in thought. Maybe he really couldn't wrap his mind around it like others had. Either way, Nico knew he needed to get his own mind away from it.

"Roman dead are everywhere," he said. "Lares. Lemures. They're watching. They're angry."

"At us?" Jason grabbed his golden coin.

"At everything." Nico pulled the two daggers off his arms and held one in each hand, crouching into a defensive position. "And they're not listening to me." He gestured to a small building. "That used to be a temple to Jupiter. The Christians changed it to a baptistery. The Roman ghosts don't like that."

He remembered his mother's faith in the God despite her knowledge of the Greek gods, remembered the trips to Sunday mass and Confession and his Confirmation right before he went off to war.

It was the week before he left, and Christians were being persecuted along with Jews and the Polish and anyone the Germans were against. But his mother still believed, and not knowing who his father was, he did, too. So he went to the cathedral knowing very well that it could end badly, swore he wouldn't fall to Satan's temptations, chose his patron saint and got chrismed in the Church.

He had chosen St. George, who had been sent to execution by Diocletian himself after refusing to give up his faith through multiple torture sessions.

Some would say it was a coincidence, but it gave Nico the shivers as he stood near where his patron saint was once killed, ready to talk to the ghost responsible for it. Nico still blamed fate, and wondered how much it really decided in his life. Did it have a part of every little decision, or was it something that just influenced the big ones? But it had gotten him there, decades after he had been confirmed, decades after he had died, ready to find a ghost he had read about before.

"Fucking hell," Nico muttered.

Jason looked over at him. "What?"

"Nothing." Nico blinked a few times before pointing to another building. "That was the mausoleum of the emperor."

"But his tomb isn't there anymore," Jason guessed.

"Not for centuries," Nico said. "When the empire collapsed, the building was turned into a Christian cathedral." The cathedral I was confirmed in, he mentally added.

Jason swallowed audibly. "So if Diocletian's ghost is still here-"

"He's probably not happy," Nico finished.

The wind rustled, causing Nico and Jason to turn to a staircase leading into the earth. A single red feather laid in front of it.

"That way," Jason said. "That winged guy. Where do you think those stairs lead?"

Nico clung to his daggers. "Underground. My favorite place."

Chapter Text

Nico watched Jason hide the note for Reyna, his eyes on the room around them. He couldn't feel Diocletian's spirit anywhere.

"Hello."

Nico turned to the voice with his daggers out and ready, his eyes landing on the spirit before him. Jason had also jumped into battle position, accidentally slicing off the head of Diocletian's statue.

"That wasn't very nice," the spirit taunted. "I mean, what did Diocletian ever do to you?"

Jason lowered his sword. "Uh...it was an accident."

"Keep it up," Nico hissed.

Jason raised it again. "You startled me."

The spirit chuckled. "Jason Grace, the West Wind has been called many things...warm, gentle, life-giving, and devilishly handsome. But I have never been called startling. I leave that crass behavior to my gusty brethren in the north."

Nico took a step back. "The West Wind, you mean you're-"

"Favonius," Jason realized. "God of the West Wind."

Favonius bowed, an action that made Nico want to run him through with his sword even more. "You can call me by my Roman name, certainly, or Zephyros, if you're Greek. I'm not hung up about it."

Nico barred his teeth. "Why aren't your Greek and Roman sides in conflict, like the other gods?"

"Oh, I have the occasional headache," Favonius shrugged. "Some mornings I'll wake up in a Greek chiton when I'm sure I went to sleep in my SPQR pajamas. But mostly the war doesn't bother me. I'm a minor god, you know, never really been much in the limelight. The to-and-fro battles among you demigods don't affect me as greatly."

"So..." Jason held his sword like he wasn't sure if the god before him was an enemy or not. "What are you doing here?"

"Several things!" Favonius said. "Hanging out with my basket of fruit. I always carry a basket of fruit. Would you like a pear?"

"I'm good. Thanks," Jason declined.

"You can shove the pear up your ass," Nico hissed.

Favonius shook his head. "Nico di Angelo, you always fight your feelings."

Jason cleared his throat. "I mean why did you appear to us? Why did you lead us to this cellar?"

"Oh!" Favonius nodded. "The sarcophagus of Diocletian. Yes. This was its final resting place. The Christians..." He gave a pointed look to Nico. "moved it out of the mausoleum. Then some barbarians destroyed the coffin. I just wanted to show you that what you're looking for isn't here. My master has taken it."

"Your master?" Jason asked. "Please tell me your master isn't Aeolus."

"That airhead?" Favonius snorted. "No, of course not."

"He means Eros." Nico's instincts were telling him to fight, to destroy this god before him. "Cupid, in Latin."

Favonius smiled. "Very good, Nico di Angelo. I'm glad to see you again, by the way. It's been a long time."

Nico frowned. "I've never met you."

"You've never seen me," Favonius corrected. "But I've been watching you. When you came here as a small boy, and again when you were confirmed into a religion against your father. I knew eventually you would return to look upon my master's face."

Nico's breaths turned heavier, he thought about grabbing Jason and shadow traveling away and never looking back.

"Nico?" Jason asked. "What's he talking about?"

"I don't know," Nico lied. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Favonius cried. "The one who made you admit it to yourself, the one who started it all, plunged into Tartarus, and still you will not allow the world the truth?"

"We've only come for Diocletian's scepter," Nico said. "Where is it?"

"Ah..." Favonius nodded. "You thought it would be as easy as facing Diocletian's ghost? I'm afraid not, Nico. Your trials will be much more difficult. You know, long before this was Diocletian's Palace, it was the gateway to my master's court. I've dwelt here for eons, bringing those who sought love into the presence of Cupid."

"Like Psyche, Cupid's wife," Jason recalled. "You carried her to his palace."

Nico zoned out the old story as he tried to think of a way out. He couldn't tell Jason, couldn't tell the world. He was so close to Venice, so close to a war with guns and soldiers who would take him and place him in one of those camps and he'd never ever come back because loving was a sin and-

"Nico, you can do this," Jason said. "It might be embarrassing, but it's for the scepter."

Nico wanted to stab Jason as well, now. He didn't understand, was too arrogant to think that he was assuming wrong. He turned to Favonius, knew he should put a real enemy before him if he ended up lashing out. "You're right. I...I'm not afraid of anything, especially not a love god."

Favonius beamed. "Excellent! Would you like a snack before you go?"

"Just take us to Cupid," Nico demanded.

Before he could back out of his decision, his body dissolved into wind and he was sped off. They were finally set down in the middle of ruins, a distance away from the main town and tourists.

"Welcome to Salona," Favonius said. "Capital of Dalmatia! Birthplace of Diocletian! But before that, long before that, it was the home of Cupid."

Nico leaned against one of the columns and tried to keep his word. He went through Tartarus. He wasn't scared of anything...wasn't scared of anything...

The grass died at his feet and his legs shook uncontrollably. He felt like he was staring into the pit all over again.

"I don't blame you for being nervous, Nico di Angelo," Favonius said. "Do you know how I ended up serving Cupid?"

"I don't serve anyone," Nico growled. "Not anymore."

The sound of gunfire seemed to be going off in his subconscious, getting closer and closer with each passing second. His arms were numb where his own gun once rested, his legs were itching and cramped as if he was in a trench.

Fear. They were going to find out, they were going to ship him off where Bianca's old boyfriend went and he was going to get killed or tortured or starved. His mother would get a letter and she'd be ashamed and he'd send his whole family into dishonor and shame.

Bianca wouldn't accept him. His mother and nonno and their neighbors and the people of Venice and everyone else. They wouldn't accept him.

So. Cupid's voice dug deep into Nico's soul. You come to claim the scepter.

Nico tried to fight through his blurry mind, clenching his daggers instead of a gun. He could feel Jason's back against his own, found comfort in the son of Jupiter for the first time.

"Cupid," Jason called, "where are you?"

Where you least expect me, Cupid answered. As love always is.

Jason was hurtled out of sight, leaving Nico with more panic than before.

I would think you'd know better, Jason Grace. You've found true love, after all. Or do you still doubt yourself?

Nico pushed a dagger into its holster and ran to Jason, helping him to his feet. His heart seemed ready to explode. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just sucker punched." Jason rose to his feet and brushed himself off.

The arrows came, and they deflected them pretty well. Nico took them as bullets, knew he couldn't let any touch his chest where two once did. He ran with Jason, tried to protect him, knew deep down that the onslaught was his own fault.

"Is this guy Love or Death?" Jason asked.

Ask your friends, Cupid said. Frank, Hazel, and Percy met my counterpart, Thanatos. We are not so different. Except Death is sometimes kinder.

"We just want the scepter!" Nico shouted. "We're trying to stop Gaea. Are you on the gods' side or not?"

Love is on every side, Cupid said. And no one's side. Don't ask what Love can do for you.

"Great," Jason said. "Now he's spouting greeting card messages."

Only a child of the Underworld can summon the dead legions. And only an officer of Rome can lead them.

Nico gasped as an arrow hit his right arm, blood seeming to take over his vision as he took what seemed so very like a bullet. He was going to die, it was all going to be over just because of Percy Jackson.

"Enough games!" Nico gasped out, his vision turning back on again. "Show yourself!"

It is a costly thing, Cupid said, looking on the true face of Love.

"Just stop it!" Nico yelled. "It's me you want. Leave him alone!"

Poor Nico di Angelo. Do you know what you want, much less what I want? My beloved Psyche risked everything in the name of Love. It was the only way to atone for her lack of faith. And you, what have you risked in my name? What have you done to atone for your own lack of faith? You pledged to keep your mother's faith long ago. So, tell me, what have you done?

"I've been to Tartarus and back," Nico snarled. "You don't scare me."

I scare you very, very much. Face me. Be honest.

"Give us Diocletian's scepter," Nico said. "We don't have time for games."

Games? Cupid struck, slapping Nico sideways. Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work, a quest that never ends. It demands everything from you, especially the truth. Only then does it yield rewards.

"Nico," Jason called, "what does this guy want from you?"

Tell him, Nico di Angelo, Cupid said. Tell him you are a coward, afraid of yourself and your feelings. Tell him the real reason you ran from Camp Half-Blood, a possible relationship, and why you are always alone.

Nico screamed in response, his anger finally letting loose. Skeletons sprang up around them, tried to capture Cupid and keep him away. Will Solace... No, he didn't purposely leave him. He didn't run away.

Or did he?

Will you hide among the dead, as you always do? Cupid taunted.

Waves of darkness rolled off of Nico, taking memories and pain and every bit of anger and fear he had. It leaked into Jason Grace, but he couldn't stop it.

The skeletons had pinned Cupid, but the god still fought and taunted. Interesting! Do you have the strength, after all?

"I left Camp Half-Blood because of love," Nico tried. "Annabeth...she-"

Still hiding, Cupid said. You do not have the strength.

"Nico," Jason managed, "it's okay. I get it."

Nico glared over at the son of Jupiter, threw a dagger at his feet in one clear motion. "No you don't. There's no way you can understand."

And so you run away again, Cupid chided. From your friends, from yourself.

"I don't have friends!" Nico yelled. "I left Camp Half-Blood because I don't belong! I'll never belong! My presence there would have ruined them all!"

"Leave him alone, Cupid," Jason croaked. "This isn't..."

Nico looked at Jason, knew they both wanted this over with as soon as possible. "I...I wasn't in love with Annabeth."

"You were jealous of her," Jason said. "That's why you didn't want to be around her at first. Especially when you didn't want to be around...him. It makes sense."

The skeletons crumbled to dust. Nico felt his shoulders sag, felt the instinctual fight leave him. This was it. It was already over.

"I hated myself," Nico said. "I almost hated Percy Jackson."

Cupid became visible, but Nico didn't feel like killing the god any longer.

"I had a crush on Percy and I love Will," Nico spat. "That's the truth. That's the big secret. Happy now?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say love always makes you happy," Cupid said. "Sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you've faced it now. That's the only way to conquer me."

Cupid disappeared, leaving the scepter in his wake. Nico kneeled down to pick it up, all the fear from before now reduced to a certain numbness. He couldn't hide it from those who knew. Whatever came, came.

"If people found out-"

"If the others found out," Jason said, "you'd have that many more people to back you up, and to unleash the fury of the gods on anybody who gives you trouble."

Nico scowled as he picked up the dagger he had thrown at the son of Jupiter.

"But it's your call," Jason said. "Your decision to share or not. I can only tell you-"

"Percy's like a brother, now," Nico mumbled. "He always will be. But he...he made me realize that I'm...that I'm..."

"I get it," Jason assured him.

"If I had never realized, I never would have to go through this," Nico continued. "I would never have to worry about them finding out and shipping me off and-"

"Nico." Jason put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to pull away. "I...I can't say what it was like back then, but that war is over. No one is going to take you away. Gay marriage is legal, at least in the states. It's accepted, now."

Gay. The word rang in Nico's mind along with the news. Jason said it so casually, like it could come up in any peaceful situation.

"Gay..." Nico whispered to himself. "I'm gay."

"Nico, I've seen a lot of brave things," Jason said. "But what you just did? That was maybe the bravest."

"We should get back to the ship." Nico put his dagger back in its holster. "I don't want to be here any longer."

"Yeah, I can fly us-"

"No," Nico declined. "I've had enough of the winds for awhile. This time, we're shadow traveling."

He looked down at the scepter, hated it just because of what he had to go through to get it. If Tartarus really wanted to destroy him, it should have taken a page from Cupid's book.

"I've got to say, I've never shadow traveled before," Jason said.

Nico grabbed his shipmate's arm, his skeletal fingers digging into the tan skin. "Just stay close and close your eyes."

Chapter Text

"I'm going to honor my promise. I'll take you to Epirus. I'll help you close the Doors of Death. Then that's it, I'm leaving-forever."

Nico wanted to go back to the Jackson apartment, bury himself in blankets and eat Sally's cooking and have no worries but training. But the apartment was part of his past and only that. He couldn't see himself ever visiting it again.

Because of Percy Jackson. He had been telling himself that he was like his brother for months, but there was still a small crush that stabbed at his heart every time he saw the son of Poseidon. He couldn't share a room with that, not after he ran away from Will Solace and his feelings.

Camp Half-Blood was the same. Nico couldn't even think about looking Will in the eyes again, couldn't think about having to avoid him every day from then on out. And if he ended up in the Infirmary, was forced to talk to the son of Apollo he probably crushed...

No, he wouldn't go back there. He was going to run like he always had.

But to where?

The Underworld wasn't too appealing anymore, no matter how much he missed Persephone and his father. It was warm, the land of the dead would always be warm and inviting, it wanted to take him back. But it was too close to Tartarus, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to be warm anymore. Not after the fires of the Phlegethon, the pain and the burning and oh damn how much it burned.

He wanted the cold. He wanted the freezing icy feeling and its cold sense of reality. He wanted something to tell him he wasn't down there anymore.

You will never escape me, young demigod.

The voice of Tartarus was no stranger anymore. Usually Nico could ignore it, could keep his mind busy on something else. Leo Valdez was always working on something and allowed the son of Hades to help. But sometimes, when it was dark and he was alone, Tartarus spoke some more. Even worse, during the busy times when he should have ignored it perfectly, Tartarus rattled him to his bones and froze him in place.

No demigod escaped Tartarus alive.

Nico's brain seemed to chant this fact as they continued on with their quest. He could get to Leo, who had been thrown off the Argo. And they did. He could get them to Epirus, which he soon did. He could get them to the Doors of Death, could do what he had promised. But after that? He couldn't do anything.

He couldn't go anywhere, he didn't have a home. He couldn't escape Tartarus, couldn't get over his PTSD. He couldn't even let himself relax from a constant defensive position.

There was nothing to be done but fight. He always had something to fight.

He led the way into the House of Hades. He did what he needed to fulfill his promise so it didn't bear down on him any longer.

"From here, it gets tough." He turned to face them, tried to make sure they'd survive it. He couldn't lose anyone else.

"Sweet," Leo said. "Cause so far I've totally been pulling my punches."

Nico punched his shoulder for what felt like the fifth time since they started their journey. "Remember, this is where pilgrims came to commune with dead ancestors. Underground, you may see things that are hard to look at, or hear voices trying to lead you astray in the tunnels. Frank, do you have the barley cakes?"

"I've got the cakes," Hazel said. She pulled them out and passed them around, all of them eating what they needed. Unlike everyone else, Nico didn't complain about the taste. Anything was better than drinking fire.

"Okay," Nico said. "That should protect us from the poison."

"Poison?" Leo asked. "Did I miss the poison? Cause I love poison."

"Soon enough," Nico promised. "Just stick close together, and maybe we can avoid getting lost or going insane."

They started down the tunnel, Nico in the lead. His skin was prickling and a cold sensation ran down his back. Only one child of the Underworld will make it to the doors.

"This wasn't part of a temple," Hazel whispered. "This was...the basement of a manor house, built in later Greek times."

"A manor house?" Frank asked. "Please don't tell me we're in the wrong place."

"The House of Hades is below us," Nico assured him. "But Hazel's right, these upper levels are much newer. When the archaeologists first excavated this site, they thought they'd found the Necromanteion. Then they realized the ruins were too recent, so they decided it was the wrong spot. They were right the first time. They just didn't dig deep enough."

They continued on, Hazel moving rock from their path or telling them where to step. Gradually, they went deeper and deeper into the earth, deeper and deeper toward the doors. They drank the poison, they heard the voices of the dead.

Then they got separated.

Nico couldn't think much of the fact that his sister wasn't with them. It was too much fighting, too much raising the dead, the stupid fucking dead that wouldn't listen to him. He couldn't remember the last time it had happened, if it ever had. Even though he was one of them, the dead always listened. And maybe that was part of the reason why they did. But here, raising dead Romans, it was different.

"Stupid fucking ghosts!" Nico shouted.

"They won't listen!" Jason agreed.

Then Frank Zhang yelled an order and the stupid fucking ghosts listened. Just great. But it did make the fight more fun.

Nico had seen field promotions in the past, field promotions because the one above them had gotten killed or dismembered. But here, in the midst of monsters and dead soldiers, it was pretty cool to see the transfer of Roman powers. You could feel it. And when the dead started to fight, it really was a cool battle

He fought. His sword, the scepter, a dagger here and there. Nico found himself enjoying it simply because he didn't need to think. He saw the enemy, knew how to defeat them, focused all his energy and thoughts and willpower on it.

He didn't realize he was smiling.

When the fight ended and the adrenaline faded, he felt a different kind of warmth that was so different from Tartarus and so different than the land of the dead. He was sweating, for the first time since before he died, and the warmth of exercise was his new favorite temperature.

Nico looked at the others. They were mostly fine, with little injuries and scratches.

"Frank, you have an arrow in your arm," he pointed out.

"I know." Frank pulled it out. "I'll be fine."

Piper got some ambrosia out and handed it to the son of Mars. "Frank, you were amazing. Completely terrifying, but amazing."

Nico looked at the scepter and frowned. "The dead won't stay much longer, now that the battle is over."

Frank faced the troops. "Legion! You fought well. Now you may rest. Dismissed."

The dead crumbled back to the ground in piles of bones and armor, then disintegrated forever.

"Hazel and Leo," Frank said. "We need to find them."

Nico looked to where the cave-in happened. "We can't go that way. Maybe..." He fell right into Jason's arms. Something was tugging at his soul, trying to pull it somewhere else.

"Nico!" Piper was suddenly also helping him stand. "What is it?"

"The Doors," Nico said. "Something's happening. Percy and Annabeth...we need to go now."

"But how?" Jason asked. "The tunnel is gone."

Frank clenched his jaw. "It won't be fun, but there's another way."

Nico hadn't taken the passages of the dead before. They called for him, tried to take him back forever. He felt a boney hand on his wrist, fingernails clawing at his side, his gray skin getter darker and darker until he truly felt like a shade again.

Maybe Frank hadn't thought it through, or he didn't think it was have such an effect on Nico. But he was an undead, and in the passages of his own, he almost became one of them forever.

But the passage opened up and he stumbled out with the others. Just in time, too, or he may never have seen his sister again.

Nico knew it had been necessary, he knew Frank had done what he needed to. But annoyance and anger flickered over his cold heart.

Another grudge was formed.

Chapter Text

It didn't take long to kill Clytius. Nico wasn't sure what he had expected, but once the giant was killed and Hecate was gone, he felt amped up on the win. And there was Percy and Annabeth, exhausted but alive, and for a split second Nico felt like anything was possible.

You will never escape me, son of Hades. You will never escape-!

Nico pushed the voice out of his head as he looked where the doors once stood. They were closed, for good. The giant was dead, the sorceress was defeated. Tartarus couldn't get him, not after this victory.

"Hey." Hazel beckoned him over.

Nico walked over to her and kissed her forehead. "I'm glad you're okay. The ghosts were right. Only one of us made it to the Doors of Death. You...you would have made dad proud."

She put a hand on his cheek. "We couldn't have done it without you."

"We've got to get out of here," Jason cut in. "Uh...Frank?"

Frank shook his head. "I think one favor from the dead is all I can manage today."

"Wait, what?" Hazel asked.

Nico looked over to Percy, shared a small smile with the son of Poseidon. They were both still alive, though Nico could only wonder if Tartarus was also speaking to the two newest survivors.

Don't trust a survivor until you know what he did to stay alive. Nico still trusted Percy despite the old saying. They were brothers, after all. Blood didn't mean anything.

Hazel grabbed his arm. "We'll have to shadow travel."

Nico winced, remembering the dark passages of the dead. "Hazel, I don't think I can-"

"I'll help you," she assured.

A piece of the ceiling decided to come down right then, inches away from crushing some of them.

"Everyone, grab hands!" Nico yelled. He took ahold of Hazel and Percy, knew they were who he cared most about in the group. Once the last hand was joined and the shadows came closer, they slipped into them.

They stepped out of the shadows onto a hillside, the sun too bright for their darkened eyes but welcomed regardless. Nico felt himself sink into the grass, thankful now more than ever after his latest experience with almost becoming one of the dead.

The demigods around him exchanged stories, told of their own fights and the fights of their comrades. Nico spent his time looking at Percy, tried to fight whatever crush was left. Will Solace, he told himself. Will Solace is the boy you love. Percy Jackson is your brother.

"How are you feeling after that shadow travel?" Percy asked him, their hands still clasped together with dirt and blood and whatever else Percy's skin had picked up down in the depths of Tartarus himself. Their fingernails were all cracked and broken, some still bleeding and others black with dried blood. Maybe this was the blood that officially made them brothers, brothers of the battlefield and brothers at the hearth.

"Fine." Nico found himself easily looking away from Percy Jackson, tilting his head to the sun and basking in its rays. "If he speaks to you, just shut him out. He has no power over you, anymore."

The other demigods didn't seem to understand the sentence, but Percy and Annabeth both seemed to already have experience with the voice.

Percy gave Nico's hand one last squeeze as the Argo II came closer to the mound of resting demigods. "We're going to get back to mom, Nico. We've gone through Tartarus, we can go through the rest."

Nico found himself believing Percy's words despite his hesitation to ever go back to the Jackson apartment. He gave Percy a nod, tried to hide the hesitation, but brothers saw right through each other.

"We'll get through the rest," Percy corrected. "We'll win this war."

Nico's blood-caked lips twisted into a smile. "That we will."

The high died down rather quickly. Reyna arrived with her own blood stained face and broken eyes, with a dead pegasus she once called a trusted friend. They sat around and ate, decided to discuss everything, but Nico could see in Reyna's eyes a hopelessness that started to leak into his own.

The victory of a battle wasn't the victory of a war.

"According to Annabeth, it must be returned to Camp Half-Blood by a Roman leader," Reyna said. "Do I understand correctly?"

Annabeth nodded. "I had a dream down in...you know, Tartarus."

Names have power.

She shuddered but continued on, ignoring it just as Nico had learned to. Percy looked ready to be sick, maybe just then realizing that the voice would never truly go away.

"I was on Half-Blood Hill, and Athena's voice said, 'I must stand here. The Roman must bring me.'" Annabeth finished.

"It makes sense," Nico said. He kept a water bottle in hand and played with the lid. "The statue is a powerful symbol. A Roman returning it to the Greeks... That could heal the historic rift, maybe even heal the gods of their split personalities."

Nico looked back down at the water bottle, crinkled the plastic in his hand and wondered where it would eventually end up. He used to think he could trust the blood soaked earth beneath his feet, but now it was the enemy.

He had woken up to the smell of earth, the fresh dotted dirt having drifted to his nose sometime in the early morning. He opened his eyes to see it, to see the bugs crawling about and the life it produced. The blood in it was still metaphorical.

Nico had wiped it off his face in one quick motion but the smell was still there, still as strong as ever. It reminded him of the days of childhood, of playing with Bianca or running through fields on the outskirts of the city. It was earth, it was here and it was home and it was everywhere he needed the comfort from it. It was neutral. It didn't fight for them or the others, didn't rise up to defend or defeat.

It was later that day when he saw the same dirt, but the blood that soaked it was no longer metaphorical.

Percy accidentally elbowing him knocked him out of the flashback and back into real life. He was still sitting on that hilltop, still underneath the sun, the others still talking and conversing. Nico looked down at the ground and saw it looked normal, the dirt was just dirt. He took a handful as he tuned back into the conversation, as his brain snapped to a new idea he knew he couldn't turn down.

"No, Frank Zhang," Reyna said. "I hope we will work side by side in the future, but for now your place is with the crew of this ship. You are one of the seven of the prophesy."

"I'm not," Nico said.

That effectively shut the group up. Even Leo stopped with a screwdriver halfway to his mouth, the strawberry at the end dropping onto the grass at his feet.

"Nico-"

"I'll go with Reyna," Nico said. "I can transport the statue with shadow travel."

"Nico." Percy eyed him, looked like he wanted to lean forward and grab him before he could get far. "I know you just got all eight of us to the surface, and it was awesome... But a year ago you could barely transport yourself. Remember how many times you came back half dissolved? You're not going to have Will Solace this time, and you could end up in China again."

"Things have changed," Nico insisted.

"Nico," Jason cut in. "We're not questioning your power. We're just making sure you don't kill yourself trying-"

"My death isn't something that would be a deal breaker," Nico retorted. "I'm dead and I should be in the Underworld. If I die then I'm just going back to where I'm supposed to. But I'm not planning on dying. I'll make short jumps, a few hundred miles at a time. When we land I'll probably pass out immediately, so I'll have to rely on Reyna to protect me and the statue from monsters."

Reyna's face remained neutral. "Any objections?"

The group was silent again.

"Very well," she said. "I see no better option. But there will be many monster attacks. I would feel better taking a third person. That's the optimal number for a quest."

"Coach Hedge," Frank blurted. "The coach is the best choice, the only choice. He's a good fighter. He's a certified protector. He'll get the job done."

"A faun," Reyna said.

"Satyr!" Coach Hedge yelled. "And, yeah, I'll go. Besides, when you get to Camp Half-Blood, you'll need somebody with connections and diplomatic skills to keep the Greeks from attacking you. Just let me go make a call...er, I mean, get my baseball bat."

Nico stood up and stretched his aching bones. "I should go, too, and rest before the first passage. We'll meet at the statue at sunset."

He followed Coach Hedge to the ship without another word. He was parting ways with Percy again, with Hazel, and he was on his way back to the one place he swore not to return to.

He cursed fate and Tartarus in the same breath.

Chapter Text

Traveling across the world with Reyna and Coach Hedge was never something Nico had seen himself doing. If you had told him so in 1945, he'd call you crazy and maybe shoot you to put you out of your misery. But now, collapsing and sleeping and shadow traveling constantly, he felt like he had done it all.

Fight in a war? Check. Die all alone? Check. Spend too long in the Fields of Asphodel? Double check.

Then there was the Titan War, Tartarus, Croatia and Cupid and outing himself in front of Jason Grace. It had all brought him to where he was now, which was yelling at the son of Hypnos in the dreamscape.

What a life, right? Killing humans, killing monsters, killing demigods and killing Tartarus (the last only attempted) had only led to this.

Well, what the fuck could he do? Fate had it out for him.

"Clovis," he growled. "for the gods' sake, stop dreaming so powerfully!"

"Oh, hi..." Clovis yawned. "Sorry, did I pull you off course again?"

Prowling through the dreamscape had been something Nico tampered with at camp but never got far in, mostly for this reason here.

"While I'm here, pass along a message for me," Nico insisted. "Tell Chiron I'm on my way with a couple of friends." Friends. Not yet. "We're bringing the Athena Parthenos."

"So it's true?" Clovis asked. "How are you bringing it?"

"Shadow travel, short jumps, trying not to die," Nico answered. "But that's not the point. We're being followed by a hunter. One of Gaea's giants, I think. Can you get that message to Thalia Grace? You're better at finding people in dreams than I am. I need her advice."

"I'll try. But before you go, do you have a second?"

Nico probably didn't have a millisecond, but he nodded anyways. "What?"

"I was thinking you should probably see what happened today at the council of war. I slept through some of it, but-"

"Show me," Nico said. And that's how he ended up seeing Will Solace for the first time in months without any preparation.

Will looked just as he always did but the war had taken its toll on him just as it had everyone else. Nico could see it in his eyes, the worry, the fear. But to anyone else in that room, Will Solace was just as relaxed as ever.

Even when they were talking about the threat of the Romans, the upcoming battle, the last days before Gaea's rising. Something in Nico's stomach tugged forward, wanted to reach out for Will, but in that moment he woke up for another day of fighting and traveling.

"A beautiful room, isn't it?"

When Nico heard his father's voice he felt like crying. He would never admit it, but a stray tear or two did fall. He ran into his father's arms in that old temple, buried his head in Hades's chest and tried not to feel too much like a child. "Dad."

"You're a hard one to track, Nico," Hades said. He had a hand on his son's shoulder, and that was enough of a return hug to make Nico feel warm. "For several days I've been searching. When the scepter of Diocletian exploded...well, that got my attention."

Nico wiped the tears to invisibility before pulling away. "Breaking the scepter wasn't my fault. We were about to be overrun-"

"Oh, the scepter isn't important. A relic that old, I'm surprised you got two uses out of it. The explosion simply gave me some clarity. It allowed me to pinpoint your location. I was hoping to speak to you in Pompeii, but it is so...well, Roman. This chapel was the first place where my presence was strong enough that I could appear to you as myself, by which I mean Hades, god of the dead, not split with that other manifestation."

Hades sighed. "I am very drawn to this place. The remains of five thousand monks were used to built the Chapel of Bones. It serves as a reminder that life is short and death is eternal. I feel focused here. Even so, I only have a few minutes."

Nico felt his expression fall at the thought of his father leaving again. "What did you come here to tell me?"

"You seek information about Gaea's hunter. His name is Orion."

"Orion." Nico frowned. "How do we stop him?"

"You cannot," Hades said. "Your only hope is to outrun him, accomplish your quest before he reaches you. Apollo or Artemis might be able to slay him, arrows against arrows, but the twins are in no condition to aid you. Even now, Orion has your scent. His hunting pack is almost upon you. You won't have the luxury of more rest from here to Camp Half-Blood."

Nico felt his heart quicken. Reyna was still asleep, only Coach Hedge to watch over her. "I need to get back to my companions."

"Indeed," Hades said. "But there is more. Your sister..." He faltered. "I mean your other sister, Hazel...she has discovered that one of the Seven will die. She may try to prevent this. In doing so, she may lose sight of her priorities."

One of the Seven... Nico thought about all his friends aboard the Argo, his brother and sister, the ADHD son of Hephaestus and the charming daughter of Aphrodite, his sister's boyfriend, Percy's girlfriend...

"Is Hazel alright?" he asked.

"For the moment."

"And the others? Who will die?"

"Even if I were certain, I could not tell you," Hades said. "I tell you this because you are my son and you know death well. You know some deaths cannot be prevented. Some deaths should not be prevented. When the time comes, you may need to act."

It was silent, Nico's thoughts jumbled and confused, his anxiety not knowing which thing to focus on.

"Nico, what you are attempting, shadow travel across the world, carrying the statue of Athena... It may well destroy you," Hades said.

"I know," Nico muttered.

Hades hugged his son again. "I will see you again. You have your room in the palace in case you do not survive."

"Not the fields again," Nico breathed.

"Not the fields," Hades promised.

And suddenly, Nico was fully comfortable with death. Something about his father's promise, something about the way that his fate was finally for certain. He'd end up in his father's palace again, in his room, with his dad and Persephone. He'd never end up in those fields again. And even if he ended up in Tartarus for the second time, he could die and go to the Underworld for the last.

Hades disappeared, leaving Nico cold and lonely but knowing very well he needed to get back to Reyna. The wolves were coming, after all.

Wolves, he was expecting. Fully animal, full monster. He wasn't expecting werewolves.

Thanks for fucking warning me, dad.

They escaped, barely, with less skin and less pride. Nico had two new wounds, wounds that refused to close, wounds that would forever scar his arms just like a bullet once scarred his chest.

But they survived another day, another fight. Survived another thing no demigod ever had.

Breaking records, meeting goals, nearly dying for the common good. A day in the life of Nico di Angelo, ever since 1945.

Fucking hell, did he want to just sleep forever.

Nico di Angelo, you will never escape me.

Fuck off, you fucking pit of shit.

"I don't want to talk about San Juan," Reyna muttered. They were sitting outside their tent in a grove of trees, somewhere in one of the Carolinas after their last trip through the Atlantic.

"You should," Nico said. "The main thing about ghosts...most of them have lost their voices. In Asphodel, millions of them wander around aimlessly, trying to remember who they were. You know why they end up like that? Because in life they never took a stand one way or another. They never spoke out, so they were never heard. Your voice is your identity. If you don't use it, you're halfway to Asphodel already."

Reyna scowled. "Is that your idea of a pep talk?"

"Just never end up in Asphodel." Nico grabbed his bag and pulled out some of the junk food they had bought in a small store they had come across. With shadow travel taking most of his energy, he couldn't shovel in calories fast enough.

And that's what he did. He ate as Reyna told him her deepest secret, what had happened with her father years before in San Juan. He continued to eat when he told her his own stories, his own horrors to assure her that she wasn't alone.

"I saw someone rape a corpse, once, back in the war." Nico kept his voice blunt, kept the words clipped and clear. "It was before I knew who my father is. But I could still sense who the corpse had been. A civilian death. And her body was left to be raped by a soldier that no one bothered to stop. I could've tried to stop him, at least. But I didn't."

He picked apart the Twinkie in his hands. "We all have something we think back on, what-if's to contemplate at night." He looked over at her. "You didn't kill your father, Reyna. The man was already dead. You dispelled a ghost."

"It doesn't matter!" Reyna's face had tears on it, tears he hadn't seen before. "If word of this got out at Camp Jupiter-"

"You'd be executed."

Bryce Lawrence, Nico learned. Roman attack dog of Octavian. Boy who wanted to execute Reyna. And Nico was not going to let that happen.

But what he had done to stop it, he'd never remember. It was pure rage. Rage from Bryce's taunts, his confessions to torture, his plans for Nico's friends. Friends. Yes, Nico could call them that now. With Coach's fiery bursts and Reyna's ghostly past. Nico was ready to protect them from anything. And as his rage soared, he did.

They told him what had happened, the way he stepped forward, arm outstretched, ripped a soul out of a body. They told him how he had the bones dissolve into dust, how the body melted into the earth without a trace. They told him how he banished the soul, stripped it of everything it had once been before giving it to his father.

How he had collapsed afterward, how his gray arms turned to black smoke.

Nico woke up to Reyna and Coach Hedge leaning over him. They had brought his limbs back, had made him mostly solid. But he couldn't taste anything they gave him, and his senses took awhile to work again. Even then, some were weakened forever.

Three days. He had been asleep for three days, unconscious and unmoving. It seemed like less than three minutes to him, but who was he to argue? Coach had gotten them a new transport back to camp, he didn't have to shadow travel again, the final battle was almost upon them.

The calm before the storm. He felt his newly existent limbs itch for battle once more.

Chapter Text

It would be the last time Nico ever shadow traveled, and it wasn't even that glorious. From his position in a car with Jules Albert and a couple Romans-turned-good, he disappeared into the shadows to reappear on Half-Blood Hill.

But it wasn't that easy, it wasn't a quick jump and then everything was alright. It was limbs turning to smoke, it was the shadows calling: become one, become all. It was feeling like he would never make it to that hill. But then he did.

Nico fell to his knees beside Thalia's pine, leaning his head against it as he watched his limbs reform in the pale sunlight. It was strange, the panic missing-limbs caused. The feeling that your body wasn't your body anymore, no matter how much time it had gone through.

"Nico?"

Nico spun around with his sword at the ready, all his instincts screaming he was under attack, fight or flea, kill kill kill. But the throat he almost slit wasn't an enemy.

It was Will Solace. In enemy territory.

"Put that down!" Will hissed. "What are you doing here?"

"Me?" Nico asked, lowering his sword. "What are you doing? Trying to get yourself killed?"

Will scowled. "Hey, we're scouting the enemy. We took precautions."

"You dressed in black," Nico noted, "with the sun coming up. You painted your face but didn't cover that mop of blond hair. You might as well be waving a yellow flag."

Will's ears turned red. "Lou Ellen wrapped some Mist around us, too."

The girl next to him waved. "Hi. You're Nico, right? I've heard a lot about you from Will. And this is Cecil from Hermes cabin."

Nico knelt next to Will. "Did Coach Hedge make it on time?"

Lou Ellen nodded. "Did he ever."

Will elbowed her. "Yeah. Hedge is fine. He made it just in time for the baby's birth."

Nico grinned. "That baby's alright?"

"Fine. A very cute little satyr boy." Will shuddered. "But I delivered it. Have you ever delivered a baby?"

"Um, no."

"I had to get some fresh air," Will continued. "That's why I volunteered for this mission. Gods of Olympus, my hands are still shaking. See?"

He reached out and grabbed Nico's hands, the contact feeling so right. It had been so long since he had felt Will Solace's skin, felt the life within him.

Nico shook his head to clear the thoughts, trying to keep his brain on the battle that was about to begin. "Whatever. We don't have time. The Romans are attacking at dawn and I've got to-"

"I know," Will said. "But if you're planning to shadow travel to that command tent, forget it."

Nico cursed Will for knowing so much about him. "Excuse me?"

Will looked into his eyes. "Coach Hedge told me all about your shadow travel, and don't forget what you went through when you were just learning it. I was there, remember? Or did you just forget that? You can't try it again."

"I just did try it again, Will. I'm fine."

"No, you're not. I could feel the darkness in your hand as soon as I touched it. Even if you made it to that tent, you'd be in no shape to fight. But you wouldn't make it. One more slip, and you won't come back. You are not shadow traveling. Doctor's orders."

"The camp is about to be destroyed-"

"And we'll stop the Romans," Will said. "But we'll do it our way. Lou Ellen will control the Mist. We'll sneak around, do as much damage as we can to those onagers. But no shadow travel."

"But-"

"No."

Nico didn't know whether he wanted to slap or kiss the son of Apollo, but it wasn't the moment for either. "Whatever, but we have to hurry. And you'll follow my lead."

"Fine," Will said. "Just don't ask me to deliver any more satyr babies and we have a deal."

When Nico came face to face with Octavian, it took everything in him to not stab the legacy in the chest, or the head, or to punch the living daylights out of him. But he didn't want to, not in front of Will, not in front of the boy he so desperately wanted to impress.

You didn't impress people in this day and age with killing, he had to remind himself.

But it wasn't ever Octavian that he killed. The battle started, demigod against monster no matter their race, no matter Greek or Roman or identity or beliefs. Good versus evil, the oldest battle in existence. That day, they took part in a war that he been going on since the dawn of time.

He let Octavian kill himself, even if the legacy didn't know what he was doing. His father's words rang in his ears as the ball of fire soared into the sky, as it collided with Gaea and Leo and anything else that would meet its end that day. To storm or fire, the world must fall. Fire won, it killed. And Nico lost a friend with it.

The next day, without real thought or feeling, he went to work on the burial rites again, just as he had done in the last war. Shrouds, both Roman and Greek, covered bodies that would never regain movement, bodies of those who died too young in a war that never had to happen.

On the third day since the battle, Nico stepped out onto the porch of the Hades cabin with Jason Grace. The morning was peaceful, calm, but a scene of mourning still covered the camp.

"You know, you couldn't have stopped Leo," Nico whispered. "There's nothing you could have done differently. He knew what had to happen."

"I guess. I don't know if you could tell if he's still-"

"He's gone," Nico confirmed. "I'm sorry, I wish I could tell you otherwise, but I sensed his death."

Nico wanted to say that it felt different, that nothing about that death had been natural, but he kept his mouth shut. Saying it wouldn't help Jason in the least. Sometimes, there was no place for hope.

"Look, Nico," Jason said. "the reason I wanted to talk to you... I know what you said back at Auster's palace. I know you already turned down a place at Camp Jupiter. I...I probably can't change your mind about leaving Camp Half-Blood, but I have to-"

"I'm staying."

Jason blinked. "What?"

"At Camp Half-Blood," Nico said. "The Hades cabin needs a head counselor. And someone needs to do the burial rites properly, since demigods insist on dying heroically."

"That's...that's fantastic! Dude!" Jason went to hug him but stopped. "Sorry, no touching."

Nico grunted. "I suppose we can make an exception."

Jason hugged him as hard as he could. "Oh, man, wait till I tell Piper. Hey, since I'm all alone in my cabin, too, you and I can share a table at the dining hall. We can team up for Capture the Flag and sing-along contests and-"

"Are you trying to scare me away?"

"Sorry, sorry. Whatever you say, Nico. I'm just glad." Jason grinned.

Nico looked over the camp, the smell of the old Jackson hoodie he wore having finally lost Percy's scent. It smelled like Nico, now. Smelled like earth and dirt and blood. He really needed to wash it.

His eyes locked with Will Solace's, the son of Apollo outside his cabin. As soon as Will got his attention, he gestured him over with a stern look on his face.

"Sorry, excuse me." Nico nodded at Jason before walking over to Will, not sure if he should be afraid or not.

"So, where were you?" Will demanded.

"What do you mean?" Nico asked.

"I've been stuck in the infirmary for like, two days. You didn't come by. You didn't offer to help."

"I...what? Why would you want a son of Hades in the same room with people you're trying to heal? Why would anyone want that?"

"You can't help out a friend? Maybe cut bandages? Bring me a soda or a snack? Or just a simple hello, a kiss, anything?" Will sighed. "I hope you got over that nonsense I heard about you leaving Camp Half-Blood."

"I...yeah, I did. I'm staying."

"Good. So you may be dense, but you're not an idiot," Will said. "And right now, you couldn't summon a wishbone without melting into a puddle of darkness, di Angelo. I told you, no more Underworld-y stuff, doctor's orders. You owe me at least three days of rest in the infirmary. Starting now."

Nico crossed his arms but couldn't help but smile. "I guess that'll be okay."

"Good."

Nico's eyes trailed over to the center of the ring of cabins, his eyes landing on Percy and Annabeth. Percy was laughing about something Annabeth had said, his green eyes sparkling but not so appealing as they usually were.

Finally, Nico knew exactly what he had to do. Carve your own destiny, he had once said. Tell the fates what you want, scream it in their faces.

"I'll be right back," Nico said. "Promise on the Styx and everything."

He walked over to Percy and Annabeth, his hands deep in his pockets.

"Hey, man," Percy said. "Annabeth just told me some good news. Sorry if I got a little loud."

"We're going to spend our senior year together," Annabeth explained. "Here in New York. And after graduation-"

"College in New Rome! Four years with no monsters to fight, no battles, no stupid prophecies. Just me and Annabeth, getting our degrees, hanging out at cafes, enjoying California-"

"And after that..." Annabeth kissed Percy on the cheek. "Well, Reyna and Frank said we could live in New Rome as long as we like."

"That's great," Nico said. He tried to picture Percy Jackson actually going to college and couldn't help but smile. "I'm staying, too, here at Camp Half-Blood."

"Awesome!" Percy said.

Nico looked him over, smiled some more when he only felt brotherly love for the son of Poseidon. "So, since we're going to be spending at least a year seeing each other at camp, I think I should clear the air."

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

"For a long time," Nico said. "I had a crush on you. I just wanted you to know."

Percy looked around. "You-"

"Yeah, you're a great person. But I'm over that. We're just brothers."

"Right...so you mean..."

"Right."

"Wait," Percy said. "So you mean-"

"Right," Nico said again. "But it's cool. We're cool. I mean, I see now... You're cute, but you're not my type."

"I'm not your type... Wait, so-"

Nico took the Jackson hoodie off and gave it to its old owner. "Here, this is yours. Long overdue return, you know?" He looked to Annabeth, who raised her hand for a high five. He obliged easily before stalking off to Will Solace, feeling lighter than he had in years.

Chapter Text

Nico didn't get a chance to talk to Will, really talk to him, until later that night. The last patient save Nico had finally been released, leaving them alone together in the now silent infirmary.

Will was tired, exhausted from healing for so long. There were bags under his raw eyes and his hair didn't look brushed, a quality only Nico's usual inhabited. When he finally sat by Nico on his now bed for three nights, he about sunk into the mattress. "It's finally over."

Nico nodded in agreement. "Do you think we'll be able to adjust to peace?"

"Pft, any of us can, even the Ares kids," Will smiled. "We all appreciate it while it lasts. Even though...I guess what you call 'adjusting' to it... the PTSD..."

"I still don't understand it," Nico said. "Percy said I have it and Persephone said that's the flashbacks I had but like...what is it?"

"It's the affect of a trauma," Will explained. "Like...like the wars. I mean, did you really think you'd just get over something like that? It's in your brain, Nico. Those flashbacks, panic attacks...it's a disorder."

"...right..." Nico drawled out. "I'm just going to pretend I understood that all. But I guess it doesn't matter. I..." He paused. "Will, are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?" he asked.

"I left you." Nico looked down at his lap, counted each of his gray fingers and made sure each were still solid. "I left you and went to Camp Jupiter to take Hazel and ended up in Tartarus and that jar and almost dissolving into the shadows forever-"

"You were an idiot, but I'm not mad at you," Will said. "You did what you needed to do. Besides...we weren't dating. You said you weren't ready for that."

Nico's face fell at the sudden realization that this was, in fact, not his boyfriend sitting next to him. "Oh..."

"So, it's not like we were dating," Will repeated. "You didn't have any obligation to tell me anything."

Nico reached for one of his werewolf wounds, fingering the red openings as the new pain shot through him. "I changed during this war, Will. Just like the others."

Will's eyes turned sad. "Nico..."

"No, I think it's a good thing," Nico continued. "I...I was forced to tell Jason that I love you. And it hit me and I...I realized that it's worth going after. So I'm ready now, I think. If you want... I'm ready to date you. If you want."

Will stared at him. "You love me."

Nico nodded. "And...and I can tell you that because I know you're not homophobic because you kiss me and I know you won't kill me because I don't think that's a common practice anymore."

"Not in this country, but in some they still do." Will ran a hand through his blond hair. "You love me."

"Yeah."

"Like...actually love me."

"That's what I said."

Will turned to face him, taking that gray face in his hands and staring into those dark eyes. "You love me."

"Will, how many times do I have to-"

"I love you, too..." Will breathed. "I love you, too. And yes, gods yes, I want to date you."

Nico's lips quirked into a smile. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Will touched his nose to Nico's, his breath hot against his lips. "So, boyfriend, can I kiss you?"

Nico didn't bother answering, instead pulling Will's lips closer to his own.

The days in the infirmary were pretty okay. The days, at least. The sunlight held Will Solace and peace and not a flashback in sight. But the nights...

The infirmary wasn't anywhere he felt safe enough that the nightmares didn't strike. Maybe it was because the room was quiet and empty when it was made for the opposite, or the way the shadows bent just right to seem as if they held more than they showed. The bed was white, unlike his in the Hades cabin or the Underworld, and unlike the quest he wasn't so exhausted that he simply passed out each night.

His first night, he had a dream about the battle of Manhattan. The slaughter of monsters. The day mortals got in the middle when they never asked to. His first war in a demigod sense.

The second night, his dreams were in a trench somewhere in Europe, a flea biting at his swollen feet while his finger rested on a trigger. Above him, the sky seemed too clear to be above a battlefield. But it was a relief. At the time, Mother Nature herself hadn't been the enemy.

But the earth was the enemy, now. The Earth and Time and the Axis powers. Even the sky seemed to be against him, Gaea's husband forever scattered but still in existence. The amount of matter in the world never changed. He would forever be there, even if they didn't notice.

Enemies below his feet, enemies above his head. Enemies everywhere he looked except for Will Solace.

The third night, Will himself had taken over the dream. With his blond hair and blue eyes, his healing techniques, a soul full of light and hands that longed to share it.

Nico woke up smiling. It was something he had never done before.

"What? Excited to get out of here?" Will asked from somewhere to the right, his voice teasing and light and everything Nico needed.

"Excited in general." Nico sat up, felt his wounds but knew they were healing. Each day, the pain was different. Each day, the pain was less.

Physically and mentally.

Will brought over a clipboard, setting it beside Nico as he kissed the son of Hades on the forehead. "One last checkup before I let you go."

Nico agreed to the examination and let Will get it over quickly. Checking his eyes, his ears, wounds old and new, his stability and solidity. Soon enough, Will was writing on the clipboard and Nico was standing up from the white cot.

"Nico, I'm going to remind you again." Will grabbed Nico's hand and pulled him close. "No Underworld-y powers. No shadow travel. Doctor's orders."

"You're not technically a doctor, but okay," Nico agreed. "I guess I can stay out of the shadows for now."

"Forever," Will corrected. "I don't want you shadow traveling ever again, Nico. It's dangerous. It's not something you should do unless it's a real emergency."

"Fine, fine," Nico said. "I get it. No shadow travel."

Will put the clipboard away before lacing his fingers with Nico's again. "Let's go get breakfast. You can sit at my table with me."

"And if Chiron says anything?"

"We'll convince him otherwise."

Chapter Text

Nico threw the duffle bag over his shoulder before turning to the door of his cabin, a smile gracing his lips when he saw Will waiting there. "You're sure you want to come?"

The question held more than he thought. It was time for peace, the peace of settling down without quests and wars. But here he was, making his own without a prophesy or oracle, making his own with only a quick word to Chiron and the collection of some money out of the camp's savings.

It was time, time to bring his sister to this world of peace he forged for himself out of his own blood.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Will leaned against the doorframe, his own bag in hand. "Cross country road trip with my boyfriend. Why wouldn't I sign up?"

Nico rolled his eyes as he joined Will at the door. "Don't get too happy. You know we're going to run into monsters."

"Which is why I brought my first aid kit," Will said.

Nico held onto Will's hand for a moment, gray going so well with tan, his eyes on the rising sun above them. "Bianca's going to love it here."

"Defiantly."

Nico looked up at Will, cursed how short he was compared to his boyfriend. "We should get going soon."

Will nodded, laying a kiss on Nico's head before exiting the cabin. Nico followed to Half-Blood Hill, his eyes on the sky above them. There was oranges and blues and pinks and reds, red like the blood around the edges of his fate. But it was beautiful.

"Did you really trust the Stoll's to get a car?" Nico questioned as they stopped by Thalia's pine, enough distance from the dragon for their safety.

"They were told to rent one," Will said. "But they're probably going to use the term 'borrowed' and keep the money for themselves."

Nico snorted. "You know it."

Soon enough a car came to a stop in the street below. The Stoll brothers got out with twin grins, giving the keys to Will before disappearing in the camp with bags covering their arms.

"Can you even drive?" Nico asked.

"I drove a motorcycle once," Will said.

"This isn't a motorcycle." Nico started the descent down the hill. "Come on, we'll try not to die by car crash."

They didn't, thank the gods, though that would be an end Nico would have been fine with. Going with his boyfriend, his love, back home...going together would have been the perfect ending to a brutal life.

Once they got on the highway and the sun moved across the sky, the peace had taken over Nico's chest. Will drove with the windows down, his hair blowing in the breeze, singing whatever country song came over the radio at the top of his lungs.

If that was the end of Nico's story, he wouldn't be upset. If it all ended here, if nothing else was worth telling, he'd take that happily.

But it wasn't. Because the Fates hadn't cut his string just yet.

They stopped somewhere off of 1-81 West at a cheap motel that looked ready to sink into the earth. Taking some money from their fund from camp, they got McDonald's and a room and collapsed on the bed.

"I'm so tired..." Will groaned as he rolled onto his back. "Driving sucks."

Nico laid beside him and stared up at the ceiling. "Will?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm...so happy...so happy... Maybe the Fates like me, after all." Nico grinned. "They really do, Will. They let us get together and stay together and we're on our way to get Bianca."

Will faced Nico, his smile mirroring his. "I don't think I've ever seen you so happy."

"I've been soaking in it," Nico kissed Will before laying back. "Maybe I'll get my hopes crushed, who knows. But right now I feel happy. I've been through..." He frowned. "I've been through so much hell. And I just...I'm taking in the peace when I can."

Will ran a hand through Nico's hair. "I'm happy to see it."

"Do you think it'll last?" Nico asked.

Will shrugged. "We'll see."

"Yeah, we'll see..."

It lasted until they got to Las Vegas. The city was full of broken dreams and false hopes and marriages too young too fast. All the lights were fake.

"If I'm not out before sunset, come get me," Nico reminded. "I don't want to get stuck in there."

Will pulled him into a hug. "Okay."

"And stay safe as you wait," Nico said. "Be careful of monsters. I won't be here to help you fight."

"I'm aware."

"Okay...I'm going to go in." Nico detached himself from Will and stared up at the Lotus Hotel and Casino. Bianca was in there somewhere, waiting for him to come back from a war that had been over for forty years. She thought they would eventually go back home, see nonno and all the other boys that went off to fight and maybe even her old boyfriend if he survived.

But none of that was going to happen.

"Good luck!" Will called as Nico walked up to the front doors, as he took one last look at the sun before walking into that time capsule.

There were hundreds of people in the building, so many souls in so many bodies out of time. He could feel them all, could point them out, could mentally skim through them until he found his sister's.

And there she was in his radar, Bianca di Angelo, a soul still so strong after so many years. Nico found her in a room on the second floor, the door propped open and a fan blowing a slight breeze.

Bianca was sitting on the bed, around nineteen and still as old fashioned as she was when he had last seen her. Her hair was just like their mother's, dark and thin and flowing down her back. Her eyes were as dark as his, as their father's. She was wearing a white dress that went down to her ankles, and as she stood up, he noticed the glint of an ankle bracelet.

"Bianca..." he breathed. "I finally found you."

Silence. The snap and laugh of fate. Blood red vision as his heart stopped working.

Bianca di Angelo stood there, yes, but she stepped back instead of stepping forward to her younger brother. Her voice, armed and dangerous, sent dread filling his stomach. "Who are you?"

Chapter Text

"Bianca..." Nico looked down at the old uniform he had put on, the old boots and clothes she had last seen him in. "I...I came to rescue you. I came back."

"Tell me who you are or I'm going to call security," she threatened. She didn't have an Italian accent.

"Nico," Nico breathed out. "Nico di Angelo. Your brother."

"I don't have a brother." she stepped back further. "I..." Her mind seemed fuzzy, hazy. "Nico...my brother?"

Nico nodded. "I'm your brother. What...what do you remember last?"

She shook her head as if trying to clear her thoughts. "Water... That lawyer brought me here... You're my brother, Nico?"

"A lawyer?" he frowned. Water, hazy memory, adaptive mind...Lethe. The River Lethe. "Bianca, I came to take you home."

"Home?" she was still guarded but her mind wanted memories, didn't want nothing. "I..."

Nico held a gloved hand out, gave her a smile. "I can take you home and I'll explain everything there. I'll explain why you can't remember very well."

Bianca hesitated, the shadows around her feet seeming to move with her feelings. "I do know you, right?"

Nico eyed the shadows warily. "I'm your brother. I...I'm trying to help you, Bi. I really am. I came to bring you home."

One shadow crawled up her leg, circling her thigh and then stomach as if making protective armor. Another seemed to sharpen itself into a weapon.

"You found out how to use the shadows?" Nico asked. "They respond to your emotions?"

Bianca's eyes narrowed. "You know about them?"

He nodded. "I can control them, too." He brought a shadow into his palm before letting it leak through his fingers like water. "We're siblings. We got the power from our father."

Bianca jumped forward after seeing his abilities. "You really can do it!" She ran passed him and closed the door before dragging him further into the room. "Everyone here thinks I'm crazy. They don't understand. But you, you can explain it to me."

"I will," Nico assured her. "I can take you home and explain it."

Bianca shook her head. "Tell me now."

"Bianca-"

"I'm not leaving with you until you do," she insisted. "If you don't want to tell me now, then you can just leave. I've figured enough out by myself so far. I don't need you."

I don't need you. Nico clenched his jaw. "Fine. I'll tell you. You just have to keep an open mind and hear the story through, alright? Because...you're not going to like a lot of it."

She sat on the bed and drew her legs closer to herself. "Tell me everything. I'm listening."

So he did.

In another life, he didn't go to war. He stayed with his sister in the Lotus, and when he was ten, they were taken from a boarding school by Percy Jackson.

In another life, Bianca left him to join the Hunters of Artemis, left him to make her own life and twist her own fate.

In another life, Bianca died to save her fellow questers. She died and was reborn and he never saw her again.

In this life, her ending fate would be the same but not what brought her there.

Bianca sat next to him on the bed, her eyes hardened and her jaw stiff. He told her everything, knew she wouldn't want anything different. He told her what brought him there. The wars and scars and blood and screams. He told her of the love he had for a boy who took after the sun, told her of the friends and brother he had made along the way. He told her everything he had accomplished and everything he had ruined.

"And you came to bring me to...what?" she asked once he had finished. "A camp for demigods where all you do is train? You don't go out and help, hunt down monsters, nothing? You just wait for them to come to you or start a war?"

"There's other options. There's Camp Jupiter and-"

"I doubt the Romans are much better," she dismissed.

Nico sighed. "Just come with me. Please. Once you can defend yourself, you can chose what you do with your life. I just..." He sat beside her. "I've missed you, Bi. I want to help you get the best life you can. I didn't want you to be stuck here forever without even a say."

Bianca studied him for some time before nodding. "Fine. Take me to your camp. Then I'll decide what I want to do."

Nico grinned. "Really?"

She nodded. "As long as you swear I won't be forced to stay there."

"You won't, I promise." Nico stood up and held a hand out to her. "Remember what I said about the time here? We shouldn't stay much longer. I've probably already stayed longer than I planned to."

Bianca took his hand and stood. "You said you told your friend to come get you if you weren't out...do you think he came in and started looking?"

Nico shrugged. "Let's go find out. Hopefully we can find him okay. If not...well, I'm not sure."

"Do you always do things without a plan?" she asked.

"Most of the time," he admitted. "But plans almost always fail. But fate never does."

And it didn't. Because as he said, fate never failed. The Fates never failed. They had their strings measured and cut and formed and bundled. They decided everything, they were the reason he was there. And they were the reason that soon enough, he would lose his sister to the Hunters of Artemis again.

The Fates had chosen her path, they had highlighted the important outcomes. The Hunters, only one quest, death, rebirth. No matter what life, no matter what happened, it would always be that way.

Chapter Text

They found Will looking for them on the bottom floor of the hotel, searching through the rows of games and lost living. His blue eyes, lit and worried, found Nico's as soon as the son of Hades stepped into the room.

"I was worried sick!" Will yelled as he ran to meet him. He hugged him as soon as he was close enough, his body finally losing the tension it held. "What took so long? Did you find her? Did something go wrong?"

"I'll explain when we get out of here." Nico hugged him back but soon broke it. "I don't want to spend any more time in here. Who knows how long we've been gone."

"Right." Will's eyes trailed over to Bianca. "You're...Bianca?"

The shadows still crawled up her legs and acted as a shield as she stared at the son of Apollo. "Yes, I am. You're Will?"

He nodded. "It's nice to finally meet you... Let's get out of here, then we can all talk. Come on, the exit is this way."

They walked toward the front doors as close together as they could get, Nico holding Will's hand while Bianca laid a hand on Nico's shoulder. They were stopped by a few employees, offered Lotus flowers, asked if they wanted a room or guest passes. When they eventually made it out of the building and onto the brightly lit Las Vegas street, it felt as if it had been a lifetime.

"We can get food," Will offered. "Eat and talk, then focus on how we're getting back to camp."

Nico looked to Bianca. "Are you hungry?"

Bianca's eyes were on the buildings, the lights, the cars and the people. Her brain was working overtime, trying to convince itself that all of this was right, that she wasn't missing decades of change and memories. "Um...sure..."

"Big change from what you're used to, huh?" Will asked.

She nodded. "I've just...never seen anything like this before. I remember...I remember my room, and the rows of games, and now that I've talked to Nico, I remember Italy...somewhat. But this-this I have no memory of."

"The world's come a long way." Nico eyed a McDonald's close by. "How about burgers?"

Will rolled his eyes. "Fast food? Really, Nico? Your body needs actual food. You're still recovering."

"Yeah, well, Bianca wants McDonald's. Right, Bianca?"

Bianca finally took her eyes off of the city to look at her brother. "Whatever you think. I...I want to get to camp, want to learn to fight so I can find my own way."

"McDonald's it is."

Nico led the way, not sure how many days they had been in that casino but knowing it hadn't been too long. The world was still the world he had grown to know, the city was still the same city. All the souls he knew still felt like the same souls.

Once they had ordered their food and sat in a booth, Nico explained to Will what had happened in that casino. Meeting Bianca, her fuzzy memory and ability to move the shadows, his explanation in hopes she would come. Soon enough he had finished and started eating his food, his fingers twitching whenever that old war uniform rubbed against those scars on his chest.

"You said you wanted to make your own way," Will repeated. "You want to stay away from camp?"

Bianca shrugged. "I...I want to help, I want to not be rooted to one place. In the hotel...in my room...all I could do was focus on the shadows. There were no windows, no one to talk to. I don't want to be cooped up like that again. But if I go to camp, learn how to fight, maybe I can go from there and fight monsters or find demigods or something."

"What about the Hunters of Artemis?" Will asked.

Nico frowned. "She'd have to swear off men."

Bianca looked between them. "What's the Hunters of Artemis?"

"They're a band of girls that follow Artemis all over the world," Will explained. "They swear off men and promise themselves to Artemis. They become her immortal followers."

"Kind of immortal," Nico corrected. "They can fall in battle. But they won't age or die of natural causes."

"And they...they go all over?" Bianca asked.

Will nodded. "Hunt monsters, recruit other demigods. It might suit you better than camp."

"It might keep you safer," Nico admitted. "Camp keeps getting into battles and wars, and the gods barely ever help. But you'll always be with a goddess. And if you join, you'll automatically have the ability to use a bow and arrow, plus the powers you already have."

Bianca picked at a fry. "How do I join?"

Nico shrugged. "We might run into them. Artemis might just know you want to join. Or we'll have to figure out a way to contact them. I'm not sure. But Iris Messages haven't been working well lately."

"So we'll just continue on to camp and see what happens," Will concluded. "But are you sure you want to join them, Bianca? There's other options."

"Like what?" she asked. "Rotting in camp and not helping anyone outside it? Sitting around waiting for battle or war? No, thanks. Besides...something in me is telling me to join the hunters. I don't know what, but it is. It's like...it just...it feels like fate."

Nico couldn't argue with fate. Not after everything that had happened. "Then you'll join. But always know you can come to me if you need me. We're siblings, Bianca. And you have a sister. Her name's Hazel. You'll love her. She's at Camp Jupiter, now. And Percy Jackson, he's basically my brother. You'll love him, too."

"A sister?" she smiled. "That sounds...nice, having a family."

"It is," he insisted. "It really is."

Bianca stood up from the booth, her hands clenched at her sides. "Um...Nico?"

"Yeah?"

"Is that...is that...what I think it is?"

Nico and Will both looked up in time to see the harpy break through the window, crash landing onto one of the tables with an arrow in its gut. As it dissolved into dust and the mortals started to scream, Thalia Grace stepped through the wreckage of the window and smiled at them. "My lady heard her name nearby just as a monster went to attack a group of demigods. So, what do we have here?"

Chapter Text

"All of us labor in webs spun long before we were born."- William Faulkner

It was an odd continuation of lunch. Thalia ordered her own food as two workers cleaned up the shattered window, mumbling about kids nearby and their ability to break windows with baseballs. Bianca was still staring at the monster dust with wide eyes, shadows wrapped around her chest like a bulletproof vest.

"And then we offered her the options," Will finished. "She thinks she wants to be a huntress."

Bianca turned to face them, eyes glancing back at the shattered glass. "I feel like I need to, like it's right, like I should. Fate, you could say. And besides, I don't want to be confined to Camp Half-Blood. They're just training for war like the one Nico went to and left us all to go fight and die-"

Nico leaned forward and grabbed her hand. "You remember."

Bianca blinked. "I...no, not anymore." She moved a hand to her head. "I...I don't know, Nico. I don't know. My brain hurts. It gets all fuzzy like I told you."

"That's the Lotus Hotel and Casino mixed in with your dip in the Lethe," Thalia picked at her nails with a combat knife. "Your brain's trying to recover along with taking all of this 'mythological' information in."

"But you will recover," Nico assured her. "I know you can."

Recover. Maybe she would have if she had been given enough time. But soon enough she was looking at Thalia, her brown eyes shining beneath the artificial lights, her string of fate snapping beneath the silver shears.

"I want to join. I want to join today."

Thalia nodded in approval, Will looked at the table, Nico stared at his new sister. The di Angelo siblings knew fate just as they were born from it.

"Lady Artemis is on her way," Thalia said. "I have a few of my huntresses outside, watching out. They will let us know when she's here."

"And then I can join, just like that?" Bianca asked.

Thalia nodded. "You'll get her approval and say an oath. Then you'll be one of us. We'll teach you how to hunt and fight. And you won't be confined to any one place. We travel the world."

Bianca smiled. "I think I'll like that."

"Just always know you can contact me," Nico said. "We're siblings, it's not like you're sneaking off to talk to a boyfriend. And if needed, Thalia can be there. And I need you to meet Hazel."

"The huntresses come to camp sometimes," Thalia said. "She can see you and meet Hazel Levesque then."

Bianca finally began to eat her food as the shadows started to melt away from her white dress. She stopped looking around in fear and only looked up when she saw the young huntress walk through the shattered window.

"Lady Artemis." Thalia stood from her seat, completing forgetting about her plate of food. "This is Nico and Bianca di Angelo, children of Hades, and Will Solace, son of Apollo."

Artemis was in the form of a young child, her auburn hair in a long braid over her large coat. Her bow and arrows were on her back, always there when needed and when not. "Two children of the Underworld and one of my idiot brother's." Artemis looked them over before advancing toward them. She looked at Will, her eyes expressing an unknown worry.

"Is everything okay, Lady Artemis?" Will asked, bowing his head along with Nico and Thalia in honor of the goddess in front of them.

"I cannot speak of what happens on Olympus, even if it has to deal with my twin." Artemis laid a hand on Will's shoulder. "But know all isn't well with him. Watch out, young demigod. Watch out for all you can see."

Will paled. "What's wrong with dad?"

Artemis didn't answer, instead turning to face Bianca. "Young daughter of Hades, you wish to join my hunt?"

Bianca nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Are you aware of the conditions?" she asked. "You must swear off all men, have no relations with them. You'll be immortal unless you fall in battle."

"Immortal...wow..." Bianca let out a soft breath. "I...yes, yes, I agree, ma'am." She paused. "Are...are you really a goddess?"

"Gods and goddesses can take many forms, Bianca di Angelo." Artemis looked to Thalia. "Have her repeat the oath and then we'll be on our way. We have business to attend to."

"Repeat after me," Thalia ordered. And with that, she said the oath she had once said years before. And Bianca repeated it without any hesitation that Nico expected. But his sister wasn't who she used to be.

He didn't give her what she once hid at their old home in Venice. Not a word of the old Italian city was mentioned, nor was anything else of World War II. Instead he watched as she left with Artemis and Thalia, gave her a hug goodbye and nothing more because that's all he could do.

"You let her go," Will commented quietly. "You let her go when you were just starting to really talk to her."

Nico nodded in silence. He was more aware of Bianca's departure than anything else.

Will grabbed Nico's hand and held it close to him. "You okay?"

Nico nodded again.

"Let's get on the road again," Will offered. "Let's get back home."

Nico let himself be led from the restaurant and to the car, his eyes on the dashboard as Will started to drive back toward the East Coast. After some time he spoke, his throat raw and voice cold.

"Did I do the right thing?" Nico asked. "I know what she meant, I could feel Fate working. But should I have let her go with it?"

Will glanced away from the road to take in Nico's blank expression before sighing. "Neeks...if it was Fate, you couldn't have done anything to stop it. That's the whole point. So I wouldn't worry much."

"Do you think she'll be okay?" he asked. "She's so confused and she barely even remembers me."

"She'll be fine," Will affirmed. "She can use her powers, she's with people that will protect her, her memories will come back to her. She'll be fine. You can't do anything else to help her, Nico. I know you're used to fighting, but this isn't something you can fight. It's not something you should fight."

Nico grabbed Will's hand, squeezing it hard in hopes the warmth of his boyfriend would fight his growing anxiety. "She's alive, she's free."

Will nodded. "Just focus on that. She's alive and free."

If only that lasted for long.

Chapter Text

They got back to camp in relatively good time, save for the short run in with some nasty emprosia somewhere around Indiana. As soon as they pulled up to Half-Blood Hill they saw Annabeth Chase sitting beside Peleus, her golden hair falling into her face as she looked down at the book in her lap.

Nico hopped out of the car and started his track up the hill, his dark eyes on her in curiosity. "What's wrong?"

Annabeth looked up from her book, just then noticing that Bianca wasn't with them. "What happened?"

"She joined the Hunters of Artemis." Nico sat beside her as Will started his own trip up the hill, bags in hand. "But she's healthy. And she can use her powers well."

"The Hunters of Artemis?" Annabeth pursed her lips. "Was it coerced?"

Nico shook his head. "She wanted to be free, and I don't blame her. She spent so much time locked up in that building..."

Annabeth nodded. "Since what, '45?"

Nico shrugged. "Maybe '44. I'm not sure."

Will glanced at Peleus in slight hesitation before sitting beside Annabeth and Nico. "Hey, Annabeth. What's wrong?"

Annabeth sighed as she closed her book. "We got a letter."

"From...?" Will asked.

Annabeth stood up and grabbed the bag she had sitting beside her. There was still dark circles under her eyes from Tartarus, and Nico knew he wasn't the only one that still had nightmares. "Come on to the Big House and see for yourselves."

Nico and Will glanced at each other before starting to follow Annabeth through camp. Campers were here and there, crutches and casts, and bags already packed in excitement to go home for the winter months. Blood still stained the grass. Some nodded in recognition of their return home, others brought their injuries and questions to Will.

When they finally arrived at the Big House, Chiron and Mr. D were once again playing a game of pinochle. When Chiron's eyes took in the three demigods and not four, his gaze saddened. "Did another one not make it?"

"She joined the Hunters of Artemis," Annabeth corrected. "But that's not the reason I brought them. I was going to show them the letter."

"Ah...Mr. Valdez..." Chiron stood from his chair, the sight of just a regular man turning into a centaur something Nico never thought he'd whitniss every day. But there he was, his eyes watching the blanket fall to the porch without any surprise from the transformation. But...

"Did you say Valdez?" Nico asked.

Chiron nodded once before leading them into the Big House. Nico glanced at Will before following, being led into a sitting area and not the rec room. He sat on one of the couches with Will, watching as Chiron extracted a scroll from one of the drawers and handed it over.

"Open it," he commanded. "You were right. There was nothing normal about Leo Valdez's death."

Nico hesitated before opening the scroll, half expecting it to explode in his face or cause some kind of catastrophy. But all that did happen was the unraveling of a flickering hologram.
Of Leo Valdez.

"Hey guys!" Leo cheered. "Sorry to leave you like that. Bad news: I died. Good news: I got better! I had to go rescue Calyspo. We're both fine now. We're taking Festus to-" The hologram filled with static before coming back in. "Back as soon as-" Static. "Cook tacos when-" More static. "Vaya con queso! Love ya!"

Nico looked up at Chiron and beat back the old alarm he had at the Spanish language back in the 40's. "Vaya con queso?"

"Go with cheese," Will translated.

Nico frowned. "You know Spanish?"

Will shook his head. "I took a couple years of it at school. Just enough to know basics like that."

"'Go with cheese' is a basic?" Nico asked.

Chiron cleared his throat. "Whatever the cause, we think that Leo is on his way here. From where and how far, we can't be sure. We had a meeting when you were gone and voted to just wait and hope for the best."

Nico rolled the scroll back up and stuffed it in his pocket. "He cheated death."

Will elbowed him.

"What? I won't kill him." Nico frowned. "He cheated death and came back looking normal without flashbacks or anything. What the fuck."

"Language, Mr. di Angelo." Chiron sighed. "As I was saying, we are just going to wait and see if there are any developments. Ms. di Angelo is in the saftey of the hunters?"

Nico nodded. "Lady Artemis herself was there, took her in."

"Very well." Chiron gestured to the door. "You two can settle in. Will, are you staying this winter?"

Will nodded. "Definitely."

"Very well," Chiron looked to Nico. "And you? Are you staying at Camp Half-Blood?"

Nico hesitated, thought of some restlessness but the places he called home, his warm cabin and not a trench, no fleas or trenchfoot or frostbite...

"Yeah, I'm staying." Nico grabbed Will's hand and held it close. "We're both staying."

Will's face broke out in a grin. "Yeah?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah."

Will grabbed Nico and dragged him out of the Big House. "We can spend Christmas together. And we'll have all this time with few patients to work on your PTSD and stop you from melting into shadows."

"I promised not to shadow travel anymore," Nico said as he followed.

Will rolled his eyes. "You still need to know how not to fade. You can use the shadows like Bianca did, remember? She was using them like a shield. You could do that."

Nico shrugged. "I guess... But if I fade..."

"Remember how we met?" Will pulled him towards the beach. "I was working on keeping you alive, tangible. And I barely knew you. Now we're dating. I'm not going to let you fade. I promise on-"

"Will-"

"The Styx," Will finished. "I promise it on the Styx."

Nico sighed but smiled as he sat in the sand, his eyes on the moving waves. "You shouldn't make promises you're not sure you can keep."

"I'm keeping this one or I might as well die with you." Will sat beside him and grabbed his hand again. "Hey, Nico?"

Nico hummed. "Yeah?"

"We're home and the war is over. We're home from war. You're home from your last war."

Nico glanced over. "It's not my last war. Remember what Artemis said? Something's up with your dad. Who knows what's going to happen."

Will sighed. "Fine, you're probably right. But right now...we're home."

Nico nodded. "We're home."