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"Nico, I can't!" Hades screamed. Tendrils of darkness surrounded Erebos.
"But why?" Nico asked. He was tired of begging Hades to join the gods, like a broken record. He would have given up long ago if it weren't for a certain green-eyed boy. "You never tell me why!"
Hades' eyes were darker than any shadow. "I owe you no explanations. You lost the right to receive answers the moment you let that Poseidon boy escape."
Nico couldn't believe Hades could say such a thing. "The world will end without him!"
"Are you sure that's your only motivation?"
Nico sobbed. His forehead still bled from where his father had struck him an hour ago. Hades hadn't injured Nico again, but perhaps he was saving his energy until Nico pissed him off enough and he had an excuse to smite his son. Whatever Hades would do, Nico didn't know, or care, as long as he got his job done.
Hades sighed, something scarily vulnerable for the cold god of the dead. "I take it you won't listen to me until I tell you the reason."
Was Nico finally getting somewhere? "I've only been trying to say that for like an hour."
Nico's father scoffed. "Was that your sarcasm again? I won't tolerate any of that in my household."
"Why are you suddenly parenting me! You were trying to kill me minutes ago!"
"I wasn't trying to kill you! I was trying to scare you, so Kronos doesn't do that for me! Do you think I want you as a permanent resident of my realm this quickly?"
Nico didn't know what to say. Hades sighed once again. "I'm worried, son. You keep putting your life at the disposal of others, and for nothing in return. I'm tired of seeing you unhappy. You can't martyr in a war once again. Once was one time too many for a child."
"But if you don't go, then we all die," Nico said quietly. "You'll have protected me for nothing. If I promise not to sacrifice myself, will you go?"
Hades slumped his shoulders in resignation. "I hate when you're right."
"You hate when anyone except you is right," Persephone said, smiling. "We'll see you soon, Nico, after we get some backup for this war. Until then, try not to die, because I'm not yet ready to have one of my husband's bastards in my palace."
It was dark before he appeared in Manhattan. He leaned against the wall in the stinky alleyway, wondering what to do next. Luke would be here any minute now, and Nico had nothing to protect himself with except his measly sword, which wasn't very helpful against immortal gods of time. It would be fine, he concluded, since he did his job and was now free. Free to do what, he wasn't sure. After all, wasn't this the end? Even if they won the war, he would be useless and unwelcome in Camp Half Blood. Where would he go then? His house in Venice was probably destroyed. The labyrinth ceased to exist. There was Camp Jupiter, but it would be too dangerous to live there since he was Greek. Persephone hated him. No matter where he was, whether in the mortal or demigod world, he was always the outcast. The one belonged in the darkness.
"You're awfully scrawny for someone who's supposed to save me in the future."
Nico turned toward the noise. A man, no more than twenty-five, with such a physique that he resembled a golden statue, smiled at him with teeth that were literally blinding. "Apollo," Nico said, because no god could be as obnoxiously bright as him.
The man grinned harder. He was sporting tight skinny jeans and a tank top that left little to the imagination. "Bingo! Now we don't have much time, since I have a war to return to and children to bless, but I know that you will help me from a dire situation in the future, from a prophecy. Now, I am terrified to think what this dire situation is, but I assume it's probably a jealous lover! Anyway, as I want you to owe me a favour in the future so that you can help me, tell me what you want! A nice voice? Invincible body? A pretty woman? Or even a man, perhaps?"
"Nothing," Nico said. He didn't know why Apollo thought he would want a man for himself, but he did know the myth of Hyacinthus, so perhaps he was just projecting. Still, those striking green eyes appeared in his mind.
"Nothing! What do you mean, nothing? Come on, don't be shy, everyone wants something!" Apollo looked appalled.
"Your prophecy is wrong. After this war, I'll probably disappear forever. Maybe to the underworld."
Suddenly, the glowing man looked irritated. "My prophecies are not wrong. In the four millennia that I have lived, they were never wrong. And, you can't just die! You have a job to do! After this, the world will end again, and most importantly, if we live, I will be in trouble!"
"No one wants me here! I have no life! I'm at rock bottom! It can't get worse! Why should I continue!"
"Are you sure it can't get worse?"
Nico paled, if that was even possible with his current complexion. "It gets worse?" He couldn't help but think of Reyna, the only person who was civil to him in that unknown place. She was strict and very suspicious of him, but it was better than the rumours and jeers because she treated everyone that way.
"Oh, my friend, rock bottom is a lot deeper than this. You'll suffer, but you'll pull through. So much so that you help me and many others."
Monsters growled in the distance, as if showing a fate that seemed a lot more real than what the god had described. "I don't believe you."
Instead of getting angrier, Apollo grinned again. "You're one of those people. Oh, I know exactly what you need! And when you come back, you'll be indebted to me!"
"What?' Now, Nico was scared. There was a ripple through the ground, and suddenly everything seemed slower. Apollo stomped before Nico felt like he was being shredded and dissolved at the same time.
"Bon voyage!" He said.
Nico was falling.
He was falling and falling and falling until he hit something soft and warm and lemon scented. When he opened his eyes, two boys stared at him. "Um, hey there, Nico," the blond boy said. At first, Nico thought it was Apollo again, but his skin was too freckled, his voice was too rough, and his face was etched in worry, an expression that would never be on the god.
"That's why I told you to stay," the dark-haired boy grumbled. He could almost pass as an older version of himself if Nico ate well and got more showers than once in two weeks. Wait, how did the blond know his name?
"Can someone explain what the fuck is going on?" Nico finally asked.
His look-alike frowned. "You should not be swearing at this age."
The blond laughed. "Dude, that's literally you in the past."
"Did you just fucking dude me-"
"Enough!" Nico shouted. "Is anyone gonna explain, or should I try to kill you guys already?"
"No! Please don't do that! I promise we can explain, as long as we can treat your wounds first," The blond boy pleaded, and Nico felt oddly inclined to believe him. The dark-haired boy just whispered something about Nico not being able to beat him.
"If you hurt me, I won't hesitate to use my sword. It can suck souls, by the way."
"I know." His look-alike walked toward him. "So, since we are one of the densest people on earth, which is not my words." Blondie snickered. "So, we pissed Apollo off and made him think that we had planned to die, so he thought the best way to make sure we would help him was if we saw that we had a better life than whatever we were going through then. Basically, that means-"
"You're me from the future, and I probably got here from a combination of Apollo and Kronos' powers," Nico finished for him. Blondie gave him a proud smile, while future-Nico nodded. "Okay, so when am I? And where am I, since this doesn't look like Camp Half Blood. Also, who are you?" Nico pointed to the blond.
"I am offended you don't remember the younger me. I know I didn't have my growth spurt then, but you really don't remember who healed your leg?" Will put a hand to his heart. Will Solace. Of course, Nico remembered the guy, running around camp with a medkit and a smile.
"I remember remembering Will at this point, so to answer your next questions, I'm currently twenty-five, and this is my apartment in New Rome, California. Don't pretend not to know that place, and no, you did not accidentally tell someone. Still, I suggest keeping it a secret when you return to your time, which you should return to in twenty-four hours. Now, I have a History lecture that I absolutely can not miss in fifteen minutes, so Will will keep you company," future-Nico rambled on so fast that Nico could barely catch up, and then shadow-travelled out.
Will sighed, though it almost sounded fond. "You will become a history teacher in the future, and future-you came in the middle of his lunch break to see you. I know you probably have a lot of questions, so ask away!" He grinned, and his teeth were crooked.
"Did you expect me?" Nico asked.
"Sort of. Nico, I mean the future you, told me once that you came to visit, but we weren't sure of the exact time and date, since apparently you forget it later."
"Is this my actual house?"
"Yes. You picked it five years ago, actually."
"Are you one of my friends? Do you live with me?"
Will had a strange look in his eyes, but Nico couldn't decipher it. "Yeah, we're friends. Quite close friends, actually. Or at least I would hope so, since we share this house."
This was baffling to Nico. Not only did he live to twenty-five, but he also had a job, a house, and a roommate! Those were mortal things! For a moment, Nico wondered if he was dreaming, but his brain didn't love him enough to give him anything less than a nightmare. "Anything else you can tell me? Without spoiling too much of my life, perhaps."
"Okay, but this'll get really weird. I need you to believe every word I say."
Nico shrugged. What did he have to lose?
"So, you get a sister again, but not in the way you think."
Nico inhaled sharply. This was already messing with his brain.
"Yeah, and you still know Percy and Annabeth, and you have a bunch of friends who love you and annoy you. They're not here because a lot of them are either questing or don't know this is happening at all, but I promise they would protect you at the drop of a hat. You save hundreds of people on your quests, and even today, you're taking refugee creatures who don't fit in. Both of the camps wouldn't even exist without you, so you're kind of a renowned hero. I know it sounds weird, but you're still you, and you still wear black clothes religiously and go to family dinners with your dad."
Nico snorted. "Glad I'm not some weird magazine cover boy and still emo and single."
Will bit his lip. "Yeah, about that. You're married."
"What?" Nope, this was some weird dream so that the fates could show him what he can't have.
"Yeah! Not for very long, only for like a year, since you're still young. It was such a pretty wedding," Will's gaze is distant, as if remembering it.
"You're joking, right?" Nico's voice cracked. This was so weird.
"I'm not. You can check for the ring. I would show you the marriage certificate, but then you'd know who you married."
"Wait, who is she? Why am I not allowed to see her?" Nico whined.
Will laughed. "Ruining their identity would take the fun out of it, death boy. I guess you'll find out in twelve years!"
Nico pouted. "Don't call me that."
Suddenly, future-Nico appeared in the living room. "Will! I gave my History class a free lesson so that I could talk to past-me. We have a lot to discuss," he said, before giving Will a fond smile. Wow, he smiled now?
"I'll leave you two to talk," Will grinned and winked at both Nicos before going to another room.
"So, do we talk about deep shit now?" Nico asked.
Future-Nico sighed. "I won't lie to you."
"I expect brutal honesty. If you lie, I will find out in the future."
"It gets worse."
"Apollo said so."
"You don't understand, this pain will be so bad that you can't even imagine it. Even I can't remember many things except during nightmares. We lose many people. Even now, I have bad days. My life is always at stake in these quests, and that never ends. What's important is that I made it despite those events. Life isn't suffering, it's getting through it. There's a lot of peril coming for you, but also lots of love and acceptance. You just need to know where to find it."
"Like Will?"
Future-Nico grinned, sparkles in his eyes. "In fact, maybe he's waiting for you to talk to him right now. The Will from your timeline, I mean. Many people love you already, you're just too blind to see it."
Nico scoffed. "Gee, thanks."
"You know, you're not doing so bad right now. Convincing Hades was a good choice. It might not get you Percy's attention, but it will get you many great things. I know you'll make it, and that's not motivation, it's a fact. As long as you choose to."
After that, he spent the rest of his day getting fussed over by both future-him and Will, and finally taking a shower. They also made lunch and dinner, and he got new clothes. When it came to sleeping, that was a more complicated matter. "I'll take the couch, I've slept in worse places," Nico concluded.
"I know," future-Nico reminded him. "And no, you're taking the guest bedroom."
Nico looked around. "But there are only two bedrooms!"
Future-Nico smirked. "I'm sure Will won't mind sharing the bed with me."
Will smirked back. "Only if you get up early enough so I can get to my healer shift. Otherwise, I have other ways to wake you up..."
Both men giggled like little girls. Nico definitely missed an inside joke.
As soon as his head hit the lemon-scented pillows, he was out like a light. Thankfully, that night, he was spared from any dreams.
Nico woke up in the Manhattan alleyway, Apollo nowhere to be seen. His injuries were healed, and he was wearing fresh clothes. Later, even as he charged Kronos in all his armoured glory, he was convinced the whole ordeal was some weird hallucination or fantasy. Still, he felt content. Like, even though his life was shit, it wasn't all his life. There was happiness waiting somewhere, even in the perils that he would face. He would find his solace.