Gaea stared at the white cabin wall. The FAYZ cabin was so full of colour, except in her room. Gaia had asked for white: it made her feel safe, like the Darkness could only reach her in darkness. A white bed was below her, perfectly made like it was every day. Her clothes were folded neatly in the white drawers and her favorite book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, sat on top of her white bedside table. The lamp sat beside it (off of course), with white designs curving around it.

Gaea waited. She had become quite good at waiting in the past few days. Nico had gone monster hunting (in other words, he needed a break from Camp) and because her mother refused to let Gaea go with him, she was alone. The other campers avoided her. Some because she wasn't a demigod (well, they didn't think she was); some because she had been through the FAYZ; and the last because she had been possessed by an alien and tried to kill humanity.

Diana, her mother, tried to take care f Gaea but in the end she really just wanted to spend time with Caine. Gaea knew it and so she made a point of avoiding her mother and 'father'. Gaea did see Diana sometimes; usually within their cabin, which Greek and Roman demigods had helped to build.

Gaea stood up, picking up her pitch-black bow and dagger as she did so. They transformed to bracelets on contact but Gaea didn't panic. She kept the weapons hidden from everybody except Nico, even Diana.

Gaea walked up the stairs to the ground floor. Colors seeped into the building as she approached the entrance. First was a touch of pale blue, which quickly switched to a purple and then a green. The colors became more prominent, and soon Gaea watched as blood red and sky blue moved to collide on the walls. The only magic part of the cabin: the moving colors on the walls. Peach clashed with highlighter yellow before being torn apart again by some invading sea green.

Gaea walked past the magic collisions on either side of her. She barely blinked; the magic was part of her every day now. As Gaea passed the living room she turned. In front of the young demigod was… nothing. Colors swirled like a whirlpool, colliding and separating. Gaea took one step forward and placed one finger on the wall delicately; as if she thought it would collapse. The whirlpool of colors seem to carry on as normal, until it stopped. The colors froze. Then they converged before blending together.

A black doorknob appeared before Gaea grasped it. She glanced behind her, checking to see if anybody had come in through the rainbow door (without the moving colors). Satisfied that she was alone, Gaea pushed the secret door and stepped out, ready to sneak to the forest.

Nico threw open the doors with a flick of his wrist. Shadows obeyed his command, rushing to open the tall doors before their master stormed through it. Skeleton guards shook at the sides, some bowing. Nico unsheathed his sword, letting it swing like an extension of his arm.

The shadows were in chaos. Hades sat on a bone of thrones, tortured souls screaming silently. His hands were raised in a calming gesture, but it was for his son. The shadows were not listening.

Nico stormed up to his father's throne, looking him in the eye. Nico stood straight and didn't even bow his head. Instead the shadows rose up in a wall behind the demigod.

"Calm down, Nico." Hades kept his demeanor calm as he watched the shadows twirl and spin in a dance of destruction. He tried to discretely reinstate his power in the shadows but Nico was angry.

And very, very powerful.

"I heard what happened with you and Diana." Nico stated with a disgusted look on his face. Hades was already pale, but his skin seemed to turn even whiter. He stared down at his son, who seemed to be oblivious to his father's fear. Nico stayed silent. He had told his dad all he needed; now he wanted explanation.

Hades tried to sort out his thoughts. Flashes from the past flashed through his head: traffic in the Underworld, the FAYZ starting, the Voice whispering in his head, Diana.

"It was not me" Nico stared at his father in disbelief. Why had he lied to Gaea? Hades sat on his throne, trying to stop fear pouring out. "I heard a voice, it took control…"

Nico stared with wide eyes. The shadows dropped out of his control and returned to their positions in the room and hallway. Only a few remained, creating a shadow chair for the Ghost King to collapse into.

"Why didn't you tell anybody?" Nico asked, his voice suddenly sounding weak and defeated. The anger had left his coal-black eyes and it been replaced with something else. Sadness? Failure? No, it was something much worse. Worry for Gaea had taken control of Nico's heart.

Hades watched his eldest son with pity. "My brothers would not believe me. Something possessing the gods- ha! They would think me weak and foolish."

Nico looked at his father forlornly. "Can you ask? For Gaea. For me."

Hades shook his head in defeat. His mind remembered the encounter clearly: Zeus dismissing his worries and fears with a flick of his wrist and Poseidon staring at him in disbelief. "I've tried Nico. They turned me away."

Nico did not press his father further. He could hear the regret in his father's voice. The god of Death had tried, but the Olympians had grown so apart that they didn't believe their eldest brother.

Instead, the son of Hades trudged out, allowing the shadow chair to dissipate. He trudged solemnly out of the Underworld, shadow travelling away from his father's domain.

The shadows engulfed his gently as he willed himself to leave. They pushed him from side to side, only travelling roughly straight because of one thought.

Camp Half-Blood.