Hey guys, Murayama Tsuru here. Originally, I wasn't going to write another chapter for this story. But, Nico still wouldn't leave me alone. So, I typed up the chapters set in Croatia, hoping that that would be enough. It wasn't. So, I read it and reread it and reread it again. And then I edited it a lot, which took a few days. While the dialogue has not been altered, I tried to change almost everything else to fit how I perceive Nico experienced these chapters, though there were a couple of spots that I felt I couldn't change without losing something important. I hope you guys enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians/the Heroes of Olympus; it belongs to Rick Riordan. Neither, can I say, do I own any of the dialogue; it also belongs to Rick Riordan (putting this in as well, just to cover my ass).

After Jason had been saved from certain doom, it had been decided that Nico and Jason would go to Diocletian's Palace to leave Reyna a note about how the Argo II was going to get to Epirus and search for Diocletian's scepter, something that would useful later in their quest.

When they arrived, Nico was too busy observing how much Croatia had changed since the 1930s that he failed to notice the angel at the ice cream cart. He and Jason were wandering along the walkway when Jason spotted the guy and nudged Nico, "Are you seeing this?"

"Yeah," Nico agreed, he was seeing it now for sure, "maybe we should buy some ice cream."

As they walked over to the ice cream cart, Nico wondered whether the angel was a spirit that had returned from death, which might make him extremely dangerous if they (Jason) made him angry. But, after checking, Nico murmured aloud, "He's not a returned spirit or a creature from the Underworld."

"No," Jason agreed, "I doubt they would eat chocolate-covered ice cream bars."

Nico felt inclined to agree, and he wondered aloud, "So what is he?" As they got closer, the angel looked directly at them. He smiled and gestured at them, ice cream bar in hand and then dissolved into thin air.

Nico could no longer see the angel and, because it was not a creature of the Underworld, could not track him. But, Jason seemed to be able to as he gestured saying, "I'm betting that's the place, come on." The building the angel was leading them to was Diocletian's Palace.

Nico looked at the palace and memories from long ago, and not so long ago flooded his mind. Nico then noticed that the angel was flying in and out of the high up windows, disappearing on the other side of the façade. "We've got to catch him," Jason said, scanning the palace for an entrance, "Hold on."

Nico, not knowing how they were going to get into Diocletian's palace without going through the main entrance, started, "But—" before he could finish that sentence, though, Jason grabbed Nico and they were both in the air. Nico, surprised and annoyed at the sudden change in direction, made a sound of clear complaint, but Jason either didn't hear it or ignored it and they soared over the outer walls.

Even though they had just flown into the palace, no one (save for a very confused looking kid) seemed to notice their entrance. Nico began looking around and saw a white marble building with rows of tall windows, "The peristyle," Nico commented, "this was the entrance to Diocletian's private residence."

Nico then turned and scowled at Jason, still annoyed at having been flown in, "And please, I don't like being touched. Don't ever grab me again." The unsaid threat of bodily harm hung in the air between them. Nico really did not like his personal space invaded, especially by a son of Jupiter.

Nico saw Jason tense and wondered if he was about to cause a fight with his sort of teammate. But, Jason only said, "Uh, ok. Sorry. How do you know this place?"

Nico examined the atrium and his gaze fell on stairs in the far corner, leading deeper into the Palace, "I've been here before," Nico said distractedly memories dancing thought his mind, "With my mother and Bianca. A weekend trip from Venice. I was maybe…six?"

"That was when…the 1930s?" Jason asked

"Thirty-eight or so.," Nico said absently, "Why do you even care?" Nico wished Bianca was here instead of Jason, "Do you see that winged guy anywhere?"

"No…" Jason trailed off, thinking about something.

Just as Nico started looking for the angel again, Jason asked suddenly, "I just…I can't imagine how weird that must be, coming from another time."

"No you can't." he responded sourly, if that was why Jason had asked about what year it was then Nico felt pretty pissed, he did not want Jason's pity.

But then, Nico realized that there might not have been any malice in Jason's words. In fact, there was someone who was in a much worse position than he was (a position that Nico himself had inflicted). He took a deep breath letting his annoyance subside and, after a moment continued speaking, "Look…I don't like talking about it. Honestly, I think Hazel has it worse. She had to come back from the dead and adjust to the modern world. Me…me and Bianca, we were stuck at the lotus hotel. Time passed so quickly. In a weird way, that made the transition easier."

"Percy told me all about that place," Jason said, making Nico's heart thump painfully, "seventy years, but it only felt like a month?"

Nico clenched his fist hard, feeling indignant that Percy would have even talked about him, to Jason of all people, in the first place, "Yeah. I'm sure Percy told you all about me." About how he's only helping me because he feels he owes me for letting my sister die, the thought surfaced unbidden in Nico's head.

Deciding not to dwell on the past anymore (he'd been doing that way too much recently), Nico began to observe the ghostly activity of the palace. His eyes swept the windows overhead and he sensed the spirits, watching everything, seething with a deep and powerful rage that stemmed from a long felt grudge. Aloud, Nico said, "Roman dead are everywhere here…Lares. Lemures. They're watching. They're angry."

"At us?" Jason said with alarm, his had going to his sword.

Nico shook his head, "At everything." He pointed to a stone building on the western side of the courtyard, "That used to be a temple to Jupiter. The Christians changed it to a baptistery. The Roman ghosts don't like that."

As Jason looked at the temple-turned-baptistery, Nico continued his tour, "And over there…" he pointed east to a hexagonal building ringed by freestanding columns, "that was the mausoleum of the emperor."

"But his tomb isn't there anymore." Jason said with a sigh

"Not for centuries," Nico agreed, "when the empire collapsed, the building was turned into a Christian cathedral."

Jason swallowed hard, "So if Diocletian's ghost is still around here—"

"He's probably not happy." Nico finished the sentence.

Suddenly, there was something that made Jason turn and look at something on the ground; Nico looked too and saw one copper-colored feather. "That way. The winged guy." Jason said, pointing to the stairs Nico had been eyeing earlier, "Where do you think those stairs lead?"

Nico drew his sword, a smile settling on his lips, glad to finally have something other than the past on his mind, "Underground. My favorite place."

As they wandered deeper into the palace, Nico could tell that this was not Jason's favorite place. One indication was the fact that the son of Jupiter kept flinching at everything that they passed that made even the tiniest of movements. If Nico had been the type to, he might have commented, but instead he kept his feelings to himself, hidden behind the smallest of sadistic smiles.

After almost running into a bust of Diocletian, Jason decided that this would be a good place to leave his note for Reyna. He wrote something on a small piece of paper and slipped it underneath the bust. Just as Jason was about to turn away from the pedestal, Nico saw the angel appear behind Jason. But, before he could give any sort of warning, the angel greeted, "Hello!"

Clearly startled, Jason sliced off Diocletian's bust's head, not realizing it wasn't the bust who had been speaking. With a frown, the angel said, "That wasn't very nice."

Jason turned then and saw the winged guy as well. Before any sort of sound could leave Jason's mouth, the angel said, "I mean, what did Diocletian ever do to you?"

The air shifted then, and a small tornado formed, picking up the broken pieces of the bust. "Uh," Jason said eloquently once the bust had been fixed by the wind, "It was an accident. You startled me."

The winged man 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 faltered, realizing that if the angel was the West Wind, it meant they would have to deal with…Nico wanted to dispel that thought, but he couldn't and he found himself asking, "The West Wind? You mean you're—"

"Favonius," Jason said the god's Roman name, "god of the West Wind."

Favonius made a theatrical bow, delighted at being recognized, "You can call me by my Roman name, certainly, or Zephyros, if you're Greek. I'm not hung up about it."

Nico felt his heart sink and his stomach roil, it seemed that they would have to deal with him after all, "Why aren't your Greek and Roman sides in conflict, like the other gods?" Nico asked; if this god's two sides were, in fact, conflicting, maybe getting the scepter wouldn't be as hard as Nico was beginning to imagine it to be.

"Oh, I have the occasional headache." Favonius shrugged, making Nico curse silently, "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 of you demigods don't affect me as greatly."

"So…" Jason started, but Nico had stopped listening. If Zephryos was here it meant that they would have to deal with that god as well. That dream he'd had this morning fell into perspective and Nico felt as if he was going to be sick. He wanted very badly to leave, but if that god had the scepter…

Nico tuned back into the conversation just in time for Zephryos to say, "what you're looking for isn't here. My master has taken it." Nico curse again.

"Your master?" Jason asked, "Please tell me your master isn't Aeolus." Nico knew the answer was not Aeolus and that made his stomach churn even more.

"That airhead?" Zephryos snorted, "No, of course not."

"He means Eros." His voice sounded tense to his own ears and he had the feeling that he really shouldn't have eaten that grape earlier, "Cupid in Latin."

Zephryos smiled, "Very good, Nico de Angelo. I'm glad to see you again, by the way. It's been a long time."

Nico's eyebrows furrowed, "I've never met you."

"You've never seen me," the god corrected, "But, I've been watching you. When you came here as a small boy, and several times since. I knew eventually you would return to look upon my master's face."

Nico felt the blood drain from his face at the thought that Zephyros had been watching him and most likely reporting back to Eros. His eyes flitted around the room, looking for any sort of escape; he was starting to feel trapped under the palace.

"Nico?" Jason asked, "What's he talking about?"

"I don't know. Nothing." Denial was absolutely the best option at the moment

"Nothing?" Zephryos exclaimed, "The one you care for most…plunged into Tartarus, and still you will not allow the truth?"

"We've only come for Diocletian's scepter," Nico said, wanting to change subject very badly, "Where is it?"

"Ah…" Zephryos nodded sympathetically, "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. You carried her to this place." Jason said

Zephryos seemed happy that Jason knew so much about Eros and his escapades. But, Nico didn't care to listen to the story because he already knew it. Besides, he had other things to worry about; like a confession he didn't want to confess.

"You took the scepter." Nico heard Jason say

"For safekeeping," Zephryos agreed, "it is one of Cupid's many treasures, a reminder of better times, if you want it…" Zephryos turned to Nico, "You must face the god of love."

Nico looked out the windows, wishing he could escape through the them, anything would be better than facing the love god... "Nico," Jason said after a moment, as if in an attempt to halt Nico's flight from the palace, "you can do this. It might be embarrassing, but it's for the scepter."

Nico was not convinced. Actually, he felt as if he was going to throw up; he now knew that he really shouldn't have eaten that grape earlier, it was threatening to make a reappearance soon. But he gathered the small and fleeting amount of courage he had and nodded, "You're right. I-I'm not afraid of a love god."

Zephryos grinned, "Excellent! Would you like a snack before you go?" the god then took an unripe apple from the basket and frowned, saying something about how summer has all the fun.

"That's ok," Nico said quickly, wanting to get this over with, "Just take us to Cupid." Acquiescing, Zephryos spun the hoop on his finger, and they turned into air.

Once Zephryos made them human again, he commented on how he didn't understand how humans could stand living in their corporeal bodies. Nico, on the other hand, couldn't understand how anyone would want to be the wind, it made his mind hazy and his thoughts more disorganized than they already were at the moment.

Then Zephyros said, "Welcome to Salona, Capital of Dalmatia! Birthplace of Diocletian! But before that, long before that, it was the home of Cupid." The name echoed through the ruins creepily.

At the mention of Cupid's name, Jason looked pensive. Suddenly Zephyros said, "Oh, he's not like that."

Jason flinched, "You can read my mind?"

"I don't need to." Zephryos tossed his hoop, "Everyone has the wrong impression of Cupid…until they meet him."

Nico braced himself against a column, he felt very unsteady, not looking forward to any sort of meeting with Eros. Why couldn't someone else have taken the scepter?

"Hey man…" Jason moved toward him looking worried; Nico waved him off. Nico felt so averse to the coming confrontation that the grass at his feet began to wilt, the patch of dead vegetation spreading outward from the spot he stood.

"Ah…" Zephryos nodded sympathetically, "I don't blame you for being nervous, Nico di Angelo. Do you know how I ended up serving Cupid?"

"I don't serve anyone," Nico muttered, trying to concentrate on not bolting, "especially not Cupid."

Zephryos continued as if Nico hadn't spoken, "I fell in love with a mortal named Hyacinthus. He was quite extraordinary."

"He…?" Jason questioned, not making Nico feel any better.

"Yes, Jason Grace," Zephryos raised an eyebrow, "I fell in love with a dude. Does that shock you?"

"I guess not." Jason said after a moment of thought, still not making Nico feel any better about the coming confrontation, "So…Cupid struck you with his arrow, and you fell in love."

Zephryos chortled, "You make it sound so simple. Alas, love is never simple. You see, the god Apollo also liked Hyacinthus. He claimed they were just friends. I don't know. But one day, I came across them together, playing a game of quoits—"

"Quoits?" Jason interrupted

"A game with those hoops," Nico explained his voice brittle, he didn't want this conversation to go on, but at the same time, he wanted to meet with Eros even less, so continuing to chat with Zephros seemed like the better course of action, "Like horseshoes."

"Sort of," Zephryos said, "at any rate, I was jealous. Instead of confronting them and finding out the truth, I shifted the wind and sent a heavy metal ring at Hyacinthus's head and well…" the wind god sighed. Nico stopped listening again, his breathing turned shallow and fear coursed through his veins.

CUPID, the name echoed through the ruins again. "That would be my cue." Zephryos stood, Nico felt the sudden urge to go with him, being the wind would be better than facing Eros, "Think long and hard about how you proceed, Nico di Angelo. You cannot lie to Cupid. If you let your anger rule you…well, your fate will be even sadder than mine." The wind god disappeared and the air suddenly felt oppressive. The ground shook, Jason and Nico drew their swords.

So. A disembodied voice said, rushing by their ears, You come to claim the scepter. Nico and Jason were standing back to back, but Nico wasn't feeling all that confident that they would get the scepter…

"Cupid," Jason called, "Where are you?" The voice laughed, it sounded threatening to Nico's ears.

Where you least expect me, Eros answered, as love always is. Something slammed into Jason and he was hurled across the street, where he lay sprawled painfully on the ground.

I would think you'd know better, Jason Grace. Eros's voice echoed, you've found true love after all. Or do you still doubt yourself?

Nico hurried down the steps, extending his hand to Jason, "You ok?"

Jason accepted the hand and hauled himself to his feet, "Yeah, just sucker punched."

Oh, did you expect me to play fair? Eros laughed, I am the god of love. I am never fair.

The air rippled and an arrow materialized, aimed at Nico's chest. Jason deflected the arrow sideways with his sword; it exploded against a nearby wall, showering them with shrapnel. They ran up the steps and Jason pulled Nico out of the way as a gust of wind made a nearby column collapse.

"Is this guy Love or Death?" Jason growled, Nico was thinking the exact same thing.

Ask your friends, Eros 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 yelled, trying to avoid what he knew he would have to admit with every fiber of his being, "We're trying to stop Gaea. Are you on the gods' side or not?" As an answer, a second arrow struck the ground between Nico's feet. Nico stumbled back just as the arrow erupted into flames.

Love is on every side, Eros said, and no one's side. Don't ask what Love can do for you.

"Great," Jason grumbled, "now he's spouting greeting card messages." Suddenly, Jason sensed something behind them and he spun, slicing his sword through the air. His blade hit something and they heard a grunt. Jason swung again, but Eros was gone, the only trace left was a golden smear of Ichor.

Very good Jason, Eros said, at least you can sense my presence. Even a glancing hit at true love is more than most heroes can manage.

"So now I get the scepter?" Jason asked hopefully

Eros laughed, Unfortunately, you could not wield it. Only a child of the Underworld can summon the dead legions. And only an officer of Rome can lead them.

"But…" Jason said, confusion in his voice, "Just leave that to us. Nico can summon—"

A third arrow flew by faster than Jason could finish his sentence. It sunk into Nico's sword arm and he gasped in pain, barely registering Jason shouting his name.

Nico stumbled as the arrow dissolved. It left nothing visible, but Nico's heart began to ache, making his face contort with rage and pain. "Enough games!" Nico shouted, sick of this, "Show yourself!"

Nico hardly heard Eros's response as he felt some sort of floodgate crack inside of him, everything he'd long since buried surfaced suddenly and encompassed his senses. He could only, very distantly, Eros and Jason's conversation, his attention split between the real world and his memories.

Suddenly, Jason thrust his sword to the sky, thunder shook the valley and then lightning struck the spot Eros's voice came from. Silence ensued and Nico was beginning to think Jason had actually managed to defeat Eros. But then, an invisible force knocked the sun of Jupiter to the ground and his sword skidded away.

A good try, Eros said, his voice far away, But Love cannot be pinned so easily. Next to Jason, a wall collapsed and the son of Jupiter barely managed to roll away.

"Stop it!" Nico yelled, having had enough of Jason suffering because of something he couldn't admit, "It's me you want! Leave him alone!" Jason looked dazed and confused, as if he didn't have the slightest idea about what Nico was talking about

Eros, agreeing, said, Poor Nico di Angelo. His voice sounded disappointed, 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?

"I've been to Tartarus and back," Nico snarled, avoiding the question, "you don't scare me."

I scare you very, very much. Face me. Be honest.

Nico didn't want to be honest. In response to these feelings, the ground shifted around him; all the surrounding dead were moving in the earth beneath, trying to make their way to him. "Give us Diocletian's scepter," Nico said, feeling he was losing control, "we don't have time for games."

Games? Eros struck and Nico was thrown sideways into something painfully hard, Love is no game! It's not 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, Nico noticed Jason had retrieved his sword, "what does this guy want from you?"

Tell him Nico di Angelo, Eros said, Tell him you are a coward, afraid of yourself and your feelings. Tell him the real reason you ran from Camp Half Blood, and why you are always alone.

'I'm not a coward and I'm not running from anything!', the thought rang in Nico's head and a frustrated scream forced its way out of his throat. The ground underneath him ripped open and skeletons emerged, surrounding Nico, as if they were attempting to protect him from the love god.

Will you hide among the dead as you always do? Eros taunted

Then, waves of darkness that held all his hatred, fear, and shame began to roll off him. Every encounter he'd ever had with Percy played for the world to see. There were more than a dozen scenes of him and Percy (sometimes others too). As each one played, Nico's shame increased tenfold. He felt more than ever like he wanted to just sink into the earth and disappear. No scepter was worth this much humiliation.

As Nico's resistance grew, so did the skeletons'. Eros was fighting back, throwing skeletons off of him but Nico could tell the god was struggling and eventually the skeletons' attempts to pin Eros's arms would succeed. Interesting! Cupid said and Nico could feel the god's smirk, Do you have the strength after all?

"I left Camp Half Blood because of love," Nico said, trying for appeasement, "Annabeth…she—"

Still hiding, Cupid said, destroying another skeleton, You do not have the strength.

"Nico," Jason said, "it's ok, I get it."

Nico glanced at Jason, his face awash with pain and misery, "No, you don't," his voice sounded hollow, "there's no way you can understand."

And so you run away again, Cupid scolded, from your friends, from yourself.

"I don't have any friends!" Nico yelled, resentment for everything that had happened to up to this point spilling from his lips, "I left Camp Half Blood because I don't belong! I'll never belong!"

The skeletons finally managed to pin Eros, but the god's only response was laughter so cruel that Nico was left feeling even more miserable than before.

"Leave him alone Cupid," Jason growled, "This isn't…" he trailed off and Nico vaguely wondered if Jason had been about to say that this wasn't any of Eros's business; but it was, in fact Eros's business and Nico's hatred for the love god grew stronger.

But, Nico knew that to get the scepter, he would have to admit these feelings he'd hidden for so long, no matter how painful it was, no matter how much he wanted to run them, no matter how much he felt like sinking into the ground and disappearing into oblivion. With a voice like shattered glass, Nico ground out, "I-I wasn't in love with Annabeth."

"You were jealous of her." Jason said, with sympathy the Nico didn't want to hear, "That's why you didn't want to be around her. Especially why you didn't want to be around…him. It makes total sense."

Knowing that Jason knew, made all the fight and denial leech out of Nico, the darkness he had been giving off subsided and all the Roman dead collapsed into bones and then crumbled to dust. "I hated myself." Nico said, any energy he'd had left spent, "I hated Percy Jackson."

Eros became visible then, watching Nico with satisfaction that made Nico angrier still. Wanting this to be over with already, Nico spat, "I had a crush on Percy, that's the truth. That's the big secret."

Nico glared at Cupid, hoping for all the world that they would finally get the damn scepter, "Happy now?"

Eros's gaze turned sympathetic, "Oh, I wouldn't say Love always makes you happy." His voice was smaller, more human sounding, "Sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you've faced it now. That's the only way to conquer me."

Cupid dissolved into the wind and on the ground where he'd stood lay the scepter of Diocletian. Nico picked it up; glad this was finally over with.

He then looked toward Jason, waiting for an attack on what the son of Jupiter just learned. He started speaking, not planning on keeping his threat hidden this time, "If the others found out—"

"If the others found out," Jason cut him off, "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, anger at admitting his feelings for Percy aloud still simmering under the surface. Jason noticed the look and added, "But it's your call, your decision to share or not. I can only tell you—"

"I don't feel that way anymore," Nico mumbled a denial that lacked conviction, "I mean…I gave up on Percy. I was young and impressionable, and I-I don't…" his voice cracked and frustrated tears started prickling at the backs of his eyes, he looked away, not wanting to deal with this any longer.

This hadn't been something he wanted to admit, something he wouldn't have admitted anyone really. Even if it been Hazel who had accompanied him on this journey for the stupid scepter, he wouldn't have felt any better. The only person who could have understood was Bianca, but she was dead and no longer speaking to him and so his secret had stayed a secret. Until now that is.

"Nico," Jason interrupted Nico's thoughts, "I've seen a lot of brave things. But you just did? That was maybe the bravest."

Nico returned his gaze to Jason, not feeling very brave at all, "We should get back to the ship." It was time to leave before Eros changed his mind and came back to torture Nico some more.

"Yeah. I can fly us—" Jason started

"No," Nico hissed, "This time we're shadow-traveling. I've had enough of the winds for a while."

Once the two returned to the ship, Nico let Jason explain how they got the scepter as he retreated to the crow's nest he called his temporary residence. Nico felt drained, of course, but even worse, he felt heartsick; a dull ache that pulsed through him whenever he thought of the son of Poseidon. He sighed for the millionth time since he'd gotten back and realized how much he missed Percy.

Sure, he had been avoiding the son of Poseidon, but Nico had always had the sense that if he'd really wanted to he could see Percy whenever he wanted to; to give him the reality check that he usually needed whenever he thought something could happen between the two of them. But even that possibility had been ripped from him because Percy had decided to join Annabeth in Tartarus.

And there it was again, that jealousy that Nico always felt whenever he thought about Annabeth and Percy together and how it denied him so much. But, he immediately felt guilty about those feelings; Tartarus was not a place he wished on anyone, not even someone he was jealous of and especially not someone he...loved.

Even though jealousy burned once again in Nico's heart, he also felt even more conviction that he had to save Percy and Annabeth. Now that they had the scepter, it would hopefully be easier to rescue them. Then, this would all be over with and Nico could go back to avoiding Percy. Suddenly, Nico yawned widely, feeling sleep weighing heavily on his eyes yet again. He then decided that these problems would still be here tomorrow, Percy would still be in Tartarus and Nico would still miss him. Nico drifted into sleep, unafraid this time, of any dreams he might see.

And that is the end of that. I'm feeling really tired now and I have nothing else to say. So I shall leave it at that. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated as I love to know what you guys think.

-村山鶴