The pounding on the door was not what woke Nico from sleep. What woke him from his slumber was the screaming baby next door that refused to rest. The pounding on the door came a half hour later.

He glanced at the clock and sighed in annoyance. He considered not answering; it would be much easier that way. He would avoid whoever it was, and hopefully aggravate them, just as they were to him. It is night time, not knock on Nico's front door time. Why everyone knocked on his door late at night was beyond him.

Just last week Travis Stoll had barged in yelled about his ex girlfriend and his brother then fell in a heap on the floor of Nico's kitchen and started to snore. Another time Connor had stormed in, but unlike his brother didn't yell just took up a spot on the couch. Nico didn't even think he was drunk.

It seemed that his apartment was a refuge for those wandering the night and too lazy to call a taxi.

The pounding continued as Nico yawned. He opened the fridge. What to eat? There wasn't much. A few eggs, milk, carrots, and some Pepsi. He chose Pepsi and turned to walk back to his mattress on the floor of his room, when the person on the other side of the door cried out in a last attempt to be let in.

"Nico, please open the door," Percy's voice called, "Please, it's important!"

Nico spun on his heel. He marched over to the door, threw it open, and took in Percy's appearance. He was soaked in sweat and seemed to have shed a few tears in the last little while. "Percy?" Nico said, baffled by his friend, "What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" Percy asked, with a desperate look.

"Yeah." Nico shut the door behind Percy and drank a bit from the Pepsi can while he accessed the man. Why would he be here? He shared apartment with his long-time girlfriend, and she never kicked him out. Much. But even then he would stay in the hall and bother her until she told him how to open the new locks.

Nico watched Percy pace around the kitchen, then stop to run his hands across his face. And then take up the pacing again. Percy froze. He looked at the cabinets lining the kitchen, looked at Nico, looked back at the cabinets.

"Do you have any food?" he asked in a low voice.

"Why are you here?" Nico asked to avoid the question, while setting his Pepsi down.

Percy didn't reply at first; just keep a dull look on his face as his eyes fluttered around the room as if the walls might crumble at any second. He fidgeted with the edge of the kitchen countertop, snapping his fingers at the smooth surface. It was the only sound in the room, until he whispered something under his breath.

"What?" Nico asked.

Percy groaned loudly. He said, "25 degrees, 47 minutes north, 80 degrees, 13 minutes west."

Again Nico said, "What?"

Percy looked hard at Nico. "I have to go," he said, but the words didn't sound like his own. It sounded as if Percy was merely reciting them, trying to believe them.

"Go where?" Nico demanded, suspicion lacing every syllable.

Percy's eyes narrowed in confusion, he whispered, "18 degrees, 13 minutes north, 66 degrees, 2 minutes west."

Nico stared through the darkness of the kitchen at him, "What-? Are those, like… coordinates or something?"

Percy's eyes darted around the walls wildly. Were they going to fall in because he was there? Nico thought. Was there a monster-

"Why are they changing?" Percy snapped to his left, as if there was a person standing beside him and they had the answers.

Oh. Percy must have been lost again.

Nico scratched his head. He was uncomfortable in the presents of the mentally unstable. Unstable and death were closely related things and so were Nico and death. The unstable rubbed off on him a little when he was with them. It made him feel sick.

"Come on, I'll call Annabeth," Nico muttered.

"NO!" Percy screamed, before his eyes glassed over and he said, "32 degrees, 18 minutes north, 64 degrees, 47 minutes west."

Nico shook his head, "Percy you need to go home, and you gotta tell Annabeth about what you're talking about, she'll-"

"No," he hissed, anger and frustration on his face, "You cannot tell her at all. Okay?"

"Sure," Nico said to humor him.

Percy paced around the apartment for an hour, and then passed out on the couch. Nico made sure everything in the house was in order, the sharp objects were hidden, and afterward went to bed. He didn't want to see Percy on the same couch and that Travis had… well done stuff on in his drunk state, but what was he supposed to do with the crazy person? Invite him to sleep in his bed while he slept on the couch? No. That wouldn't happen.

At some point in the night Nico thought he heard more frantic pacing, but other than that and the minimal cries of the child next door, it was silent.

In the morning Nico rolled onto the floor beside his bed, still warped in blankets. It was his technique for waking up in the morning. Quickly go from comfortable and warm to hard and cold. Woke him right up. But that morning he was so tired… why was he so tired…?

Percy.

Nico sighed, opening his eyes to cracks. He was gonna need to go check on him soon.

But he was tired…

Nico's eyes snapped open. There was noise from somewhere. It rang and rang in his ears.

The baby crying? Again…?

No. It was the phone placed between him and the wall.

Groggily he reached over and fumbled it to rest against his ear. It was too bright in the room for him to really do much more than that. He breathed onto the receiver to show he had picked up.

"Nico?" a familiar voice said from the line, "Where's Percy?"

Nico sat up. It was Annabeth. Nico scratched his neck, he growled, "What?"

"Percy. Nico, where is Percy?"

He stood and stretched, moaning when joints cracked. "He's here, don't worry," Nico said.

Annabeth fell quiet, contemplating. Nico let her do so in silence. He walked out to the kitchen and opened the door to the fridge. He closed it after he decided that he would eat out.

"Percy," he called, "Your fiancé is on the phone."

Annabeth said, "Why is he there?"

"I don't know," Nico snapped, whipping his eyes clear of sleep, "You kicked him out or something, right?"

"No."

Nico stopped. On the fridge in front of his face was a sticky note.

I need to leave.

I'm not crazy.

Do not tell Annabeth.

"Nico?" came Annabeth's voice from another world, "Tell Percy I need to talk to him."

He's gone, Nico thought. He pulled the note off the fridge. Leave. Leave. Leave. Leave.

"Shit."

Nico ran into the living room. The couch was empty. He ran to the bathroom. Empty. He did a full sweep of his apartment, the whole time Annabeth yelling over the phone for him to tell her what was happening. He went into every room at least three times before he hung up the phone and ran to the closet near the door.

The phone rang again as he hurriedly pulled his shoes on. For a moment he considered answering it.

Then Nico hesitantly flattened the paper in his hands.

Do not tell Annabeth.

And with that he bolted out the door to search for his friend.