AN: I recommend listening to the Bioshock Infinite soundtrack's version of "Will the Circle be Unbroken" while reading the first part of this chappie. You can listen to it on YouTube. It's actually the one at the top of the list of search results when you type the song title in. Just make sure you get the full version, because it's more emotionally charged than the choral version.


7

"There are loved ones in the glory

Whose dear forms you often miss.

When you close your earthly story

Will you join them in their bliss?

Will the circle be unbroken?

By and by? By and by?

Is a better home awaiting

In the sky . . . in the sky . . ."

Leo decided to sing in English for one simple reason: he could only remember the first and last verses of the song in Spanish. He could remember four of the verses in English. But if anyone asked, he'd claim it was because he'd thought it was more likely Hazel would take note if he was singing in English. Since presumably Hazel spoke English.

And "Will the Circle be Unbroken" was the longest song he had memorized. His ADHD made it hard for him to memorize most things, so even though he'd sung in a choir right up until his mother died, he only really had a few songs memorized.

His voice hitched at the thought of his mother, and how she'd drug him to choir practice every week. He'd hated it so much. Now he'd give anything just to have her drag him there one more time.

"You remember songs of heaven

Which you sang with childish voice

Do you love the hymns they taught you

Or are songs of earth your choice?

Will the circle be unbroken?

By and by? By and by?

Is a better home awaiting

In the sky . . . in the sky . . ."

Some of the ghosts were starting to pay attention now, Leo noticed. That fact made him a little nervous. Having dead people paying attention to you was never a good thing. He'd learned that from the movies. Many were ignoring him, but some were definitely turning their faces toward him. A few were even moving toward him as he wove his way amongst the crowd of souls. They were the ones in more modern clothes, he realized. Souls who'd been in the fields of Asphodel less time, most likely. The further into the crowd he went, the fewer souls there were paying attention to him, and the more outdated their styles of clothing were. He passed the dated looks of the nineties, then the eighties. The seventies and the sixties kind of blended together for him. He hadn't been a good enough student to be able to tell their differences, but he did start noticing a lot of soldiers in addition to the bellbottom-wearing hippies.

That made him sad, the sight of all those soldiers. He wondered what they'd done to end up there. Had they died before managing to do any great deeds in battle? Or had they done something awful, and didn't have enough good deeds to balance them out? He didn't remember much about the wars during that era, but he could recall one of his better teachers saying something about both sides doing terrible things to each other, because they were under orders, or they had to do them to survive. Leo hoped he'd never end up in a situation like that. It was a relief that very few of the souls of this era showed any interest in him, and none of them started following him.

"You can picture happy gatherings

Round the fireside, long ago . . .

And you think of tearful partings

When they left you hear below.

Will the circle be unbroken?

By and by? By and by?

Is a better home awaiting

In the sky . . . in the sky . . ."

The fifties came next. Poodle skirts and leather jackets. Those were easy to identify. And Leo had loved The Outsiders. It was one of the few books he managed to make it to the end of. The forties came next, and again, there were many uniformed soldiers, most with a familiar, infamous insignia blazoned somewhere on them. But it surprised Leo how many un-uniformed people there were from this era in the Fields of Asphodel. Had they been soldiers who died out of uniform? No . . . About half of those out of uniform were women. Nazi sympathizers and supporters? Possibly, but not all of them looked German. Their clothing styles were different, or at least that's what Leo thought. He wasn't an expert by any means, but it looked to him like they were from a number of different European countries. Maybe they were Nazi informants, people who turned in Jews in the nations that Germany conquered. Or maybe people who just stepped back and did nothing to help their Jewish neighbors when the Nazis came. Leo was pretty sure that doing nothing when someone needed help counted as an act worthy of punishment, or at least it was if there was any justice left in the universe.

He remembered how his family had abandoned him to foster care after his mother's death . . . how they'd given him to strangers and said they never wanted to see him again, and called him a devil. That had hurt more than he'd ever admit. He also remembered going to school with bruises and black eyes, picked up in his foster homes, and how his teachers had turned blind eyes to them, and social workers always seemed disinterested when he tried to tell them. His voice wavered as he came to the last verse. And his heart dropped as he realized that no one from this era was showing any interest in the song. He didn't see one head so much as turn his way. But this was where Hazel should have been, wasn't it? She'd died in the forties. So this was her era. What if she wasn't one of the special souls who didn't lose her memories and sense of self?

"One by one their seats were emptied

And one by one, they went away

Now the family is parted

Will it be complete one day?

Despair was bitter on Leo's tongue as he began the chorus one final time. Had this all been for nothing? He felt like the universe's biggest idiot, coming all the way to the Fields of Asphodel and singing his heart out for a bunch of dead people. Singing such an emotionally charged song, even. In front of people he actually respected. Living people, that was. He did not want Percy and Annabeth seeing him break down when this didn't work. Thalia or Jason either. Well, Thalia already thought that he was only one evolutionary step past pond-scum, so her opinion of him wouldn't change, but Jason seemed like an ok guy. And now he'd think Leo was a sissy.

Will the circle be unbroken?

By and by? By and by?

Is a better home awaiting

In the sky . . . in the –"

A hand wrapped around Leo's wrist and made him jump. He was jerked forcibly around and suddenly found himself staring into a pair of luminous, tear filled, sunshine golden eyes.

"Sky?" he squeaked the last word of the song, probably earning himself the award for worst closing of that particular hymn in all of history. He coughed to cover his embarrassment. It made perfect sense that a pretty girl was there to witness this. And this golden-eyed girl who was staring at him with both wonder and horror and had to be Hazel was even more beautiful than Anubis had said.

"Sammy?" she asked, her voice a little bit squeaky too.

"I, uh, no," said Leo. "I'm not –"

"God, please no!" screamed Hazel suddenly, flinging Leo's hand away. "Father, please, take him back! Please, don't put him here! He doesn't deserve it! Please! I beg you, take him back!"

"What?" Leo stared. This was the worst rejection he'd ever gotten. Even more so since he hadn't even asked Hazel out. Then it dawned on him what her problem actually was. "No, Hazel, I'm not Sammy!"

"Take him back! Take him back!"

"I'm not Sammy! My name is Leo!" he screamed to be heard over her.

Hazel stopped her racket and stared back at him. "How can you not be Sammy?" she asked finally. "You have to be Sammy."

"I'm not. I'm Leo. Your boyfriend Sammy wasn't sentenced to this, so you don't have to worry," said Leo. "I wasn't sentenced here either, by the way. For the moment, at least, I'm still alive."

"You are," said Hazel, her eyes filling with wonder. "That's why your hand was so warm. But . . . why are you here?"

Leo licked his lips. This was going to be the hard part. He'd never been a good negotiator, or good at reaching people, and Hazel had been through so much in both life and death. She had absolutely no reason to trust him.

"First, I swear that I'm not just here to use you. But I do need your help. But in return, I'm going to try to help you," said Leo. He spoke too quickly and was sure that all his words were jumbled together.

"I don't understand," said Hazel. "What help could I possibly be to you?"

"Your powers," said Leo.

Hazel flinched.

"I'm sorry," he said immediately. "I know . . . what happened to you. And I am so, so sorry to have to ask you to use them again, after what those gods did to you. How they made you use your powers . . . and how . . . how it ended up destroying you. I know you probably won't believe me, but I know what that's like. When I was eight . . ."

Somehow the story spilled past Leo's lips. How he'd lived with his mother until her death. Her death that he and his powers had caused when that dirt witch came to the machine shop and locked his mother in. And how Leo had started the blaze that killed her when he was trying to save her. Then what happened afterward: the rest of his family getting rid of him, the foster homes and abusive foster parents, and life on the streets, always on the run. Sometime during the story, Hazel took his hand. Her touch was cold, but Leo didn't pull away. Almost unconsciously, he wrapped his fingers around hers.

"So yeah . . . I know what it's like to have powers that are a double edged sword, and what it's like when the gods decide to royally screw up your life," finished Leo, feeling like an idiot and a pansy as he realized he was crying. And Hazel's eyes had teared over again too. Just great. He hated seeing girls cry.

"I'm sorry," said Hazel. "I'm so sorry for what happened to you."

"And I'm sorry for what happened to you," said Leo. "You didn't deserve that."

"Neither of us did," said Hazel, bowing her head.

They stood in silence for a few moments. Then a cough behind him alerted Leo to the fact that they had company. He spun around and his jaw dropped to see all his companions standing there behind him. And from their expressions, he was pretty sure they'd heard his whole confession.

He clenched his jaw and turned his face away, trying to compose himself. Angry tears continued to flow though, so he covered his face with the hand that wasn't holding Hazel's.

"Leo . . ." one of them started to say.

"Stay away from him!" shouted Hazel. She didn't let go of his hand, but she positioned herself between Leo and his comrades. "I'm warning you!"

"Wait! Don't!" Leo tugged her back. "It's ok. They're my . . . quest partners, or something. They won't hurt you. Or me. I promise. I know you have no reason to trust me, but –"

"I trust you."

"What? Oh. Ok." Leo felt like crap. He felt like a fake. He knew that the only reason Hazel trusted him was because of his face. He felt like he was wearing a mask, even though it was his real face. This was quite possibly the lowest thing he'd ever done. "I promise that I'll try to never take advantage of your trust. I'm sorry if I fail, but I –"

"It's alright, Sammy. I mean Leo," said Hazel, wincing at her own slip. "You bared your soul to me. I can see what sort of person you are. I'll help you if I can. But you don't need to do anything for me. There's nothing you can do for me anyways."

"I can take you away from here."

"Leo," said Thalia warningly.

"We have to at least try," snapped Leo.

Hazel's fingers tightened around his own, to the point where it was painful. Leo looked down at her to make sure she was alright.

"Do you really mean that?" she whispered. "Could I really have . . . a second chance?"

"I really mean it," promised Leo. "I will do everything in my power to get you out of here."

"And . . . after that . . . would I be with you?" asked Hazel tentatively.

Leo looked at the rest of the team, uncertain because of the Greek-Roman rivalry thing. Their mixed reactions were not at all helpful. Percy was nodded encouragingly, while Annabeth was frantically shaking her head. Jason shrugged. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Yes," Leo told her. "We might not always be able to physically be together, but we'll be friends forever. And whenever you need me, I'll do everything I can to be right there with you. I promise."

"Could you be anymore sappy, Valdez?" asked Thalia.

"Shut up, Thalia," said Leo angrily.

Hazel started. "Valdez?"

"My last name," Leo told her. "I wasn't lying to you before. I just didn't introduce myself properly. I'm Leo Valdez. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Hazel Levesque," Hazel told him, still looking a bit shocked and troubled.

"And these people with me are the famous Percy Jackson, his scary girlfriend Annabeth –"

"Leo," said Annabeth warningly.

"Well when you're making that face at me, what else am I supposed to call you? Then we've got the Wonder Twins, Thalia and Jason, and Percy's dog, Mrs. O'Leary –"

"You have a hellhound named Mrs. O'Leary?" asked Hazel, looking at Percy with something very close to horror.

"Yes. But I didn't name her that. It's a long story," said Percy as he pulled Nico off his hellhound's back.

"And last, but not least . . . your brother. Nico di Angelo," said Leo, his voice softening a little bit. "He's the one we need your help with."

"My brother?" asked Hazel, her voice tinged with wonder. "I have a brother?"

She moved forward, dragging Leo with her since their hands were still clasped. Her eyes were bright as she knelt beside Nico. Then she frowned. "What's wrong with him?"

"Tell her," said Leo to Percy, because this was more their secret than his, and he wasn't sure if him revealing it would cause him to be metaphorically stepping on anyone's toes. "She needs to know."

Percy pulled up Nico's shirt to reveal the stone scarab in Nico's chest. "His soul is trapped in that scarab. We were hoping you could call it out of there and back into his body."

Hazel looked doubtful. "I've never done anything like that."

"But will you try?" asked Percy. "Please."

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," said Leo, suddenly seeing a downside to this plan. "What if her soul ends up getting stuck in that scarab too?"

"There's got to be a limit to how many souls can be stuck in one rock," said Thalia.

"Theoretically, that's right, but in actuality, it's the crystalline structure that contains the soul," said Leo.

"And that means?"

"One molecule equals housing for one soul," explained Leo. "This scarab is probably big enough to house every soul we passed to get here. Hazel, you don't have to do this –"

"I want to," said Hazel. "He's my brother. But even if he wasn't, I'd still have to at least try and help him."

Leo felt his eyes water. There wasn't much he could say to that without being a hypocrite. But this definitely reinforced his belief that Hazel really did not belong down here. "If you're sure. Just remember, you can stop trying at any time. And don't take any unnecessary risks. If you feel like it's too dangerous, stop immediately. And –"

"She gets it, Leo," said Thalia, trying to pull Leo away, but Hazel tightened her grip on Leo's hand.

"If you don't mind . . . stay with me?" requested Hazel.

"Of course," promised Leo. He squeezed her hand encouragingly. "I'll be right beside you the whole time."

Hazel smiled. Then she turned her attention back to Nico. Laying cradled in Percy's arms like that, it looked more like he was sleeping than lying there soulless and pretty much dead.

"I'm not quite sure what to do," admitted Hazel. "Maybe if I just . . ." She laid her hand against the scarab and closed her eyes, in deep concentration. Moments later, an eerie light began glowing around her.

"Uh, are you ok?" asked Leo.

Hazel didn't answer.

"Hazel?" he asked again, urgently.

"Maybe you shouldn't interrupt her? It might make things worse," said Annabeth.

"But what if something's gone wrong? What if she needs our help?" demanded Leo.

"Either way, it's a risk," said Percy. He looked more tormented than Leo had ever seen him before. Leo understood why. Nico was his friend too. He wasn't as close to the kid as Percy was, but he didn't have so many friends that he could afford to lose any of them. But on the other hand, Hazel was putting her soul on the line for this. She could end up hurting herself, or getting trapped in the scarab too.

"If something's wrong, or something happens to her, it can't be any worse than what's happened to her already," pointed out Thalia. "Even if she gets trapped in the scarab, Leo, even if her soul gets destroyed, do you think it's really worse than the fate she has here?"

"I don't know!"

"What could be worse than this, except Punishment?" asked Annabeth.

"Hazel doesn't need to find out!"

"If we interrupt her it really might make things worse," said Percy. "I think we should trust her to know when to pull back if something goes wrong. She knows her powers best."

They all had valid points, much as Leo hated to admit it.

A hand fell to rest on his shoulder. Leo started and looked up at Jason.

"Sometimes waiting while your comrades are taking risks is harder than taking the risks yourself." Jason spoke like someone who had plenty of experience with this.

Leo looked away from him and back at Hazel, feeling stupid and helpless. "This sucks."


"Anubis! Percy!" Nico didn't know how long he'd been screaming when he finally got an answer. "Sadie! Carter! Father! Someone? Anyone?"

"Nico?" asked an unfamiliar voice.

Nico spun and saw that he was no longer alone in the void. A pretty African American girl in clothes that were old-fashioned by modern standards, but that looked pretty normal to him, was standing right there. She looked around his age, but her eyes . . . they held so much sadness. And she seemed familiar somehow, though Nico was sure they'd never met.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm . . . I'm Hazel," the girl said. "I'm your half-sister."

"Sister?" asked Nico in disbelief. But somehow that felt right. He knew instinctively that she was telling the truth. That Hazel was a daughter of Hades. Or maybe Pluto. Something seemed different about her, at her core, the same way Jason seemed different from Thalia.

"What . . . how . . ." Nico didn't even know where to start asking questions.

"Your friends came and found me. They knew I could help bring you back. This place is really horrible. Even worse than where I was." Hazel shivered and offered Nico her hand. "Come on. Let's go."

Nico tried to take her hand, but somehow couldn't move. He was still shellshocked by this revelation. He had a sister. He had family again. Real family. Even if she was just his half-sister, she was still his sister. He wanted more than anything to take her hand and never let go, but somehow his arm wasn't obeying him.

"I . . . I'm . . ."

"It's alright," said Hazel. "I can help you get back. Please, trust me."

His hand, no, his entire arm shook as he slowly raised it and tried to reach for Hazel. Realizing he needed a little more help, Hazel reached out too, a little over halfway, and took his hand in her own.

"Come on," she said, giving him a smile that was a little bit sad, but at the same time hopeful. "Let's get you home."


AN: So far I am in love with college. My roommate is nice and I haven't had to do as much work as I thought I'd have to, yet at least, which is how I was able to update again faster than I thought. It's still early, and I'll probably have more work to do later in the semester, so I'm taking advantage and writing while I can. So far everything seems good, and I'm having lots of fun!

I meant to say this in my last AN, but I forgot: Yes, the full on Swayze reference was from Supernatural. I love that show!

And confession: I haven't actually played Bioshock Infinite yet. It was just recommended to me recently, so I was researching it on YouTube and found some of the music from it. And demonstrations of the magic in it. The Murder of Crows thing alone is enough to get that game from banned in my parents' house, since my mom is very against violent videogames. But as they say, there's a time and a place for everything, and that's college, where I conveniently am right now! So I'll be playing it soon. That and Borderlands.

Next update will be as soon as I can write it. Laters!