Disclaimer: I do believe we've been through this. And, as nothing has changed, I'm going to have to use the same. I own shit.

Reviewers; you've been such an inspiration. Keep reviewing and I'll keep writing and giving you brownie points. And today I've actually got a migraine, so if I sound a little cranky, deal with it!

Oh, just so you know, the effects of the curse only come into effect when he is in close proximity to people.

Migraines

Confrontations

'Guy's. Neil's gone.'

'What do you mean by "gone", Jay?' Theresa asked slowly, the first to speak since Jay had broken the news. Jay turned to face her with equal slowness.

'I mean he's gone. All his clothes are gone, the drawers are ransacked, and all his "necessary" items are gone. He left,' Jay told her quietly.

'You are kidding, right? It's just a sick joke, right, Jay,' Archie tried, face as pale as the milk in Theresa's glass.

'No. He's gone,' Jay confirmed, seeming as though he was in shock. His movements were slow and uncertain, face ashen, and any outsider might have thought he was having a heart failure.

'We're dead, then,' Atlanta intoned dully, 'Because of Neil.'

'Maybe we're jumping the gun. Maybe he's just gone on vacation for a few days. See his parents maybe? He'll come back,' Theresa decided, her quivering lip betraying her doubt.

'What do we do?' Atlanta asked quietly, head falling into her hands.

'Tell the gods. See if they can scry for him. Then we go find him,' Jay told them, looking better now that a plan was in motion.

Neil slipped in between the bushes that blocked the entrance to the cave he had found early that morning. Nearly stumbling in the dark, he stopped and pulled his flashlight out of his bag. The dim beam gave the cave an eerie quality that he didn't like, but he couldn't think of anywhere else to go. Sevran had said the world would hate him, and that meant the old grannies who acted as landladies, too. Vaguely he wondered how he was going to take a shower when there was a bathroom in the cave. He shuddered at the thought of not bathing for a week and sighed. He knew this would test his ability to survive, he just hadn't thought it would test him that way.

He pulled a piece of tarp out from the duffle bag and laid it on the floor before he unrolled his sleeping bag and multiple pillows. Deciding that things weren't going to get much better, he resigned himself to spending the day in the cave.

'Hera! Neil's gone!' Jay yelled, running into the room with the other five heroes behind him. He was still pale, but he seemed to have made it through the shock.

'Neil's gone? What in the name of Styx do you mean?' the head goddess questioned warily.

'He came home last night, grabbed his stuff and left,' Archie explained, his voice rising in pitch to become a shrill squawking noise, 'His keys were on the TV table in the living room.'

'Have you tried looking for him,' Hera asked, looking more than slightly worried.

'We don't know where he would go,' Theresa explained, 'We were hoping you could scry for him.'

'I can try. However, it may take a while to contact him,' Hera agreed, 'If he will allow me to contact him at all.'

Jay gave her a curious look, but nodded in agreement as she led them to the pool.

Neil sighed and closed the book, studying his watch in the dark. It was a pocket watch, engraved with two butterflies circling a vine that ended with a budding rose at the top. It had been his mothers, before she had been murdered.

Flashback

A six-year-old Neil crept down the stairs and peered through the banister. He had heard voices, and, though it was past his bedtime, wanted to know what was going on. The problem was, whatever was going on, was happing in the kitchen, and he didn't have a good view from where he was. Climbing down the rest of the way, he tip-toed into the hallway and towards the open kitchen door.

'Mommy?' he asked of the beautiful woman who had been backed into the corner by a strange man. Lily Waters turned to face her son with wide eyes, silently pleading for him to go back to bed. She truly was beautiful, with long blonde hair, perfectly full lips, rosy cheeks and a slender frame. To her son, who had only ever had her as a parental figure in his life, she was an angel.

'I thought I told you to get rid of it!' the man snapped, slapping her soundly across the face. She cried out, and raised a hand to the reddening mark on her cheek. Neil stared to cry and ran to her, seeking comfort from the strange events taking place. An arm reached down and yanked him up by his hair.

'Never mind! I'll do it myself!' the man snarled, drawing a handgun from his pants pocket. He threw Neil against the far wall and aimed the gun.

'No!' Lily shrieked, trying to wrench it from his hands, while blocking her son with her body. They wrestled for a moment, while Neil gradually regained his senses.

Crack!

The air seemed to splinter and time stood still as Lily stumbled back, one hand clutched to her chest. She slumped against the wall, and seemed to take an eternity to slide down. Her head lolled to one side, as blood splattered against her hand and the floor. Neil screamed her name, screamed it over and over. Somewhere, in his child's mind, he understood what was happening, and switched to begging. He pleaded with her to stay, telling her how much he loved her.

The man stared at the scene in shock, then, pulling out a cell, dialed the emergency number, summoning an ambulance. But Neil knew none of this, as his mother wrapped an arm around him for what was to be the last time. He clung to the shimmery white fabric of her summer dress and cried. Cried because he knew she was leaving him, and cried because there was nothing in the world he could do to make her stay.

The ambulance arrived, and paramedics rushed in. But by that time, Lily Waters eyes were glazed, and her grip on her beloved son loose. She looked frail and delicate, somehow supernatural, like a goddess.

And Neil cried hopelessly for his dead mother.

Neil shuddered and shook awake, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He hated that dream, hated to watch her die again and again for him. He didn't know if he had deserved it then, and didn't know if he deserved it now. Eyes still damp, he found the flashlight and left the cave. He had spent three nights there so far, and was really starting to despise cheerios and crackers.

There was a fountain nearby, and he headed towards it, intent on washing his face. The water reflected his distorted, filthy image and he plunged his hands in, scrubbing his face in an effort to make it untrue. After a minute, he decided he looked even filthier after washing with the dirty black water and leaned on the edge of the fountain in despair.

'Hello there,' a voice said from behind him. His head was wrenched back before he could turn around, and he was flung to the ground by his hair. A sharp kick to the side knocked the wind out of him, and he gasped, the sharp intake of air hurting his lungs. The person who had grabbed him flipped him over, facing him up to the moon. Daze, Neil failed to react as the man straddled him, the zipper to his fly undone.

The first punch nearly knocked him out with its force, and Neil saw stars. The second left him with a blank in his memory that spanned about two minutes. Enough time for the man to unzip his own pants.

He's going to rape me, Neil thought, tears forming in his eyes, he's going to fucking rape me.

The man had pinned his hand above his head, and slapped him soundly across the face as he started to cry. His legs, spread in such a way that he couldn't move them even if he tried, really hurt. He could feel the muscles straining not to rip.

Mentally Neil reached out, calling for Sevran. He didn't know why he did it, he just didn't have anyone else to turn to. Reality abruptly crashed down on him and he realized he did have another option. Quickly, he entered the man's mind and forced drowsiness and disinterest upon him. The man looked confused for a moment, then got up and left. Neil lay on the ground for a moment, shuddering and crying, before he managed to pull enough wits together to head back to the cave.

Slipping inside, he touched the band on his arm. 'They only hate me as long as I'm alive,' he murmured, his thoughts turning back to his dead mother, 'She's waiting for me.'

The stiletto appeared so swiftly in his hand, he almost didn't realize that he'd summoned it. Poising it above his stomach, he said a silent prayer.

'Wait!' someone yelled. Too late.

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