Carefully Toby lifted Nico up. He wasn't worried that his twitches would wake Nico right now, he was out for the count. He turned back to Reyna and Hedge to see them both still staring in shocked disgust at the place Bryce had been. He snarled at them and immediately both their eyes snapped to him.

"Nico needs to sleep now so I'm taking him back to the tent. You two can keep staring at the ground as long as you want." He snapped at them and turned away. Nico was so light. Toby hadn't really carried Nico since he had defeated the Operator. He hadn't weighed much, now he weighed almost nothing. It was alarming similar to how carrying Sally felt, like lifting a unusually heavy piece of air.

"You're going to be okay." Toby murmured mostly to himself. Nico couldn't hear him but Toby needed to believe Nico would be okay. Back at the tent Toby carefully tucked Nico's limp body into a sleeping bag and sat next to him on the ground. Gently he ran his finger tips over Nico's cheek bones and traced his overly prominent eye socket. He had so much weight to gain back when they got home, so much to recover from.

Toby glanced up when Reyna followed him into the tent. She pulled a bottle of the unicorn draft out of her bag. Toby propped Nico up for her so she could carefully make Nico drink it. The next few of Nico's breaths expelled small puffs of darkness like smoke.

"He's going to be okay." Toby assured her once he had laid Nico back down. Reyna's lips were turned down and there was a small crease between her eyebrows. "He'll be able to make the next jump when he wakes up. He took that Bryce guys life, that'll make him stronger."

"He shouldn't have done that." Reyna sighed without looking at Toby. Her eyes were locked on Nico's face. Nico's expression had twisted into a frown, he obviously wasn't having a good dream. There were so many creeps who could control dreams, maybe it was time for one of them to meet Nico. Quickly Toby dug into his backpack and pulled out a purple dream catcher. He knew there was a good reason to bring this.

Carefully he hung it by Nico and after a couple of minutes Nico's face smoothed again.

"What is that?" Reyna asked eyeing the dream catcher.

"It's one of Dr. Lucid's dream catchers. He'll make sure Nico has good dreams. I'll just take it down if it looks like Nico'll sleep for more than twenty hours. We don't make up the rules, anyone who stays in Dr. Lucid's world for over twenty hours stays forever." Reyna nodded, Toby's mind backtracked a little and finally grasped what she had said. "Why shouldn't he have done that?"

"That was too far." Reyna breathed, there was a little fear in her face when she looked down at Nico.

"No it wasn't." Toby scowled at her. "Those are the rules of your world, he's just as much a part of my world as yours and for us he did exactly the right thing. He's completed the initiation now. He can be completely one of us if he wants to, we'll write his story for him. I'm proud of him, all of the other creeps will be too." Toby rested his palm against Nico's forehead.

"Do you love him more for becoming a killer." She shot at him accusingly scowling, He blinked at her in surprise and the scowled right back.

"No. But I don't love him any less either. I love him for who he is, if going through Tartarus and back doesn't change who he is killing, a single person who deserved it definitely doesn't." He and Reyna had a glare off for a moment but it was her who looked away. For a moment Toby felt a flare of triumph but it settled down again quickly. "Don't worry though I don't think Nico will ever become one of us. He hates fighting, he wants peace. The only reason he gets involved in any of this fighting is to try and get it over with quickly so he can relax.

"I don't Nico would ever seek out violence. He actively avoids conflict, that's why he spends so much time running. Trying to make him fight anyone would be the fastest way I could lose him." Reyna seemed reassured, she nodded then got up and left the tent, maybe to talk to Hedge.

Toby curled up and rested his head on his knees. Nico had been almost cold to him recently. He kept telling himself it was stress but what about what Nico had said in Portugal in the cathedral of bones? Toby still couldn't completely understand what Nico had meant, but it scared him. He had a feeling Nico had been talking about him when he spoke about people he couldn't save. Toby knew he was beyond saving but it had never bothered him that much before Nico, because everyone he had known was beyond saving as well. Now he loved someone and he knew they wouldn't go to the same place when they died, and either of them could die at almost any time.

'The underworld has no mercy. Only justice.' Toby shivered at the memory of Nico's words. 'I wish I believed that the judgment of the underworld was avoidable.' Loving him was hurting Nico because Nico was afraid for him. Toby didn't want that but he couldn't just back out of the world he had chosen now even if he wanted to. For the first time he did want to, he wanted to be good for Nico so Nico wouldn't be conflicted about loving him.

It was too late for him anyway. Even if he backed out now he had already done too many things. For how long life could be, it was amazing how quickly you could fuck it up. Just a few decisions, a few hours to kill someone and that was it. Toby had killed dozens of people, even if he stopped now and lived to be sixty how could he make up for that? Besides he wouldn't live to sixty. Most people with his disorder didn't last past childhood, he was already and exceptional case.

Remembering that Toby pulled himself out of his own head and made himself check the blood he'd noticed on his shirt. Sure enough there was a fairly deep cut on his upper arm. It would probably need stitches. He sighed and set about looking after it, focusing on that so he wouldn't waste more time regretting something he couldn't do anything about now.

(POV Nico)

"Oh Hello! Who are you?" A cheerful voice called to Nico out of the dark world of swirling purples and blacks. "I don't remember giving you a dream catcher.

"My name Nico Di Angelo. I am the Ghost King. Who are you?" Nico called back.

"There's no need to shout. I'm right here." The man's voice laughed and then there he was in front of Nico. A tall thin man in a purple coat and top hat, carrying a walking stick. "My name is Dr. Lucid." The man said with a dramatic bow. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Are you one of the creeps?" Nico asked cooking his head to the side.

"Why yes I am dear boy!" Lucid piped straightening back up with a flourish. "That must be how you got here. I've distributed a few of my dream catchers amongst the creeps for when they desire a refuge in sleep."

"Oh then it's a pleasure to meet you too." Nico said smiling at the tall man and shaking his hand.

"So the Ghost King hmmm? What an interesting title. Welcome to paradise, this is my world. It is a safe space. Don't worry your body is just where you left it." Lucid explained, making expansive gestures as he moved deeper into the world of swilling colours.

"I have some experience walking in dreams." Nico assured him watching the patterns the world around him made with interest. "But it takes effort."

"No effort allowed here." Lucid laughed. "Don't worry Ghost King you'll wake up feeling refreshed! Maybe not good as new considering how tired you are now but much better."

"I appreciate it." Nico said. He could only assume that it was Toby who had hung one of Dr. Lucid's dream catchers so he would be safe here. Besides he had been pulled out of another memory of Tartarus, so this was much better.

"So what do you want to do while you're here?" Lucid asked leaning on his walking stick and smiling at Nico. "Oh I need to show you something." Dr. Lucid snapped his fingers and a dolls appeared in the air above him. Small figures of boys and girls in equal amount. He tossed them over his shoulders and when they landed they were full sized children.

"Interesting." Nico stated moving around Dr. Lucid to get a better look. He didn't seem to mind. The children were stiff and blank faced like actual dolls but Nico could feel souls inside of them.

"They're not actually dolls. They are children aren't they? How are you controlling them, why are they here?"

"Oh you can tell can you?" Dr. Lucid asked sounding a little uncomfortable but then he laughed. "What am I talking about, of course you can! Your title is the Ghost King and they are all ghosts. They were inside my world when they died so they stayed here. When they become unruly I'm forced to take control of them to keep peace."

"If I have any experience with the creeps you're forced to do no such thing and it was no accident they were inside your world when they died." Nico said flashing Dr. Lucid a mildly accusing glance which he brushed off.

"There's chance that is the case." Lucid allowed smiling conspiratorially. "It's easy to control people in dreams. I'm sure you've had dreams where you do things you would never do while awake but they seem completely normal within the dream. People are highly susceptible to suggestion."

"Does that mean you could ask them to lend me their energy and alter my mind space to make me not feel guilty about it and it not change my actually thinking when I wake up?" Nico asked cocking his head to the side and looking at Dr. Lucid out of the corner of his eye.

"I could do that." Lucid agreed turning towards Nico fully. "You're a soul feeder, like Seed Eater."

"I am." Nico agreed. "Though I don't have to take the entire thing. A small amount can be recovered easily. There's no lasting harm."

"That's good to hear." Dr. Lucid chirped. "I wouldn't want to lose any of my friends after all, but yes you can take from them if you want." So Nico did, though only from the two oldest, a girl and a boy. He didn't think he needed more than that after all he had taken all of Bryce's energy already. Dr. Lucid watched curiously while Nico did and hummed in approval when he was finished.

"You're right you needed that and they'll be fine." Dr. Lucid. "Now how did you drain yourself that much?"

"I'm trying to stop a war before it happens. Slenderman said he would inform all the creeps about the situation." Nico said looking at Dr. Lucid questioningly.

"He can't reach me here." Dr. Lucid explained shaking his head. "Please explain." So Nico did as best he could. "My, my what an adventure you've been having out there in the real world." Dr. Lucid exclaimed when Nico was done. Nico felt suddenly tired and yawned. "And on cue I think it's time you headed back into it. That's a sign you're waking up."

"Alright." Nico sighed and stretched. Dr. Lucid waved his hand and suddenly a bed appeared.

"Just climb in and you'll wake up back in the real world. Feel free to stop by whenever you want." Dr. Lucid said invitingly as Nico crossed to the bed and climbed in. There was a touch of loneliness in Dr. Lucids face, maybe that was why he kept the kids.

Nico woke up in a sleeping bag in the tent. He spotted a purple dream catcher hanging from the ceiling, that would be what had brought Dr. Lucid then. He looked around and spotted saw Reyna sitting against one side of the tent. Toby was next to him. Nico smiled up at him and Toby smiled back helping him sit up.

"How do you feel?" Toby asked and Nico leaned against him. Not because he needed the support but because he wanted the closeness.

"I feel okay." He assured softly. "I can take the next jump whenever you're ready."

"Do you think you could make it to the mansion?" Toby asked tucking some of Nico's hair behind his ears. "There are plenty of creeps who can get the statue the rest of the way from there. Slenderman definitely could. And then you can rest in your own room."

"I can get us to the mansion." Nico agreed. "But I'm coming with you the rest of the way anyway. I need to see this through."

"Okay. I'll start getting things ready." Toby said softly and kissed Nico's cheek. He shot Reyna a glare before he left the tent. Nico looked to Reyna for an explanation but didn't get one right away.

"Here" She said handing Nico a bottle of unicorn draft. "Drink." He didn't argue. He was thirsty. There was pain in Reyna's eyes and conflict. It took Nico a moment to put puzzle pieces together. Reyna had watched her father turn into a ghost, Nico had just turned Bryce….

"Reyna I… I didn't think." Nico said softly. "What I did to Bryce-"

"You destroyed him." Reyna cut him off, she was trying hard to keep the accusation out of her voice but she couldn't and she wouldn't meet his eyes. "You turned him into a ghost. And yes, it did remind me of what happened to my father." Nico flinched.

"I didn't mean to scare you." Nico said bitterly. He couldn't say he hadn't meant to kill Bryce because he had done exactly what he had meant to. He just hadn't thought of what it might bring up for Reyna. " I didn't mean to… To poison our friendship. I'm sorry." She looked him over carefully.

"Nico, I have to admit, at first while you were unconscious, I didn't know what to think or feel. What you did was hard to watch… hard to process."

"I gotta agree with the girl on this one kid." Hedge said popping into the tent. "Smashing someone's head in with a baseball bat, that's one thing. But ghostifying the creep? That's some dark stuff."

Nico scowled at Hedge. He didn't care what he thought. Nico was sorry he had scared Reyna but he couldn't care less what Hedge thought of him. If he cared about how the world judged him he would never do anything. The world judged him for living as a son of Hades, he had been guaranteed a place amongst outcasts as his birthright.

"Then why help me." He asked the Coach who shrugged.

"You're apart of the team you idiot. We're not going to leave you behind." Hedge said. Nico scowled at him, that wasn't enough, not what he wanted to hear, not what he would accept.

"It's more than that." Reyna said resting her hand on Nico's. Immediately Nico felt his anger calm from a boiling point to a simmer. "While you were asleep, I did a lot of thinking. What I told you about my father… I'd never shared that with anyone else. I guess I knew you were the right person to confide in. You lifted some of my burden. I trust you Nico."

"How can you trust me?" Nico asked started, staring at her with wide eyes, all of his anger gone now. "You felt my anger, saw my worst feelings."

"Hey kid, Everyone gets angry. Even a sweetheart like me." The coach said. Nico closed his eyes and took a deep breath to keep himself from getting angry again. After this quest he would be happy if he never had another interaction with Hedge again.

"Coach is right, Nico." Reyna cut in quickly and Nico opened his eyes to look at her again. "You're not the only one who let's out the darkness once in awhile. I told you what happened to my dad and you supported me. You shared your painful experiences, how can we not support you? We're friends." Nico felt like he was going to cry. When Toby had glared at Reyna he was sure he was in for a lecture from her but she was supporting him. She cared about him, she said they were friends.

"But Bryce. I…" Nico started but he got choked up on the words unsure of what he had been planning to say anyway.

"You did what had to be done." Reyna said pulling him into a hug. "I see that now. Just no more turning people into ghosts if we can avoid it." Nico nodded helplessly and rested his head on Reyna's shoulder for a moment taking a few deep breaths to calm himself. Now was not the time to cry. But Reyna was warm and it was so like having a big sister again he almost couldn't help it. But he did, and after a moment she let him go and he pulled back hoping his eyes weren't to red.

"It's not all bad news. We've seen no signs of the Romans so Bryce must not have told anyone where we were. Also no sign of Orion. Hopefully that means he was taken down by the hunters."

"And Hylla? Thalia?" Nico asked hopefully. Reyna's face tightened a little more.

"No word. But I have to believe they're alive." Reyna said and Nico nodded. "Alright you should eat something and then we'll get going. There's still a few days before we need to get the statue to camp. You can rest for a while and I'm assuming you'd rather rest at this mansion Toby mentioned."

"I would but, you should be warned it is the home of quite a few of the creeps. Are you sure you want to go there before you can leave again right away?" Nico said standing up and wobbling slightly. Reyna's mouth tightened into a hard determined line.

"I'm sure I can handle them." Reyna said firmly and Nico shrugged.

"Of course you can" Nico agreed stumbling over to the banquet table and leaning on it for support. "I was just asking if you'd rather not. If Bryce didn't tell the romans we can stay here for a bit longer if you'd rather that." Reyna looked a little taken aback and blinked a few times but then she gave a tight smile.

"No I want to see this place you've been living. I need to make sure those people are looking after you." Reyna stated with a dry humor that made Nico chuckle.

"Of course you do. Okay then we can head out as soon as it get's dark because it'll be easier for me to travel when the shadows are darker."