Avikar got the 136th review, so the next update belongs to their fandom. And it's a good one. So... I decided to update with this chapter as soon as I finished it so I could post that snippet next. Which goes perfectly with this chapter, awesomely enough. Wasn't even planned, but works. And I like it. Unfortunately, this chapter is short and is rather boring. . That's why it's updated so soon after the last one. Don'thurtme.

So I've decided to do another snippet writing for a certain review number, but I'm not telling it this time cause I think it's more fair that way and I don't feel like I'm making people leave reviews for only a reward. I'll just let the reviewer know when they get it - same rules as before apply.

Can't Wait For New Stuff - I like the new doctor, actually. His jawline is very pronounced. But I like him.

Raining Ink - okay, you get the award for the most reviews in the shortest amount of time. And yeah... Percy's an idiot.

PharaohDehli - NO PREDICTING MY PLOTLESS PLOT BUNNIES.

9 tailed trickster - Nico does need some hugs. But it seems only Percy gets in and out of the Underworld these days with a day pass.

ed-nunez - Nico was my favorite character instantly from that scene. Like a lost puppy showing up on Percy's step. I have a thing for strays.

newXmoonXfox - Quite possibly.

Chapter 13

For a moment, Nico wondered if this was what normal kids did as he dangled from his bedroom's window. Aside from the sneaking out to search for the immortal remains of their mother bit of it. He glanced down at the garden – one very large story below him – before refocusing on the task at hand.

He dug the toe of his sneaker into the sculpted crack, testing his weight before reaching out for a parallel pillar built up against the wall. With a hitch and a wiggle he freed his other hand and braced himself between two pillars before removing his sneaker.

It was simpler than he expected, bracing himself against the pillars with his hands and feet and slowly working down. His arms were shaking trying to hold himself up, but as he dropped the last few feet to the garden and his knapsack slipped from his shoulder he grinned triumphantly up at his bedroom window.

Nico picked up his knapsack with arms half dead, very aware of the knife strapped to his forearm and the shoulder burn screaming at the sweat trickling down it. He slung the knapsack's straps across his chest for weight balance and to keep it off his burn as he glanced about. He couldn't keep the devilish grin from stealing across his face as he slipped silently down the sculpted path.

Persephone's garden was dimly lit by the phosphorus glow of the Underworld, casting blue-grey streaks across Nico's face through the fragrant flowers still in full bloom despite Persephone's prolonged summer absence.

Nico reached the outer wall separating the sanctuary of Persephone's garden from the barren fields of the Underworld. He lightly stepped over the scoured spot where he had attempted the summoning of his mother. As he placed his hands against the trunk of a weeping willow, he recalled the vague, dream-like vision and the woman's face – the one that so closely matched his. Nico thought he looked more like his mother than Bianca had, but he couldn't be sure. Trying to remember his mother's face was like trying to hold water in cupped hands – it trickled away before he could memorize it.

But he had a vague idea of what he was looking for. Nico was certain – absolutely certain – that his mother wasn't in Tartarus. As he stared at the spot where flowers seemed unable to grow again, he frowned. Even when he tried to summon his mother, his sister had warned him against it. And he hadn't succeeded – he had summoned a memory, not a soul.

Something moved behind Nico. Cursing silently, Nico dropped to a crouch and held deathly still. He had learned many things in his years of wandering alone; including that it was amazing what you could get away with by not moving.

He almost broke that rule that moment. He wasn't sure what he expected to see, but his father walking through Persephone's garden was not anywhere on the list. Walking wasn't even quite the right verb – he was moving slowly along the path, as if so lost in thought he was unaware that his feet inched themselves forward.

As Nico watched, his father's arm brushed a plant. The plant withered and died in seconds. Hades noticed immediately and reached out a hand to catch the shriveling blossom, but it went grey and changed to a film of dust. There was only silence in the garden as Nico held his breath and his father stared at the dust on his hand, before slowly rubbing his fingers together.

Hades raised his head, and Nico followed his gaze up to his own bedroom window, where a solitary light shown inside his father's fortress. Puzzled, Nico looked back to Hades to find him gone.

Nico crept forward to the path his father had walked on and inspected the dead stalk, to discover the entire plant was beginning to rot. Nico frowned at the goo on his fingers, wiping them on the flagstone path as he glanced back at his own window.

There was a moment of hesitation where he almost wanted to go back. As Nico turned back to the tree, he wondered where that had come from. With fresh determination, he was up the tree and across the branch without so much as swaying a leaf. He didn't let himself give a glance over his shoulder before he dropped to the ground on the other side of the fortified wall. He cast a look around the fields with conquest as he adjusted his knapsack, shoulder burning.

Nico left his father's home behind him as he went off in search of his mother.

To Be Continued...