I'm doing another Nico-centered chapter, I hope that you liked the last one. This one is going to focus a lot on Nico's thoughts, as well as the Bianca reveal. Oh, and fatherly/godfatherly affection and protective tendencies.

Though, on another note, I've just sent my laptop in again to get fixed, and I should have it back in a couple of weeks. It should certainly make balancing writing and classes easier. It's hard to organize my notes when I have to convert my scrivener files into a mish-mash of word documents.

Nico's P.O.V.

"Are you sure about this?" I raise an eyebrow, scrutinizing my little brother carefully. "You know what will happen if you push yourself before you're fully recovered."

He groans quietly. "I've been stuck in bed for ten days. If you keep me in here any longer, I'm going to go insane."

It's actually rather funny, since usually, he doesn't like going out to socialize with people. Hm...I wonder what brought about this change...or who... "Alright, do whatever you like. But if anything happens, know that I will have my Sunshine on you in an instant." There's nothing like threatening to sic my husband on my little brother.

"Fine..." Kai grumbles, knowing better than to argue right now, probably because I have set Will on him before, and he doesn't want a repeat of that. "Besides, it's not like I was planning on going across the Atlantic." He glares at me pointedly. He' never going to let me live that down...and he wasn't even born yet!

"Fine, fine." I step out of his path, clearing the way to the entrance of the cabin. And as he races past me and out the door, I can't help the smile that creeps onto my face. Well, I've taught him a lot the last eight years. I guess it's time to let him go...

In the meantime, it's about time that I head down to breakfast. I remember what happened the last time I was stupid enough to skip that meal. Will's voice rang in my ears for a week afterward. This, coming from the one with an excruciatingly painful ultrasonic whistle. I've seen him shatter glass with that thing.

The thought has me chuckling as I walk to the dining pavilion. And judging by the amount of noise coming from the far side, where the Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades tables are pushed together, everyone knows that Ciara and Kai are out of isolation. For the last week and a half, neither of them have set foot outside of their cabins. And I would blame mine and Percy's protective instincts for that. I'm sure the two of them do.

I grab a plate and cup on my way over to the tables, then take my customary place right next to Will, who is already fussing over his two little patients with one last check-up. "You know, the whole point of keeping them inside was to make sure that they wouldn't need you checking them over, Doctor."

"Hush!" He waves his hand at me, a signal for me to keep it down and let him focus. It's kind of cute when he gets like this, and has provided many an opportunity for me to get revenge for the plethora of nose pokes he's given me over the years.

"Doctor Solace, I'm fine!" Ciara tries to bat his hands away, but to no avail, as he easily catches both of her wrists in one hand and holds them down.

He peers into her face carefully. "I'm sure that you are, but it doesn't hurt to double check." He squints a little, the way he always does when deeply focused.

Which gives me the perfect opportunity to do this. "Earth to Sunshine!" I flick him in the nose, startling him. He lets go of Ciara reflexively and scrunches up his nose with a sound of displeasure. I roll my eyes. "Don't even think about complaining. Do you know how many times you've poked, prodded, pinched, or otherwise messed around with my nose since we got together?"

"Fifteen thousand, six hundred and forty two." He blinks quickly. "Uh...I didn't mean to say that."

Kai leans away from Will. "You keep track? Do you have any idea how weird that is?"

"It's Will, so it's not that weird." I lean over and press a kiss to his cheek. "Okay, I guess it's a little weird. But that's just because he's special."

"In all the good ways, right?" Will's smile brightens significantly.

I try not to snort into my breakfast. "Yeah, let's go with that." Then, I look across the table to see Ciara staring at me. "Something wrong? Do I have food on my face?" I resist the urge to rub my sleeve against my face, just to make sure that there's nothing there.

She shakes her head slightly, tilting her head a little to the side. "It's..." She grimaces, leaning her head down so that it can rest on her palm. "I...Someone left a message for you...when I was..."

I frown slightly. "When you were what?" I've never seen her act like this before. So whatever is going on must be something big. "Did someone send you a message in a dream?" It's not like it hasn't been done before, in fact, many of the gods, both major and minor, like to send dream messages rather than risk breaking ancient laws by meeting face to face.

She nods slightly. "Yeah...but it was while I was still in the Underworld..."

The entire three tables stop talking, and every head turns to look at her. Of course, it's easy to figure out why. Dream messages are one thing, but to get a dream message while down in the Underworld is something on a whole other level of weird. Though while the location makes the message's recipient make more sense, I don't really understand why it would be sent to her, rather than to my brother.

I reach for her hand across the table. "What is the message? Did they threaten you over it?"

"No." She closes her eyes, and sways a little. "She...she said 'Il destino è inatteso. Il ciclo della rinascita è imprevedibile. Orologio sopra lei.'" My eyes widen with every word, because they're all in Italian. "And then, she said...'Ti amo, Nico. Non vi ho dimenticato.'" Ciara opens her eyes and stares at me like she's seen a ghost. "Who was she? And why did she look like you?"

For a few seconds, all I can hear is my heart pounding in my ears. 'Destiny is unexpected. The cycle of rebirth in unpredictable. Watch over her. I love you, Nico. I have no forgotten you.' There is only one person who would leave a message like that for me. Bianca...

I take a deep breath and watch Ciara's reactions carefully. "Did she tell you her name?"

She shakes her head. "No. She just said that she's me, but that I'm me, and that I'm her, but she's her. Or something like that." She winces slightly. "It's...kind of fuzzy..."

Percy, who has been sitting there in stunned silence this entire time drops his spoon. "That's impossible...she's too young."

Then again, it wouldn't be the first time that the Fates intervened in something for their own reasons. They seem to have a bad habit of manipulating things without letting anyone know. So who is to say that they wouldn't halt the cycle of a soul's rebirth for a few years, placing the soul where they want it to go.

Our silence, however, seems to be making Ciara rather nervous. "What's going on? Is it something bad?" Her brain must be really ADHD, because I can practically see her jumping to all of the wrong conclusions. "Am I possessed!?"

Eran snickers from down the table. "If you're possessed, I wanna do the exorcism." Sam promptly smacks Leo's brat in the head, and the little firecracker falls face-first into his plate of food.

But although Eran might be joking, the other kids are all looking at Ciara like they might need to come up with a plan for demonic exorcism fast. Caiden's eyes keep flicking to the Hecate Cabin, and I'm not sure if he suspects them of doing something, or is considering them as a possible solution. Either way, I should probably go ahead and clear up all of the misunderstandings.

And the best way to do that is to smile for her. "No, you're not possessed." I glance at Percy, sitting next to Ciara. "Would you rather me not tell her?"

Percy bites his lip, glancing first at Ciara, then at me. Then, he sighs. "No...go ahead and tell her. It's probably too late to do anything to stop her from asking anyway."

"Agreed." Now, how to go about it. "Well, I suppose that I should explain how souls can cycle through the Underworld." Kai's eyes widen, and he looks a little less worried now that I'm delving into familiar territory. "For those souls that believe in the Underworld, the Greek and Roman Underworld, there are...options for what happens to them after death. Those who deserve eternal torment are sent to the Field of Punishment. Those who simply make their way through their ordinary lives, just existing...they go to the Fields of Asphodel. And finally, for those who do good things in their lives, they have the potential of being sent to Elysium."

Ciara blinks, looking a little confused, so Kai rolls his eyes. "Think of it as Heaven, Hell, and a plane of death in between."

"Oh..." She nods quietly. But it makes sense that she would understand that, after all, she's been living around mortals for over a decade. She's still getting used to the way things are done here. "Okay, but what does that have to do with me apparently not being possessed?"

Something in her tone reminds me of my sister, which makes my heart ache a little. "What it has to do with you is that those souls that are sent to Elysium have the option of trying for the Isles of the Blessed. Think of it as the Underworld's party headquarters. It's like Elysium, but even better. And the three islands are locatedin the middle of a lake in Elysium."

"So...like 'Heaven's' VIP section?" She's making a good enough analogy, so I nod.

But there's still the most important part ahead. "Yes. And the way that you get there is by achieving Elysium in three separate lifetimes. You need to be reborn multiple times in order to meet the requirements for admittance. And two decades ago my older sister, Bianca di Angelo, died as a Hunter of Artemis. A few years later, she decided to try for rebirth, to gain admittance to the Isles of the Blessed. I'd thought that she would be reborn immediately, but according to your message, it would seem that was not the case."

For a few seconds her face remains blank. Then, the cogs start turning again, and her eyes widen. "Wait, so I'm..."

"Not exactly." Percy interrupts her quickly. "Regardless of whether a soul is reborn or not, their mind and their personality are unique each time, with maybe a few small elements or qualities common to each rebirth." His eyes crinkle as he smiles. "But...it would certainly explain why you're so attached to Nico. I did think it was kind of weird."

"Weirder than your obsession with blue food?" Jason prods Percy, obviously looking to start a fight, or at least a food fight. And the last time that happened, the dining pavilion was covered in cheese, guacamole, and salsa, because someone thought that it would be a great idea to have a Mexican night. Leo and Grover.

But as Percy moves to shove what's left of his breakfast into Jason's face, the younger son of Zeus frowns. "So wait, you're saying that in her past life, she was a child of Hades?"

Kai's fork stops halfway to his mouth, before lowering back down to his plate. It's a strange motion, but I pass it over and focus on McGrant. "In the past, yes. But now, she is a legacy of Poseidon and Athena." Judging by the way he said that, I'm fairly sure that he's at least aware that Kai has an interest in her, and after that comment, it's safe to say that Kai now knows that Will is aware of it.

Well...these next few years are going to be interesting...especially once Percy figures out what's going on. Not that I'm going to let anyone have their way with my goddaughter, even if one of them is my little brother. Of course, though hearing the message from Bianca was nice, it doesn't actually change anything, because now I can only adore the little girl even more.

Percy pushes Jason away and tugs his daughter into his lap. "Well I, for one, am very happy about this."

Jason raises an eyebrow and puts down his plate so that he doesn't dump it all over his son's newest friend. "Oh, and why's that?"

Percy smiles gently. "Well, it means that she's already gotten Elysium at least once. And while I'm hoping that she outlives the usual lifespan for a demigod, I'd be a terrible parent if I didn't care about what was going to happen to her after she outlives me." He presses his face into her hair, making her squirm a little. "After all, I only want the best for my little girl."

It sounds like there's a little threat hidden in that sentiment, though I can't be sure if Percy has seen what I have or not. He can be a real idiot when it comes to spotting romantic feelings. In fact, I think that Annabeth would have to sit him down and explain it with a diagram before he got it. Either way, I won't stop him if he thinks that the boys are getting a little too close to his still rather innocent little girl. Well, as innocent as you can be after using water from the Styx to drown an army of monsters. Kai was quite thorough in detailing what they found down there, not that he had much else to do but talk to me about what happened.

I watch Ciara turn a violent shade of red as she squirms and struggles vainly to get out of her dad's grip. And a smile crosses my face. I guess that Bianca is happy with how her new life has turned out. And I will definitely make things different this time.

I will train her and prepare her, and make sure that she is strong enough to live well past the age my big sister did.

This, I swear on the River Styx.