Fragile

41 was right, Nico didn't have a pair, metaphorically speaking, of course. He could not acknowledge the bombardment on the Valley of Death, heck, he couldn't even muster the courage to ask about his own birthday.

Given the events of the day, he would expect himself to be fairly angry at his father, but, oddly enough, Nico could not bring himself to confront him. As if by some miracle, if he does not acknowledge the abandonment, the bombardment, they would all blow away like a long nightmare on a sunny morning. He couldn't push his father away at this point. Who else did he have anyways? No mother, no sister, not even the friends from his quests bothered checking on him. He wondered what they were doing at the moment, probably having fun at some campfire, singing all those hideous songs. Heck, he doubted if any one of them even remembered his existence… they had drifted away in time. What if he confronted his father, would he drift away as well?

When Nico recovered from his musings, he shook his head, trying to clear his mind of all the loose ends. He had been zoning out quite a lot recently, with his mind leaping from one thought to another, even the briefest exchange of words would leave him poundering.

Since when did the great hero of the underworld become such an insecure little brat? Since when did he start to concern himself with the opinions of others? Nico chidded himself, when had I become like that? Finding no answer in the darkness, he too disappeared from the cavern.

He appeared atop a hill overlooking the Valley of Death, an apt description of its current condition. The place was littered with craters still steaming from pools of immortal-killing poison. Charred bones scattered among gray dust created a virtual duple of the cavern below. Barren and desolate.

Taking a moment to survey the battlefield, Nico breathed in the cold dense air of the Underworld, and gathered the will needed to make his way down into the valley.

The smell only worsened up close, the scene more hideous, but Nico took no notice of it. He had only one objective. Approaching a pool of poison, he slowly drew the molten cannonball from the crater, forming it into a ghostly green dagger. He had no idea why he would need such a weapon, but he had a feeling it would be his last chance of ever laying hands on the poison.

The sizzling metal hissed at the contact with Nico's, he could almost imagine what effects it would produce on his skin.

Carefully, Nico carried the dagger to just on the outskirts of his father's palace, as close as he could risk. Gently, he buried his new weapon in a freshly dug hole before making his way into the palace.

Quite thankfully, Hades regarded Nico's return with a curt nod but remained silent. The two stared at each other for a moment, neither knowing what to make of the reunion. After a more than awkward period of silence, Nico walked upstairs and the matter was not mentioned again.

Nico dropped the question about his birthday.

The days past quite uneventfully, both Nico and Hades kept at their duties but their conversation was at a minimum. Thankfully, after Iapetus' demise the control of the Underworld fell solely upon Hades, who spent considerably more time on his duties, and to Nico's relief, away from him. While neither had been avoiding each other to maintain a facade of normality, they could both feel the uncomfortable silence that fell upon them whenever they met at the breakfast table, and ran on over the course of the day every time the two encountered. Nico didn't know how his father felt about this invisible barrier, but he sure as hell was feeling the burn. Despite his best efforts, his father was drifting away, and so was he.

To some extent, he was pretty relieved when he got the mission away from the Underworld, and he could tell his father was as well. There was almost a collective sigh of relief when Hades approved Nico's request to journey beyond the Underworld and investigate on decreased monster activity in the world above.

Once again, Nico was awed by the sudden appearance of the light. It was as if his time in the Underworld had been an eternity. Shakily, Nico took a deep breath and revelled in the feeling of brisk, open air; he had shadow-travelled into a monster-infested forest.

The woods were thick enough to conceal even the most giant of all monsters, but was eerily empty. There were numerous campsites left abandoned, bonfires occupied only by cold ashes, lonely tents standing at attention in the middle of clearings. Those monsters left not in a hurry, but left behind most of the bulky belongings, which puzzled Nico. He moved slowly, careful so as not to stumble into any caravan of monsters. He didn't like the eerie feeling the forest was giving him, it was as if something dark and ancient was lurking in the midst of those twigs and branches.

Five minutes later, he caught sight of some fifty cyclopes, a family pack, most probably, with two or three wee ones, who raced around the campfire with their thundering paces. Upon further reconoscence, he counted forty-six full grown cyclopes and three young ones, making a total of forty nine hostiles. They were in a makeshift camp, at least by his standards, complete with an abandoned watchtower, making them an easy target. But Nico was determined to investigate the absence of monsters, this particular group seemed almost ready to leave, and the older cyclopes were scurrying about, breaking camp.

Ducking under the shadows of bushes, Nico crawled as close to the camp as he could risk, just within earshot of an extremely loud female cyclops.

"MOVE IT! WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE AN HOUR AGO! AND TOMMY, STOP HITTING TIMMY!"

"BUT MOM, I'M TOMMY, HE'S TIMMY" Came another gruff voice, presumably Timmy, although this one was a bit higher pitched, in a sort of whiny tone that sounded hilarious. Nico realised this to be one of the younger cyclopes.

"TIMMY, GET OFF TOMMY BEFORE YOU HURT YOURSELF!"

"COME ON, MOM, I WANNA HAVE SOME FUN!"

"ENOUGH FUN AND GAMES, GO AND GATHER YOUR TOYS, WE ARE LEAVING!"

Nico listened through another few minutes of trivial conversation, although his mind had wandered off. He wondered if that's how normal families behaved, whether his mother ever chided him with love and care. I guess some people just don't get to have that kind of loving family, huh? He thought to himself, as a tight cold feeling gripped his heart. I didn't even know I could feel that way, shouldn't have this heart of his gone numb over these years?

"... ALRIGHT! TO THE LABYRINTH! DEMIGODS HERE WE COME! AND TIMMY, STOP BULLYING YOUR BROTHER!"

"I'M TOMMY!"

The Labyrinth! So that's where the monsters had been going. Nico had an uneasy feeling that these cyclopes were the least of the demigods' worries. The maze had been notoriously difficult to navigate, but if the monsters found a way to Camp Halfblood, they would overrun the demigods, as almost every one of the monsters on the East Coast had disappeared down the maze.

Nico followed the cyclopes at a distance, not really paying attention to where he was going. Only when he noticed that his surroundings went dark did he realise that he had gone underground. Immediately, Nico felt the familiar feeling of being in his element. The labyrinth was his playground, he could sense where each passage lead, and how many monsters there were in each.

I must warn father, his hand reached for the comms earpiece in his belt but stopped halfway. The word father stung him, during his brief time away from his father, he felt a little bit better, but every time his mind drifted to the matter, it still feels... awkward. He just wasn't ready to speak to his father again. His hand rested on the small earpiece for a moment, two, before finally leaving.

If I could stop the attack before it reaches camp, then I wouldn't need to speak to father. There aren't that many monsters, plus they aren't going anywhere soon. I can finish them off before anyone notice.

Satisfied with his conclusion, Nico set off to track down the closest groups of monsters.

His attacks were flawless, the tunnels bent to his will and the darkness shielded him. Few monsters even realised his existence before being cut down. To his surprise, there were far fewer monsters in his vicinity, far fewer than he had expected. Either they had already met their demise in the Labyrinth or they were far closer to Camp Halfblood than he had thought. Nico contemplating contacting his father.

Could I have been wrong? No, there is no turning back now. I have the situation under control, the other monsters are already dead.

Slowly, Nico stalked a group of cyclopes, the last group of monsters, the last ones he could sense, at least.

Even from afar, he could hear the clamor and disorderly yells of the gang, of them, one voice rang louder than the rest.

"TIMMY, GET OFF TOMMY NOW!"

"I'M TIMMY, HE'S TOMMY!"

"JUST STOP FIGHTING BEFORE I DISCIPLINE BOTH OF YOU!"

Nico felt a pang of guilt for attacking a community like this. His spear, that had pierce so many monsters over the day, felt heavy in his hands.

I need to finish the mission, no monster is allowed to set foot on Camp Halfblood! But one or two cyclopes wouldn't matter that much would they? I could tell them to stay away from camp, that would be fine, would it not?

A series of gasps stopped the clamoring hall, which was now covered in a layer of fine golden dust.

By the dim torchlight, Nico could make out three shivering figures, struggling to comprehend the massacre of their kin. The older cyclops held her children tightly in her arms, not that it would stop a spear, but to provide some final comfort, even if it was just for a moment.

But the spear did not come.

"Get out of the Labyrinth, and never come back."

Finally recovering from the shock, the little cyclops, turned his teary eye to Nico's looming figure.

"YOU KILLED UNCLE TIMOTHY! YOU KILLED UNCLE TIMOTHY!"

"HUSH, TIMMY!" screeched the mother, before turning to Nico apologetically, "Please let my children go, they are harmless, please, you don't know what it's like down there."

"YOU KILLED UNCLE TIMOTHY!" Timmy made a lunging motion, but was held back by his brother, who looked at him pleadingly, urging him to stop the shenanigans. But Timmy precisted. "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE FOR THAT!"

Nico had no idea who this Uncle Timothy was, probably one of the other cyclopes he killed earlier. He must've been a pretty good guy, to have the children react like that to his death. It reminded him of his mother, how she had been taken away from him. He felt bad taking the little cyclopes' family away. All the more reason not to cause further distraught.

"I've killed enough today, get out of here."

"LISTEN TO HIM." the mother urged, "THANK YOU, KIND SIR. THANK YOU FOR SPARING US." she sounded as sincere as she could, but her eye betrayed her true feelings: they were filled with pure venom.

"NO, HE KILLED UNCLE TIMOTHY! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!"

"NO, YOU HAVE NO CHANCE AGAINST HIM. HE'S THE ONE WHO TRAPPED YOUR FATHER IN TARTARUS!"

That caught Nico off guard, "What do you mean?"

"YOU WERE THE ONE WHO KILLED IAPETUS, RIGHT? YOU SEALED OFF TARTARUS!" The mother seemed provoked, as if realising her sorrow had been grossly overlooked by her tormentor.

Nico was at a loss for words, he had absolutely no idea that his victory over Iapetus had such implications. He knew that his father had full control of the Underworld, he was fully aware that the rest of the Titan Army would have a tough time escaping the pit. However, this, breaking up families and hurting the powerless, he was not prepared for. Had his father told him that monsters would no longer plague the mortal world, he would have felt better. But finding out through the victims of these broken families, that was a little too much. He had always thought himself to be cold and ruthless, but only to the strong, deep down he harbored a soft spot for the weak, and now, the spot ached.

As if sensing his moment of agony, the little cyclops, Timmy presumably dove towards him with a small dagger in his hands, followed swiftly by his mother, who struggled to hold the little one back, screaming at the top of her lungs.

It was too late.

Reflexively, swung his spear towards his assailant, and the next thing he knew that he was facing a pile of golden dust along with a wide eyed Tommy.

"Mother? Brother?" He reached out fanatically to grab the ashes of his family, but they blew away through his stubby fingers, away, into the darkness. All that remained was the small toy dagger of his deceased brother, which he clung close to his chest.

"Come back please…"

Nico didn't have the stomach to kill Tommy, he left him alone in the maze while he carried on his trek to Camp Halfblood. After the events of the day, he had lost the will to hunt down any more monsters.

He strolled absentmindedly through the maze, slowly making his way to Camp, trusting his senses to lead the way.

Boy, was that a mistake.