AN: ~Anything within these marks through the rest of the story is spoken in Italian~


Nico spied on the Hunters just as he had before, his eyes on Bianca and her worried eyes. Could he really let her march off to her death? She was so scared... Let them die, the prophecy had said. The Fates had warned him yet again to never make that mistake again. Bianca di Angelo was destined to die at twelve years old, she always had been. And it had to happen if this world was ever going to be saved.

He could feel Percy around him, invisible through some means. Annabeth's hat? He couldn't remember for sure, but it seemed like the son of Poseidon was also spying on the girls that night.
When they left, Nico turned to follow them but got stopped by Percy's voice, and deja-vu hit an all-time new record with him.

"Wait," Percy said.

Nico turned around to see he had taken the cap off. Play dumb. "Where did you come from?"

"I've been here the whole time," he said. "Invisible."

Nico nodded in acceptance.

"How'd you know Zoe and your sister were here?" Percy asked.

Nico sighed. "I don't sleep well. I was out walking, I heard voices. I wanted to make sure Bi's okay with all of this. She's nervous."

"And now you're thinking about following them on the quest?" Percy guessed.

Nico tried not to roll his eyes. No, he wasn't, but he needed Percy to go in his place. "What, and you aren't?"

"If they find you, they'll send you back," Percy said. "Bianca's the only one that knows you. And..."

"I'm not likable," Nico finished. "I know. I don't trust anyone, they pick up on that, they don't trust me back. I get it. But she's my sister."

"Nico..."

"You're planning to go, aren't you?" he asked.

Percy sighed. "Yeah. I have to find Annabeth. I have to help, even if they don't want me to."

He had always been a soldier. Nico would always respect him. He always fought until he couldn't, and he'd always fight some more.

"I won't tell anyone you went," Nico offered. "But you have to promise to keep my sister safe."

She's going to die, Percy. She's going to die in that desert and you're always going to blame yourself, but this is what needs to happen. I need to run off, Minos needs to find me, these things have to happen. I'm sorry.

"I...that's a big thing to promise, Nico, on a trip like this. Besides, she's got Zoe, Grover, and Thalia-"

"Promise," he insisted.

"I'll do my best," Percy relented. "I promise that."

Nico nodded in acceptance. "Then get going. Good luck, seriously."

Percy looked like he was thinking. "Tell Chiron..."

"I'll make something up," Nico said. "I'm good at stuff like that. I've got your back."

Percy put the cap back on and ran off, leaving Nico alone in the cold air. That last vision of his sister, that would be the last time he ever saw her. She was gone. She was never coming back.
He expected it to hurt worse, as he stood in the shower that night. He expected the pain to come like his past life. But it didn't. Maybe he was too used to it. Maybe he had already accepted it.


The second soul he picked up was in the depths of Tartarus. It was one of the mortals he had killed, a young man who didn't speak a lick of English but could understand the Italian that came from Nico. Nico had killed him quick, no pain, a sword through the brain. Almost immediately, he noticed the soul lingering next to the body.

He held his spiritual hand out, kept an eye out around him, kept his sword up and knife drawn. "Come with me. I can make sure Gaea never touches you."

It had been a week since he entered Tartarus, since the games began. His feet shuffled as he became antsy with standing still for so long.

Nico drew the spirit in closer, gave off any vibes of peace he had left in him. Cecilia also put some of hers out.

It didn't take long for the spirit to take his hand and join in his energy. Maybe he knew he had nothing left to lose.

What's your name? Nico sent the words through their link, having learned that worked better than anything when it came to communication with Cecilia. What can I call you?

He didn't answer, and Nico could barely remember him yelling in another language. So he tried in every one he could speak. Italian was what got through to him.

~What's your first language?~ Nico asked as he ran off again, went to find another victim, went to survive. He still couldn't get used to being in Tartarus without a monster in sight.

~French.~ It wasn't exactly his voice Nico was hearing, but a form of telepathic communication that he didn't quite understand. But it worked, it was discrete, he could handle it.

I've always wanted to learn French! Cecilia cut in. Nico could feel her walking beside him, and a small silhouette of mist could be seen. She was getting stronger in this new role, whatever you could call it.

~Who is that?~

Nico sighed as he spotted his next target sitting beside a tumor. ~That's Cecilia. She's like you. Unfortunately, she doesn't speak Italian or French. What's your name?~

~Lance.~

Nico jumped on the man and stabbed the knife through his heart. Cecilia, that's Lance. He only speaks French and Italian.

Maybe he can teach me, Cecilia offered.

Maybe. Nico waited for the spirit to arrive, to linger over the body, but none ever came. His spirit moved on, went to wherever Gaea's taking them. Dammit.

He ran from the corpse and continued on his way. He would need to make a trip back to the Phlegethon soon. ~Lance, I am the Protector of Souls. I'm going to protect you and Cecilia and whoever else we can find. You're safe with me. I'll never let Gaea touch you.~

~Why'd you kill me?~

For the next hour, hacking and killing and drinking fire, he told the same story to Lance as he did to Cecilia. He told him about Gaea, about demigods, about his father's death and all the battles they had tried to keep Gaea at bay with. He told him about the incentive Gaea gave him, the possibility to go back and fix everything. And he knew there was no excuse to kill, but he didn't have morals anymore.

~As I said,~ he finished, ~I'm never going to let Gaea touch you. Either of you. You're safe with me.~

He needed to keep fighting, not only to go back and fix everything but to keep that promise.


The day Bianca died, Nico's hearing went out for five minutes. That blast in his ears, the feeling of her soul slipping away, one tear sliding down his cheek and nothing more. She was dead.

Bianca di Angelo was dead. Again.

That night he had the nightmares he remembered all too well. Her soul in line, that long line, the others about her. The Underworld looked just as he remembered. When he woke up, part of him wanted to go see his father, to hug him, to apologize for anything he had done to him in the past. But he couldn't. Not yet.

Bianca was dead.


The day they came back from the quest, Nico was sitting in his room with the door shut and the lights off. He would have to come into that meeting at the perfect time and act like he didn't know his sister was dead.

Once he was sure they were in that meeting with the door closed, Nico crept down there and listened in. Everything sounded normal, the quest seemed to have gone how it was supposed to.
When it seemed to be about time, Nico knocked on the door and poked his head in. The talking stopped as he noticeably looked around for a girl he knew he wouldn't find.

"Where's my sister?"

Some more silence. Percy and Chiron exchanged a glance before the former rose to his feet.

"Hey, Nico," Percy said. "Let's take a walk. We need to talk."

Nico followed him outside and knew what was coming. He would need to act upset. He would need to raise that skeleton.

His father would be even more aware of his power.

They stopped in the dining pavilion. Nico stood across from him as he explained what had happened, how Bianca gave up her life, how she died. Nico stood in silence and stared at those green eyes.

"She wanted you to have this." Percy took the Hades figurine out of his pocket and held it out.

Nico took it and stared down at his father. Damn, did he miss him. And damn, did he miss Bianca. And he had to say the words he knew would hurt Percy Jackson.

"You promised you would protect her."

They stung. Nico could see it in Percy's face.

"Nico," Percy said. "I tried. But Bianca gave herself up to save the rest of us. I told her not to. But she-"

"You promised." Nico's voice was deadly calm, was too cold. Percy flinched back.

Nico looked down at the figurine again. "My nightmares were right." This was the first time he hinted at his true parentage. This was how Percy Jackson put it together. He threw the figurine at Percy's feet and felt the shadows dance around.

"Nightmares?" Percy asked. "Nico, she might be alive. She-"

"She's dead," Nico clarified. "I saw it, didn't want to believe it. She's in the Fields of Asphodel, standing in front of the judges right now, being evaluated. I can feel it."

"What do you mean, you can feel it?"

Nico felt the stirring in his gut as the chasm started to open. He wanted this over he wanted this over he wanted this over...

He meant to only raise one. He wasn't sure how many it had originally been. One would have done it, he knew that. But five rose out of the ground with swords drawn.

Nico took some steps back. Percy drew Riptide and stepped in front of him, protecting him even though Nico was so much older.

"Run, Nico," Percy ordered. "These things can't be destroyed."

Nico felt his hand inching towards his own blade. His blood boiled and his limbs screamed to fight.

A skeleton charged at Percy. There were too many. How many were there supposed to be? How many...this was too much...he needed to fix it he needed to fix it.

"Go!" Percy yelled. He started to fight the skeletons but didn't have the experience needed. They kept reforming every time he actually got one down.

He needed to fake the panic. He needed it to seem like he didn't know what was going on. Think of Tartarus, think of seeing Gaea awake for the first time, think of seeing your father die.

"No!" Nico screamed. He took another step back, tried to hold those flashbacks off but could feel them creeping in...creeping in...slipping through those cracks in his mind...

Percy rolled out of the way just in time. The ground swallowed the skeletons with one large crunch, leaving only silence in its wake.

Tartarus was laughing in his ears. Gaea was nearby. That mansion he had found his way through was now his living mind.

Percy looked over at him in disbelief. "How did you...?"

Nico took off running for the woods, mere muscle memory keeping him on track. They were coming they were coming...

He didn't remember making it into the Labyrinth. The flashbacks had already taken hold of him, this time purposely induced but still unwelcome.


He must have passed out at some time and slipped into a dream. But it wasn't like any other nightmare, but a demigod dream like he used to get. He could see Percy, Grover, and Annabeth walking through the woods, most definitely searching for him.

"We have to tell Chiron," Annabeth said.

"No," Percy disagreed.

"Um...what do you mean, no?" Grover asked.

"We can't let anyone know," Percy said. "I don't think anyone realizes that Nico is a-"

"Son of Hades," Annabeth finished. "Percy, do you know how serious this is? He someone skipped out on the prophecy. This is unheard of."

"Or he turned sixteen before the prophecy was said."

Annabeth stopped walking and turned to Percy. "What?"

"He's their dad," Percy clarified, "but they've been out of commission for a long time, since before World War II."

"The Lotus Casino!" Grover added in. "We were talking with Bianca on the quest. She and Nico were stuck there for decades. He could have been sixteen before the oath and prophecy were made."

"But how did they get out?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't know, but he was this age when they got out," Percy said. "Bianca said a lawyer came and got them out, then they took different modes of transportation to Maine. I don't know who that could've been, or why. Maybe it's part of this Great Stirring thing. I don't think Nico understands who he is, not fully. But we can't go telling anyone. Not even Chiron. If the Olympians find out that Hades was hiding kids from them-"

"It might start them fighting among each other again," Annabeth said. "That's the last thing we need."

"But you can't hide things from the gods," Grover said. "Not forever."

"I don't need forever," Percy said. "I need two years for this prophecy is finished. Then things will be easier."

It went dark for some time, then Nico was watching Percy talk to Chiron, telling him some bullshit story about his disappearance. Chiron looked paler than before.

"Such a talented young man..." Chiron looked to Percy. "You had a chance to spar him?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Percy asked.

"I wasn't far, I took notice. I was curious about our guest." Chiron rested his chin on his hand. "Did you pick up some tricks from him? You learn quickly, I'm sure you took note of some things."

Percy nodded. "Where do you think he learned so well?"

"I'm not sure." Chiron looked right at Nico, though Nico had never known him to be aware of dream-walkers before. "But I trust him."

Nico jumped to his feet as soon as his consciousness came back. He pulled his sword and looked around, found he really was in the Labyrinth after all.

And Minos was in front of him.