A/N: I said Dio was the one who forgot about Tartarus, but it was me, Rose.

'Dionysu…'

'Did you have a nightmare again?'

'What makes you think I did?' I walked over to the couch in front of the hearth.

Dionysus glanced up at the clock. Half past two A.M. 'Just a lucky guess.'

'Of course. How lucky.' I sat down next to him.

Dionysus snapped his fingers. A cup of tea appeared on the coffeetable. 'This is Morpheus' sleepy tea. It should be less intoxicating than Hypnos' sleepy tea.'

'And the god of intoxication can't be sure of that?'

'Tut tut.' He made a second cup appear, with a weird, thick substance. 'Now tell me about it.'

'Well, in the dream I was in a green valley. Nice and all, until darkness began to cloud around me. I saw a couple of weird faces again, with horns and red eyes and stuff. I ended up in Tartarus and there the voices were louder than ever, pleading me to come, or else.'

Thoughtfully, Dionysus stared into his cup. 'Was there more than one voice?'

'Yes.' I picked up my cup and held it against my stomach.

'Okay. That might be important for later, but you don't have to worry about it right now. What I think is more important is what you mean when you say Tartarus. You went there once, right?'

'Yes.' I looked into my cup.

'I can only assume it was a horrifying ordeal.'

'Yes, it was.'

He crossed his legs. 'Can you describe to me what Tartarus looked like to you?'

I had not thought about how there might be different ways of seeing Tartarus. Now that Dionysus told me, it seemed only logical. 'When I was there, it was very light, but dark at the same time. The ground was red, gray, brown and black. Every now and then, a monster materialised. There were a few dark rivers. Sometimes, they just appeared in front of me, even if they logically couldn't run where they were running. Sometimes it seemed like I was walking through someones' body.' I sighed. It made stressed me out to think about Tartarus. 'I only reached the doors of death after what felt like retreading the same ground over and over and over again.' I shuddered. 'It was positively horrific.' I took a small sip of my tea, which made we me feel slightly better.

'I reckon it was.' Dionysus stared into the fire. The flames were reflected in his eyes.

I took a deep breath. 'Whenever I think of Tartarus, I feel pure dread and emptiness. Going there was one of the worst experiences of my life. I could feel nothing but fear and misery when I was down there.' My heart rate increased and my eyes were getting damp. Slowly, I took another sip of tea. 'But I am also always reminded of the huge wave of relief that came over me when I was finally out of there. I still felt like like a smear on the pavement, or a broken house, but there was also so much relief. I was out there and I would make sure I would never go back. Never. Never.' I shook my head. Never? You'll come and stay forever. 'Never! You must understand, never!'

'Never. I understand.' Dionysus took a sip of his weird sustance. 'Do you think Tartarus is one of the main sources of your trauma?'

I shrugged. 'Well, when I have a bad dream, it is either about losing Bianca or about Tartarus. Sometimes I get a vision of Tartarus, too. It became less when I learned how to manage my thoughts, but it is still one of the things that haunts me and the most prominent thing the voices taunt me with.' Dionysus nodded. 'I honestly can't tell what I would do if it turns out that the voices really come out of Tartarus. I never want to go back there, but if there is no other choice…' There isn't.

'We have to think about what we are going to do about the voices.' He had been thinking about it before. I could see it. 'Yet, Nico, you are not going back to Tartarus. I am not saying that because you do not want to. I am saying that because it would be one of the worst things you could do for you mental health. You hear me? You are not going back to Tartarus.' His gaze got slightly darker. 'I'll take care of that myself if I have to.'

'Yes, okay. Okay. I get it.' I swiftly nodded a few times, to show that I got it.

Dionysus sighed. 'Good. Now, it is of utmost importance that you get some proper sleep.' He gestured at my teacup.

Like a good kid, I took a sip of the Morpheus tea. Then another one, and then I downed it all.

'Yes. Like that.'

'There is one more thing I wanted to say.'

'There always is, but go ahead.'

'While I was in Tartarus, I met Akhlys, the goddess of misery. After studying me, she told me I was perfect. That…' I shrugged. 'That is not a good sign, I think. Sometimes I wonder what she would say if I met her again. If she would still think about me that way. As perfectly miserable.'

Dionysus took a sip of his substance. A loud pop came from the fire. 'You are more than just miserable these days. I think, if you met her again, she'd still see a struggling young man, yet part of that struggle would come from trying to get better. I reckon she would not like that, but I and your dad and Will Solace and the other people who matter certainly do.'

I smiled. 'Thanks.'

'You should really go to sleep now. Come, leave. I've got something important to think about.'

'Yeah, yeah.' Quickly, I got up. Even though I had just spoken about one of the worst experiences of my life, I felt calm. I decided I liked Morpheus' tea. It made you feel better without completely numbing your senses. Like it might be easier to fall asleep. 'Eh… good night.'

'Good night, Nico.'

When he was gone, Ariadne came back. 'There is something on your mind.'

'I think Nico might be getting visits from the Elder Gods.'

'That is a bold statement.' Ariadne sat down on the couch. Dionysus pulled her into a hug.

'Hm. Could be worse. I have seen this problem before. Still, I want more information. Second, maybe even third opinions.'

She nodded. 'I tend to assume you are correct on this subject. Maybe you can ask Hades for his thoughts on the matter.'

Dionysus pulled her even closer. 'Right now I just need a hug.'

'That I can take care of.'

A/N: My pillow is from a store called Morpheus. They sell beds.

I thought Morpheus was less powerful than Hypnos, but I could be wrong.

The next few chapters will be part of this Elder God arc. However, it won't become some deep dark storyline. This story has always been more light-hearted or at least hopeful. It is a story about Nico's recovery and I would not want it any other way. So, yes, there is something going on, but also yes, it can and will be taken care of.