A/N: This update is for Max. I know, I know I've put this on the back burner while working on "This Is Home." I'll try to update this a bit more frequently but I can't make any promises! Thank you so much, though, for everyone continuing to support this fic!
Nico sat across from Alabaster, staring at him over the fire they had made for the night. The son of Hecate looked vastly better than he had that night outside of Redding. The ambrosia and nectar had done him a world of good. Once he could move, the pair ventured into the town of Redding and resupplied everything a mortal teenager could need.
From Redding, they had traveled West toward the coast. The days took on the same monotonous routine for Nico: get summoned, bully Alabaster into eating something, walk until one, break and more bullying about food, walk until dusk, make camp, more food, and, sometimes, some light-hearted talk. After that night about songs and intention, the two shied away from anything heavier than the weather and Alabaster's refusal to take care of himself.
"Have you always been this stubborn?" Nico asked after Alabaster sullenly shoved the last of a granola bar in his mouth.
Shrugging, Alabaster mumbled with his mouth full, "Don't know what you mean."
Nico rolled his eyes and asked the sky, "Is this punishment? I wouldn't take care of myself, so now I get to see what it's like from the other side?"
Alabaster scowled at him from across the fire. "I'm not refusing to take care of myself."
Nico raised an eyebrow and looked at the demigod.
The son of Hecate looked away, crossing his arms over his chest as he did so.
Nico studied him for a moment but decided to let the subject drop and delve into another one. One he wasn't particularly looking forward to having.
"So. What's the plan?"
The question caught the other boy unawares enough that the sullen look dropped from his face as he looked back to Nico. "What?"
"What's. The. Plan?"
Frowning, Alabaster opened his mouth and shut it before answering, "You know the plan. We're going to Rainbow Organic Foo–"
Nico waved his hand through the air dismissively. "No, no, no. Besides that. Beyond that. What are we doing after?"
Alabaster stared at Nico blankly. "What do you mean?"
Nico sighed gustily, frustration coloring his voice. "What's your ultimate goal? What are you doing? What happens after we get to the store? And stock up? Where are we heading, and what are we doing? What is our goal?"
As each question fell from Nico's lips, Alabaster's face grew darker. "It's none of your concern, alright? None!"
Staring at the other demigod incredulously, Nico shook his head. "It is my concern. You're dragging me into it, and I want to know what you're doing!"
A sneer twisted Alabaster's mouth, and he spat, "I'm not dragging you into anything. You're already dead, so what does it matter to you? It's not like you can die again."
The last words dripped from the son of Hecate's lips; he paled and slapped a hand over his mouth, regret already shining in his eyes.
Nico's lips twitched up into a mocking smile. "No, I suppose you're right. Can't die again. But, from my understanding, I can stop existing. Completely. Isn't that right?" Nico stood, tempted to kick some dirt into the fire but held back. "Why don't you get some sleep? That way you don't have to look at me or listen to me or anything."
Alabaster slowly lowered his hand from his mouth and nodded jerkily. He settled by the fire and, leaning against his pack, crossed his hands over his stomach. He stared at the night sky. Several minutes passed in silence until Alabaster's voice-hesitant and soft- sounded in the flickering darkness.
"I don't know what I'm doing. Or where I'm going. I'm...surviving, I guess. Been on the run from my sister. But..." The demigod stopped speaking.
"But what?"
"But nothing. That's the plan…we keep moving. That's it. We…we just keep moving." Alabaster's voice was faint and somewhat dejected.
Nico stared at the other demigod, mouth slightly open in surprise. "You just…you mean you don't have a plan? Why not go to one of the camps?"
But Alabaster was already shaking his head. "I'm not allowed. The gods banished me from camp."
"New Rome then. Go. They'd accept you."
"No. They wouldn't." Alabaster's voice was gaining in volume and steel. "I'm not allowed anywhere. It's the price I paid for supporting Kronos. And the reason I get to keep my life."
"So then…where are you going to go?"
Alabaster shrugged and wouldn't look at Nico. "Might go to the East coast, maybe. Or down South. I've never been to Texas."
"But–"
A rush of air left Alabaster's mouth and he turned onto his side to look at Nico, eyes hard. "Listen. I'm not like you, okay? I don't belong anywhere. There's no camp or legion or whatever that will have me. So just drop it, okay? It's not like I'm enjoying this or anything."
Nico sat stunned for a moment before he felt a smile crest over his face. Raucous laughter erupted from his mouth, and although it didn't hurt, he clutched his sides. Alabaster sat up and glared at the Mistform.
"You're not like me? You think I belonged somewhere? What…did you miss the part where I'm a son of Hades? Hades! I get mad and things around me die. Hell, if it wasn't for Will–" Nico abruptly stopped talking, the sudden ache in his chest sharp in reminding him of what he had lost.
"Who's Will?" Shadows danced across Alabaster's face from the flames of the fire. His expression, calm and neutral, didn't change when Nico shrugged.
"Doesn't matter."
"Why doesn't it matter?"
"Why are you asking so many questions?"
"Why won't you answer them?" Alabaster shot back.
"Because it doesn't matter."
"But why?"
"Because I'm dead! As you so nicely pointed out." Nico glared at the other boy, all joviality gone. "It doesn't matter who was in my past because I'm dead, and they're alive, and there's no changing it. None! So, what's the point in dwelling on it? That part of my existence is over. It doesn't matter anymore. I don't matter anymore."
The pair sat in silence, the only sound the crackling 'pop' of the fire. The night air hung dry and cold while the stars slowly moved across the sky. Eventually, Alabaster broke the silence.
"Ethan's dead. And Luke. All of the siblings I ever met. My dad." Alabaster grabbed a stick from the ground and prodded the fire until it whooshed upward. "Everyone I've ever cared for or loved is dead. And I think about them all the time. They still matter to me."
Nico remained quiet and still as Alabaster stared at him before shifting his eyes to gaze uncomfortably into the fire. Finally, the son of Hades sighed and walked over to take a seat next to the son of Hecate.
"Tomorrow. Okay? I can answer some of your questions tomorrow."
Alabaster nodded. "Sounds good. And... it's not that I don't want to have one—a plan. I just...I don't know what to do. Besides keep moving."
"Why don't you just jump yourself places?"
Alabaster frowned. "Didn't we already go over this? Pine needles. I don't have enough to do it every day. And, with my luck, I'd not have anything left over for defense when I needed it."
"But," Nico said. "Why not just do more of those energy things? I saw you do it in the forest that first day. You took it from one of the symbols on your clothes."
A spark of appreciation lit up Alabaster's eyes. "You're pretty observant. I store energy in the markings, but…cloth doesn't hold up very well against raw energy. Some do better– kevlar's the best I've found, but it's expensive."
Nico stared into the fire before exclaiming softly, "Bones."
"What?"
"Nothing." Nico shook his head and smiled crookedly. "I have questions and need to find answers. But, about your current predicament…."
Licking his lips, Nico asked hesitantly, "What if I told you there might be a way that you could get accepted back to camp? At least, a possibility? Would you take it?"
Alabaster turned his head to look at the Mistform of the former demigod before answering slowly. "Depends. I've already made some deals and decisions that cost me...well, everything. Not a fan of that happening again. So," Alabaster studied Nico intently. "What did you have in mind?"
Nico launched into an explanation about his quest from before his death: find and return Leo to Camp Half-Blood. "Maybe we can help each other? I still have an oath to fulfill-"
"Which is pointless." Alabaster sighed and rolled his eyes. "I told you that the other day, remember? Mistforms aren't held to oaths. Even ones they made before becoming Mistforms."
Nico glared until Alabaster held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, sorry. Continue."
"As I was saying before you needlessly interrupted: why not kill two birds with one stone? I needed to find someone before I died and I didn't. So we can find him together, and you can deliver Leo to camp. Surely that has to be worth something?"
Alabaster shrugged and stared back into the flickering embers of the fire with a forced look of indifference. "Maybe, but I doubt it. The order came from Zeus. Can't go changing his orders."
Nico's shoulders slumped slightly forward, and the son of Hecate looked at him out of the corner of his eye, his mouth quirking up on one side. "But, it's worth a shot, I guess. The worst that can happen...well, I guess many bad things can happen. But, hopefully, the worst that happens is they say 'thanks' and 'see ya!'"
Nico sat in an armchair across from Claymore. An open book rested in his hands, and he stared at the same line without seeing it.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Claymore's dry voice sounded amused.
Jerking from his reverie, Nico looked over to the man. "I was just thinking."
"That," Claymore stated, snapping his book shut. "Is obvious. About what?"
But Nico didn't respond. Instead, he set the journal on the table open-faced, much to Claymore's 'tsked' displeasure, and stood.
"What are you doing?"
Nico ignored the man and walked toward the door leading to dreams, the Mist, and the staircase.
"What are you doing?"
Nico reached for the handle and hesitated momentarily before opening the door and stepping forward.
Claymore stared as the door closed behind the boy, a disgruntled look falling across his face. He sniffed once and pushed his glasses further up his nose before turning back to his book. "Don't mind me. It's not like I was asking you anything."
Claymore shook his head and grumbled, "Teenagers." Then, he opened his book and continued to read.
Nico stepped from the threshold of the black door and into the dark meadow that led to dreams. He let the door snick shut behind him and then waited for several heartbeats before turning back to face the door. He licked his lips before speaking into the silence.
"Hecate, Goddess of Magic, Mist, and Crossroads. I would speak with you."
The silence held on and there was no answer from the goddess save a creak as the black door swung slowly open, showing not the sitting room and library but the stone church interior. Nico entered the seemingly empty church. He heard the vague whispers of prayer though it was in no language he knew. As he approached the front of the church, a black-clad figure appeared kneeling in front of the altar. Her face, as always, was obscured by a sheer black veil.
"Well met, Nico di Angelo." She did not rise or look at him.
Nico raised a hand to his forehead as if to tip a hat as he answered, "Well met, Lady Hecate."
"You have questions. I cannot guarantee I will answer them nor that my answers should be the ones you seek."
The son of Hades hesitated before taking a seat in a pew. "I want to know what happened to my body. To my bones."
Hecate's prayer did not falter, but her head tilted slightly. "And what use have you of your old shell?"
"Power," Nico began. "You should know better than a son of Hades the power to be found in bones and blood and sacrifice."
When the goddess said nothing, Nico continued. "I need them to help Alabaster. Your son. I think bones would weather storing power…energy…whatever it is he uses better than some scribbles on cloth and paper. And," Nico laughed, the sound subdued and short. "It's not like I'm using mine. So, unless camp came back for my body and built me a pyre, I'd like something useful to come out of my death."
Hecate turned fully back to the altar. "Your bones are unsuitable for the task of which you speak."
Nico scowled. "Why aren't my bones suitable? What happened to them? Were they damaged or something? Was I cremated?"
Only silence.
"Is my father against it? If that's the case, I'm sure if I explain the situation–"
"Your father cannot help you. And your bones cannot help my son. Why not find an animal to suit your needs?"
Glaring at the goddess, Nico spat out his reply. "I won't slaughter a helpless animal. I didn't do it when I was alive. I won't do it in death. No matter the need."
Hecate remained still and silent, the only noise the whispered prayer in yet another language.
A rush of anger coursed through the deceased demigod and he stood. "You know, I tried to convince Alabaster that some gods had changed– more than just my father. No wonder he didn't believe me– not when he has you as a mother."
Nico turned and moved toward the door, uncaring of his offense to the goddess. But Nico heard a soft laugh instead of a blow or dissolution of existence.
"Find your way down the stairs. Once you have passed the last step, venture just a short way out. You will find a ruinous church and a collection of graves lost to humankind. There you will find bones of my followers– dedicated and willing to sacrifice to me– their goddess. Take what you will. They should fill your purpose quite nicely."
Nico paused in the doorway, glancing back as he muttered a quick 'thank you.'
Before he could leave, the Goddess of the Mist spoke once more. "And Nico. Do not tarry. It is not yet time for you to pass beyond the Cavern of Fire. There may yet be more danger edging ever closer to the stairs as time lets the presence of barriers and divides fade. Do not tarry."
Nico turned to the altar, a question on his lips, but the church was empty.
Claymore let out an angry huff as he stumbled, tripping over his feet as he struggled to keep pace with the newest Mistform. "I don't understand why I needed to come."
"Because," Nico began. "I need you to help me dig and carry. Hecate made it seem like I shouldn't be down there long." Nico mimicked the goddess' dark and ominous tones and said, "'Do not tarry.'"
"But I don't–"
"Oh, give it a rest, will you? It's not like I'm asking you to kill a monster or anything."
The former mortal 'humphed' and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "No. You're just asking me to help you desecrate a grave."
"What's the matter, Claymore?" Nico grinned over his shoulder. "Afraid of going to Hell?"
Claymore didn't answer. The pair continued along the misty meadow with its glowing spheres of dreams until Nico abruptly halted. Interspersed between the smell of damp grass and salt from the sea came a musty still smell– air that hadn't stirred for years.
Nico shrugged as if to let go of the sense of foreboding emanating from the staircase. "Well. Let's go."
Claymore and Nico moved forward onto the steps and, haltingly, began their descent.
