My conversation with Jessie did nothing to settle my nerves. How could she be leaving now? I was still angry when I confronted Nico again.

"You came back," he stated but his tone was...off. My skin prickled along my spine.

"Right." I didn't know what to say. "I have rounds to do." I started gathering the books I had left behind.

"All this talk of Leo. Piper and Jason are out there looking for him. I hope they are well. My father doesn't suffer cowards lightly."

"I'm sorry, what?" Surely I heard him wrong.

"Neither does Aphrodite. Although a lot of people make that mistake."

"I don't think so. You need to explain what you just said."

"I said what I said."

"You are not getting out of this one. I've just realized how naive I am being. You know exactly what you are saying."

"Well bully for you."

"I came back here to reassure you and this what I get. You're just being mean. I get it. Last week was worse than Tartarus but come on. I won't be spoken to like that."

"I'm mean because no one else is going to try!"

"Whatever that means."

"You've guessed already and still you can't understand."

"You're right. I can't understand and I'm sorry. But you're testing my limits."

"Are you afraid too? Go ahead and run then. We are used to it."

I almost laughed. "Like no one has ever tried to manipulate me before."

"You wanted to know. This is what you came looking for. I am the son of Hades."

I shook my head. I shouldn't have even engaged. The things he was saying were becoming more erratic.

"So you would start something and then not finish it? You are the real coward here. I need you. He needs you. And now you're just going to leave because it got scary?"

And just like that he drew me back in. I struggled with myself for a few seconds. On the one hand the ethical dilemma he posed with my potential incompetency; on the other hand there was my latent curiosity as a healer and a doctor and I just really, really wanted to go there. Also, if this was just dissociation and not psychosis than I could be more useful to him.

"I was joking when I said it before-"

"Were you really?"

I thought about it and decided, "Maybe I was. I have a feeling I was talking to Nico the last time I was here and now I'm talking to the son of Hades."

"I knew you would get there eventually."

"So why are you so mean though? It's unnecessary."

"I'm not mean. I have teeth and I know how to use them. One of us has to."

"Are there more?"

"There are. There were, I should say. There is no longer a use for them so his father already took them. The Ghost King came back two weeks ago but now he's asleep again. He served his purpose."

"The sleepwalking incident. That was the Ghost King?"

The son of Hades nodded, looking pleased. "I was trying to sleep and he woke me back up. I protect Nico; I make the tough calls; I do the things he cannot do. He thinks I'm wrong. He thinks he can handle it and we've been fighting since that night but last week I finally broke him."

"But you didn't have to put him through that."

"Oh please," he practically spat at me. "He needs me. He needs others and that was the only way to get him to admit it."

"He is stubborn," I admitted. "But what about the Ghost King?"

"Don't talk about the Ghost King."

"Okay, I won't mention that name again but I need to know anyway, just in case."

The son of Hades regarded me. "Bryce Lawrence challenged the Ghost King and he found out."

"What does that mean?"

"It's not really important."

"Nico's never mentioned anyone named Brian. Who is that?"

He smiled maliciously and chuckled. "Brian..."

The temperature in the room dropped noticably. I wanted to know more but I was finding it harder to stay on topic. I told myself that it was the ADHD and moved on. "Let's talk about Leo then? Can you really do that?"

He shook his head vehemently. "That has nothing to do with me. He's the True Believer."

"But it is true. He can bring people back like that too? Not just summoning zombies and eurynomous?"

"A horde of eurynomous would be useful right now," he said, smiling at me but it wasn't a mean smile this time. He was only teasing me. So I returned it.

"Piper and Jason. You need to explain that."

Nico sighed. I was already noticing the subtle differences between them. There was even some cohesion, cooperation among the conflicting personalities. "I can say for sure one of them is a coward but I couldn't say which. But as long as the other remains with them, they will be tarred with the same brush."

"If what you're saying is true than that's unfortunate but it's not on you. It's on them. Besides maybe everything will be alright. What do we really know?"

"Maybe." He didn't look convinced.

"You never answered me about Leo."

"I honestly don't know. All I can say for sure is that he is not being punished."

"That's a relief. Octavian?"

He made a disgusted face but then just looked disappointed. "He was misled by Apollo."

Not a comforting thought. But who am I to judge? "Luke?"

"My father doesn't suffer cowards lightly," he told me again.

"Michael Yew?"

Nico went pale. The personalities flipped back and forth almost too quick to keep track. Finally, he said, "He was an artist forced to the front line in a war he didn't ask to be involved with and got swept away."

Did that mean Asphodel? I didn't want to ask.

"I went looking for him a few times and-"

"No. I don't believe it. If Octavian can end up in Elysium than so did Michael Yew. They're both my siblings, like it or not and I know what I'm talking about."

He started to protest but I gave him my meanest look. He then laughed at me and I had to as well. "You're probably right. I'm sure my dad was able to find him and bring him to justice."

"We'll talk about it more later. A lot more. How do you feel about the situation?"

Nico waved his hands around. "He thinks I need him and he's wrong. I was doing fine before he interfered. He almost killed me trying to bring the Athena Parthenos."

"The way he tells it, that was someone else that's gone now."

He clicked his teeth. "Maybe. He is the god and I am the mortal. So we're stuck together." He gave me a look as if he was deciding something.

"It's not like that for the rest of us. We are just demigods. There's no separation."

"I know. It wasn't always like this. You might want to sit down."

"Why," I asked, even though I was sliding into a chair by the door.

"I'm going to put you to sleep, okay? Give you some dreams." He was cautious, maybe even frightened.

"You can do that too? I thought that was a Morpheus/Hypnos schtick?"

"My dad is the lord of the Greek Underworld. I can do whatever I want." A bold statement. I was beginning to really like Nico.

"I trust you." I made sure to make eye contact.

He touched my hand.

The heat was intense. I nearly choked on it just trying to breathe. I had been in a dark place as long as I could remember. Now everything was far too bright.

Next thing I knew I was leaning on a balustrade over looking a giant arena. Below Percy and Jason were fighting two garish giants.

"Percy..." Nico moaned behind me. "Percy!" I never liked that guy, even less after he killed my brother Michael. Now I had cause to hate him. I turned my back on both of them and focused on Nico.

He looked terrible, starved, dehydrated and just unwell. Not that he was the picture of health now.

"Forget that Percy," someone said. I had been so preoccupied with Nico that I only now noticed someone that almost looked like Mr. D. I figured it might be Bacchus. " I can help you."

Nico looked at him, made eye contact. 'This is it. This is when I was born,' the son of Hades whispered to me. Nico's eyes rolled back and he collapsed back into his seat. A tremor went through his body but it was nothing like the seizures from the previous week. The person that woke up was another entity altogether. I suppose it was one of the others the son of Hades warned me about.

I was back in the private room in the infirmary. It was just me and Nico now.

"Chiron says I made the right choice turning myself in," he said, miserably. "He said it was best for everyone. I'm the dangerous one and Mama always said I'd end up in the asylum."

"This is not the asylum, Nico. Things are different now. For one thing, we could get married if we wanted to."

He blinked; looked at me in disbelief. "What?"

"It's real. Gay marriage is completely legal now." I leaned back in my seat. "But I haven't changed my mind. What you need right now, is a friend and not a boyfriend. If you want to call me a coward then go ahead. Your dad seems capable of assessing a situation without your involvement."

"But you would marry me," he teased.

"I would. Years from now, when I have my own practice and you're well enough to enjoy it with me." Now that I had a more clear understanding of the situation.

(Author: I feel like DID as a condition needs a better representation than M. Night Shamalyn would give. I hope I am able to give it justice.)