A.N: Walt won't be in this story, so act like he doesn't exist. Nico is gay, but with Anubis' and his souls connected, he may start to inhabit some of his feelings.

Chapter 3

"This is stupid." Nico muttered, going up to the large wall. "I don't want to meet them."

You have to. Anubis replied.

Nico sighed, kicking at the wall. "Hello? You going to let me in?"

You have to open it yourself.

"That's rude, to not let your hero in!" Nico shouted, ignoring Anubis. "You want me to break down the wall?! Fine!"

That's what I said earlier. Anubis commented, sounding amused.

"No, you said to open it. I'm going to break it." Nico thrust his hands out, feeling the obsidian in the door. Smiling to himself, he clenched his fists as he watched it shatter into a million pieces.

"Ha! Bet you can't fix that!" Nico crossed his arms, proud at himself.

Actually, they can.

"You know what, stop talking to me!" Nico yelled, glaring at the sky. "You don't get to talk anymore!"

"Mate, are you okay?"

Nico snapped his head up to see inside the building, seeing a girl and boy around his age. The girl, the one that had spoken, had a British accent. Her blonde hair was up in a ponytail, wearing an all white outfit except for her black combat boots.

"He broke down the door. He's probably a godling." the boy whispered. His skin was darker, but you could see minor similarities between them.

They're siblings.

"What did I just say?!" Nico grabbed his hair roughly. "Shut up." Having Anubis in his brain took every chance of control away from Nico. He thought about things less, so Anubis couldn't snoop, and couldn't control the urge to yell at the annoying jackal-headed freak. He knew something would need to change, but he wasn't sure what.

"Hey, why don't you come inside?" the boy said gently. "I know this is probably all confusing, but we can explain it to you."

"I don't need explanations." Nico managed, starting to calm down. "Just...you're Carter, right?"

The boy looked shocked before nodding. "Yeah, I'm Carter Kane. This is my sister-"

"Sadie." Nico finished. "Yeah, I know. Trust me, he won't shut up with facts."

Have you ever heard yourself speak?

Nico yelled out in frustration. "Can I mute you?!"

The girl laughed. "That would have been a handy tool with Isis."

She was hosted by Isis, while Carter was hosted by Horus.

"But they got away from their problems, didn't they?" Nico asked, yanking at his necklace but not pulling it off. He then turned to Carter, sighing. "Can I come in?"

Carter nodded, stepping away. Nico walked in, looking around the entrance hall uneasily. Egyptian gods had never been his favorites, nor the kindest. Now he was stuck in a mansion worshiping them.

Not all of us are that way. Anubis sounded hurt. I'll have you know I hate some of them almost as much as you do.

"Did I ask for your opinion? No, I didn't think so." Nico replied bitterly, turning to the two others. "I'm Nico di Angelo."

Carter nodded. "Are you hungry? It's about dinner time."

"Sure," Nico replied, frowning slightly. He followed them to a dinning room, other teenagers and kids seated around it.

The cat. Anubis sounded disgusted, growling slightly.

"Huh?" Nico looked up in confusion. Why listening to Anubis caused him to look up, he wasn't sure. It wasn't like he was hanging out above his head, looking down at Nico.

Carter stopped when he did, watching him carefully.

A woman at the head of the table stood up, glaring at him. "Why would you bring the dog in?"

Nico felt his body being taken over, Anubis at the reins as he crouched in a fighting position. "I'm not a dog, cat."

When Anubis talked, his voice came out deeper, his accent Egyptian. Nico hated the change to himself immediately.

The girl ran over to Nico/Anubis quickly, looking into his eyes. "Anubis?"

Nico felt like a backseat passenger as his body nodded to the girl before glaring again at the woman.

"Wait." Carter stood between them, looking at Nico. "Anubis, you have a host?"

Nico finally got control back, breathing heavily. "Stop talking like I'm not here. Anubis, do that again and I'll kill myself to kill you."

Then how would you win the war?

"I would find a way." Nico responded.

Sadie looked extremely happy for some reason, staying close to Nico. Carter gave her a disapproving look but kept his attention on Nico. "Anubis brought you here to help us?"

"Unfortunately." Nico agreed. "Can I talk to you privately?"

Sadie frowned. "Whatever you have to say, you can say it to me."

"Yeah, but that would include talking to you." Nico replied, trying to fight the feelings coming from Anubis' soul. That dog liked this girl, but Nico refused to give in to it.

Sadie suddenly had a staff in her hand, glaring at him. "What did-"

"Let's go." Carter grabbed Nico's arm, pulling him out. He led him to a bedroom, closing the door. "My advice, don't say stuff like that to her."

Nico shrugged. "Look, Anubis finds this all important so I guess I have to tell you."

Carter nodded, looking serious. "Okay. What is it?"

"I'm a Greek demigod." Nico blurted, knowing he couldn't sugarcoat it. "My father is Hades."

Carter stared at him for a second. "So you're a god."

Nico shook his head. "Half god. But now I have Anubis in me so I'm getting there."

Am not.

"Did I ask you?!" Nico screamed, his heart speeding up as his anger got the best of him.

Carter coughed into his hand. "Try to ignore him. He might go away."

Nico laughed without humor. "I tried."

"Okay...so you're half god." Carter accepted. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It should be impossible for an Egyptian god to take a demigod host, but because of my blood it works for me and him."

"So you're one of a kind." Carter summoned up. "People will try to get their hands on you."

Nico nodded. "You guys are the only ones I've told so far. Anubis and I made a deal, so we'll be working on both of our wars. So I won't be able to stay here long each time I come."

Carter nodded. "Understood. Do the Greeks need help?"

"Not Egyptian." Nico shot him down immediately. "But we'll be fine."

"A warning," Carter turned to leave but stopped. "I'm pretty sure Sadie likes Anubis."

Nico nodded. "I know."

Carter nodded. "If you and her...don't hurt her."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Never going to happen. I'm..." Nico froze, unsure what to say. Would Carter make fun of him? He had been updated on the current world and knew it was much more accepting than the world he was born into, but old habits died hard. Blurting a secret out was never going to be easy for him.

"You're...?" Carter looked at him in confusion.

Nico breathed out heavily. "I'm...not attracted to females."

"Oh,..." Carter nodded in understanding. "You could have just said you were gay."

Nico flushed in embarrassment, looking down. "That's the first time I ever said it."

Carter stopped his casual demeanor and looked at him closely. "Oh,...sorry. But nobody here will mind, so don't be afraid of it. There will be some jerks out there, but it's not like you can change it. I mean, I've had people been rude to me because of the color of my skin. That doesn't mean I'm going to hide it. It's who I am, and that's who you are. So don't be afraid of it."

Nico smiled softly after a second, every fear he had dying down. At least for now, anyways. Talking To Carter about it made him feel slightly better about the situation, even if he wasn't ready to tell anyone else. "Thanks,..."

"No problem. And this is your room while you're here, so feel free to sleep if you want." Carter invited, disappearing out the door.

Nico sighed, closing the door before laying on the bed. Had he really done what he just thought he had?

Carter's words, however, stopped him from worrying. For the first time, he didn't feel alone with dealing with problems like that. Carter understood the feeling of being discriminated because of who he was. Nico wasn't the only one.

Smiling, Nico slept soundly for the first time in months.