Every day that went by marked more and more of Nico slipping away. He could feel it all the time, the different powers mixing inside him to create something new. Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Italian... He wasn't sure he liked what they were making.

His powers never stopped getting stronger.

He wasn't sure if Reyna knew the complete truth, but on their way back to Camp Half-Blood she made it known that she knew something was up. He could travel efficiently, getting there in half the time it would have taken before. He melted in shadow multiple times, but he came back stronger.

Stronger, more power, stronger and stronger and stronger...

He felt like he was going to explode.

Most of the time, Anubis kept a barrier between their thoughts. But time and time again, some of Anubis's emotions would leak on through. Most of the time, it was fear.

But of what, Nico wasn't sure.

Was Anubis scared of him?

The battle against the Romans went by quickly once they got to Camp Half-Blood. Shadows used here, skeleton warriors used there. He never noticed that he wasn't losing energy, but Anubis did.

When it was time to take Octavian out, Will Solace stopped him from shadow traveling. Anubis could feel more of what the Fates wanted slipping away, but there wasn't anything he could do now. Instead of Will stopping him in fear that Nico wouldn't become solid again, he stopped him because he was terrified of his powers, terrified of what he would do to Octavian.

The fear wasn't irrational, not in the least. The first time Will saw Nico that day, Nico's right arm wasn't solid, mostly black in shadow. His left arm looked more like a skeleton than human. His skin, tight around his cheekbones, was paler than a corpse. Nico di Angelo wasn't the same boy he had seen at the Battle of Manhatten.

The first thing in Will's brain when he saw him was that a monster had suddenly appeared in front of him. Before he shot his arrow, however, Will had looked him over and found that he oddly recognized the face of that monster, and it wasn't a monster at all.

By demigod definition.

Anubis didn't talk to Nico, and Nico didn't talk to him, but he could feel the anxiety from the Egyptian god. And after seeing Will's reaction...well, Nico had some of his own anxiety. He hated that look, especially from the blond son of Apollo.

He wasn't a monster, he wasn't a monster, he wasn't a monster...

As the sky exploded in a sea of flames with Leo Valdez in it, all Nico could do was whisper those words to himself.

"I'm not a monster, I'm not a monster, I'm not a monster."

All the looks he got told him differently.

That night, his arms returned to normal but his heart didn't. As he packed a bookbag of clothes and toiletries, Will Solace knocked on his door for the tenth time. Weren't you supposed to leave monsters alone?

"I'm coming in!" Will announced after five consecutive minutes of knocking. He swung open the cabin door and strolled into the dark room, a medical bag slung over his shoulder. "Hey, Nico, how are you feeling?"

"Excuse me?" Nico's surprise took his filter away. He looked up from his bag and eyed Will closely, glaring the young medic down.

"I'm asking if you got hurt." Will didn't falter under his gaze. "So, did you? I noticed you were...um..."

"Not solid? Yeah, that happens." Nico admitted. "And no, I'm not hurt. Does it look like I came to the Infirmary? No, I don't think so. So you can leave now."

Let him help. Anubis didn't speak often anymore. You need to heal before traveling.

"I noticed you were wincing, back on the hill." Will explained. "So I brought supplies so I can help. Are...are you packing? Where are you going?"

"I need to go meet up with some friends." Nico zipped the bag up before throwing it aside. "I need to make sure they got through everything okay."

"Other friends? Why aren't they at either of the camps?" Will pried, stepping further into the cabin. "They could get hurt out there."

"They're loners, like me." Nico lied easily. "They've got it under control, I promise."

Will's words shocked Nico more than anything he had heard before. "Okay, I trust you. Now, will you show me where you're hurt?"

"Um...um...my arms..." Nico stuttered, his brain frozen. "Werewolf...claws...my shoulders..."

Will ran to his side and pulled the small shirt over Nico's head. "A werewolf?! Gods, Nico, why didn't you tell me before? These things are impossible to close!"

"Then why are you trying?" Nico asked, the sudden cold air on his torso bringing him back to reality. "You better not ruin my skin."

"Ruin your ruined skin?" Will laughed. "I'll try not to."

"Oh, shut up." Nico turned his head to watch Will's hands. "What are you doing?"

"Cleaning it out." Will took a syringe with water and sprayed it over the wounds. "You don't want any infections that'll take your arms off."

"Only you worry about that," Nico muttered, turning his head away. He could feel the tips of his hair scratch at his shoulders, reminding him that he needed a haircut.

"I'll check them again in the morning." Will explained. "I'll get them cleaned and wrapped up tonight. Can you wait to leave until after I stitch you up tomorrow?"

"I guess that's fine. Just come early." Nico agreed. "I want to get out of here as quickly as possible."

"You are coming back though...right?" Will asked. "I mean, I need to take the stitches out."

"I will when they need out." Nico sighed heavily. "Ugh, that's gonna get in my way."

Will smiled. "Then it's a pleasure to get in your way."