Disclaimer: What? Me? Own PJO or HP? No.

~Of Colors and Decisions~

000 Alisa 000

I wake up to a flurry of red and gold. Gods, my head is throbbing. The colors blurred together in my still-half-closed eyes. Probably the Gryffindor common room, I think as I re-close my eyes. The headache thumps under my eyelids and I feel like shit. I'm already awake so I knew there probably wasn't any chance of falling back to full sleep mode so I survey my surroundings as best as I can without vision. Because vision hurts like shit right now.

The first thing I notice is that under my head lies something that definitely isn't my pillow. For one, it just moved, and another, I could feel denim scratching the base of my neck lightly.

I open my eyes, a bad mood for two reasons. One, headache. And two, instead of colors, black-and-white greets me. A yelp catches in my throat and I force it down before it comes out. I blink and the colors come back. Blink. Grey-scale. Blink. Colored. Blink. Grey-scale. Did I mention that I'm an idiot for blinking so much? Gah, my head hurts.

Shit, I think, did that voice do this?

I don't see any mystical threads of fate but that may be because I'm lying down.

I take a few seconds to adjust to the color-switching and blink into full-color mode to finally survey my surroundings and figure out just who am I sleeping o-

Oh, it's Nico. Of course it is. My heart starts thumping again. Keep your goddamn cool. You have a fucking horrendous headache, and your heartbeat's just making it worse.

I wait for him to notice my... awakening? That sound too cool to be a word for me waking up after a delirious drunk-babble into a retarded magical hangover. Anyway, he doesn't respond at all to my eyes opening so I reach out and... stretch his cheek. Don't ask me why, I just really, really wanted to for some reason. Plus, my mental capabilities are still in hangover mode.

I realize he's asleep because he just mumbles incoherent words instead of pushing my hand away and asking what in Hades was I doing pinching his cheek like a weirdo aunt. I look around and see that nobody's in the room. Strange. I look outside and it's dark. Like, really dark. Even the lights in the common room are dim and that's when I realized it's probably around 3 in the morning. Too late for any Hogwarts nightcrawlers, too early for the ones who wake up before sunrise.

I push myself up, flinching slightly as the throbbing responds to my movement. I settle myself on Nico's lap and the world is gray again. I examine the thread around my pinkie, it rings around my finger twice and pools in the space between us before twirling twice around Nico's finger. I have to decide soon... I think to myself, but really, I've pretty much already decided. I'm never gonna let anyone die on me again.

Nico's shirt's loose and baggy, revealing a bit of his collarbone. His arms are crossed under his chest and his head is bowing forward. Probably not the most comfortable position to sleep in, but he did it for me. I smile sadly and turn so that I facing him. I lift his head and make it so that his forehead touches mine.

I could see everything from this perspective.

The soft lines of his eyelashes contrasting against his pale olive-ish skin. The strands of hair that curled around his face. The sharp lines of his jaw and the soft flesh of his lips.

My eyes prickle as I reach out and wrap my arms around his neck. I bury myself in the hollow, my lips touching the top of his collarbone. Something warm and wet stains his cool skin and I realize tears are dripping.

"I'm sorry." I whisper to him, knowing what I'm about to do is going to leave a hole in his heart, "I'm sorry, Nico."

I retreat slightly and press a kiss against his lips. "I love you, and I know this is going to hurt you more than it's going to hurt me."

I stand in front of him and place my palms against his temples. Slowly, I command the shadows around us and I wrap us in the darkness and the realm of the night. Here I had power to control everything. Here, my strength lies.

Here, I will stop Nico from following me when he wakes up, or at least delay him enough so that he can't stop me in the end.

I laugh a little and whisper, "You're going to hate me for this."

Tentacles that I've gotten used to using wrap around his limbs and neck. Slowly, I drain his power. The tentacles pulse with energy, and I retract them before they kill him, but only before I became sure that he won't have the energy to travel.

I command the shadow realm away and leave Nico on the couch. I press one last kiss against his cheek and climb to my room.

I change into a comfortable outfit. A simple shirt and sweat-pants with my jacket tied around my waist. I also put my hair in a tight bun. Finally, I take off my necklace-sword and wrap the chain around my wrist. It'll be much easier to summon like this.

I decide to take a backpack and fill it with some ambrosia, nectar and some normal food. A single change of clothes and my mom's amulet is placed on the bottom, underneath the god and human food.

I'm about to leave through the window when I decide I might as well take my wand with me. Magic costs little energy, much easier to use than the shadow-tentacles. I'll need it after I leave the castle.

Finally ready, I dive out the window and make a Shadowtravel-portal right before I hit the ground. I find myself in the outskirts of Hogsmeade when I get out of the portal.

I walk apparate a mile away from there and sit under a small patch of trees I find. I close my eyes and try to contact the snake-voice.

Hey, hissy, are you there? I ask in my thoughts.

The eery laugh echoes and he answers, You have decccided well, child, now are you ready for my inssstructionsss?

Yeah, yeah, I say to him, tired of his strange speaking-manner, just tell me what to do.

Very well, he says, go to the Underworld.

Can you just answer one question for me? I ask him.

Fine, he says in a voice with an undertone of confusion, what is it?

You're Voldemort, right? I ask him. I figured it was him when I thought about our conversations. Though he didn't really reveal himself, it doesn't take a genius to notice.

Yes. Yes, I am, he says, and yet you still follow me, child?

Yeah, I say as I prepare to Shadowtravel to the Underworld, You'll be beaten too, someday, so as long as Nico's alive, it's fine.

He laughs again, You're very blunt. It intrigues me.

I shrug, You're in my head, whether I say it or not, you'll know.

True, he muses, In different circumstances, child, I feel that we might've become companions.

Maybe, I say, but we're not. Right now, I'm your errand girl and we're going to the Underworld.

And with that, I jump through the now-ready portal-to-the-Underworld. You can cue the death march now.

A/N: And I'm back! Final stretch is in view, everybody! I'm both sad and happy, right now. I've been meaning to end this 'cause my Muse has been spouting so many story ideas lately. I think I'll explode if I don't write them soon, but for you guys, I'll hold it off until ATB is done.