A/N I found this chapter really hard to write; I'm sending you all ice while I drop my writer's block on your feet. I blame my English teacher: she wants us to write a piece of fiction about going to a new place, and it has to be realistic. So no fantasy, which is of course what I'm decent at writing...

But I did my best with this chapter.

"Will, I said I'm sorry. Please don't do this to me. Please." Nico prayed that Will was just mad at him; something he'd never wanted before. He couldn't comprehend the alternative.

But something about Will's eyes convinced him. They were the same shade of pale blue, the same size, with the same yellow fleck to the left of the pupil; but they held none of the things that made Will, Will.

"Really, Mister, I have no idea who you are. Now, if you won't let go of me, I will have to call the police..."

"Will..." Nico whispered.

This couldn't be happening.

He dropped Will's sleeve, and the blond backed away a step.

There had to be something he could do...

I'll settle for getting him back to the hotel, he decided.

Grabbing Badger by the wrist - "Hey!" - Nico lunged forward again and got a firmer grip on Will's elbow - he jumped sideway into the shadows.

"The hell!" Will gagged as they reappeared in their rented suite. He looked around and frowned. "Oh, gods, this is bad. Let me go!"

He took a step towards Nico and raised his fist threateningly. Badger whimpered.

I can't let him hit me like this - for one, he'll break his hand: that's not how you make a fist.

He couldn't let Will rampage through the hotel, shouting about kidnap and magic...

And Will was scaring Badger, who had curled up behind the sofa, his arms over his head.

"Sleep."

"I'm not falling fo-" Will blinked once, then crashed to the floor.

"It's okay, Badger. You can come out now."

The brown haired boy crawled out of his corner and looked at Will. "Is he going to be alright? And can you teach me to do that?"

Nico chuckled emptily. "Hypnokinesis? One of the things related to Hades, so probably not... and he'll be f-" he took a deep breath to steady himself -"fine. The people at camp will know how to fix- how to get his memories back."

Barber's grey eyes widened. "When are we leaving?"

"I'd shadow-travel us there -what I just did to get back here - but I don't have the energy. We'll leave now and sleep in the car. Re-"

"We can't go yet!"

He looked at the younger boy. He was shaking slightly.

"Why not?"

"I can't leave Snake behind!"

Nico took another deep breath. There didn't seen to be enough oxygen in the room that night.

"Who's Snake?" He ground out.

XxX

When Badger finally returned a whole two and a half hours later, he was leading a girl slightly shorter than himself. Her hair was stark white under a layer of grime, and hung limply to half way down her back. It was slightly curly, and the nails on the hand that was holding Badger's were bitten stumps.

He led her to the sofa opposite the one that Nico had placed the sleeping Will on, and she sat down. She made no move to study her surroundings.

Overconfidence is a serious flaw in a demigod, Nico assessed.

Badger gestured to the girl proudly. "This is Snake, my sister. Snake, meet Nico. He and Will saved me and they say they're going to take us to a new home! Will's sleeping - say hello, Nico!"

Why did he tell her that Will was asleep? It was obvious that he was sleeping...

Nico said hello, and Snake nodded in his tough direction. "Badger? Why am I here?" Her voice trembled slightly: she was clearly afraid.

Badger cast a look at Nico that clearly said, I need you to explain.

"Okay, but if I explain," Nico responded, "am I going to find myself arguing with anyone again?"

Badger had the decency to look abashed. "No. But some stuff might fall off the shelves... maybe..."

Nico sighed, and started talking. It took the better part of an hour, and a few things did indeed wobble and fall from the shelves as he spoke.

Interesting.

He finished with a plea. "Will you look at me, Snake? Look me in the eye?"

Badger drew in a sharp hiss, sounding more snake-like than Snake herself, and started moving towards Nico as though he meant to attack; the girl held up a hand to stop him.

She raised her head in the direction of Nico's drawn face.

After Nico had sent the siblings to wash, he paced the lounge. Things were getting complicated. He had an unconscious boyfriend who remembered only his own name and nothing about Nico, his siblings, or his life; two new, powerful and possibly dangerous siblings that he had a feeling he knew which cabin they belonged in; not enough energy to use his power for anything more than summoning a small cat - it was running around by his feet, its tail vertebrae clicking and shimmering in the light cast by the lamps; and no idea what to do.

At least he had Jules-Albert to take him, Will, Badger, and Snake back to camp. He didn't think he could cope with walking, and he definitely wasn't about to try the same thing as he had done with the Athena Parthenos...

His thoughts drifted back to Snake, and the dead cat wound itself around his feet. It could clearly sense his discomfort and pity for the silver haired child.

She would soon learn to control her power - her and her brother both - and the two would protect each other at camp, and anywhere else, Nico could tell.

But she would be a liability on a battlefield. She wouldn't shoot a bow, and a sword too would be hard for her to master. She wouldn't see the sun rise over the cabins, and she would have trouble navigating the cluttered, chaotic camp for months.

Because when Snake had raised her head to look at him, he had understood in an instant why she had not studied her surroundings; why she clutched Badger's arm so tightly. He understood why it had taken so long for them to get here, and why Badger had told her that Will was here and sleeping.

Where her eyes should have been, there was only skin stretched over empty sockets; for Snake had no eyes.

She was blind.

A/N I needed to add Snake. No-one has managed to figure out their parents: please do try!

Oh, Badger is 8, and I think Snake is 7; they have the same parent though.

So... what do you think? Please do review me!

~Fi