Chapter 33: "I need silence, and to be alone and to go out, and to save one hour to consider what has happened to my world, what death has done to my world."

A/N: This one's for you, Nick.

Thanks to ViscountessAberowen for helping, as always.

Nico sat on the small couch nestled against the wall in his cabin, sketchbook in his lap and a pencil held loosely in his hand. Dark eyes studied the picture before him. He hadn't meant to draw it. But, keeping the pencil between his fingers, his gaze had fallen over to Leo who sat perched on top of Hazel's bunk working on small spider-like contraptions made of gold wire and filament. Unbidden, Nico's hand had moved across the page, graphite forming lines and fingers smearing shades.

When at last he was done, Nico drew back from the paper. A beautiful woman stared back at him from the paper, dark eyes somehow holding a mischievous glint despite having just been drawn. She was built along solid lines and her black hair was cut into a wedge shape, well-muscled arms wrapped around a boy no older than seven or eight. His cork-screw curls sprang from his head as he grinned up at Nico, two front teeth showing a gap. The boy held on to his mother's arms, eyes alight with happiness that only the young could possess.

Nico stared down at his re-creation of the photo from Esperanza Valdez's desk at the burned-down repair shop.

The son of Hades was still looking down at the drawing when he felt the couch dip on his right. With a jolt of panic, Nico slammed the sketchbook closed and glanced over to see Leo looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"Everything good, Ghost Boy?"

Nico swallowed and nodded, guilt settling into his stomach. His voice, when he spoke, was hoarse and strained. "Yeah. Yes."

Leo's eyes flicked down to the sketchbook clutched tightly in Nico's hand, the other wrapping about the pencil with white knuckles. He glanced back up to Nico and, with a mischievous look, asked, "Whatcha drawing, Nico?"

Nico forced his hands to relax their grip and let an unconcerned look fall over his face. "Nothing much. Just...just drawing," he finished lamely.

A grin slowly spread over Leo's face, the glint in his eyes sharpening to a lethal point. "Oh really? Can I see?"

Leo reached a hand out to the sketchbook and, his heart flying to his mouth, Nico pulled the bound paper toward him, holding it firmly to his chest. "No!"

Leo's grin was feral. "Nico. Are you drawing inappropriate pictures?"

Confusion settled over Nico before a wave of indignation washed over him. "I am not."

Leaning back against the couch, Leo interlocked his fingers behind his head with a smirk. "It's alright if you are. There's no shame in it. No judgment on my part, anyway."

Nico felt heat in his cheeks at Leo's insinuation. Nico returned Leo's smugness with a flat look of his own. "I'm not drawing anything unsafe for the public eye, Valdez."

"Sure," Leo said, his voice lofty with arrogance. "Of course, you're not. My bad, Ghost Boy."

When Nico didn't answer, Leo looked over at the demigod. Catching the look on the son of Hades' face, Leo's smile faded slightly and he pulled his arms from behind his head. Leo scratched a finger over a worn spot on his jeans, the action full of nervous anxiety. "You good?"

Nico licked his lips, guilt growing in his stomach as he remembered what Clovis had said about dream-walking: "What's rule number two?"

"I have to tell you something," Nico said, shaking his head. "Something that might make you upset."

Leo's smile dropped entirely from his face. Nico tried to ignore the increased speed of Leo's beating heart. After all, the son of Hephaestus had expressly asked him not to listen. He would respect that request, especially since he had betrayed the boy's trust without Leo ever knowing. "What's wrong?"

"I..." Nico's tongue darted out to lick his lips again and he took a deep breath. Just say it. Get it over with. If he hates you, he hates you. If he leaves you, he leaves. Waiting to tell him will just make matters that much worse. "I went into one of your dreams."

Leo's heart seemed to stop for a moment but then settled into a slower, if somewhat unsteady, rhythm. "My...my dream? What?"

Closing his eyes, Nico nodded. "Without your permission. I– I didn't mean to. And, when I got there, I know I should have left. But I didn't." Nico's voice was small and soft with misery and regret as he added, "I'm so sorry."

Leo's sudden burst of laughter– a sharp disbelieving laugh full of surprise– had Nico's eyes flashing open. He looked over to the other demigod. The smile had returned to Leo's face and he looked relieved.

Nico asked, "What's so funny? Didn't you hear me? I broke into your dream. I...I didn't– I shouldn't have been there. It was a violation of trust. I never had your consent."

Why is he laughing so much?

Leo wiped at the grin on his face, but the action did little to erase the glee. "I– I don't mean to laugh. It's just, I was worried…anyway, is that all?"

Nico's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What do you mean 'Is that all?' I...I took advantage of you."

A faint blush rose to Leo's cheeks and his smile faltered. He cleared his throat and asked, "Wait...what dream of mine did you see? When did this happen?" He looked at Nico, suddenly nervous. "I can explain that."

Nico shook his head, not understanding. His voice fell again and remorse filled it as he answered, "A couple of days ago. After the museum. You...you were dreaming about the night your mom died."

A sudden hush fell about the room as Leo finally understood Nico's words.

Leo uttered a soft, "Oh."

Nico felt his heart sink. "I'm...I'm so sorry, Leo. I never meant to break your trust. I don't even know if you remember me being in your dream, and I– I should have left, but...but I couldn't stand the thought of you being left alone. There."

The finger that had been worrying the fabric of Leo's jeans began to beat a steady rhythm against the demigod's thigh. A blank expression had settled across Leo's face. He asked, "So...so you were there? In the dream? That was you?"

Nico nodded miserably. He ran his fingers over the cover of his sketchbook, no longer able to meet Leo's eyes.

There was quiet before gentle fingers tugged the sketchbook and pencil from Nico's hands. His belongings were placed on the small square table in front of the couch before those same fingers lightly brushed Nico's chin, urging the son of Hades to look over. Nico reluctantly turned his head, and Leo transferred his hand so that his fingers rested gently on Nico's wrist.

Leo smiled at him, warmth dancing in his eyes. "Tesoro, huh? Isn't that what little abuelitas call their grandkids?"

Nico's heart slowly resumed beating and, once he found his voice, said, "My...my father used to call my mother that. When I was little."

An understanding that Nico had not meant to give Leo seemed to click in the demigod's eyes. His mouth parted slightly in surprise. Nico felt a sudden panic and urge to take the words back– to clear up any misunderstanding. But, he remained silent.

What do I mean by it? Does it matter? Right here, right now?

Nico's gaze flitted up to Leo's and, seeing the blossoming hope in Leo's eyes, found himself not regretting his words.

It's not like I've told him I...I haven't...

Leo cupped Nico's face in his hands and drew him close, pressing his lips gingerly against the son of Hades'. Nico gave up trying to piece his thoughts and feelings together and surrendered to the kiss. Leo's lips felt warm against his own.

Nico reached out, settling his hands upon Leo's hips and pulling the other boy closer with gentle pressure. Leo drew away, but Nico made a small desperate sound in his throat. Leo leaned forward and captured Nico's lips again with his own. His mouth parted under Nico's, warm and inviting. Tentatively, Nico deepened the kiss, his tongue ghosting over the sharp edges of Leo's teeth.

Pulling back slightly, Nico drew in a shaky breath and opened his eyes to find Leo looking back at him. The two gazed at each other for a moment before Leo smiled.

"Thanks for telling me." Leo's breath ghosted over Nico's lips.

"About the dream?" Nico asked.

Leo nodded, "You probably shouldn't make it a habit– being in people's dreams. I mean, you never know what you might find and, well...I don't mind you helping me out of a nightmare, though."

Nico hesitated but then nodded. His stomach rumbled slightly, and he was about to suggest the pair of them go to get dinner when a thought occurred to him. "What dream did you think I'd seen? You seemed worried or..." Nico trailed off, the word "embarrassed" hanging unuttered from his lips.

Leo's cheeks immediately turned red and he stammered, "N-nothing. Just a dream that I had...a while ago. I mean, it doesn't matter. I was just thrilled we were talking about dreams and not– not–is it hot in here? I feel like it's incredibly hot."

Leo stopped talking, but the blush remained on his face. Nico raised an eyebrow at the other boy's obvious discomfort before the rest of Leo's words connected with Nico's brain. He frowned.

"What did you think we were going to talk about? Why were you so relieved?"

Leo's skin paled to the point where the red in his cheeks stood out even more. His eyes darted around the room and his fingers drummed against his knee. "I'm starving. You hungry? I'm hungry. I could eat a whole panful of lasagna. But, well, we should probably just make our way over to the dining hall. Unless you didn't want to go–"

"Valdez."

"–because I could always go over and just get us some food to bring here. That way you don't have to worry about turning into a pig again or anything. Not that you would. I talked to Lou Ellen and I think she'll probably lay off if she knows what's good for her. But, if she doesn't, I've been fine-tuning those spiders and–"

"Leo." Nico's voice was calm but commanding. Leo stopped talking and looked over to Nico before glancing away quickly. "What did you think I was going to tell you?"

Stubbornly looking away from the son of Hades, Leo finally mumbled, "I thought you had changed your mind."

Nico frowned. "Changed my mind about what?"

Leo's shoulders fell and he stared down at the table without seeing it. "About being with me."

Nico gaped at the son of Hephaestus, his mind trying to process Leo's words, but thinking felt like walking through quicksand– slow and dangerous. "You...you thought I had changed my mind about being with you?"

Leo's shoulders shrugged up and down. He traced his finger across the table, idly twirling it in circles before nodding his head.

"But why?" Nico's voice sounded surprised even to his own ears.

"I dunno. I guess," Leo started, the gleeful tone that had punctuated his voice earlier nowhere to be found. "Before. When Will came to talk to me. For a second, I thought that maybe you'd decided to give it another chance. With him."

Still not understanding, Nico shook his head. "But why would you think that?"

"Lots of reasons." Leo's shoulders raised and fell once more. "Just...feel like you could do better? Than me?"

Nico sat in stunned silence before a disbelieving laugh escaped him. Leo looked at the son of Hades indignantly and scoffed. "It's not funny."

Nico shook his head. "No, it's not. But we are." Nico reached forward and tugged on one of Leo's errant curls. "I guess you and I are more alike than I thought."

Eyebrows furrowed, Leo asked, "What do you mean?"

Nico smiled. "Leo. I've always had a problem with thinking people don't like me– that they don't want to be around me and just hang around out of pity."

"But that's not–" Leo's protest cut short as Nico waved his hand to stop him.

"I know that. Logically, I know that. But it doesn't stop me from feeling it sometimes. And, when I'm with you...it usually goes away. Not always. I second guess myself sometimes, but...I think that's what you're doing here. Now."

Leo studied the other demigod for a moment and then, hesitantly, asked, "So you...you want to be with me?"

Nico raised an eyebrow and said dryly, "I would have thought that was obvious."

A slight blush returned to Leo's cheeks, but he grinned.

Nico returned Leo's grin with a soft smile before adding, "Besides, Valdez. I've liked you for a while now, okay? I mean, if we're being honest, I've liked you since–"

"Since the war?" Leo supplied.

Puzzled, Nico looked at Leo. "How do you know that?"

Leo smiled sheepishly. "I...kind of figured it out when you were in the Underworld."

Nico's expression fell flat. "You did."

Leo nodded and added, "And since we're in the whole 'being honest' mode...Cal's the one who kind of helped me figure it out?" At the look on Nico's face, Leo hurriedly explained, "I was having what you were saying, alright? A moment of self-doubt! And, and...I just figured you wouldn't like me. Not like that, anyway. And I was convinced it was Jason that you had liked and that–"

"You thought I liked Jason?"

But Leo ignored him and continued to rattle off his reasons. "It was just a bizarre day, You and I had been sending letters to each other, and I was just really caught up in everything and–"

Nico leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to Leo's lips, silencing him. The son of Hades pulled back, saying, "Then you should know that you're worth it, Leo. I don't...I've already promised to let you know if my feelings change. If I don't want to be with you. But," Nico added quickly as Leo's eyes flashed with panic. "They haven't. Alright?"

Leo nodded and Nico held his gaze, eyes searching the son of Hephaestus' to make sure Leo fully understood him. "I'll always be honest with you. Promise."

Finally, Leo stretched his arms above his head and groaned. He looked around the cabin and back to Nico. "Well, wanna go get something to eat?

A knock on the door interrupted Nico from saying yes. Both boys looked toward the door and Nico called out, "Come in."

The door swung open to reveal Austin with a messenger bag slung over one shoulder. He smiled sheepishly at the pair, eyes darting nervously to the son of Hades. "Hey, Nico. Leo. Can I come in?"

Nico narrowed his eyes but jerked his head. Austin stepped into the cabin and closed the door behind him. The Apollo camper took a deep breath before saying, "Listen, Nico. I'm sorry. I– I wasn't on board with the whole 'force Nico and Will to hash it out' operation. I tried to talk Kayla out of it– and Lou Ellen. But, well, you know how pig-headed they both can be. No pun intended," Austin added when Leo glared at the boy as he said the word 'pig.' "I thought I'd be able to warn you in time. I was just going to hang out outside of your cabin after breakfast– I didn't think you'd be here so early. That and I thought you'd go to your cabin first."

Austin shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, shoulders slumping. "Anyway, I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Nico sighed heavily. "I'm not mad, alright? I mean, you tried to warn me before Kayla jumped in. It's okay."

Austin said," Yeah, but–"

"It's okay," Nico repeated.

Austin's posture visibly straightened and a smile broke over his face, the nervous energy fleeing the demigod. "Cool stuff."

Leo stood and stretched before gazing down at Nico. "Why don't you too catch up? I need to grab a couple of things from the Bunker. Want me to bring back some food?"

Nico smiled warmly and nodded. "Thanks, Leo."

The son of Hephaestus winked at Nico, who went pink around the ears. "Don't mention it, Ghost Boy." Leo crossed to the door and called out, "See ya, Lake!" before disappearing outside.

Austin claimed Leo's seat beside the son of Hades before announcing, "I have a present for you."

The son of Apollo swung his messenger bag around to his front and rummaged in the depths before producing two copies of the same book. "Next book for book club!"

Nico raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms in front of him. "I thought I got to choose the next book?"

"Do you have an idea of what book you want to read?" Austin asked. When Nico could not come up with an answer, Austin smirked and held out one of the books. "Alright. So, this is the next one!"

Nico gingerly took the book. A rickety and ruinous old house illustration graced the cover, a banner containing the title "The Mysterious Benedict Society" crossing above the house. The author's name, "Trenton Lee Stewart," stood in stark orange letters at the bottom edge of the book. Nico flipped the book around and quickly read the back before looking at Austin. "A children's book?"

"About spies! Come on. Who doesn't love spies?"

Nico grinned from the couch. "Let me guess. Before you were destined for the brilliance of performance, you wanted to be a spy. Am I right?"

Austin shrugged but returned Nico's smile. "And look," he added, opening the book to the back before spinning it around to show Nico. "There's puzzles and stuff in it too. Ciphers and Morse Code and brain teasers. Thought it might be fun!"

Nico opened his copy to the pages Austin had indicated, pausing on the page with the Morse Code table.

Shrugging, Nico closed the book and looked up at Austin. "I'm game. Sounds good, anyways. If I had known you liked these types of books, I would've known exactly what to pick next."

The two demigods moved on to conversations beyond their book club and the day's occurrences, jumping from topic to topic.

Austin described his latest marketing techniques for his music: "It's hard when technology means monsters but...what're you going to do?"

Nico regaled the Apollo camper with his exploits at the Waystation and Dayspring– "I don't know how Leo does it. I think he could honestly look at anything and reverse engineer it."

"So…the elephant sleeps inside? Does Lit have his own room or does he stay with the elephant?"

"Ben did what with his wheelchair? What did Chiron do?"

Austin laughed as he recalled a breakfast that Clovis had sleepwalked through before catching a glimpse at his watch. He frowned. "Wasn't Leo supposed to be back by now? It's nearing dinner."

Nico glanced outside. Sure enough, the sun was hanging low over the horizon– the winter sun ready to bid adieu to the day. "He said he was going to the Bunker. Maybe he got distracted?"

Austin shook his head but reached back into his pack and pulled out a can of soda and two bags of chips. "Cecil raided the camp shop," Austin said in explanation. "His small bit of a peace offering to you."

Nico accepted the items with a roll of his eyes. "Good ol' Cecil."

Austin stood, shouldering his bag as he did. "You know Cec. Get's caught up in all of Lou's schemes." The pair crossed the cabin and exited, Nico closing the door shut firmly behind them.

"Thanks for...thanks for everything Austin. And for– for visiting when I wasn't doing too well." Nico looked at the ground, his heart clenching furiously in his chest.

And even though the son of Hades wasn't looking, he heard the warmth in Austin's voice as he said, "That's what friends are for, Nico."

They were silent for a moment before Austin cleared his throat. "Well, I'm gonna go put this away and get some dinner. See you there?"

Nico shrugged noncommittedly. "Maybe. See you later, Lake."

The two boys parted– Austin to Cabin 7 and Nico toward the North Woods and Bunker 9. Half an hour passed as Nico wearily trudged through the woods and toward the limestone cliff that hid Bunker 9. The events of the past few days– traveling to New Rome, crossing to the top of the museum, coming to Camp Half-Blood– had begun to catch up to him. He felt it deep in his bones– damp pain against the backdrop of his exhaustion.

Nico reached the spot where he knew the entrance to the Bunker would be. But, he had no fire with which to open the door.

Didn't think of that.

Nico slumped against the outer shell of the Bunker, gazing up at the twilight sky. He tried to recall any of the shadows from within the Bunker, but none came to mind. So he couldn't even send a shadow-note to Leo.

However, a clunking sound from the Bunker had him scrambling away and warily watching until the surface gave way to a door. Leo stood in the opening, grinning sheepishly at the son of Hades. "Hey! Did you decide to come visit me?"

Nico's nerves soothed into calm. "Get caught up?"

Nodding, Leo answered, "There's a couple of old ham radios I was trying to get to work. There's just something about them..." Leo shook his head distractedly and continued, "Anyway. Wanna head to lunch?"

Nico shook his head, a wry smile stealing over his face. "We missed lunch, Leo. You've been gone a couple of hours."

Leo looked beyond Nico, seeming to only just comprehend the darkened sky beyond the demigod. "Oh, shit! I'm– I didn't– I was supposed to get food, and I just got so caught up, and I'm really sorry I didn't realize–"

Nico's laughter cut the son of Hephaestus off. He held up the soda and chips. "I can hold off on dinner if you want to finish what you're working on?"

Leo stared for a moment before grinning and nodding. "What did I do to deserve you, Ghost Boy?"

Nico stepped forward and joined Leo inside the Bunker. The door shut behind them and Nico followed the other boy down a dimly lit corridor. "How did you know I was out there?"

Leo pointed above their heads and down the hall. "Low-frequency CCTV. Dumb tech– dumb enough, anyways, to not attract monsters. I got the idea from that ancient computer in Chiron's office. Maybe if the tech is old enough and not updated...maybe it doesn't attract as many monsters? It's a theory anyway."

The two made it into the Bunker. Leo ran a hand across the tables, piling old chip bags, blueprints, crumpled pieces of paper, and stubby pencils and paper clips into a pile at the end. He motioned for Nico to take a seat before perching atop a stool next to the son of Hades. Nico offered Leo the soda, who took it and opened it with a 'pop' of metal. He took a deep drink before handing it to Nico.

Nico held the can of warm soda and watched as Leo drew one of the radios close to him again, fingers dancing delicately over the old machine. Nico raised the can to his lips and took a small sip before setting the can back down and pulling open one of the packs of chips. He reached out to offer the food to Leo, but the son of Hephaestus shook his head with a small "Thanks" before returning his attention to the device.

"What's wrong with it?" Nico asked.

Leo sighed. "What do you know about ham radios?"

Nico stared at the other demigod blankly. "I'm guessing it has nothing to with ham."

Leo laughed and explained, "So. Ham radios have a system of equipment and antenna, right? For it to operate properly, each piece of equipment requires certain signals and settings at each of its connectors and controls. We can trace a lot of station problems to those signals and settings just using a voltmeter. You following?"

Nico nodded as if he was.

"Alright, so most station problems fall into two categories: RF and operational. I was hoping it would just be a power problem. But, it's not," Leo said flatly. He sighed heavily and continued, "So, since we're probably looking at RF, I'm going to have to take my time narrowing down what's causing it. Could be bad cable or adaptors. Could be my switches or relays or filters. Or, it could be the antenna feed lines. But to figure that out, I need to determine whether the antenna feed point has a DC connection across it– like a tuning network or impedance-matching transformer. There's a difference, you know?"

I don't know. Nico nodded anyway.

"I mean, gamma-matched Yagi beams would give me an open circuit. But beta-matched Yagis and quad loops have ohms of resistance across the feedpoint." Leo blew his breath out in a gust. "So, it's just a time-consuming process of determining what my problem is before I can start fixing it. And that's only if there's one problem."

Nico stared at the other demigod, slowly raising a chip to his mouth. He crunched the food slowly and nodded. "That's...that's really rough?"

Leo studied the son of Hades before laughing. He wiped a hand across his face before tapping his fingers against the table. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

Nico swallowed and shook his head. "Not the slightest." He motioned to the radio on the table. "Work away, Valdez. I'll wait."

The son of Hades slowly worked his way through the bag of chips while Leo steadily eliminated possible problems. The two shared the soda until the can was empty. Dinner time came and went, the two boys paying no heed as Leo worked and Nico watched him. Eventually, Nico's eyelids grew heavy and, using his arms as a pillow, he lowered his head, telling himself he would just shut his eyes for a minute.

Nico took in the scene before him. The hotel lobby was sparkling clean– regal and classic in its white marble glory. His and Bianca's laughter echoed through the room, bouncing off the vaulted ceilings. He watched as his younger self darted around the marble column, dancing just out of his older sister's reach. Young Nico whirled about and stuck his tongue out at her, sidestepping as she swung her hand through the air in a bid to catch him. Neither child paid attention to Maria di Angelo or Hades, who sat in the lobby chaises caught up in whatever boring conversations adults typically found themselves.

"Please, my dear," Nico heard his father say. "You must come to the Underworld. I don't care what Persephone thinks! I can keep you safe there."

Nico tore his gaze away from his parents as he heard a cry of pain and shock. He turned to see Bianca's hand pulling away from where it had slapped down upon his younger self's back.

"You're it!" She smirked widely as her younger brother struggled to halt his forward momentum and turn to get her back quickly. But, he stumbled and fell. Nico watched as his memory made a face and pushed himself to his feet, his face twisting halfway between a scowl and a grin.

"Get back here, Bianca!" The little boy ran after his sister, hands outstretched.

And then, it was as if the scene flickered– two images fighting for space in Nico's dream. The son of Hades blinked and the hotel lobby faded. He no longer stood on pristine white marble tiles underneath a vaulted ceiling. He was in Dayspring. The community hall where residents ate meals. Miles ran through the room, weaving between tables and giggling madly as Celia chased after him.

"Run slower! I can't catch you!" The little girl's smile shone from across the room.

Miles' laughter rang through the space. "That's the point!" Miles spared a look over his shoulder and stuck his tongue out at his litter sister.

Mrs. Gugaitis watched from the kitchen area, leaning on the countertop with a cup of coffee tucked into her hands. Gwen sat atop the counter close to the old woman, chatting as she watched her children. He watched as Gwen's attention shifted to a table in the far corner.

Grace's father sat at the table, a look of bewilderment plastered across his face. Grace stood in front of him, panic-stricken. She had the older man's hand in her own as she tried to pull him to his feet. "Please, dad! We have to go. It isn't safe anymore!"

Gwen frowned and hopped down from the counter.

The scene flickered again and Nico was back in the hotel. The son of Hades watched as the God of the Underworld closed his eyes. Maria di Angelo leaned forward to place a gentle kiss upon Hades' lips. Then, she rose from the sofa and walked up the hotel's stairs. The hair on the back of Nico's arms rose suddenly. He knew what came next.

Flicker.

Nico was back in Dayspring. He jerked as a peal of thunder shook the frame of the building.

Gwen had joined the table where Grace's father still sat. Grace had begun to cry, tears tracking down her face as she yelled at Miles and Celia's mother. "You should know! You should be trying to leave. Now! Please! Can't you feel it?"

Celia and Miles had stopped playing and stood next to each other, Miles clutching his younger sister's hand in his. Celia looked as if she was on the verge of tears.

Gwen's voice, soft and calm, sounded across the space of the room. "Grace. It's alright. It's just a storm. There's nothing out there."

But Nico could hear the voices in the wind. Insidious whispers full of malice. Lightning cracked, immediately followed by an ear-splitting boom of thunder. Celia cried out, but Mrs. Gugaitis was there in an instant.

"It's alright, dear. It's just thunder."

But just as the words left the old woman's mouth, another flash of lightning and rumble of thunder followed. Nico tasted sharp metal on his tongue. The room went black and Celia screamed in fright.

Another voice joined the cacophony the darkness had brought. Heavily accented, the strong voice called out through the room. "Everyone, stay calm."

A flashlight flicked on and Nico made out the shadow-cast features of Viktor. "The generator will kick on in just a few moments. We'll have light then."

Another streak of lightning followed closely on the heels of the man's words. The accompanying thunder had more people than Celia crying out.

Flicker.

Nico fell to his knees in the hotel's lobby, gasping and holding his hands over his ears. But there was no thunder. Not here. Not yet.

But he knew it would change. Already had. He'd already lived through it.

The clean space of the lobby gleamed, lighting up in the sudden storm from outside. Maria di Angelo disappeared on the stairs leading away from the lobby. Nico watched as his father's attention jerked toward Nico's younger self and Bianca in horror, his voice raised in a horrified "No!" A black crackling wall of energy sprang up around the pair of children. Nico heard Bianca scream briefly before the shattering sound of thunder drowned everything out.

Flicker.

Mrs. Gugaitis threw her arms around Miles and Celia as the lightning struck the center of the room, the promise of thunder splitting the air with lethal force. Nico didn't know if the thunder was deafening everything around him or if he had lost his hearing. All he could see were the open and screaming mouths of the residents of Dayspring illuminated by the continuing flashes of lightning striking the same spot repeatedly. Children's screams washed away under a deluge of sound.

Hair whipped across Nico's face from where he knelt on the floor, wind battering the shelter and its inhabitants. Nico raised a hand to shield his eyes. Lightning struck again and again, and Nico swore he could see faces in the wind– sneering and cruel.

Flicker.

Hades knelt in the rubble and ruins of the hotel. Maria lay draped in Hades' arms much like the battered figure of a rag doll. Dust and flecks of blood covered her fine clothes. Her eyes– usually so lovely and gleaming with a sly and lively glint– fixed on a point in the distance, glassy and unseeing. Dark blood– almost as black as Hades' eyes– smeared across her mouth and onto her pale cheek. The black energy that had protected the two children had not reached the woman in time– bits of ragged bone punched through delicate skin.

"Zeus!" Hades roared into the sky, voice rough and broken with despair. He cried again and the words wrenched from his throat in a terrible grief-stricken rage. "Zeus! I will crush you for this!"

Hades dropped his gaze to his children, standing stunned and numb with shock, before letting his eyes fall once again to the woman he had loved laying dead in his arms. Another scream ripped from him, wordless in his agony.

Flicker.

Nothing. There was nothing to be heard but the crackling of wood and drywall, carpeting and furniture as fire consumed it. Rain pattered into the ruined room, sizzling as it hit the dancing flames.

The community hall seemed empty. No Gwen. No Mrs. Gugaitis. No children.

But, beneath undiscernible rubble and dirt, cracked cement and lumber, a blood-streaked hand lay quiet and still, absconded by dust. Ageless beneath the grime.

A familiar voice behind Nico broke the deafening silence.

Jason.

Nico turned, locking eyes with the dead boy. Blue eyes flashed with pity.

"You can still save them if you leave. Now."

Nico felt the words drop from his lips as he asked, "This is real? Has it…has it happened yet?"

He already knew the answer before Jason nodded.

Purple energy flashed over Jason's skin until it arced off the dead demigod's body. Nico felt the static violet leave his own skin, the two wild energies meeting in the air before dissipating.

"We've done you a favor in showing you this. An act of good faith. So you can save those who are left."

Nico felt the bewilderment on his face. The confusion. "But...but, Jason, why–"

"You know we're not Jason." The figure cocked its head to the side and smiled slightly.

"Then," Nico began, licking his lips, mind trying to comprehend the horror around him. "Why help me? What do you want?"

Not-Jason raised his eyebrows. "To stop a tragedy from happening. We cry with you. We mourn with you. This is not what it should be. And we are helping to put an end to it."

"But the creatures that have been here– the ones from...from..."

"There is no time. If you wish to save more lives from being lost, you must wake up."

The wind had stopped and there was nothing but death and ruin about Nico. He blinked and Not-Jason was gone. But, his voice echoed over the broken remnants of the community hall.

"You will find us. Soon. Remember our favor to you– we did not have to help."

The son of Hades opened his eyes.

"I need silence, and to be alone and to go out, and to save one hour to consider what has happened to my world, what death has done to my world." ~ Virginia Woolf

Nick–

I don't know why anything that happened happened. And I'm sorry I wasn't there for you– that I didn't notice anything was wrong. I wish I had been around more. I wish I had made the effort to see you more. But what's done is done and there's no turning back. I'll miss you and the shitty thing is you won't even realize. I don't know what there is after, but I hope that you found peace. Rest easy.

–K