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Five people stood in the center of the control room, a heavy silence weighing on them, no one wanting to break it.
As they waited for their comrades to wake, they tried not to blame each other, or themselves, for what had happened.
No one could have stopped this. No one could do anything with the state the team was in now. They had to wait.
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They would talk when the others awoke when heads were hopefully clearer when they had a plan.
They would save her.
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No.
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They had to save her. Because she was their friend, she had brought them together and they couldn't leave her behind. The battle was only beginning.
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So they waited.
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Nico dreamed.
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Shrouded in darkness, he wasn't surprised when he heard someone call out his name.
"Nico."
He sighed, pulling whatever was covering him higher over his head. He had no desire to talk to whatever had decided to grace him with their presence.
Nico heard a tired sigh, accompanied by something he thought he wouldn't hear for a long time.
"My son, get up, we must talk"
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Nico sat up so fast that his vision went dark for several seconds.
When the dark spots cleared, he was greeted with the familiar sight of the Lotus Casino Hotel.
The harsh light was a stark contrast to the darkness beneath the blanket.
This dream felt eerily similar to the dream with his mother and Bianca, it had the same feeling of being both real and fake at the same time.
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As he ran his fingers along the blanket, feeling the threads, Nico felt his legs pinned beneath it. He briefly wondered what hotel staff had to gain by making it impossible to maneuver underneath these things.
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Suddenly, he was pulled out of his trance and remembered what was going on.
Nico quickly looked around, hoping that this was real and not some fantasy (or worse).
Finally, Nico glanced over to the chair in the corner.
Last time, he was graced with the presence of his mother; this time, it was his father who sat there.
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His father, Hades, donned the same outfit as the last time Nico saw him, a black pin-striped suit and a wide-brimmed hat. He held his usual stature, cold and calculating.
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"Father?" He asked, his voice full of desperate hope. Was this real? It had to be real.
A small smile appeared on Hades's face. A rare smile. A smile that reminded Nico that his father cared, his eyes softened before he responded.
"Yes, my son." Hades said. His face returned to its previous expression, he stood up, adjusted his hat, and opened his mouth as if to speak.
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Nico beat him to the punch.
"What's going on? Why-" He stopped himself before continuing more quietly, his voice almost a whisper "Why me?"
Hades's expression faltered, his eyes grew soft again, and a smile took over his face.
But this smile was different, it was sad. Nico was reminded of the conversation he had with Hades months ago when he got out of Tartarus.
Hades had told him that he wanted Nico to be happy. Then he remembered what The Fates had told him-
'Of the gods, only Iris is aware of what we have done, but the Olympians will know soon.'
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His father didn't know. He had no control over this.
So why?
Why was it so hard not to tell him to correct this?
To take him home.
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He was dragged out of his thoughts by the sudden weight on the bed.
Nico looked over to see Hades sitting next to him.
He wanted to ask him. He wanted to go home.
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The choice was tempting. He was tempted.
He only had to ask.
Hades could bring him to camp. Or the underworld. Or anywhere, really.
Nico wanted to ask so badly, but Hades spoke first.
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"I can't bring you home," Hades said, some sort of emotion depicted in his voice. An emotion Nico would only later recognize as sorrow.
"Why not!?" Nico complained. He almost winced at how whiny he sounded.
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Hades sighed, "It isn't time yet"
"But I don't belong in space!" Nico said, "I belong at camp."
"They need you, maybe not right now, but they will eventually. Now is the best time to earn their trust."
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"What role can I even play in space!? There are no skeletons, there aren't many shadows in space, and no ground to use whatever geokinesis ability you gave me, and I doubt aliens care much for temperatures or fear or dreams. So yeah, I'm pretty useless in space." Nico stated quickly, barely thinking about it. He knew it was true, and he thought that nothing could convince him otherwise (he was wrong).
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Hades sighed, again, "It's not only about your abilities, it would be much better for the paladins and their alien friends to know of demi-god existence before traveling to Earth. Even better to have a trusted one beside them if either camp wants to attack."
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Nico reluctantly nodded. It made sense, even if he wasn't happy with it. Hades continued without stopping, "Even so, your heritage will come in handy. You should know that after the battle you just faced. Your abilities will let you see what other humans can't. Your knowledge in combat paired with your ability to teach others will be vital if the paladins are to succeed. Lastly, you are one of the most determined demigods of this time, if nothing else, the Fates and I agree on that."
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Nico sat in silence, he felt like Hades was talking about someone else. He couldn't be that useful, could he? Sure he taught Keith a bit, and probably saved him, but he was also the distraction that got him hit in the first place There was no way to tell what kind of impact he made, that was the main thing that frustrated him.
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Suddenly, he remembered the outcome of that hit.
"Is Keith Okay!?" He asked suddenly
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Hades looked taken aback by the sudden question, "Your friend is fine, although you will probably wake up before him. But did you hear anything I said?"
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Nico looked to the ground sheepishly, "Yeah, I guess, I'm not happy about it, but I'll stay in space. At least until we go back to Earth, then I'm staying at camp."
Hades raised an eyebrow, frowning slightly, but ultimately nodded his head, "From what the Fates have told me, that should be fine."
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They sat in silence for a minute or two more, before Hades got up from the bed. He adjusted his hat again, then looked down at Nico.
"Hazel has been asking about you, is there something you would like me to tell her? Or maybe tell Apollo to pass something along to his son from you?"
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Nico looked up at his father, too many thoughts running through his head. What should he say? He wants to say something, but what? He can say so many things, how does he choose?
Hades looks at him, with an almost knowing expression.
"How about a letter?" He finally says.
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Nico looked at him, even more confused. A letter? When? Now? He can't figure out a single sentence, how is he supposed to write a letter?
"I'll leave a few in your room, when you're ready, sign and seal them, I'll handle the rest."
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Nico looked at him with gratitude; he couldn't quite find the words to express.
Hades smiled at him, Nico took it as the thanks being received.
"I'll let you go now, I've kept you from waking long enough."
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With that, Nico's dream dissolved into darkness. Peaceful darkness. That was about to be shattered with some very upsetting news.
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They watched them heal for some time before splitting up.
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Hunk went to the kitchen, probably to stress-bake. Shiro went to the training deck to get his mind off of things. God knows where Lance went, and Coran was sifting through the castle's data for no reason.
That left Pidge, who elected to stay and watch over Keith and Nico.
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According to Coran, Nico shadow-traveled to the control room carrying an unconscious Keith, just before passing out. They tried to wake Keith up but nothing worked, so they put him in a cryo pod in hopes that it would fix whatever was wrong with him.
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Pidge assumed that Nico passed out from exhaustion since he already said that shadow-traveling can be pretty exhausting sometimes, but that doesn't explain why he hadn't woken up yet.
Was something preventing him from waking up? Did he have injuries they didn't know about? These questions provided no answers.
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So she waited... She had the cryo pod scan them both for injuries multiple times. Nico's just showed the scar on his face (like Pidge wasn't already aware of that) and some scars along his body that looked like they'd been there for some time and couldn't possibly be the cause for his lack of consciousness.
She briefly wondered where they came from, then just chalked it up to being a demi-god.
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That leads Pidge to her next hypothesis, maybe, just maybe, it isn't something stopping him from waking up, it's someone. A god maybe? Can gods do that? Interfere with people waking up? If so, why? What could they gain from keeping Nico asleep?
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Again, no answers appeared as Pidge hoped, so she continued watching and monitoring their states.
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Pidge sat in front of a cryo-pod, messing around with her tablet, too distracted to notice the faint hissing sound that accompanied the opening of a cryo-pod.
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Some time passed, and she only glanced up when they heard a thump in front of her.
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At first, Pidge didn't see anything, but when she looked towards the ground, she saw a very distressed Nico lying face down on the floor.
"Nico!?"
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He raised his head to look at her, then gave her a short wave before plopping back down.
"What happened!?" Pidge asked, confused and concerned.
"I fell," Nico responded, "And no, I don't know why"
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Pidge stared for a minute or two, before responding, "It's probably just a side effect from being in the cryo pod, you'll be fine"
Nico gave her a quick thumbs-up.
"Hey Nico, what happened?"
"What do you mean? I fell," Nico said.
"I mean before that, on the ship, what happened to you and Keith?"
Nico sighed and rolled over on his back to stare at Pidge.
"We ran into some creepy dude." He said simply.
"And" Pidge prompted
Nico shrugged, "We fought, Keith got hit, I killed the dude, shadow-traveled back here," He said way too plainly for Pidge's liking.
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After what seemed like a very long and much-needed nap, Nico woke up.
His hearing returned first; a faint hissing sound accompanied by the soft humming of someone nearby. He opened his eyes, the harsh light making him squint.
Nico saw a small person sitting somewhere in front of him, but for some reason, he couldn't recall their name. It was on the tip of his tongue, so close, yet so far.
His memory was a bit hazy, but events were slowly returning to him.
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Londyn...
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The Minotaur...
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Shadow-traveling...
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Nico lifted his arm in front of him, watching the muscles tighten and relax as he balled his hand into a fist. Tighten, Release, Tighten, Release, Tighten, Release...Over and over again as more memories flooded in.
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Robots...
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Space...
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Fleecy and the Fates...
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He knew where he recognized the person. They were the one in the green suit, with the small triangle-shaped weapon. Still, he couldn't remember their name. They've fought before, but why didn't he want to attack now?
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The paladins...
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Training...
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Keith...
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Nico watched as the person, Pidge, clicked buttons on her tablet. Where were all the others? Why was he asleep? Moreover, where was he sleeping?
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The plan...
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Fighting...
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Hades...
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Suddenly, the last of his memories returned, Hades said that Keith was fine, so he had nothing to worry about.
Pidge was in front of him, but she didn't seem to notice him waking.
Whatever, the less talking the better.
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Nico took a step forward, but something was off. Instead of taking another, his face met the ground.
"Nico!?"
He briefly looked up, wondering how she could notice him falling, but not him waking up. He gave her a small wave as an afterthought, then returned his head to the ground.
"What happened!?" She asked. He thought that was a dumb question, it was pretty obvious. He answered anyway.
"I fell," she going to ask another question, he just knew it, so he talked first, "and no, I don't know why"
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Nico had enough experience with Will to know that smart people ask questions, he considered Pidge smart, so he knew she was going to ask questions. But truthfully...he wanted her to shut up.
"It's probably just a side effect from being in the cryo pod, you'll be fine." Nico was both happy and surprised she didn't ask questions, maybe she knew. Whatever, he gave her a thumbs-up in response, and they settled into a much-needed silence.
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Yeah, that didn't last long, "Hey Nico, what happened?"
"What do you mean? I fell," Nico gave her another brief answer, hoping to return to quiet.
Pidge wouldn't take that as an answer, "I mean before that, on the ship, what happened to you and Keith?"
Nico sighed in mild annoyance, then gave her another short answer. She pressed for more, and he gave it, though barely.
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Feeling started to return to his legs, and with a little effort and a bit of wobbling, he was able to properly stand (sorta). Pidge had gone back to her electronics after giving up on the questions.
Good, Nico needed silence right now, he also needed to get to his room.
His father said that he'd leave letters for him there; so without saying goodbye, he left Pidge and tried to find his room.
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Yes, tried, but like many places on this ship, he failed to find it. So he wandered, hoping at every turn he would see the hallway his (and everyone else's) room resided in. Unfortunately that never came (or maybe it did, he didn't know whether or not he would recognize the hallway even if he did see it.)
As he continued walking along, his brain went over the events of the battle.
Who was that guy? How could he do that stuff? What exactly did he do to Keith? And perhaps the most important, how could Nico see him?
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As his mind strayed back to the present, he got a new question: Where the hell is he?
All hallways look the exact same and it's not like he's been paying attention so backtracking is near impossible.
Nico wandered around for a while longer before giving up and taking a seat in front of a door. He thought it would take at least thirty minutes before someone found him, however, a door opened within two.
Is that lucky? Absolutely, and the thing about luck, is that something has to balance it out.
You see, it was not just any door that opened. No, it had to be the door he was—quite heavily—leaning against.
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Without warning the door was retracted into the walls, and—without a solid surface behind him—he fell into the doorway. He blinked as his eyes adjusted from the "light enough you can see but dim enough you feel like falling asleep," that occupied the hallways to, "staring into the sun," that was this room. It didn't help a...light bulb? Light projecting thingie was directly above the doorway.
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When he finally registered what was in front of him, he saw the very surprised look upon Lance's face: eyebrows raised, mouth slightly open, and eyes as wide as a watermelon. Nico waved a basic greeting before getting straight to the point.
"Where's my room?"
Lance just stared, before taking a deep breath, stepping back, and roughly grabbing Nico. Lance lifted him from under his arms and set Nico on his feet.
"Where's my room?"
"Dude, you just woke up!? Why didn't Pidge call for us!?"
"I don't know, maybe she just didn't feel like it,"
"Still!"
Nico sighed, "Where's my room?" He asked, trying to steer the conversation back on track.
"Okay, you definitely need more time in the cryo-pod," Lance said with a concerned look, "let's get you back."
"Why?" Nico whined, he felt a little like a child, but he really needed to get to his room, "I'm fine!"
"No, you're clearly not."
"How!?"
"Cause your room is right there!" He pointed across the hallway, about two doors down.
"Oh..." Nico felt a little stupid, if this was Lance's room, one could assume his would be in the same hallway, but all the doors look the same! How was he supposed to know which one was his! Technically he hasn't even spent a full week here!
"Yeah, so you should get back to healing, maybe we could fix that scar"
Nico's hand drifted to his cheek, absentmindedly tracing the scar. He got it in Tartarus, he probably could have healed it, but he kept it as a reminder of his trials with Will.
"No thanks, I'd like to keep it, y'know," Nico looked at Lance, confusion flickered across his face, but he eventually just shrugged it off.
"Whatever, you should still get back to healing, you've been out of it for a couple of days...plus there's..." Lance trailed off, but he spared a pained look in Nico's direction, a look Nico didn't really understand. Why would he be upset? Nico just woke up and Keith is bound to wake up soon as well, so what's there to be sad about?
"Umm...okay?" That just made Lance look at him weirdly, yet another thing Nico didn't know.
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Mortals are confusing...
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IT'S FINALLY HERE!
Sorry for making you wait so long, I have no excuse for this and I'm incredibly sorry for months of silence...
I do have a few announcements!
The first is that I now have an Ao3 account! My username is roughly the same as this site: YourFriendlyNeighborhoodBi.
The second one is that due to writer's block (the cause for my silence), chapter 8 may not be posted for a while. Although it will probably not be anywhere near this time gap, I ultimately have no control over life's whims.
Thank you for your patience and I hope to post chapter 8 in the coming weeks.