A Deal With Death

[Edited July 21, 2022]

[ TW: Temporary character death, Puking, Injury, & Panic Attack ( it will be marked in the chapter itself too, just in case.]

Bruce came through the secret passage at a quick gate-- the pendulum in the fake grandfather clock knocked up against the weights with an uncomfortable, metallic bang. He had clearly been in a hurry if he had such an uncharacteristic disregard for the house. Alfred would normally have gotten on his case for being so careless with antiques, so it was a good thing the butler wasn't here yet. Nico took a few steps back, giving the man his space until he knew whether or not he was angry.

The older man stopped short as he spotted the son of Hades, who had retreated to the other side of the desk. Dick and the others filed into the room after him during the pause. Bruce was staring at Nico for several seconds too long. His jaw worked like he was trying to figure out what to say. That was understandable at least. A mixture of emotions was flickering across his features-- anger, relief, and many others that Nico had trouble placing.

'He's probably going to yell at me, that's surely what I deserve', Nico thought to himself. After a while of indecision, he sighed and just started toward the younger boy. The demigod raised his arms in a feeble attempt to ward him off but the larger man grabbed him anyway. To Nico's surprise, he pulled him into a hug-- he guessed he had worried Bruce more than he thought. After a few seconds, he let go of Nico and gripped his shoulder comfortingly. The demigod looked up into his face to try and get a glimpse of what he was thinking. His features didn't give him any clues.

"I'm glad you're alive. When I heard that you encountered Slade... well, naturally I feared the worst. He's one of the most dangerous men alive. You are... beyond lucky to have survived." He said with an air of seriousness. Nico couldn't help but feel guilty at how much grief he must have caused Bruce. He wasn't trying to cause trouble, again, but here he was. It was a wonder that Bruce had put up with him as long as he had, considering how much trouble he tended to get in. Nico knew that he couldn't be easy to deal with.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go and get myself into trouble. It's just... I had a dream and I wanted to check it out. I usually do things on my own anyway..." The son of Hades trailed off weakly. He knew it was a lame excuse, but the truth would be even worse.

"Not anymore you don't. That's not how things work around here and you know that. We can't afford for something like that to happen. If there was a hostage situation or Slade shows up again..." Bruce trailed off, leaving out the part that they were all thinking. Nico knew he wouldn't be so lucky the second time around.

"I know, and you're right. I wasn't thinking and what I did was reckless and stupid." Nico admitted.

"You're damn right it was, " Bruce sighed and rubbed his face, "I just need to know that you're safe. And when you can't be safe, that at least you're prepared."

"How do you prepare for Slade?" Richard cut in, sounding tired. Nico was curious too. Slade was in a league of his own when it came to danger. He may be human, but he wasn't as easy to goad as the gods were. He didn't get emotional, monologue, or rely on others to fight his battles. Nico may face monsters that come straight from storybooks, but Slade was something even more dangerous and that scared him.

"We're going to train him even harder," Bruce said decidedly. Nico froze as he processed that. He was going to be trained vigilante style? He'd been getting lessons from Batman for the last several months, learning to be proficient in parkour, mixed martial arts, forensic science,  knife/Batarang throwing, and self-defense. What Bruce was proposing would be upping the stakes even more as the vigilantes in the family got trained in everything from foreign language and infiltration to combat and first aid. 

"Father--" Damian started, though whether it was to protest or agree it was hard to tell.

"If he is going to stand a chance against, not only Deathstroke but other Gotham villains, he's going to need to have formal training." He announced firmly. Bruce glanced at the demigod for his reaction and Nico just nodded in acceptance. If this was what Bruce thought was the best course of action, he wasn't going to disagree. Plus, he'd never turn down lessons on anything that might save his life one day.

"Bruce--" Nico spoke up as the older man started for the grandfather clock. He was probably going to check his gear and do some repairs to his suit after his mission.

"We'll talk more about your little adventure later." The older man waved him away. The son of Hades could tell that Bruce was still cooling off, so he didn't press his luck. Nico pursed his lips, having already guessed that he wouldn't have gotten off the hook so easily.

"When is Alfred coming back?" Tim asked as Bruce had begun to pull the clock shut behind him. The boys all paused to listen for the answer, anxious for the old man's return. The manor just wasn't the same without him.

"Unless plans have changed, he should be here two days from today. Please try to keep the place neat until then." He replied before retreating into the cave. Everyone left to go their separate ways. Nico went back up to his room to shower and polish his sword. Just because he wasn't fighting monsters or playing capture the flag anymore, didn't give him an excuse to let his sword collect dust.

He'd learned over the time that he'd had the sword that the spirits trapped in the blade tended to get restless if he ignored them for long stretches of time. The blade itself had been tempered in the waters of the Styx, sealing the souls of those who broke their oaths into the blade and giving the sword the ability to kill people with even just a touch of the metal to their skin. If Nico concentrated, he could even seal the souls of his enemies into the blade as he killed them. He'd discovered this by accident at one of the times he had been summoning the dead to find Bianca. A stubborn spirit kept trying to get to his offerings and he'd accidentally sealed them inside his blade.

He'd never tell the others how the blade works, though. There were a lot of things that he realized they could handle. He didn't think a blade made of cursed souls would bode well with them and he didn't want to make them uncomfortable. Of course, if they asked him to tell them more about the blade, he'd be happy to oblige, but he wasn't going to offer the information. He had a nice set up at Wayne Manor, and he had finally settled in-- he wasn't going to jeopardize that if he didn't have to.

It amazed the half-blood how normally the other boys treated him. He was the only one that had powers, fought with an ancient fighting style, came from the early 1900s, and could speak to and /or summon the dead. He was sure that it helped that they deal with metahumans, magic, and other powerful beings as a hobby, but he felt that this was different. It was different when the magical being lived with you and knew about your death, has spoken with your dead relatives, and couldn't seem to go a day without something supernatural happening.

He was also surprised that they hadn't asked him more questions about death. They had asked him tons of questions about the underworld, the pantheon, and what it was like being a demigod, but they rarely asked about death itself. It was possible that they were the type that preferred for the experience to be a surprise, but Nico suspected that it was more likely that their reluctance was because the subject of death hit just a little too close to home. Jason had been resurrected, after all.

Nico took a long shower to try and help him relax. It had been a taxing week and the talk with Bruce was still weighing heavily on his mind. It wasn't just the consequences that were bothering him either. Nico couldn't get the feeling of Deathstroke's hands in his hair out of his mind. He'd been trying to ignore it since he'd been rescued, but it was no use. He could hear the man's cold voice in his ear and every once in a while he would blink and flinch as he saw the knife hovering inches above his eye.

None of it was real, of course, but that didn't help him relax. That was the closest he had come to being killed in a very bad way. Usually, he could count on his death being quick. The Joker and the men at the gala had threatened to shoot him, which was definitely scary, but they were relatively clean and quick deaths. Slade had been planning on dragging it out and making him suffer every second of it until he sent him to his father-- express shipping.

When he eventually got out, he changed into a pair of sweats and an oversized black hoodie. He pulled the hood up and his hands back inside the sleeves. His heart was beating quickly and he knew that he needed to figure out a way to calm down or he'd have a panic attack. He desperately wanted to avoid having another one of those, so he decided to see if polishing his sword would help calm him down. He had always found the process calming before, so he hoped that this time was no different.

{TW: Character Death, Puking, and a Panic Attack upcoming!}

The son of Hades set his sword out on his desk and pulled a trunk out from beneath his bed, which is where he had stored most of his demigod things. The trunk had some drachmas, nectar and ambrosia, a prism, a Camp Halfblood t-shirt, and his polishing equipment. He pulled the items he needed out before sliding the trunk back under the bed. He laid it all out neatly on the desk before he realized that he didn't have his cleaning cloth. He had thrown it in the laundry a while ago and he figured that it had just been left with the other hand towels by mistake.

He went downstairs to look in the laundry area and found it in a pile of washcloths in a bin by the washer. He was relieved that he could find it, because he hadn't wanted to dirty one of the better towels and deal with Alfred's wrath when he got home. He could also feel his anxiety bubbling up inside him and he needed to start relaxing or he would have a meltdown. Fate was not on his side. When he went back upstairs, he found a sight that tipped him over the edge.

Damian was sitting in the chair by his desk, seemingly passed out. Well, Nico thought he was passed out, at first. When he looked closer, his brother was dead. The cloth fell out of Nico's hand, but he hardly noticed. In desperation, he pulled the chair out and knelt in front of him, frantically searching for a pulse, though he knew there wouldn't be one. When he came up empty, he let out a strangled yelp and pushed himself back away from the body and into the space between the desk and his doorframe. He couldn't take his eyes off of his brother's limp form and the floodgates opened.

He could feel the bile rising in his throat, so he pushed himself up along the wall and stumbled into his bathroom. He managed to find the toilet before he lost whatever food he'd eaten that morning. His throat burned and his mouth tasted like rotten meat by the time he had emptied his stomach. He collapsed back against his vanity and the panic began to set in.

His throat, which was already burning, began to close up and Nico found it impossible to swallow. His mouth was dry and getting drier with how heavily he was breathing. his vision was blurry with tears and he couldn't breathe out of his nose. He pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes and held his breath for a few moments to try and quiet himself. He didn't want one of his other brothers to hear him and see Damian.

In an effort to find some sort of relief, Nico stood up and turned on the water in his sink. He splashed cold water against his face and cupped his hands together to collect enough to wet his mouth and throat. He swirled some water around in his mouth and spat it out, but he couldn't tell if it had helped with either the dryness or the taste. He patted his face down with a hand towel and took a few moments to force himself to breathe evenly.

It worked for a few moments before his chest seized and he let out another strangled sob and sank to his knees. He lost control of his breathing again and lost focus on anything other than how overwhelmed he was. Everything was too much, the lights, the feeling of his clothing on his skin, the throbbing in his head from his hyperventilating, the tightness in his throat and chest, and the stinging of the tears that were still rolling down his cheeks. He could even swear that he could hear a high-pitched buzzing, though he knew that the room was quiet it occurred to him that the sound was his own blood.

Nico got onto his knees and folded himself over into a fetal position, wrapping his arms around his stomach and shutting his eyes against the light. When he felt the tingling of the panic bubbling up into his shoulders, he began rocking himself gently, his forehead tapping the cold tile floor with a soft thud. This soft rocking helped him to regain some control over his breathing again, though he was still hiccuping and couldn't get enough to satisfy his burning lungs. He was starting to get light-headed.

It was at this point that Nico knew he had to involve Bruce. He was going to pass out and then Bruce wouldn't know what happened to Damian. Nico still couldn't see straight, his teeth were chattering, and his legs were shaking an almost comical amount, but he managed to make it back into his bedroom and to his bedside table where he kept his phone. He grabbed the device, collapsing gently onto the floor next to his bed once his legs could no longer support him.

His dyslexia and the tears in his eyes made it almost impossible for him to see the screen. He would have used the voice-to-text feature but he didn't trust himself to speak. It was a struggle, but he eventually typed out something that he hoped would bring Bruce to his room, and he could figure out the rest from there. Now all Nico could do was wait. As he sat there, his eyes settled on Damian and he was sent headlong back into a fit. He pulled himself back into the bathroom and shut the door, putting a barrier between himself and the disturbing scene.

The son of Hades found himself back in the fetal position and rocking as he waited for Bruce to get there. He didn't know what he was going to tell the older man once he got there, but Nico was pretty sure he was in massive trouble. Bruce could look past him getting himself into danger, Nico knew, but now his carelessness had endangered someone else. Damian was dead because he had left his sword out in the open.

He knew he'd mentioned not to touch it before, but had he really stressed just how dangerous the blade was? Did they understand that it wasn't just possessiveness that made him tell them to not touch it? Damian wasn't an idiot so clearly Nico hadn't done enough to make the danger known to the younger boy. This was entirely his fault.

Was Bruce going to kick him out? Would he take away his weapons? Would he put him up for adoption since was now a known figure?

These thoughts send Nico into another wave of stifled sobbing and hyperventilation until he heard his bedroom door open and Nico held his breath in fear. There was a long pause and Nico knew Bruce was inspecting Damian's body. Nico let out a shaky breath as slowly as he could so it wouldn't make noise. A few moments ago he had wanted Bruce's help, now he wished he could fit down the shower drain. There came a soft knock on his bathroom door and Nico held his breath and shut his eyes tightly. His legs were tingling from the uncomfortable position and the rest of his body was still shaking. Even his teeth were chattering uncontrollably.

"Nico? Are you in there?" Nico couldn't find the breath or the will to reply, "Nico? I'm coming in!" Bruce eased open the door, but Nico didn't bother to look up. A moment later strong arms had encircled him and Nico hiccuped loudly, still trembling. Bruce shushed him gently as he pulled the smaller boy into his side.

"I'm sorry!" Nico's voice came out like a yelp.

"I opened his eyelids to see if there was any movement and it was like they were glazed over. Nico, what happened?"

"My sword. He must have touched it," Nico tried to take a deep breath, "It kills instantly."

"Can you save him?" Bruce's voice was fragile.

"Me?" He was surprised Bruce would even suggest such a thing since he was the reason Damian was in this situation, to begin with. Bruce rubbed his back rhythmically and Nico used that to get his breathing under control. They sat there for a few moments as the older man seemed to be waiting for Nico to regain his composure a bit. When the boy started to breathe steadily and his teeth had stopped chattering, Bruce continued.

"You're the only one who even has a chance. Your father is the god of the Underworld. You're friends with death. You're his only chance." Nico knew he was right, but he wasn't sure if What Bruce was asking for was possible. He'd brought Hazel back, but Hades wouldn't stand for it if he did it a second time. Still, he couldn't stand the idea of sitting idly by and letting Damian stay dead. He couldn't stand it if he didn't try to save him. Hades wouldn't help him, but Thanatos might.

"I'll do everything I can," he muttered breathlessly. He wasn't sure that he had enough energy for a long shadow jump, but he wasn't going to let that get in his way. If they were going to successfully bring him back, he would have to hurry.

"I'll put him in a stasis pod to try and preserve any brain activity." Bruce started to stand to retrieve Damian when Nico started forming a plan. Once he had come down from the panic, his mind had started functioning again, though slowly. He felt like he had run a marathon, but he was having coherent thoughts again, at least.

"Alright, I'm going to grab some food and... do you know if we have any... dodgeballs?"

"Sure...?"

++++

A short while later Nico was equipped with 4 days worth of granola bars and several water bottles. He had also taken a bite of ambrosia, which would hopefully give him enough energy to get to the Underworld.

"If you are going to be gone for more than a day, let me know." Bruce had ordered.

"Ok, but time runs differently in the Underworld. I might not be able to tell." Nico warned him.

"How long do you think you'll be?" He leaned against the wall across from the stasis pod.

"A day or two at most? I'm not sure."

"Ok. Two days." He pushes himself off the wall.

"You go. I'll tell the others what has happened." Bruce had almost made it out the door before Nico called out to him.

"Bruce?" The man looked back. "I really am sorry. I didn't know he'd... I didn't think..." Nico cut himself off. Neither excuse would make up for what had happened.

"I know, Nico. Just bring him home." The older man left the demigod standing in front of the frozen body of his little brother. His tone left no room for discussion so he did as he was told and shadow traveled to the Underworld. The son of Hades popped out in front of the Underworld gates. He was met by the three snarling, Doberman heads. Cerberus growled at him until he realized who it was. Then, he was wagging his non-existent tail in delight.

"Hey, buddy! Look what I brought you!" Nico smiled, though he didn't feel very happy, and slipped the ball out of his backpack. Cerberus barked in excitement, sounding like something broke the sound barrier. He held out the ball for all of the dog's heads to sniff. Once they had, he threw it off somewhere to the right, and Cerberus bounded off after it, shaking the ground as he went. After Cerberus was gone, Nico was able to walk right past the gates and into asphodel. His plan was simple really, go to the palace and ask his father if he could speak to Thanatos. If that didn't work... well, he'd have to think of something else.

The demigod shadow traveled from the gates up to his father's palace, knowing that time was running out for Damian. Nico walked through the main hall to the throne room, thinking about how he was going to phrase his request. When Nico got to the throne room doors, the skeletons opened them for him and he stepped into the hall. Before he had taken two steps, he was stopped by the sound of his father and Persephone arguing. Demeter could be heard shouting obscenities from behind a closed door that, if he remembered correctly, led to the kitchen. Hades had barred her from entering the throne room.

"Could you please take your mother to Olympus for a couple of days so I can get something done around here?" His father pleaded. Hades sounded silly and Nico managed a small smile. The lord of the dead was pleading with his wife over his mother-in-law. That was such a mortal thing to do.

"Only if you let me grow a garden in the Fields of Punishment." She countered. Apparently, this was a new set of conditions because his father looked perplexed.

"What? Why would you even...? Nevermind. Only if they're poisonous." He sighed in resignation. Persephone considered this restriction before agreeing.

"Nightshade it is then." She stood from her throne and exited the throne room through a side door, giving orders to the undead soldiers as she went.

Hades sighed and rubbed his face, "Come in, Nico. I know you're there." He sat up straight again and set his eyes on his son. Nico moved out from behind the door and approached his father.

"Father," he bowed respectfully.

"What brings you back here?" Hades got straight to the point.

"I came to ask if you knew where I could find Thanatos."

"That is a strange request. Though perhaps not from you, one part of his consciousness is with the judges, as it is a slow day on the East coast." Hades replied. Death had many more slivers of his being than the other gods did. After all, his work never stopped. Nico politely dismissed himself and made his way to find the judges. They were likely in session, but Nico had hoped he could grab Thanatos without causing a problem.

When the demigod got to the judgment hall, he found that they were in fact, in session. Nico could hear the judges asking the newly dead (well, relatively new) a series of questions. Most of them asked the deceased about their life-- they needed to be sure that they were sending the person to the right field. After they had chosen, it was permanent. Judgments were unpredictable things. Some could take as little as ten minutes while others could take hours or even days to complete. Nico hoped this would be quick.

He sat down outside the judgment hall doors and waited for that session to end. He would have to talk to Thanatos between cases. This must have been an easy judgment because the Judges had soon called for a recess. Thanatos was the last one out of the hall and Nico grabbed hold of his cloak as he passed.

"Nico? What are you doing here?" Death frowned. His voice was smooth and comforting, audiobook companies would probably kill to get someone with his voice.

"I need a big favor from you, you're not going to like it." Nico launched into a disorganized explanation of how everything happened. It was hard for him to keep it all straight because of how emotional he had been. Thanatos was silent throughout the story, which was both nice, and a little disquieting. Nico couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"You're right, I don't like it." He sighed and rubbed his face. The son of Hades could feel his stomach drop as he anticipated his answer.

"It was not his time to die, so the fates have likely left his string alone. It is hard to say how long his string will stay intact while his soul is in the Underworld, though. You will need to hurry." He was talking in a lowered voice, which added to the urgency of the situation.

"Does this mean you'll help me?"

"Yes, but I require something of you in return." He warned.

"What do you need me to do?" Nico asked warily, he did not want to get roped into something suicidal, Death didn't always have a good idea of what human bodies could survive since he'd only ever seen what ended them. Then, he considered Damian's body back at the manor and decided he'd do whatever Thanatos asked of him. If only one of them got through this, Nico would make sure it was Damian.

"I need you to travel to the edge of the pit, you will carry a sliver of my scythe with you. If the doors of death are in Tartarus, the sliver will glow. I need you to come back and tell me what you find. Beware, you will need to anchor yourself outside of the cavern, or the pit will suck you in." Thanatos explained.

"If I do this, will you restore my brother's soul to his body?" Nico asked, to make sure the terms of this agreement were clear.

"I will see to it personally. Your brother will be alive again by the time you return to the Waynes. Nico, be sure the anchor is strong, if you fall in, you will most surely die." He warned.

"You swear on the river Styx?" Nico pressed-- a matter this important needed to be sealed with a stronger oath than a mere promise.

"I swear on the river of Styx that, if you return to me with the knowledge of whether or not the doors of death are in Tartarus, I will personally restore Damian Wayne's soul to his body." Thanatos took the oath. The ground shook signaling the acceptance of the oath.

"I swear on the river Styx that I will try my best to retrieve the information and return it to you, in exchange for Damian's soul." Nico gave his part of the oath and immediately felt a weight on his chest, a promise left to keep.

"Go, I will work on finding Damian. Take this rope, it is strong and should hold against the force of the pit. As long as you are careful, you should have no reason to fear." He handed the hero a coil of rope that he produced out of nowhere. Nico took the rope and slung it over his shoulder.

"One final thing," Thanatos said as he held his scythe between cupped hands. When he brought his hands away, there was a black gem resting on his palm.

"This will tell me if the doors are in Tartarus?" Nico asked as he accepted the jewel.

"Yes. Now hurry." Thanatos shooed the boy away and the demigod wasted no more time. Nico ran as fast as he could to the cavern, though he was sure that his legs would give with every step. When Nico reached the entrance, he searched everywhere for an appropriate anchor. There were several trees in the area, so he settled for a thick, healthy-looking tree to use as the anchor. He tied the rope around the tree using the same types of knots the campers used to tie Mrs. O' Leary to a chariot two Christmases ago. It had to be strong to support the weight of a charging hellhound and a sled full of demigods.

Once he was sure of his knot, Nico looped the rope around his waist a few times and tied it with the same knot. He gripped the sliver tightly in his hands before he slowly made his way into the cave. It looked just like a normal cave, with stalactites, cold draft, etc. Well, except for the giant black hole at the very back that had voices issuing out of it. Whispers and screams were coming from the dark that made his stomach churn. Luckily, he didn't have anything in his stomach left to lose.

Nico took a few cautious steps closer to the chasm and glanced at the diamond. It wasn't glowing yet, so he took a few more steps, not wanting to get too close if he could avoid it. The gem still didn't glow. Nico sighed and walked up as close as he dared to the edge of the pit. He had reached the end of his rope, so he had to stop. He continued to lean forward but couldn't get much closer. Once he had got within 5 or six feet, the jewel glowed white, changing color completely. The son of Hades gripped it tightly in his hand-- satisfied that he had upheld his end of the deal. Just as he closed his hand around the stone, the vacuum that was Tartarus decided to turn on.

The pull of the pit felt like it was trying to strip him of his soul. The force was strong enough to knock him off his feet. his head smashed against a stalagmite on his way down and for a second all he saw were stars. The demigod blinked a few times and tried to force himself to his knees. It took him a few tries, but he finally got to his knees and stayed upright. He'd have to get out of danger before he would have time to really examine the injury, but a simple probing of the area didn't reveal any blood.

Nico forced his way through the wind, stopping every so often to catch his breath. His head ached and he was pretty sure he had gotten a concussion. He slowly but surely crawled and pulled Himself out of the cave. Nico collapsed onto the grass outside the cavern and immediately the pull stopped. He rolled onto his back before immediately rolling back onto his side when a wave of dizziness hit him. He took deep breaths as the feeling subsided temporarily. Unfortunately, the feeling returned every time he tried to sit up. Nico stuffed the stone in his pocket to free his other hand up.

When the dizziness had become manageable, Nico turned his attention to the rope around his waist. He untied it and pulled it off so he could stand up, which ended up being harder than he had expected. Well, standing up wasn't the hard part, it was walking in a straight line and not throwing up. Nico made it as far as the tree before he had to take a moment to catch his breath and settle his stomach. He untied the rope from the tree and slowly looped it back in. He tried to hurry because he most likely had a concussion and would need someone to check it out.

He coiled the rope up and slung it over his shoulder. Then he slowly made his way back towards the judgment hall, though he had to stop several times along the way to catch his breath. It had probably been half an hour before he got back to the hall. When he got there, Thanatos was waiting for him outside. He stood up as he saw the boy approaching. He came up to meet the hero and took the rope off his shoulder.

"I was starting to get worried. What happened?" He asked, sounding genuinely concerned. Nico explained everything to him and handed the diamond back to him. Thanatos nodded like the news didn't surprise him.

"I suspected as much, but I had to be sure. Thank you for holding up your end of the bargain. When you go home, you will find that your brother has been restored."

"Thank you." Nico sighed happily as he felt relief wash over him. Nico may have been the reason Damian had gotten into this mess in the first place, but he also got him out of it.

"How about I take you home. In this condition, you might end up in China." Thanatos offered. Nico didn't have the energy to protest so he nodded.

"Yeah, sure."

"Bruce nearly shot me when I appeared in front of him." Death smirked. We both knew that he had a no-kill rule.

"What happened?"

"I went over to Damian's body and restored his soul before leaving. Bruce kept asking me questions, but I didn't know what you would have wanted me to tell him so I didn't reply. After Damian started breathing again, he was more occupied with that." Bruce was not going to be happy about the intrusion, but Nico would explain it when he got back.

"That's nice. Can you take me back? To my room, if you can, please?" He asked. Feeling nauseous and tired. The infirmary would have been better, but Nico didn't think Bruce would appreciate that much.

"I shall try. You might pass out though," He warned. The son of Hades nodded to show that he had heard him. Nico wouldn't mind passing out for a while and escaping this massive headache, but he knew better. Falling asleep with a concussion could be the end of you. It wasn't anything ambrosia and nectar couldn't fix, but he wanted to be sure.

"Here we go." Then darkness and screams filled his senses. The wind ripped at Nico's clothes and the cold numbed his entire body. In moments, it was over and Nico was back in his room. Nico hobbled into the bathroom and collapsed by the toilet. He dry heaved for a while, but there wasn't really anything left in his stomach for him to expel.

"Nico, I'll go and get Bruce then I need to go back to the Underworld. I need to assist with the judgment of a certain soul." Thanatos apologized.

"Thank you. I'll be fine." Nico assured him Thanatos nodded in agreement. He gave the hero one more glance before disappearing. A short while later, Nico heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He wanted to move to his bed, but he got dizzy when he tried to stand up so he just stayed where he was. at least this time Bruce wouldn't walk in to see him in the middle of a panic attack. The footsteps were coming closer and Nico was both worried and relieved at the same time. He was afraid that they would freak out over his condition but hopeful to see that Damian was ok again.

"Nico? You're back! I was worried something happened to you. Are you ok?" Bruce came in with Damian, alive and well, hot on his heels.

"I got a concussion." The son of Hades said with a goofy smile. Once he saw that Damian was ok, everything was alright again and the fatigue and anxiety started catching up to him. The adrenaline and nervous energy that he had been running on were wearing off and he was about to fall asleep.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up. Then I want to know everything." Bruce tried to help the demigod up but he was too disoriented to get his feet underneath him.

"I'm tired. Can I sleep first? I just need some ambrosia and nectar." Nico asked as they helped him into his bedroom.

"Yeah, sure. I don't think you'll be of much use to us until you get some sleep. You've earned it." Bruce agreed and helped him get to the bed. Bruce pulled out some of the ambrosia and nectar from a pouch Nico kept in the trunk under his bed and handed it to him. After he had taken as much as he dared, Nico got his shoes off and crawled under the covers. He was asleep before he knew what was happening.

[I know I always say that my average chapter size is 3,000 words, but it's probably closer to 4 or 5,000 words. This is pretty much a whole novel at this point. When I first started this book, I didn't at all expect it to continue for this long or get this much attention. I couldn't be more surprised and more grateful!]

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