[Edited July 24, 2022]

That night at dinner, Nico told his brothers about his plan to go to Long Island. He told them that he needed to talk with Annabeth and Rachel about some dreams he had been having. He told them that he was going to be there for a few days-- and he was planning on being gone for a few days-- but he wasn't going to be at Camp Halfblood for that entire time. He was actually planning on hitting a few other places before he came home.

The son of Hades needed to check out what was going on with Thanatos, and see if there was anything else the deity could tell him about the doors. Nico understood the gist, but he doubted that a general knowledge would be enough to figure out how to close them. That was his main priority-- to close the gates-- if it was even possible for a demigod to do so.

After he was finished talking with Thanatos, he would stop by Sonoma and see what he could find out about his cousin. Percy had been gone for almost eight months now, and it was time that they brought him back to Camp Half-blood where he belonged.

"So when will you be back?" Dick asked at the meeting. It wasn't a true family meeting since Bruce was off on patrol and Alfred was doing whatever it was he does during the day. The Wayne children had a high level of independence since Bruce was often away on business or being Batman with the Justice League. They had learned how to make big decisions on their own from a young age. They were all strong leaders in their own rights, Bruce had made sure of that.

"I shouldn't be gone longer than 3 days. I might have to stay longer if they need me for something. I'll keep you guys posted." They looked suspicious and he couldn't exactly blame them. Nico had been forced to lie to them on several occasions now. He doubted that he would even believe himself at this point. It pained him to know that his brothers couldn't take him at his word anymore. He hated having to keep them in the dark and lying to them, even if it was for their protection. He would have to work on his relationship with his brothers more when he got back. They didn't deserve to be pushed to the side, not after they had done some much for him.

Truthfully, he was exhausted from trying to keep track of everything. Working three different angles at the same time was harder than he had expected, and Nico was ready to go back to how thing were before Percy went missing and Jason Grace & co. landed in the lake. He wasn't so naive as to think that things would go on as if nothing happened, but he hoped that they could all find some semblance of normality at the end of it all.

Clearly, nothing would be the same after this next prophecy, but he had to have hope that everything he cared about would survive if he managed to help close the doors and take away Gaea's advantage. He'd grown attached to his new family, the camps, and the 21st century-- he didn't want to lose it all so quickly. Coming out of the Lotus Hotel into the technological age had been a massive shock to his system, but now that he was used to it, he found that he much preferred it to the 1900s (at least from what he could remember). And the camps, though he had never felt that he belonged, were safe places for all sorts of people to grow and have the chance of a future. Nico himself had finally found a home with the Wayne family. He'd do anything to hold onto that.

That was one of the main things that bothered him about having to keep secrets. The son of Hades knew just how much he had hated it when he had found out that Hades was keeping the truth about his mother hidden from him. How would the others feel that he kept the fact that the world was in danger from them? How could he look them in the eyes knowing that he had kept secrets that may have allowed them to save thousands? He also couldn't deny that the weight of having to keep track of what he couldn't say was weighing him down. It would be a relief to get this off of his chest.

"Ok, we'll tell Bruce where you've gone," Dick told the younger boy, "Keep your phone on you, ok?" Nico promised them that he would and said his goodbyes. He retreated from the library, where they had their meetings, to his room to make sure that he had packed everything he would need, like weapons and ambrosia. He added in a travel-sized first aid kit Bruce had given him a few weeks ago just in case.

Taking a deep breath, Nico walked through the shadows of his dark bedroom and pictured his cabin at camp. When he came out of the gloom he realized that he wasn't alone. Someone was sitting on the usually unused bed (if you could call it that). The son of Hades tensed, ready to attack before he recognized the lone figure.

"Annabeth?" He asked as he moved out of the way of the dungeon-esque window and allowed some light into the room. Whoever designed this really thought they were vampires or something. It was ridiculous. It was the middle of the day but he could hardly see his hand in front of his face. He pulled back the blackout curtains as much as he could. He heard Annabeth stand behind him.

"Hey, Nico. I figured that I might find you here." Her voice was light, she had clearly been crying. Nico decided not to mention it. He wouldn't know what to say, anyway.

"Really? I didn't even know I was coming here until a few minutes ago. I mean, coming to this cabin." He clarified setting his stuff down on one of the unused beds. It seems like they finally took out the coffins, which he considered to be a massive improvement. How they had even managed to find coffins for the cabin was beyond him. Surely they didn't just make them out of thin air.

Annabeth shrugged, "Rachel had a hunch."

"That's... that's actually really creepy." Annabeth chuckled lightly. It wasn't much, but it made Nico feel more at ease, knowing that he could still make her laugh. There was still hope.

"I thought you were the king of creepy?"

"I did too." Nico stretched and rubbed his eyes as they adjusted to the darkness.

"So, what do you think about my theory? About the wolves in Sonoma." Nico pursed his lips, trying to come up with something to say. He moved to lay out his stuff on the bed to buy a little time. It didn't work.

"Nico," She insisted.

"Look, Annabeth, I talked to Thalia and she said that she didn't see Percy in Sonoma. Though, at this point, we can't rule anything out." He pointed out, knowing that Percy would probably make his way to Sonoma eventually. That is if he was going to properly join the legion.

"So you think that we should check it out?" Nico was touched that she was asking his opinion, though he wasn't exactly the smartest demigod, and this was a big call to make. With so much uncertainty, it was a gamble to risk any demigods for a gut feeling.

The son of Hades turned to face her, "This is the biggest lead we have. I think we'd be foolish not to at least check it out." He admitted, "We shouldn't rush into anything though, we don't know what we're up against. It could be a trap." Nico believed what he said. They really didn't have any idea what they were dealing with. Maybe this all had been some elaborate trap.

"That's what I was thinking. I guess I just needed a second opinion," Annabeth rubbed her hands through her messy hair and sighed, "Thanks, Nico. Have you seen Leo's ship recently?"

"No? Is it finished yet? The last time I was here Leo almost blew up the camp. I wasn't really paying attention to the actual ship." He wasn't really sure what had gone wrong the last time. When he had asked questions Leo had just muttered something about off-brand lemon furniture polish before cursing like a trucker. Well, that's what he assume he was doing, it was all in rapid-fire Spanish.

"Yeah, can't say I blame you. That was a rough day." She opened the door and led the way outside. A few passing campers gave us weird looks and Nico could hear them muttering as they walked away. I didn't see him go in there. Where did he come from?

"Come on, let's go to bunker nine," Annabeth said leading the way. Nico jogged a few steps to catch up. On the way through the camp, they talked about many things. The daughter of Athena told him about how Jason and Thalia were related and how Jason's memories had come back. She told him all she knew about the other camp and he had to bite his tongue.

What Nico didn't realize at the time was that someone was watching him from afar and they remembered him. The pair passed the figure by without incident and his window of opportunity passed him by.

"Welcome to bunker nine." Annabeth gestured to the huge warehouse that he had only just glimpsed before. We walked through the design room where children of Hephaestus were scrambling all around the room, carrying blueprints and tools. The energy of the place made him feel something he hadn't felt in a long time, comradery and the feeling of being part of something bigger than himself. There was also something so hopeful about it-- like they were finally working towards a known goal.

The pair made their way into the main workplace and he was astounded by what he found. What had once been a sad skeleton of a vessel was now a full-fledged war trireme. Nico had known how big it was supposed to be, but the sheer scale still took his breath away.

"Wow." he managed.

"I know! Leo has really outdone himself this time." Annabeth smiled appreciatively. Her mood had picked up significantly on the way to the bunker and Nico knew that she was feeling hopeful. Nico just hoped that she was putting her faith in the right thing.

"How long did this take him?"

"Only a few months, really. Some of it was delayed by the whole engine scare and the fact that he ran out of some of the materials he needed." Annabeth led the way around the hull, explaining how Leo had made the ship so it could sail or fly. He was internally grateful that he would never have to ride in it. Neither Zeus nor Poseidon were very fond of him.

Even if they wanted him on this mission, he wouldn't be able to go, he'd be in Tartarus trying to shut the goddamn doors.

Looking over the ship it suddenly struck him that all of this was really happening. The demigods were on a course to meet each other and either form an alliance or cause another war. Somehow, he knew he wasn't going to be there to see the outcome, or at least he had a strong feeling that he wouldn't be. Nico just hoped that maybe he'd make it to see the end of this thing, the odds were not in his favor.

"Leo wanted to install a smokescreen to try and hide our scent from monsters but I think he decided to install sonar and radar instead." Annabeth went on, not having a clue that her friend's mind had wandered.

The son of Hades let her talk because this was the happiest he'd seen her in months. Now that we had a goal in mind she was feeling hopeful. It wouldn't be long before Jason pieced together that Hera had probably sent Percy to the other camp. The only way they'd keep Annabeth here after that would be to drug her with enough sedative to knock out Hannibal the war elephant.

"Ok, now that you've seen the ship, you should stop by the big house. I think Chiron wants to talk to you. I have to go polish my armor to capture the flag tonight. You gonna play?" She asked as they made their way out of the bunker. Nico considered the offer, it had been a while since he had played, but he had more important matters to attend to at the moment. Maybe there would be time to play later if he ever made it back here.

"I told the mortals that I'd be back before long so I don't think I'll be able to play tonight. They get kind of protective."

"That's right! I forgot you were staying with mortals. You need to tell me all about them sometime." She insisted. Nico thought about their big secret and chuckled to himself. They'd love it if the entire mythological world suddenly knew their identities. He'd probably become the new black sheep of the family after that. Outta the way, Todd.

"Yeah," he replied weakly. Luckily, Annabeth wasn't really paying attention to him.

"There's Chiron. He's teaching archery. You should go to him. I'll catch up with you later, ok?" She started to make her way towards the armory without waiting for a response. Nico watched her go for a while before he started towards the archery range.

When he got close, Nico noticed that the Aphrodite kids were the ones practicing. Some of them were actually pretty good at archery. Piper was among the group and she was at least hitting the target. As he came up to the range Chiron noticed him and gave him a small nod to show that he knew why the demigod was there.

"All stop." He ordered and the barrage of arrows stopped. The centaur motioned the boy over and Nico made his way around the line of kids who were watching him with distaste. Most of them knew who he was. The ones who didn't were quickly brought up to date by their siblings.

"Annabeth said you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Nico, I do. After this practice, I want to see you at the Big House." he nodded and started moving off in that direction. A couple of the Aphrodite girls muttered oooohhhh under their breath and laughed at their own immaturity. At one time that would have bothered him, but now Nico understood that their opinions didn't matter.

When Nico got to the house, he found the pinochle table abandoned. It seemed that even Dionysus had been recalled to Olympus. Zeus must really be desperate then. Inside the house he found Rachel napping on the couch. He smiled at the gentle scene. He sat down in a rocking chair and waited. Listening to Rachel's even breathing was soothing and he soon found himself getting tired. Nico had almost fallen asleep when Rachel shot up with a shout. The son of Hades rushed over to her to try and help, though he had no idea what to do.

"Rachel? Rachel!" He grabbed her shoulders. Her eyes focused on him and she relaxed.

"Oh, hi Nico. What are you doing here?" She asked awkwardly. He ignored the question.

"Are you ok?" Rachel swallowed hard and nodded.

"Yeah. I don't remember most of the dreams. I know that I need to be with Grover. He and I have something we have to do. I... I don't know what. Something bad is going to happen when they meet. Who are they?" She muttered to herself. To her it was gibberish but it all made sense to him.

This was probably a reference to the two camps. Something bad was going to happen when the two camps came together. This was exactly the thing he had hoped to avoid. He needed this meeting to go smoothly. The world needed for this to go smoothly. He didn't know if this new adversary (whomever it is) can be beaten without both camps.

"Something bad will happen. I will need to be with Grover. Where is Grover?" She asked.

"I don't know. After I talk to Chiron we can go see Juniper. She might know." He offered.

"That sounds good. I'm going to grab a snack from the mess hall, I feel like I haven't eaten all day." Rachel checked her watch, "I've been asleep almost all day! That was some vision, whatever it was." She shook her head in bewilderment.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll meet you on the porch when you're done." She stood and stretched every joint popping.

"Bring a couple of flashlights or torches when you come. It'll be dark by then and we don't want to wander the woods in the dark. Who knows what traps the Stolls have laid out." Nico chuckled to lighten the mood. The joke came out sounding flat.

"Good point. I'll see what I can find." She left the house, grabbing her cloak off a hook on her way out. She definitely wore it just for the aesthetic. The thought made him smile. Rachel herself was just amazing. She was a clear-sighted mortal who took on the labyrinth because Percy needed her to. She became the Oracle of her own accord, just because she wanted to. Plus, who else could say they nailed the titan of time in the eye with a hairbrush?

It wasn't long after she left that The son of Hades heard the distinctive sound of hooves on the porch. After some weird shuffling noises, Chiron came into the house in his wheelchair. Nico had always wondered how that enchantment worked but he also didn't want to ask.

"There you are, my boy. We haven't seen much of you recently." Ciron noted, setting his medical bag on one of the side tables. He took it with him everywhere, just in case.

"Yeah, I've been pretty busy." the boy shrugged even though his teacher wasn't looking at him.

"So, I take it you know what happens next? You have still been going between the camps, correct?" Chiron made his way into the house's kitchen. Nico followed so that he could still talk to the older man.

"Yeah. Nothing major is happening. They don't have any rescue operations right now and the gods have cut contact with them as well. Well, I guess that isn't completely true, they have me looking."

"Oh really," Chiron smiled dryly, "how is your search going?"

"I think I may have found him but it's too soon to tell." He joked, trying to make light of a precarious situation.

"Well, let me know how that turns out." Chiron set a kettle on the stove.

"Will do. In all seriousness though, do you think Jason remembers me from the camp?" Nico asked leaning back against the counter. Chiron adjusted himself so he was facing the younger boy.

"I think that he probably does. He mentioned that his memories were resurfacing. I would be sure he doesn't see you, just in case." He advised, "Has Percy popped up anywhere yet?"

"No, but I'm willing to bet that he will show up at the other camp at some point. I need to make sure that I'm there when he does. I have to make sure he makes it into the legion."

"I doubt that there will be much you can do, but I would feel better knowing that you're there to help him out if he needs it." Nico nodded in agreement. There wouldn't be anything he could do, but he had to at least try.

"I'll do my best."

"What have you found out about the monsters? Why are they not staying dead?" Chiron got out some tea, Earl Grey, and grabbed a cup from the cupboard, "want some tea?" He offered. Nico shook his head.

"I spoke to Thanatos a while ago and it would seem that the doors of death have been held open somehow. The monsters have a quick way back out," he explained. Chiron's face turned grim.

"I was afraid of that. There's no way to close them?" His face seemed to age another decade.

"No good ways," he admitted. There was only one way, but he wasn't even sure that it's a good plan. However, it was the only plan.

"The only way would be to close them from inside Tartarus itself Nico. Don't tell me you were even thinking about it. You'd never make it. Not even the gods delve into the pit." Chiron's voice was stern and hard. It left no room for discussion. As far as Nico was concerned, there was nothing to discuss.

"The thought had crossed my mind but I know it's not realistic," Nico assured him. He knew it wasn't realistic but he also know that it was the camp's only chance.

"Put that nonsense from your mind. I'll not have you going on a suicide mission." Chiron rubbed his hand down his face. The son of Hades figured that Chiron had also surmised that the Tartarus excursion was their only hope.

"Chiron, what are we fighting? What is this great evil we're up against?"

"I wish I knew, my boy. I wish I knew." Silence filled the room and the tension was palpable.

"Rachel had some sort of dream or vision of some kind before you came in here. She said that there will be trouble when they meet and that she needs to be with Grover for something. I think she meant the camps."

"Di immortals." Chiron rubbed his temples.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" The kettle came to a boil. Chiron took the kettle off and the horrible screaming came to a stop. He poured the hot water into a cup with the tea leaves and took the cup back over to the living room.

"What do you think the vision meant?" Nico asked as he trailed behind the centaur.

"I hope it doesn't mean what you think, but I haven't the confidence to say."

"Perfect. I'm going with Rachel to try and find Juniper. Then I'll be headed off again. I'll let you know if I learn anything else."

"Nico, be safe. There are going to be many hard times ahead."

"I'll try," He promised as he stepped outside. Rachel was sitting on the porch stairs eating a muffin, two industrial flashlights sitting on the deck next to her. Nico had no idea where she would have gotten her hands on them because they weren't standard in the store and they definitely weren't from the armory. He decided that it was best not to ask.

"You ready?" Nico asked as he came up beside her.

"Hmm!" Rachel had just taken a bite and had to finish chewing before she could respond, "Yeah, let's go. I got the flashlights."

The pair made their way to the forest, chatting away about their adventures with Percy. He was grateful for the trip down memory lane. It was a good way to distract himself from everything that was going wrong at once. Also his impending doom.

As they walked through the camp we got several odd looks. Nico wasn't exactly sociable and Rachel creeped most campers out. He guessed it was a strange sight to see both of camp's weirdos walking and laughing together. They should have started whispering to each other and staring creepily at the other campers. That would have been really fun.

"Do you have any idea where she'll be?" Rachel asked as we got to the edge of the woods.

"I think her tree is somewhere around the creek. Other than that, I don't know. Do you have a weapon?" Rachel nodded and pulled out a handgun. Nico raised his eyebrow at her. Why did she have that? She was the only person he had ever seen use a gun.

"It shoots celestial bronze." She assured him, misunderstanding the look. Nico shook his head. Sometimes with Rachel, it was better not to question things. Because she was possessed by the oracle, a greek being, she could now use demigod weapons.

"Ok then, let's do this," he said, leading the way into the forest. It would turn out that the industrial flashlights were really bright. Not a single monster bothered us. We made it to the creek without a problem. The trouble turned out to be finding Juniper.

"Juniper!?" Nico called out. He didn't get an answer.

"Do you think she can even hear us? Do trees hear us talking?" Rachel seemed to be talking to herself so he didn't bother answering. He, of course, knew for a fact that they did.

Nico walked up to a random tree and knocked on the trunk. For several seconds nothing happened so he turned to ask Rachel a question. As he started to speak something tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around he saw a very cranky dryad standing there with her arms crossed.

"Sorry for the intrusion but I really need to find Juniper. Can you show me which tree is hers?"

"It's the juniper." The dryad spoke to him as if he were an idiot.

"I know but I don't know what juniper looks like." The dryad sighed tiredly and lead them a few yards further down the river.

"Thank you so much." Rachel said as they reached the patch of what Nico assumed was Juniper. The tree spirit just rolled her eyes and returned to her own tree. Rachel looked at Nico quizzically and he could only shrug. Nico didn't understand normal women, much less magical tree women. Rachel approached Juniper's tree and rapped lightly on the bark.

"Juniper? It's Rachel and Nico. Can we talk to you for a moment?" There was no reply. Rachel knocked again but to no avail.

"I guess she isn't here?" Rachel frowned.

"She has to be here somewhere. I didn't think they could wander very far from their home tree." Rachel looked as troubled as he felt.

"I don't know. I guess we should be heading back. They've probably already started the campfire." Rachel sighed and started to lead the way back out.

"What, without their oracle?" he teased. Rachel gave him a small smile. They started back for camp.

"So, what have you been up to lately? I haven't seen you around camp for a while."

"Yeah, I've been pretty busy..." Nico agreed. He ended up telling Rachel everything about his new family (well, not actually everything) and his brothers. He found that she was surprisingly easy to talk to and was a really good listener. He ended up telling her about the mortal life he had been leading. With online school, the galas and public appearances, and what each of his brothers (sans Jason) were like.

"I'm so happy for you Nico! They sound amazing." Rachel smiled brightly. He nodded in agreement. The bat family was pretty amazing.

"Maybe I can go meet them sometime! My father has been getting invitations to his galas for years. He doesn't go because he's always busy. Maybe he'd be open to sending me in his place. As a representative for Dare Enterprises or something." She smiled at him.

"Really? That'd be amazing! though I should warn you that Gotham can be pretty dangerous." Nico said, genuinely happy at the prospect. Rachel raised an eyebrow at him and gestured to the rest of the camp.

"Fair enough." Nico chuckled. "You should also know that they would know about the oracle as soon as you introduced yourself," he warned.

"Really? You told them?"

"A Dracaena came to the house, they had some questions after that." he fabricated an excuse on the spot. He hated lying to her, but no one except the bat family could have figured it out any other way.

"Wonderful." She deadpanned because we both knew it wasn't.

"It would be really cool if you could come. If it wouldn't make you uncomfortable," He told her, keeping up the conversation.

"You really think so?" She smiled at him. The son of Hades nodded and blushed. It had come out a little more flirtatious than friendly and he didn't know exactly how to remedy that.

"I don't really like parties," he told her and she chuckled, unsurprised.

"I can't say I blame you. I'm not too big of a fan of them either." Nico hoped Rachel understood that I wasn't trying to flirt. When they got to the campfire. Rachel made her way to the front to sit with Annabeth while Nico stayed standing in the back. Big groups of people made him nervous and he was trying not to attract too much attention to himself. He was more comfortable on the outskirts.

It was only nine here which meant that it still wasn't too late to go and talk to Hazel for a little while. Maybe he would get to see how the Romans ate dinner. Nico didn't say anything to anyone before he left. They knew that he was planning on going home tonight. He slipped out of the amphitheater and made the trek back to his cabin. He grabbed his things off his bed and walked into the shadows. He came out into the middle of what looked to be a roll call. Oops.

[Here we go people!]