[Edited July 26, 2022]

[June 21st]

After breakfast, Nico went back upstairs to shower and change. He had a lot to do today and he needed to start now if he wanted to get everything done before he was supposed to go to the Mountain with the others. He tried not to put too much thought into it all. He couldn't say that he was dreading the point where he would have to say goodbye to the team, but he wouldn't say that anticipation was the right word either. They were mainly indifferent to him and he mostly felt the same way. The only difference is that he knew how much the team meant to his brothers. He was grateful that they had been there for his new family when they had needed support and he was grateful that they would be there to help them after he'd gone. The Bats were in good hands.

Once he had changed, Nico gathered what he'd need for the errands. First, he grabbed the letters he had written to Thalia and Ivy. He'd have to put them in places where they wouldn't be noticed quickly. He didn't need them trying to stop him. He also stuffed a pouch of ambrosia in the pockets of his cargo pants since he was leaving Gotham's protective barrier. He didn't want to be caught off-guard if a monster sniffed him out. He'd gotten comfortable with the lack of mythical monsters in Gotham, but he couldn't let himself get soft. With everything that he needed, the son of Hades took a deep breath and shadow traveled to toxic acres.

He wanted to leave the letter for Ivy first because he knew where she was for sure. His dreams had told him that the Hunters were still at Camp Half-Blood, but there was no way to be sure. For one, the Hunters tended to move around frequently and didn't tend to let people know when they were leaving. There was also the fact that dreams were unreliable at the best of times. If they weren't at camp, it would take some doing to track them down.

Nico walked out of the shadows in an alley across from the house that Ivy was currently occupying. It looked almost peaceful in the dim morning, and even the toxic gases that hung over the place weren't quite as oppressive. He was surprised to realize that he was actually going to miss this place. For all its flaws, Toxic Acres had acted as a sort of safe haven for him and he would be sad to have to leave it.

The demigod approached the dilapidated house with the utmost caution. The last thing he needed was for Ivy to catch him and read the letter before he had time to leave. The whole point was for her not to notice it until it was too late for her to stop him. The good news is that there didn't seem to be any lights on inside. Maybe she was off on a mission or something. Whatever the case, Nico was grateful for her absence. Nico stalked up the porch steps and paused on the doormat, realizing that he hadn't thought about where he should hide the note.

Nico stood frozen for a few long moments as he considered his options. He could go inside and try to hide it somewhere in the house, but he was worried that he wouldn't hide it well enough or, conversely, that she'd never find it. He could put it on the porch somewhere, but then he had to worry about the elements damaging the letter. After a few moments of indecision, Nico had an idea of where he could stick the letter that she wouldn't notice immediately. He could put it under her doormat, with just the corner sticking out. It wouldn't be obvious, but she would probably see it before too long. At least, he hoped so.

Nico gently pulled up the edge of the rotting welcome mat and slipped the letter underneath. He left a small corner poking out and the white clashed with the dark rotted deck boards. She'd definitely notice it whenever she looked down. Hopefully, she'd take a little while to notice it. When the letter was in place, Nico pictured Thalia and prayed to Hermes, the god of travelers, that he would land far enough away from the center of their camp that the hunters wouldn't kill him. Nico shut his eyes tight and crossed his fingers as he stepped into the shadows. Hopefully, he wouldn't end up in someone's bedroom or the hunter's cabin.

Nico kept his eyes closed when he emerged, waiting to get shot or for someone to yell at him. Hopefully, he wasn't somewhere private. When nothing happened, Nico slowly opened his eyes and found himself in front of a very young and very surprised huntress. The son of Hades didn't recognize her so she must have been fairly new.

"Who- who are you? What do you want?" She aimed an arrow at him but her posture was sloppy and her body was shaking. What was she doing out here on her own? Nico raised his hand in surrender. Her eyes darted to the letter in his hand and back to his face. Nico hoped he seemed unassuming enough that she wouldn't hear him out.

"My name is Nico di Angelo and I have a letter for your lieutenant, Thalia. She's my cousin." Nico explained gently. Thalia had once told him that the little ones were the most trigger-happy. He would have thought it had been a warning if she hadn't been smiling proudly at the time.

"Boys aren't allowed in camp." She said flatly.

"I know. That's why I asked Hermes to help me land outside of camp." The son of Hades agreed.

"How were you planning on getting the letter to her?" She was young, but she was smart. He hadn't really thought about it but the rule that boys weren't supposed to be in their camp was definitely a setback.

"I thought the Hunters were still at Camp Half-Blood."

"We aren't," she stated needlessly, "Shouldn't you have thought of that?"

"I hadn't thought that far ahead," he admitted. Her eyes flashed in amusement but that quickly changed when he took a step toward her, having come up with a solution. She leveled her arrow at the intruder, her posture suddenly perfect and unwavering. Apparently, she only looked young. Nico vaguely wondered what could cause a person to join the Hunters so young.

"Take another step and I skewer you." She warned. The son of Hades took a few steps back raising his eyebrows in surprise. She was a great actress.

"I was just going to give you the letter. I wasn't trying to make a move against you." She eyed the boy suspiciously.

"You can set the letter on that log and leave the way you came. Promptly." Nico set the letter on the log, keeping his other hand where she could see it. It would seem that the older hunters were just as trigger-happy.

"You'll get it to her? Please, I really need her to see it." Nico asked, watching her for confirmation.

"Your message will be conveyed to her. Now leave." He didn't wait for her to ask again. He stepped back into the shadow of a tree and focused on the manor. When he got back he stuffed a corner of a piece of ambrosia in his mouth and savored the taste. It had shifted away from his mother's apple pie and now it tasted like Alfred's cookies. Nico was sad that he would no longer be able to taste his mother's recipe, but Alfred's cookies were comforting too.

After the demigod felt like he had most of his energy back, he left his room to try and see what his brothers were up to. If these were going to be his last few days, Nico wanted to spend them with his family. All four wild, eccentric, and amazing batboys. Bruce had done a good job with them. He found them in the Batcave training. Dick was fighting against Bruce using his escrima sticks, Tim was at the Batcomputer looking over a case, and the other two were going at each other in the ring. Even Alfred was organizing the medical equipment in sickbay. The whole family was together.

Nico felt a rush of protectiveness as he walked through the cave. These were the people who he cared about most and these were the people who he'd die for.

He headed down into the cave's locker room and changed into a flexible pair of cargo pants and a plain black t-shirt. He could do with a little exercise, it would help him boost his spirits and it was a good way to kill some time. Nico picked up two butterfly swords, a weapon Jason had introduced him to, and stepped onto the hologram platform. Over the time that he had been training at the Manor, he had found that dual-wielding had become his preferred method of fighting. It was more efficient and the style was more flexible than what his Stygian Iron sword allowed and it was so much more fluid. If he could, he'd look into finding or commissioning two celestial bronze butterfly swords for fighting monsters. For now, his sword would suit him just fine.

This platform worked the same way the one at the mountain did. It projected holographic enemies around you and you had to take them down using any means at your disposal. Nico selected 'assassins' from the menu and prepared himself for battle. Something else Nico had been doing is moving up the levels on the training simulators. He hadn't quite caught up to his brothers, but he was advancing quickly and could hold his own in battles. Bruce told him that he was advancing more quickly than the others had when they first started out and that he could be just as good as any of the rest of them someday if he kept up with the training regimen. This was the level that he hadn't managed to beat yet and he was determined not to leave before he had cleared it. The demigod could hear the high-pitched buzzing that signaled that the platform was booting up.

At first, nothing happened, but then he felt a tingling sensation down his spine and he dodged right. A hologram sword sunk into the ground where he had been standing a moment before. Nico barely had time to block before the assassin was back up and swinging a sai him. Nico leaped back and the blade missed his nose by an inch. From there, his body went on autopilot. The hologram and the son of Hades danced around each other, neither one getting the upper hand. All these months of practice and brutal training had translated into his muscle memory and even in survival mode, he found that he kept the training. It was all worth it.

The swords were extensions of his arms and Nico felt more centered than he ever had in his life. There was nothing like a good battle to clear your mind. Is this what Percy felt like in battle? Nico smiled dangerously, the adrenaline coursing through his body made him feel unstoppable.

He crossed blades with the assassin and forced him back a few feet. Nico caught one sai with his sword, leaving the opponent's stomach unprotected. Nico tried to take advantage of the opening but the assassin's other sai blocked the path of his blade in time. The demigod threaded his blade into the sai's guard and leveraged the blade out of his opponent's hand. It fell to the ground where it collapsed into pixels. The assassin pushed Nico back with his remaining blade, almost making him lose his balance. Instead, Nico turned the momentum of the fall into a back handspring and kicked the other blade out of the opponent's hand. Once it had also been reduced to pixels, Nico quickly dispatched the assassin.

The victory was short-lived, however, as soon two more took his place. Having gotten into the swing of the battle, Nico dispatched them without as much fanfare. Two well-placed slashes to the torso and the assassins were returned to pixels. With each victory, the number of assassins increased. Now there were four of them but Nico wasn't slowing down. He was his own black hole and he was determined that nothing would escape him.

The fight went on for a long time. Nico had become the eye of a storm. Anything that got within reach of his blades was turned to pixels. It was like he was a whirlwind of death. 

It took him a few seconds before he realized that he had become the center of a swirling shadow vortex. He continued fighting, the assassins that got too close were turned to pixels either by his swords or by the glowing black vortex. He was literally a black hole.

"Nico! What is that?" Nico risked a glance away from the fight and saw Bruce at the edge of the platform, wedged against a railing.

"I don't know!" the son of Hades returned, taking out another swathe of assassins.

"Can you make it stop?" Nico looked at Bruce again and noticed that his knuckles were white against the bars. The gravity he was feeling wasn't imagined. Nico had actually become a center of gravity. How was that possible? Was this a Hades thing? How could it be? He wasn't sure whether or not he could stop it since he didn't know how he even started it. The demigod shut his eyes tight and prayed to his father.

"Please, father. Help me put a stop to this. I don't think I can." He murmured under his breath, the wind sucking his words away. For a few terrifying seconds, nothing happened. Then all at once the vortex dissipated, the gravity field collapsed, and the holographic platform shut off. Nico's hands relaxed in their own accord and the butterfly swords clattered to the ground. He looked around the cave noticing just how much damage he had done.

The floor around him had gashes carved into the ground and had exposed the wiring underneath the platform. He stood in the center of the perfect circle of carnage, untouched. It wasn't just the ground that had been affected either. Anything that hadn't been tied down had shifted towards him by several feet. Bruce and the other boys all had to find anchors to hold on to. Some were luckier than others.

Bruce had found a railing and had wedged his hips against the top bar, the seat at the Batcomputer was bolted to the floor so Tim was fine though his hair was messed up, Dick had been forced to hold on to his gymnastic rings and was currently rubbing his shoulders, Damian had braced himself against a column, and Jason was currently tangled in the trapeze safety net. Alfred had been in sickbay which seemed to be out of reach of his gravity field.

Nico took a step forward to go make sure that everyone was ok but his legs gave out from under him. He felt shaky and his vision was swimming. He could feel bile rise in the back of his throat so he forced himself over to a nearby trashcan and lost his breakfast. Someone rubbed his back as he continued to heave long after he had thrown up everything that was in his stomach.

When Nico was done, he collapsed on the floor and lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. Bruce hovered over him, concerned. Nico could hear Jason in the distance spitting and cursing as the other boys tried to figure out how to get him untangled.

That was my blessing. I don't know how you managed to manifest it. Only one of my sons has ever been capable of calling on my blessing before. Hades spoke in his mind. He almost sounded impressed.

"Oh, really? What happened to him?" Nico didn't care if he was speaking aloud, he didn't have the energy to try to communicate in his mind.

It burned him up.

"But I survived." Nico pointed out needlessly.

You were lucky.

"I don't feel lucky." Hades hummed in what almost felt like amusement.

You need ambrosia, nectar, and a lot of sugar. You just used a ton of magic energy. Your body isn't used to that kind of strain.

"Ok. Sugar. Got it. Who was the last one to manifest it?"

Hitler.

"So that's why they never found his body." Hades didn't reply and Nico could feel that his presence had left him.

"Nico? What was that?" Bruce stood over the demigod, holding out his hand.

"Sugar and ambrosia first. Explanation after." He bargained. Brue helped the younger boy up but had to catch him when his legs gave out again.

"Alfred!" Bruce called.

"In sickbay. I have some emergency stores of godly food there." The butler dispensed with the honorifics in favor of speed. Bruce helped him into sickbay where Alfred handed him a square of ambrosia. Nico could feel his head beginning to pound and his body felt like he'd been electrocuted and then forced to move through molasses. Nico stuffed an entire square of godly food in his mouth and barely took the time to swallow. Then he took a canteen from Alfred and swallowed a mouthful of that too. As he suspected, it was nectar. Then he laid back on the hospital bed and squinted at the LEDs.

He was so exhausted that he didn't notice the smoke curling off his body until Bruce said something.

"Nico, you're smoking." His voice was insistent and concerned. The older man laid a hand on his arm and pulled it back as though he had been burned. Maybe he had finally taken too much ambrosia and this was where he burned up.

"Looks like I can't keep my promises," the son of Hades muttered. Alfred handed the demigod a handful of sugar packs. Though he wasn't sure that it would do any good now, he emptied pack after pack in his mouth. It was amazing to him that he could practically feel his blood sugar start to rise, or maybe that was a placebo effect. Either way, his body began to stop shaking and his headache diminished a little bit.

"He needs to be cooled down," Alfred warned. Bruce, to his credit, didn't waste any time. He scooped the lighter boy off the table and hurried him into the locker room. Bruce slowed only to gently place the demigod at the bottom of a shower and turned on the water. The water steamed as it met his pale skin and it felt incredible. Nico shifted so that the water ran all over him, steam rising and water sizzling each time it met a dry patch of skin. A few moments later all of his brothers rushed in.

"You were being literal," Damian stated after they all watched him relax under the cold water.

"Huh?" Nico asked intelligently.

"You were literally burning up. Is that from the ambrosia?"

"Yeah, I took too much after using too much magic."

"I thought you were kidding," Jason muttered. He looked disheveled from being stuck in the net, but no worse for wear.

"Nope. If we overdo it, we literally burn to ash." Bruce ran his hand over his face. With the water running down his hair and into his eyes, Nico could be sure, but he thought he could see red marks on his arms. Had it burned Bruce to carry him?

"Why would your father tell you to take so much if it would burn you up?" Bruce sat on a bench.

"Because I was already burning up from sustaining his blessing for so long. That much power shouldn't have been possible for me to handle. I should have been crushed by that much gravity." Nico explained.

"Why weren't you?" Dick cut in.

"Hades said it was because I was lucky. There was only one other child of Hades who had ever manifested his blessing and it crushed him. I manifested it by accident and survived."

"But that's not what you think?" Tim raised his eyebrows at him. The son of Hades sighed. Sometimes he hated living with human lie detectors. Very little got past them.

"No. I'm anything but lucky. I think that the fates have plans for me in the future and they can't have me dying yet."

"What sort of plans?" Jason frowned.

"I have no idea," he lied.

"Are you feeling better now, Master Nico?" Alfred asked as he joined us. Nico nodded, standing to shut off the water. The steam had dissipated and he could start to feel how cold the water actually was.

"Yeah, I'm better now. I just have this intense craving for sugar. Like straight sugar." Admittedly, he already had quite a sweet tooth but he was craving things like straight frosting and maple syrup.

"Well, I have fresh caramels upstairs that are basically pure sugar. You can have some with lunch after you dry off and change." Alfred took his leave.

"Sorry about that guys. I didn't know that there even was a blessing of Hades. I certainly had no idea that I could manifest it. Are you all alright?" Nico accepted a towel from Richard.

"Nothing wounded but my pride," Jason muttered under his breath while the others smirked at him.

"I think we're good," Dick answered for them.

"How about after lunch we take it easy?" He asked uneasily. Nico didn't like how close he had come to dying today. He wanted to spend his last days wisely and dying seemed to be the opposite of that. If his life had ended today, it would have made his whole plan-- and all the preparation he had done-- irrelevant.

"I second that," Dick agreed, "what do you want to do?" Nico considered his question carefully since he hadn't been expecting them to ask him what he wanted to do.

"I just want to hang out with you guys," he shrugged. It didn't really matter to him what they were doing.

"We'll talk about it at lunch. Hurry up and get dried off. We'll meet you up there." Dick ruffled his wet hair and cringed at the texture.

++++

After Nico had eaten lunch and tons of sugar, the boys decided to go to an arcade in the mall. It was something that a typical teenager might do and they knew that Nico had never been to one. Well, not one that wasn't in a prison casino, at least. They wanted to give him, and Damian, a taste of a normal childhood. Even Jason got to go because he disguised himself by changing his features enough to hide who he was. He could have been anybody but today he looked mostly like himself except for the fact that he'd given himself fake red hair and brown eyes. It was believable unless you looked too closely.

The bat boys spent the day catching Nico up on current events, politics, conspiracies, technology, biology, space travel, Gotham history, and what most people would know about the Justice League if you asked them. They also played some games and ate cheap arcade pizza for dinner. It was especially fun to just have some fun competition and let loose for a little while without having to worry about secret identities, villains, or missions. There was time to just enjoy what life he had left.

Hours passed though it hardly felt like any time at all. Just like the past 70 years of the human race. Nico went into the casino before television and came out with portable cell phones. It was a lot to think about.

++++

When they went back to the manor, they all went their separate ways. Even though they'd had a fun day, they all still had their responsibilities. Nico believed that they were all going on patrol, so he decided to keep to himself and do some packing. Meanwhile, the rest of the bat family had met in the Batcave. It seemed like they still had more to discuss about their resident demigod. Particularly, what they could do to make sure that Nico made it through this war alive.

Strategies were discussed, plans were made, and allies were contacted. They weren't going to lose Nico to this mission if they had anything to say about it. It wasn't going to happen. They had resources and had fought greater enemies than this in their lifetime. Nico wasn't going to become another casualty of their line of work.

Privately, Bruce reached out to the one person that he knew Nico wouldn't want him talking to. The only one that could intervene where they couldn't. Bruce only hoped that he wouldn't need their help.

While Nico was sketching in his room, his family was working furiously to protect him.

[June 22nd]

That night Nico had another dream about Hazel's quest. He couldn't make heads or tales of what he was seeing because it was just so bizarre. They were surrounded by food trucks and harpies and talking to a fat man in a bathrobe. Had they been New York or Gotham, Nico might not have thought to question it. As it were, Nico recognized the man at the picnic table. Phineas, the blind prophet. He was fending off the harpies using a... weed whacker? Phineas was bad news and he didn't like that the questers were dealing with him.

Nico tried to focus and listen in on what was being said but for some reason, he couldn't. It was like trying to listen with cotton stuffed in your ears. The closer Hazel got to Phineas, the softer her voice became. The old seer seemed to be smiling about something as Percy settled onto the bench across from him and set two identical vials on the table. Before he could identify what the vials were, he was roughly pulled out of the dream.

You have meddled where you do not belong, little one. I can't have you spoiling the surprise! A feminine voice spoke to him in his mind, From now on this quest is shielded from your prying eyes. If you value your sanity or their lives, you will not try to spy on this quest again. A face appeared in the inky blackness of his mind and he screamed. She was made of Earth, but undeniably alive. Her eyes were closed but a soft smile had spread across her lips. Gaea had entered his mind.

Nico was shaken awake but he couldn't move even after his eyes had opened. He had never had sleep paralysis so badly before. Alfred was leaning over him and his bedside lamp was on. It was probably still night, then. After a while, the paralysis wore off and he was able to sit up. Alfred wordlessly offered him a glass of water which he took gratefully. Nico guessed the fact that the butler was there meant that he had screamed out loud then.

"Master Bruce and the others are out." Alfred took the empty glass from him. Nico nodded, grateful that no one else was there to hear him make a fool out of himself.

"Master Nico, I have a question for you." The son of Hades' interest was piqued at this. Alfred hardly ever asked anyone anything.

"Ok," he replied lamely.

"What is it you are so worried about? I've worked for Bruce and these boys for a long time now. I can recognize the look of a man on a mission better than just about anyone else." Alfred watched him out of the corner of his eyes. Nico could tell he had caught him. He took a few long moments to compose himself before he attempted to answer.

"I'm worried about his war, Alfred. We're up against Mother Earth herself. If she wakes up, we don't stand a chance against her. That's if I live that long. I have a feeling that all of my treachery and work as a double agent will be coming to light very soon." Nico rubbed his face. He didn't tell him that he wouldn't even make it back to the camps, but something told him that the older man knew anyhow.

"Did you do what you felt was right?" Alfred watched him carefully.

"Yes," he responded immediately. He was surprised to find that he didn't even have to think about it.

"Then you know that whatever comes, it was worth it." Alfred put an arm around him, "In my books, that is was makes a great hero."

"Aren't you supposed to assure me that Bruce won't let me die or that I can get out of it some other way?" Nico frowned.

"Would you have believed me?"

"No."

"You and I are a different breed. We do what is necessary for the best outcome. We don't subscribe to the same morals as Bruce or his apprentices. Sans Master Jason, of course. We don't have that luxury." Alfred stood and adjusted his suit in a mirror. Nico watched him silently, wondering just what the butler has done in his life. That man is more mysterious than even Batman himself.

"No, I suppose we don't," Nico agreed.

"When it comes down to it, we do what we have to do. You did the best you could and you believed what you were doing was right and had to be done. If they say that you must die for that, then you will. That is who you are. Of course, we will do our best to save you, but you and I both know that we'll die for our causes if that is what is required of us." He gave the boy a small smile before exiting the room without a sound.

Alfred was right, of course. The pair of them were different from Bruce or the other proteges. Nico couldn't afford to live by a no-kill rule. In his world, it's kill or be killed. He was willing to accept whatever punishment that came his way from the Roman Legion if he lived long enough to see them again. He would do whatever it takes to reach his goals and he wasn't going to let Bruce or anyone else stand in his way.

After contemplating what the Roman Legion might have done to him if he ever made it back to the camp itself, he looked at the clock to see that it read 2 am. It was officially his last day on Earth and he was going to make it count. Nico rolled over and went back to sleep. he woke up again to a little bit of light filtering through his window. When he looked at the clock this time, it was 5 am. He got up and showered, taking his time. Breakfast wouldn't be ready until 7, anyway. He dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie.

During the time before breakfast, Nico worked on the sketches that he had started the day before. He was working on a group sketch of everyone on the Young Justice team. It was hard since he didn't have a reference for them. He wasn't sure when he could drop them off either. Maybe he could stick it in one of Nightwing's pockets and he could give it to them when he found it. It wouldn't be ideal, but beggars can't be choosey.

++++

It took him longer than he thought it would to finish them and he was almost late for breakfast. This morning they all had cinnamon rolls. Nico couldn't be persuaded that it wasn't because Alfred knew he had had a nightmare last night. That man was an angel. As Nico finished off his second cinnamon roll, Bruce left for a conference meeting, and the rest of the family decided to relax in the living room. Nico wasn't sure why, but they all seemed to be extra focused on getting him to pick the activity for the day.

"I don't care what we do. I trust you guys to pick something I will like." The son of Hades insisted. He didn't know what passed as fun these days anyway.

"Are you sure?" Tim pressed.

"Yes, I'm sure! Just pick something you think I'll like."

"Ok, if you're sure. Also, Tim and I are going to the mountain tonight for a movie/game night with the rest of the team. Nico, you can come too if you like."

"What about us!" Jason fake pouted. Damian eyed the antihero with derision.

"Please do not include me in your pathetic attempt to 'guilt trip'. My team has a mission tonight." Damian crossed his arms meaningfully.

"Jason, you're supposed to be dead, and you're wanted by the authorities. You know very well why we can't bring you along." Jason sighed dramatically. Nico watched the scene with passive amusement while he considered the offer. This was actually the perfect opportunity for him to leave behind his sketch and letter for the team. He wasn't all too excited to see the team, but he couldn't very well pass up on the opportunity either.

"Sounds like it could be fun," he agreed.

"Are you sure?" Dick frowned. Damian was giving him a weird look too.

"Yeah? Why wouldn't I be?"

"I just didn't think you liked the team very much," Dick shrugged. Nico measured his words carefully. If he said too little, it would be suspicious, but if he said too much he'd give away his plans.

"I don't, but this might be the last time I get to see them. You know, depending on how the war goes." The mood got very somber after that.

"Is that why you've been spending so much time with us lately? Because you don't think you're going to survive the war?" Tim accused. angrily. Nico shrugged noncommittally. He knew he wasn't going to survive the war.

"You're not going to die, Nico," Jason growled.

"How do you know that? It's war Jason--" His older brother interrupted him before the demigod could continue.

"Because you're not on your own anymore and we're not going to let you die!" Nico appreciated the sentiment even though he knew that there would be nothing they could do when it came down to it.

"It won't be up to you," he replied flatly.

"You say that as if you know what comes next. Have you seen it in your dreams?" Damian eyed the older boy carefully.

"No, I don't know what is going to happen when the war starts," he told a partial truth.

"Then do you know how it ends?" Damian returned.

"One of two ways: we win and humanity is saved, or Mother Earth and Tartarus himself lay waste to humanity and the gods and she rebuilds the world from scratch," his words were met with silence.

"Do you survive in either outcome?" Tim pressed. Nico only shrugged. He honestly had no idea what the answer to that was.

"Guys we still have a while before the first battle starts. Let's enjoy the time we have before everything goes to hell. Ok?" He suggested.

"Alright, as long as you stop acting like you've decided to die," Jason interjected.

"I haven't decided to die," Nico countered, "I am going to fight like hell to make it out of this alive. I'm not so ready to become a permanent resident in my father's domain."

"Good, then we're all on the same page," Dick smiled mischievously. "How do you guys feel about paintball?"

++++

Several hours and a lot of bruises later the guys were just finishing lunch at Dick's favorite Asian restaurant. He had won at paintball and with it the right to choose lunch. The food was actually really good so Nico didn't mind all that much.

After lunch, they spent the day just talking in Dick's room. They talked about all sorts of things, even getting into trauma here and there. They never focused on one person too long, making sure that no one felt too singled out. It was a closeness that Nico hadn't felt since Bianca died. Eventually, the topic of conversation came around to their childhoods and we got hooked on the conundrum that is his youth.

Nico wasn't overly fond of the idea, but they got to talking about the five summers war and what he was doing during all of that. They were insistent so Nico told them just about everything that happened after coming out of the casino. He told them about Bianca, the military academy, and Dr. Thorn. He told them about Percy, Thalia, Annabeth, and Grover. Nico told them about Annabeth's capture and the quest to get her back. And he told them about Artemis and the Hunters and Apollo and his Chariot.

The son of Hades described Camp Half-Blood and Chiron and the fateful game of capture the flag. He told them about the prophecy and the promise Percy had made-- also the dreams that he had started having and how they told him that Percu had failed. Nico told them about the quester's return, Percy's confession, and the skeletons in the amphitheater that he sent back to Hades. Nico told them about Minos and his labyrinth and his twisted revenge plot and how he gained the demigod's trust by teaching him how to use his sword and his powers.

Nico explained to them about Triple G Ranch and summoning the dead. He told them about the days he spent on his own with only the ghost of the former king of Crete to guide him. Recounted getting captured and traded with Kronos' army. He told them about the deal that Minos had made and the final showdown in Daedalus' workshop. Nico explained his encounters with Pan, Kronos, and Percy's encounter with Typhon at Mt. St. Helens. He told them everything about that summer in the labyrinth. They were really good listeners.

Nico didn't know if it was the fact that tonight was his last night and it felt good to tell someone, or if they were just easy to talk to, but he told them everything from the battle of the labyrinth to the end of the second Titan war and patching things up with his father. Then he explained why he left camp and ended up in Gotham, finishing up with the day Bruce brought him to live with them.

"Bruce really does know how to pick 'em. Doesn't he?" Jason chuckled darkly. Dick nodded somberly.

"He really does. What, does he have a 'sob story' detector?" The son of Hades asked half-heartedly. Dick huffed at that, not able to manage a full laugh.

"He must. Otherwise, how could he have found your sorry hides." Damian crossed his arms over his chest. A while ago that would have hurt, but now Nico knew better. It was a joke, or an attempt at one. It wasn't really his fault that it fell flat.

"It's time to get into uniform or we're going to be late." Dick reminded them. They all went their separate ways to get ready to go to their respective bases. Nico thought Jason had plans to meet with some of his contacts tonight so he wasn't going to be so bored. He also wasn't sure if Batman knew about those plans, either.

Nico got changed into his Ghost uniform and he made sure that he put the letter and the sketches in his utility belt. This was going to be the last opportunity he had to get these to them. It really was now or never. About ten minutes later Nightwing and Red Robin came in through the zeta tube literally dragging Ghost with them. A large portion of the team was already assembled in the living room chatting and sharing snacks.

A certain speedster was in front of them in a moment. The only one who was at all fazed by this was Ghost who squinted at the gust of air that followed the brightly colored hero. Kid Flash smiled brightly at them.

"Hey, Nightwing! There you guys are! I didn't think that you bats were ever late." He teased.

"We would have been on time but Ghost was a bit harder to find than usual." Dick rested his hand on his shoulder. On principle, Nico glared at him.

"Because I didn't want to be here," he countered. It was a lie, but he had to remain in character.

"Liar." A raspy voice cut in as a familiar blonde looped her arm around the speedster. Nico glared at her playfully.

"Am not."

"Are too! Come on, I want to see you play Apples to Apples." Artemis grabbed his arm and started dragging him towards the couch.

"You too bat boys!" She called over her shoulder. Wally was right behind her. Nico looked behind him and saw Dick and Tim shrug and follow us over to where a few people were setting up the game.

"How do you play?" Nico asked as they reached the group.

"You've never played? Did you not have a childhood?" She asked incredulously. Nico didn't think she was looking for an answer but he responded anyway.

"Not really, no."

"Well don't worry about that, we'll show you." She glossed over it as if it wasn't a big deal, instead of jumping right into her explanation of how to play that game. Nico was grateful for that.

That night he learned that he liked punch, Apples to Apples, and that he didn't have the patience for board games. At one point he pretended to leave to go to the bathroom but he instead went to Wally's souvenir room and placed the letter and sketch among the items. They'd find it in here before too long. Wally loved looking through his collection. After he placed the letter he wasn't in that big of a hurry to get back to the others. He took a little time to look at everything and puzzle out the labels.

"What are you doing in here?" A voice in the door startled him. Nico turned around to see that it was only Kaldur.

"Kaldur, you startled me."

"I apologize. That was not my intent. I was just curious as to why you are here rather than at the party." Nico could feel him watching him from the doorway as he examined an old helmet.

"I guess I was trying to get some breathing room. I found this place and was curious about what all this stuff was," he replied truthfully.

"Kid Flash likes to pick up souvenirs from missions. This is his collection." Kaldur explained, coming up beside him. Something seemed off about him tonight. He was quieter than usual and less friendly. Nico didn't like the feeling he was getting from him. Maybe it was his imagination but he seemed colder.

"Is something wrong? You seem different." Nico asked, moving to leave. If something was wrong with their Atlantean friend, Nico didn't want to be alone with him.

"I know what you really are, demigod." Nico froze and pivoted on his heel. Kaldur's expression remained neutral. Since he knew, there wasn't much point in trying to hide it.

"How did you know?"

"Is Batman aware of your true heritage?" Kaldur ignored him.

"Yes," Nico replied shortly, watching Kaldur carefully. Were Atlanteans dangerous to demigods? Weren't they Poseidon's people?

"That necklace of yours. I've seen it before." Kaldur said by way of explanation, "And those beasts that entered the cave. They weren't genetically engineered hybrids." Nico's hand went to his throat even though he had left his necklace at home with his regular clothes.

"Did you steal it? When I was staying at the Mountain, did you steal my necklace out of my room?"

"No, the other Atlantean took it to show it to me. And the Hades figurine." The other Atlantean? Did he mean Lagoon or whatever his name was?

"Yes, I am a son of Hades. Yes, Batman knows about it. No, I am not a threat to you or the others." Nico assured him. He wasn't really sure why he still seemed upset.

"Why did you lie to us?" Nico didn't see a way out of this that wouldn't bring more attention to the situation so he broke down and told Kaldur about the oath he had made and why he hadn't been allowed to tell anyone else. Then Nico made the Atlantean swear to keep his secret. Since he now understood the demigod's position, he agreed.

"That explains a lot," Kaldur said once he had finished explaining his life.

"I know," Nico chuckled, "If you'd been spending any more time around me you would have been able to guess without having to see the necklace." Nico joked. It wasn't exactly hard to spot a demigod if you knew what to look for. 

"I didn't tell Lagaan to steal the necklace or the figurine. I didn't know he was going through your things until after he'd brought the items to me. I just wanted you to know that." Kaldur assured him.

" I appreciate that. I guess I'm just glad it was an Atlantean that found them. And that I was able to get them back." Nico replied.

"I was hoping he'd be able to put everything back before you'd noticed they were gone, but you noticed too quickly. It was always the intent to get them back to you. I know the necklace has sentimental value to demigods." Aqualad assured him. Nico wasn't happy that Aqualad had been part of the plan, but he could respect the boy's honesty. He'd probably been trying to make the diplomatic move. 

"Let's rejoin the others," Nico suggested. Aqualad agreed and they returned to the party as friends.

Late that night, the bats and Ghost left for home and he felt satisfied. This was a great last day.