A/N. A little confession, I haven't written in a while. Like, written a full story in like over two years. It feels good and a little nerve wracking to be getting back into it. So sort of another reason why I'm relying on my old writing to get me back into it. I'm also writing this on Quotev as well, so if you'd rather read it there than on Wattpad or read it on both sites, then you can find it with the same title under my profile there: Anawesome13. This is a way longer chapter compared the the previous ones, so strap in. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! -Anna

~Nico's POV~

"Nico. Hey. Nico, wake up already."

I jolted straight up from where I was sitting. Opening my eyes, I saw Lia standing before me with her backpack over her shoulders.

She huffed. "Finally. You're awake. You sleep like a rock, kid."

I rubbed my eyes and looked around at the warehouse. Everything was packed up and light was peaking through the warehouse. I realized that there was a blanket loosely covering my body. Lia must have been the one who did that last night.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Lia tossed me my sword. I must have left it on the ground last night after we finished training.

"We gotta get moving. Don't want a hoard of monsters after us," Lia said.

I just nodded, untangling myself from the blanket and stuffed it into Lia's bag. How she fit all that stuff in there, I don't know. We left the warehouse and walked onto the New York streets among the other pedestrians. It was late in the afternoon so there were plenty of people on the sidewalks and roads for us to blend into.

"So, where are we going exactly?" I asked.

Lia shrugged and handed me a protein bar. "I don't know."

I raised an eyebrow. "So you have no idea where we're headed to?"

"Nope. Not really. All I know is that we'll settle down somewhere far away from that warehouse."

I didn't respond and we walked on. It was silent between the two of us as we walked through the city, with the only sounds being car horns, the sound of traffic, and cluttered conversations all around us. All we did was make sure there were no monsters coming toward us, and that we were still by each other's side. Strangely, no monsters attacked. I only saw a few dracaenas and some Cyclopes at the edge of the crowds, but they never attacked.

I looked at Lia who had her eyes focused on the path ahead, and I saw she had this dark aura, I guess you could say, surrounding her. It must be why the monsters hadn't attacked yet. Though, that could change very quickly if some bold monsters decided to take a chance at us. They were afraid of her. To be honest, I was a little, too. Traveling with the daughter of death was scary enough, but I didn't know anything about her.

"Who are you?" I blurted out.

Lia stopped walking suddenly and I almost bumped into her.

Lia looked at me in confusion. "What?"

"Who are you?" I repeated.

"What do you mean? I'm Lia. Don't tell me you've forgotten who I am already, have you?"

"That's the thing. I don't know anything about you besides your name and godly parent. I think I should know who I'm stuck traveling with for who knows how long."

Lia looked ahead and started walking again, this time more slowly with me following.

After a few moments of silence, Lia asked, "What do you want to know?"

"Anything. I just want to know who you are."

Lia bit her lip and then started to speak. "'Well...My name is Lia Callahan. I'm thirteen. My favorite color is grey and my favorite food is pineapple. I love butterflies, I don't have any siblings or pets, and...yeah, that's all I can think of."

"How long have you been on your own?" I asked.

Lia shrugged. "I don't know exactly. A couple of months probably. I wouldn't have lasted as long as I have if it wasn't-" She stopped herself before she could continue. Her face turned solemn.

I wasn't sure what she was going to say, but seeing her face, I decided to not go further with that. Apprehensively, I did ask, "What...what about your mom?"

In the world of demigods and monsters, I figured out pretty quickly that family is a sore subject for most people. I should know. My dad is the ruler of the Underworld, and I didn't even remember much of my mom. But I couldn't help but be curious to know.

Instantly, Lia's face hardened. It took her a block or two before she could answer me. "My dad is Thanatos, god of the dead, but you already knew that. My...my mom...my mom was Nichole Callahan. She never married or even dated at all after she met Thanatos so she raised me on my own. She was a really great mom."

"Was? What happened?"

"That's...kind of a long story," Lia said slowly.

I shrugged. "We got time."

Lia sighed. "You're very annoying, you know that?"

"Now I do, so thanks for that," I said sarcastically.

Lia just shook her head at me. She then took a deep breath before she started her story. "Thanatos and my mom fell in love with each other very quickly, but they didn't stay together very long. My mom wasn't very happy with her life, and thought Thanatos was her way to a more exciting one. When Thanatos left without any explanation and a new baby, it made my mom...angry. She was heartbroken and she never got over it. My mom tried her best to raise me without her grudge against Thanatos getting in the way, but her anger spilled over to me eventually.

"When my powers and wings started to appear last year, my mom became very scared of me. She changed. She told me my powers were my punishment for driving away the only person she ever loved. She kept me locked away in our apartment as much as she could so I couldn't use my powers on anyone. I still went to school, but my mom gave me strict instructions to keep away from everyone. Me being the good child I was, I listened to her.

"I understood the situation a bit when I was with my mom. Whenever my mom was around me, she was always so cautious. I honestly didn't blame her. I understood that I was not a normal kid, and that I was dangerous. I can..." Lia bit her lip hard, and didn't look at me in the eyes when she told me, "I can kill any living thing when I touch them. That's why I set the first condition."

I resisted my strong urge to move away from Lia. It all made sense now. At first I thought she just didn't like physical contact, but it was much more than that. I couldn't imagine having that burden on myself constantly. My own powers were terrifying enough, but Lia's were on a different level.

"My powers work the most effectively on people," Lia continued, "but they can work on monsters sometimes, too, depending on the monster. The Fates have control over when people's deaths are of course, but I seem to have some kind of interference with that because of Thanatos. I've tried to learn how to control my powers, but there's not exactly a great way to do that. Mostly I've tried with animals, but I still feel bad and uncomfortable doing that. I couldn't ask my mom to help me because she never wanted me to figure them out at all. I just couldn't depend on her for anything involving the godly part of me."

"You said you can bring them back though, right?" I asked.

Lia's grimaced. "That's harder. Souls are hard to draw back to earth once they have descended into Hades because of the security they have to keep them there. I've only done it once before. The other times...Either it didn't work or has gone terribly. Trust me."

Lia's words gave me hope. The chances seemed slim, but it was still a chance Lia could bring my sister back. If she learned to do it successfully, it could work. At this point, I wasn't even tired as we were still walking. I was too intrigued with Lia's story.

"Why did you run away?" I couldn't help but ask.

It took Lia a couple more blocks for her to answer. Her face was stiff, but her eyes did hold some sadness in them. "The day I started on my own, I finally decided to ask my mom why I didn't have a dad. Most of the other kids at school talked about theirs, and I never could. She never spoke about Thanatos to me until that day. I remember my mom's face turning bitter and outraged. She just...started yelling at me. Everything she was holding in came out at me in a . About how Thanatos just left me with her, how he ditched her, how she hated me, how if I wasn't born, Thanatos would still be with her or at least visit her more, and how she didn't want me as a child. She blamed me for Thanatos leaving, which in a way I guess I did.

"I was so scared. My mom had never exploded at me like that before. I just wanted her to stop." Lia frowned for a moment before she continued. "I remember screaming at her to stop and shoving her with all my strength. My mom stumbled and fell to the ground. I instantly felt guilty and went to her. My mom's eyes weren't blinking and she just stared at the ceiling blankly. She...she wasn't breathing."

By now, Lia's eyes were glazed over, lost in her memory. Her bottom lip was trembling. Now I felt really bad for asking, but it didn't look like Lia was going to stop

Lia took a shaky breath. "I had killed her." Her voice cracked. "I had never used my power on a person before, mostly ever just on bugs or annoying critters in our apartment. I tried to bring her back, but I couldn't. I was too scared and panicked to do anything. So I ran away. I needed to get as far away as I could from there. And so that's how I ended up here."

We were silent for a while. I didn't know what to say. What could I even say? Lia's life seemed to be cursed form the start. All I could do for her was listen. It sounded like she was holding all of that inside herself ever since she left her home.

We stopped to rest at a small coffee shop. Neither of us had any money to buy any food, so we just ate what we had from Lia's bag in silence. The smell of coffee and pastries wafted in the air. There weren't many people in the coffee shop, and everyone kept to themselves. Quiet jazz music played over the speakers of the shop, setting a chill atmosphere. The sun was setting and it cast an orange and pink glow through the windows. I hadn't realized how long we had been talking.

I dared to ask another question. "How did you last so long on your own?"

Lia went quiet, and I immediately regretted my question. Her entire face showed grief, even more than when she was talking about her mom. "Never mind. You don't have to tell me," I softly told her.

Lia shook her head. "No, no. It's okay. Might as well let everything out now. I've already let you in on my deepest darkest secret." She tried to let out a laugh but it fell short.

I frowned. "If you're sure."

Lia twisted her rings as she talked. "A few days after I ran away, I met my first monster. Just like I did with you, another demigod came in and saved me who was also on the run. A son of Hermes, Cameron. He explained everything to me about gods and monsters and demigods. He gave me my daggers he stole from a Cyclops, and we traveled together for a while. Kind of like how we are now. I would have been dead multiple times if it wasn't for him. He was my first real friend." Lia smiled wistfully, but her mouth quickly turned into a thin line. "And then he left."

"I don't know why. One day I just woke up and he was gone. He left his backpack with me-" she gestured to the bag at her feet "-which can hold any item that can usually fit inside a backpack and it won't become heavier at all. I have no idea what happened to him, or where he is. There wasn't anything he did that made it seem like he wanted to be on his own. All I know is that he isn't dead. I just...It hurt for him to leave without any explanation. We were together for a while, and he couldn't even tell me he didn't want to travel with me anymore. I miss him..."

"Lia, I'm so sorry." I didn't know what else to tell her. No wonder why she made me swear on the Styx.

Lia wiped away the tears forming in her eyes. "Yeah, well, that's life for me. I don't blame you if you want to end our agreement now. It's probably really weird now that you know...well, everything."

I shook my head. "No. I'm really sorry about your past, but I still want to continue. So you're stuck with me until I can figure out a way to bring my sister back."

A tiny smile formed on her lips. "Thanks, Nico. There is one last thing I should probably tell you if I'm spilling out everything now. Someone might as well know."

"There's more?" I asked incredulously.

Lia nodded. "A day after I left home, I had a dream with Thanatos. The only thing he did was tell me he was my dad and gave me this." She pulled up her jacket sleeve to show me the watch I had noticed earlier.

I raised a confused eyebrow. I noticed she never said dad, only Thanatos. "Why? Does it do something special?"

Lia laughed resentfully. "Something like that. It tells me how much time I have left."

My eyebrows furrowed. "What does that mean?"

"Children of Thanatos in the past had a tendency to...cheat death, I guess you could say. For themselves and for others. They were basically immortal. There was no restrictions on them, so they could bring back whoever they wanted if they could figure out how to effectively. Even though there hasn't been a lot of children of Thanatos, the ones that have been born have caused a lot of trouble throughout history. The gods and the Fates weren't happy with any of them coming back so often to bring people back. So they figured out a way to keep them from coming back. Once their powers start to manifest, Thanatos gives his children a watch that will tell them when they will die. Permanently"

I blinked. "Seriously?"

Lia nodded again. It was scary to see how unfazed she was about this compared to everything else she had told me. "It's never a very long time. I think once Fates figured out how to keep us from dying, they kept it short so our powers could never reach their full potential, because no incidents of children of Thanatos has happened in a long time. Only the Fates and Thanatos have control over how long the time is. If we die before the timer is up, besides choosing to be rebirthed, we don't get a a chance to come back. So basically, the only time I've ever met Thanatos was just for him to tell me my death day."

The amount of stress and pressure that must have laid on Lia's mind was brutal. Her powers combined with her personal ticking death timer made it seem like to me that Thanatos shouldn't be having kids. From Lia's tone, it sounded like she was thinking the same thing. Whenever she said Thantaos' name, it always sounded so spiteful.

I glanced at her watch. The line of numbers I had seen on the bottom half of her watch were four sets of numbers separated by colons: day, hour, minute, and seconds I guessed.

"How long do you have?" I asked.

Lia shrugged. "Doesn't really matter. I probably won't make it to my sixteenth birthday to be perfectly honest. Like I said, not a long time."

"That's...really depressing."

"Yeah, I know," Lia sighed. She sat back in her chair looking exhausted. "And now you know everything." Lia let out a breath. "Wow. That was mentally and emotionally exhausting. Speaking of you, I literally just told you my whole life story, so now it's your turn. Who are you?"

I rolled my eyes at her throwing my words back at me. "Well, I can't tell you much. My name is Nico di Angelo. My dad is Hades and I don't remember much about my mom."

"Can you tell me about your sister? You know, the whole reason why you're stuck with me," Lia said.

Now I knew how Lia felt when talking about her past. But she did deserve to know. "Her name was Bianca di Angelo, and she was the best sister ever. She practically raised me after our mom died. The two of us were at a boarding school last winter before she joined the Hunters of Artemis. But then a demigod named Percy Jackson joined a quest with Bianca on it. He promised me he would protect my sister, but he lied to me and let her die. Now I'm going to get her back." I scowled throughout the last part of my story.

"You'd do anything to get her back, wouldn't you? Even travel with a complete stranger?" Lia asked me.

"Yes," I answered immediately, my voice trembling. Memories of my time with Bianca and me together began to surface in my mind. I missed her so much. And I would get her back. With or without Lia.

~Lia's POV~

I could tell Nico was getting upset. His sister must have meant a lot to him. I decided to do something to take his mind off of all the grief and sadness the two of us had went through during the entire day. We both needed a break.

"Hey, Nico?" He hummed in response. "I want to show you something. Follow me."

I ran out of the coffee shop with Nico at my heels. I led him to the back of the shop and held out my hand to him.

Nico looked at my hand wryly. "You sure? You're not going to, uh, you know what, are you?"

"I won't. I'm focused and I'm prepared. Just please, trust me," I said.

Nico hesitantly took my hand. I flinched at the contact. It was weird to have physical contact with someone after so long. Thankfully, Nico still stood, and I inwardly sighed a breath of relief. Closing my eyes, I concentrated hard on where I wanted to appear.

A lake separating two land masses. One side of the lake being a flat grassy ground with trees surrounding the area with a sidewalk leading to other areas of the park. On the other side of the lake, a small grey castle overlooking the lake.

I stepped into the shadows with Nico, the darkness wrapping around us sending shivers down my spine. I hadn't shadow traveled in a long while so I wasn't completely ready for that part. Spirits' voices whispered to me. Hep us. Save us. Revive us. I almost lost my grip on Nico, but I hastily held his hand tighter. I ignored them and concentrated firmly on where I wanted to go. As much as I hated to admit it, I was the daughter of Thanatos. The dead had no power over what I could do.

Suddenly, we appeared where I had imagined. Our feet landed on the grassy side of the lake. I almost crumpled to the ground, but Nico quickly gripped my forearms to hold me upright. Once I shook off some of the drowsiness, I realized how close our faces were. I could feel a blush start to appear on my face.

"You okay?" Nico asked, his breath fanning across my face.

"Y-yeah. I'm-I'm fine," I stuttered. "Just a bit tired. Haven't shadow traveled in a while." What was wrong with me? I never stutter.

Nico nodded and let go of my forearms. "So, what is this place?" he asked, looking around.

The sun was had set and the moon rose over the castle, reflecting its light brightly across the lake. Lights at the base of the castle illuminated it in a soft glow. There was no one around during this time, so it was mostly quiet, except for the occasional breeze shaking the trees and crickets chirping away from somewhere near the lake.

"Belvedere Castle in Central Park," I answered. Sitting down on the grass facing the castle, I patted the spot to the left of me.

"Why did you bring me here?" Nico asked as he sat down.

I looked up at the castle. "We needed somewhere to relax after today. And I've always wanted to visit this place. I'm not really sure why. I think I just liked the idea of such an old structure being in the middle of such a modern area."

The two of us laid back in the grass looking up at the night sky. A smile broke out on my face when I saw a couple stars in the sky. There weren't a lot, but I was glad to see a couple could still appear.

"You know what I remember my mom telling me about the stars?" I quietly asked. I think I asked it more for myself than anything, but Nico still hummed in response. "She told me that the stars were portals to other worlds, and if you could touch one, you could get to sent to a whole other world. Shooting stars were worlds trying to get to other stars' portals to appear in their skies. Constellations were a group of stars that were friends, and they made formations close together so that they could be near to visit each other's world any time they wanted. I remember when my mom was asleep, I tried multiple times to fly up in the sky to try to touch one of the stars. I believed her then. In retrospect, I now know all of that is basically false according to how the world really is."

"Really? She told you all that?" Nico asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. She always told me this whenever we star gazed on our little balcony. We made up the most random worlds for the stars. It was fun back then." I choked up a a bit as I said those last few words. My eyes teared up at the memory surfacing of my mom and me when I was little. My mom would sit me on her lap as she sat in a chair with a warm blanket covering us. She would point out the constellations to me, and tell me her story of the stars.

Nico turned his head to look at me, a small frown on his face. "You okay, Lia?" he asked softly.

I blinked away my tears. "Yeah. Just old memories."

Nico hesitantly nodded and turned his head back to face the stars.

After laying in silence for a while, the exhaustion from the day and shadow traveling caught up to me. My eyes stared to droop and I yawned. Without really thinking, I scooted closer to Nico and put my head on his shoulder. He was surprisingly warm. He stiffened for a second and then relaxed once he realized he was fine.

"Tired?" Nico muttered to me.

I just hummed in response. My eyes closed and I quickly drifted off to sleep.

A/N. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Sorry if these chapters make it seem like Nico is OOC. I'm trying my best to keep to his character as best I can. Also sorry that this chapter was just a lottttt of exposition. I really hate this chapter because of all the exposition in it, but at the same time I really like it because I liked writing her backstory. I really did try to figure out other places to scatter her backstory throughout the story, but looking through my old writing, I literally couldn't find a good place to put other backstory pieces anywhere else because the future chapters had something to do with her backstory. As for the Castle place mentioned in the story, I have never been to Central Park and I just looked up some of the places there and picked the area I liked the most. So that's what the picture is. Also, I decided to just go with my original plan with Nico. I'm going to publish the next chapter soon because it's kind of boring to be honest, but it helps transition this story to go into the Battle of the Labyrinth. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Comment and vote! -Anna