Nico didn't say anything, because they had bigger battles to fight, but if Leo used his DreamViewer to look into his dreams, he was going to either die of embarrassment or kill him-whichever came first.

He wasn't going to question Hypnos's will out loud-because he didn't want to risk being trapped in a nightmare for all eternity-but why the hell had he given Leo that, anyway? He couldn't imagine what Leo could even do with that thing other than creep on peoples' unconscious visions.

Still, as Nico stepped through the door into a new darkness, he found all worries of the DreamViewer dismissed entirely. Leo probably wouldn't be alive long enough to use it, anyway.

The tile below their feet ended abruptly at the end of Hypnos's office, being replaced by an uneven grey rock. Looking up, Nico could see they were in some sort of cave, fully encased in the darkness. The only way Nico could see was the light emanating from the cracked ruins of an object in the corner. Whatever it was had broken entirely in half, leather straps strewn across the ground. A wheel had popped off and was resting on top, several support beams broken. His heart sinking, Nico realized this was the sun chariot. He remembered how amazed he'd been all those years ago, seeing the beaming sports car. Even when it was in bus mode, it still radiated with power and elegance. Now...it felt like it was dying; Nico could almost feel the same swoop in his stomach he felt with live beings.

There was another source of light in the space-a figure only thirty feet from them. Apollo, bound in thick chains of Celestial Bronze, his tan skin glowing weakly as his strength dwindled.

Nico started forward, sword drawn, before a figure cloaked in darkness swooped down from the sky, sending a wave of chilling air towards them. Landing swiftly, forming in front of them with an uncertainty in her very essence, was the goddess Nyx.

"Hello, little heroes," Nyx mused, waving one part of her cloak vaguely, though Nico couldn't see her hands, if she had them. Her entire form was something of a blurry black cloak covered in gleaming stars. Her pale skin glowed like the moon, and her slick black hair seemed to morph into her cloak, leaving her formless outside of her beautiful face.

She was, as all gods and goddesses were, incredibly beautiful. But there was also a tension to her face-her sharp features, her scowl (in that sense, Nico wondered if they were related-besides the godly way that they were all related, that is.) Her face was undoubtedly cruel and hard to look at-when Nico looked into her eyes, he became privy to all of the horrible things that happened in the night's darkness-robberies and murder and evil beyond description. With each passing second he gazed at her, his mind filled with the world's misery, each thought more horrific than the last. He began to hear voices, from whispered sobs to terrified screaming, and only then did he force himself to instead focus on her robes.

"We have come to free Lord Apollo," Nico said, his voice trembling. "Lady Nyx, the world needs him and the sun chariot."

Nyx let out a laugh that sounded like the rustling of trees in the night. Nico could remember all too well the many nights he'd been on his own after he ran away from camp; he'd set up a little spot in the woods somewhere and repeatedly to make a fire-it took him an embarrassingly long time to learn how. Once he actually managed to do it, but a chilling wind soon came along and snuffed it out. It was then he could hear the rustling of the trees, every innocent sound making his heart thump in fear of monsters.

"And why should I care for what the world needs?" Nyx mused. "When has the world ever accommodated for me?"

"All the time," Leo countered. "People literally go to sleep at night because it's too dark to do much else."

Nico glared at him silently for a moment, then turned back to Nyx; Leo did have a point, even if Nico wanted nothing more than for him to stay silent. If he stayed silent, he lessened the risk of getting hurt.

"Liar!" Nyx spat, "mortals use the time for sleep because they are lazy and ungrateful. They long for when the sun returns, while the monsters of Tartarus have no choice but to hide in darkness. Well, they will hide no more-once Apollo has been down here long enough, and his stubborn sister is drained in her efforts, the world will become my domain."

"His stubborn...?" Piper muttered to herself. "The sun...that's why it's looked silvery these past few days...Artemis has been keeping the moon up during the night and daytime..."

"Clever girl," Nyx replied with a sarcastic smile. "And while gods do not necessarily need to sleep, they do need rest. Artemis cannot maintain this cycle forever, nor can Apollo remain in such a dark domain without a dire cost to his abilities."

Nico's mind raced at the thought-he remembered his dream, where he and his friends were trapped in bubbles, left to sleep while the world was enveloped in complete darkness, only visible through spare Christmas lights and candles.

Being a demigod, no time in the day was necessarily safe-the nighttime just happened to be a bit creepier, a bit more likely for a monster attack, especially if one was alone. But if all the monsters were let out, the Doors of Death becoming a floodgate...

The rattling of chains interrupted Nico's racing mind, and he noticed Apollo lifting his head, appearing disoriented. He squinted, raising his brows as he seemed to recognize Nico, but not the other two. Knowing him, he was probably moments away from giving Camp Half-Blood a one-star review for putting such woefully inexperienced demigods on this quest.

"However," Nyx pondered aloud. "I quite like this quaint little group that's been put together here. I would like to offer you a hero's wager. If your group truly has an iron-clad will and a good heart, you should be able to tell me so, could you not?"

Nico breathed heavily, in and out, trying to calm his heart. "What-what do you mean?"

"I mean," Nyx replied, her hands emerging from the folds of her cloak as she raised them in the air. Her pupils faded to a dim purple glow, much like that of Hypnos. Then: "Look into the lives of your quest mates, Nico di Angelo. The ones you call your friends? The most horrible deeds keep them up at night. If you can tell me that they're good people, well...you three just might prove yourselves worthy of this foolish quest."

Nico, in spite of his better judgement, turned his back on Nyx to face his friends. His heart dropped in horror at the sight of them, each floating about three feet in the air, limbs limp and eyes glowing purple.

"Let them go!" Nico ordered, looking back at Nyx. "I'm not going to judge them based on their pasts, it's not relevant for the quest."

"Not relevant?" Nyx arched a beautifully sculpted brow. "Oh, on the contrary, it's very relevant. You and I are so similar, Nico, in how particular we are with our trust. From an honest place, I don't believe these two are your finest options, little hero."

Piper shivered, shaking her head in tiny, erratic twitches. Tears slipped down her cheeks, glowing purple as if injected with glow stick fluid.

"Piper!" Nico called, reaching up to touch her leg, to tug her back down to the ground. As soon as he touched her, though, a blinding white light filled his vision.

He crumpled to the ground.

Nico opened his eyes to the feeling of a floor that seemed to stick to him, as gross as that was. He stood on shaking legs to see that he was in a bakery, a cute little place with a display case showing off a variety of goods. Cookies, cupcakes, brownies, fudge, all with rainbow sprinkles or decorations.

"Okay, Pipes," a man's voice said, the sound distant and slightly echoing in the memory. "Which one do you want?"

A little girl of maybe three or four years old was holding the man's hand, and Nico could recognize her as Piper instantly. Other than the obvious growth and cutting her hair into a longer bob, she hadn't changed much from her younger self. She was wearing a little frilly pink dress, which Nico was sure she would hate now, but it made him smile slightly. She was adorable, that was undeniable.

"Strawberry!" Piper tapped on the glass in front of a cupcake with bright pink icing and rainbow sprinkles.

"Okay," Mr. McLean smiled and took her little hand in his own. "One of those strawberry cupcakes, please." He said to the woman behind the counter.

Nico frowned at the scene-what was so wrong about this? Sure, Piper wasn't hero material based on this memory of her three-year-old self, but she certainly wasn't untrustworthy, as Nyx wanted him to think.

"And chocolate!" Piper added, pointing to a double chocolate chip cookie.

"That looks good, Pipes, but I said only one, remember? Or else you'll get a stomachache like last time." Mr. McLean replied.

"But," Piper huffed, crossing her arms, seeming almost contemplative of if she wanted to throw a temper tantrum. She then looked up at him, putting on her best puppy dog eyes. "Can I please have a chocolate cookie, Dad? Please,"

Nico could tell, even through the distance of the memory, that she had used Charmspeak. Whether or not she knew fully what she was doing, Nico couldn't be sure. She seemed happy with herself, though, skipping around happily as her dad's eyes glazed over, along with those of the bakery employee.

"And a fudge square!" She added, happily playing hopscotch along the bakery's tiles. As her dad and the employees complied, the vision faded, being replaced with something new.

A rush of air brushed against Nico as two figures raced past him, giggling as they glanced back down the hallway. There was Piper at around twelve years old, and a brown haired boy Nico had never seen before. They were wearing grey blazers with ties and slacks (Piper being in a skirt), clearly the uniform of a swanky prep school. Nico followed after the kids quickly, as if worried he'd lose them and be stuck if he didn't. He slipped into a nearby closet just as they shut the door.

Piper and her friend took a moment to catch their breath, still laughing as they tried to shush each other.

"You're so gonna get us in trouble," the boy whispered, glancing out of the crack in the door. "If Mrs. Matters catches us, we'll be on lunch duty for a week."

"Come on, Alex, it's totally worth it," Piper countered. "Besides, if it really means that much to you, I'll make sure you don't get in trouble."

"Thanks," the boy, Alex, nodded with a smile. The pair paused, and that was when Nico noticed that Piper was looking at him rather admirably; it wasn't hard to tell that Piper was nursing quite the crush.

"Piper," Alex murmured, "you're really cool, but...you know I like Julia, right? I didn't want you to think, I mean...just because we were in here..."

"No, I know," Piper shook her head dismissively. "I wasn't thinking of it like that, anyways..."

Quite the charm these middle schoolers had. Nico was beginning to understand how Percy Jackson saw him, and that was a whole new pain within itself.

"But," Piper started hesitantly, a gleam dancing in her eyes as she seemed to analyze her next move. "I mean, how do you know who you like, really? Wouldn't you want to try and kiss me?"

Alex's eyes glazed over as he nodded, the very look in his eyes altering as if Piper had changed his biology. He cupped her cheeks, pulling her close and pressing his lips to hers.

For all intents and purposes, it looked like a regular middle school kiss-quick and closed-mouth, super romantic-not that Nico had any experience. But knowing what Piper did, taking his free will as if it were nothing...she might have been young, but she was no longer a toddler wanting extra sweets. She wasn't using her abilities without knowledge, no-she knew entirely what she was doing, and she didn't seem to care.

Nico felt his stomach churn as the boy pulled away and smiled uncertainly, but doubt shown in his eyes-he wasn't sure how to feel, or what he was supposed to feel.

Just then, the door to the closet opened, bathing the dim room in bright light. Nico could see a girl about their age with long, straight red hair and green eyes. Based on the sudden expression of betrayal, Nico could guess this was Julia.

"You...you two were just kissing in here, weren't you?" Julia asked. She then scoffed. "Unbelievable. I was left behind for two minutes and you just...I can't believe you guys!" She pulled away and ran back down the hall.

"Julia, wait!" Alex started after her. "I didn't want to-Piper made me!"

The words seemed to echo around Piper's memory, and Nico turned to see her processing Alex's words. Her hand, resting on the closet door, began to tremble. In her eyes was something Nico had seen many times in the present, but only the first time here: regret.

Just as she began to cry, the memory shifted once more.

Nico was in another school, only this one didn't have uniforms. Students milled around, most in a rush to get to their next class in this transition period. A fourteen or fifteen year old Piper had come up the stairs, honed in on a worksheet she'd pinned to one of her binders: a classic doing-homework-at-the-last-minute situation.

"Oh no, Piper," a voice called, a boy dashing up the stairs behind her. The boy was attractive, no doubt about it-dark hair purposefully teased to messiness, facial features meant for a teen in a movie. "Don't tell me you didn't finish your pre-cal homework, you know Mr. Smith can always tell."

Piper's whole body tensed, and Nico could tell she was gritting her teeth. "I might be able to get it done if you'd leave me alone, Dylan."

"Come on, Pipes," Dylan insisted, crowding in on her a bit. With all the students everywhere, none of the teachers seemed to notice. "What's with the cold shoulder?"

"I told you a hundred times, I'm not interested in you," Piper snapped, her face flushed, trying to edge her way around Dylan only for him to stop her with a hand on her waist. Piper looked nauseated by the touch, but Nico could see beyond her disgust: she was scared.

Dylan's smile faded as his brows furrowed. "Well if you'd stop being such a bitch and let me change your mind-" he moved his hand down, squeezing her ass, and Piper impulsively shoved him away. Nico could see now that this wasn't actually about getting Piper to like him at all, no...this was about him exerting his power over her.

The next few seconds seemed to slow down as Nico felt Piper's anxiety, as if a chill had taken over the halls; Dylan's shock and anger, Piper's matching anger toiling with her fear. Nico could almost feel his heart pound, his breath shaking, his blood boiling to match her.

She got that same gleam in her eyes again, when she was deciding her next move. "Throw yourself down the stairs." She said, deceptively calm, though this Charmspeak was strong-stronger than anything she'd used before based on loaded determination alone.

Dylan paused, nose twitching hesitantly like a rabbit's, his entire body tense. He started to shake his head, his eyes tearing up, though his body betrayed him, legs moving to take him to the top of the stairs. Piper followed, hypnotized by her own magic as she watched him throw his body as hard as he could down the stairs. Nico looked away, focusing only on Piper as he heard a sickening crack, followed by a horrified scream.

If Nico had been looking away from Piper for even a moment, he would have missed her mouth twisting into the slightest of smiles.

Nico came to in the cave, gasping for breath, covered in sweat.

"Don't you see, little hero?" Nyx asked gently. "You know as well as I do that you can't trust this girl-she is quick to use her abilities to get whatever she wants, and she only pretends to care when she wants people to feel badly for her."

Nico coughed, standing up on shaking legs. Piper had collapsed from her floating spot, but other than being unconscious, she seemed unharmed.

"I actually think she was in the right on that last one," Nico shrugged. "But it doesn't matter-she...she's learned from her mistakes. She's a hero to me, and there's nothing you can show me that can change my mind."

"Hm," Nyx frowned, her gaze filled with an almost lazy hatred, as if Nico were a cockroach that just wouldn't die. "I cannot seem to decide if you are very noble, or very stupid, though I believe it's the latter. But very well. Let's take a look at your newer friend, hm? He's quite the little firecracker," the goddess snapped her fingers, and Nico found himself collapsing once again.

Once he got out of this, he never wanted to have another dream or vision again. But he imagined he couldn't just opt-out of that aspect of being a demigod, or else he wouldn't get his salary of zero dollars and zero cents.

Nico found himself sitting uncomfortably in one of those tiny colorful chairs meant for toddlers. In front of him was a low table covered in paper scraps, markers, and tiny scissors. He looked around at a sea of pre-schoolers working on their crafts and babbling away to each other. Next to him sat a young Leo, looking even more baby-faced than ever, if that were possible.

He was using a marker to trace around his hand for some sort of craft. Looking around, Nico determined that they were making turkeys out of cutouts of their hands, which he'd never done before.

Leo was doing a pretty good job, considering his age-the precision was surprising, and he even cut out different pieces of paper for different colored feathers. Nico wondered if being a son of Hephaestus made him good at arts and crafts along with craftsmanship.

Just as Leo put the finishing touches on his turkey, a little girl sitting next to him tugged it out of his hands.

"This one's mine now, you can have mine!" The little girl demanded.

Leo looked down at her half-finished wad of ripped paper and glitter. "No fair, yours is ugly!" He reached over, the two engaging in a tugging-and-slapping fight for the turkey. The paper ended up ripping, and Leo fell back into his seat holding half of his now ruined turkey.

Leo started to cry, the beginnings of a tantrum erupting as he reached over for his other half of his craft. The tips of his fingers erupted into candle-sized flames as he grabbed her hand. The little girl screamed as he burned her and any remnants of his craft, though Leo didn't let go until the teacher stormed over.

"Leo Valdez!" The teacher scolded as she took the little girl over to a nearby cleanup sink and rinsed her hand with cold water. "How dare you steal my lighter! And using it on a classmate? You are despicable! I will be calling your mother about this!"

Leo had stopped paying attention to the teacher as she continued to yell, instead picking up the remainder of his project, the ashes still smoking.

The smoke alarm began to wail, jolting the rest of the class into a fit of screams. The teacher managed to round them up in a line and escort them out of the room, though Leo was last in line.

He was looking at his table, gazing under his chair, searching for a lighter that was no where to be found.

The vision shifted, and Nico could see a small, run-down shop with a flickering sign. Despite the darkness, the inside appeared lit up and cozy, with muffled music coming from the building.

When Nico went in, he could see a woman working at a table, working on an object Nico couldn't really identify. The woman was pretty, with Leo's light brown skin and dark, curly hair. Unlike him, she appeared to have more muscular arms from years of working with heavy machinery. An eight year old Leo was sitting on a stool next to the table, handing her tools.

"...Kara said that joke wasn't funny, but I strongly disagree," Leo was saying matter-of-factly. "I think she doesn't understand comical genius when she hears it, right, Mama?"

"Oh, totally," Leo's mom agreed. "I think you need to drop out of school and go into standup, that'd show her."

"Really?" Leo asked hopefully, a spark in his eyes at the prospect. "I'd really like to drop out of school, I'm sick of being told to 'just focus' all the time, and all the kids make fun of me because of my disco-thing."

"Dyslexia," his mother reminded him warmly. "And I was just kidding. Unfortunately, you need to stay in school, Leo, or I'd get in trouble. But school is so temporary, it'll be over before you know it. And when you're done, well...you have so many talents, it isn't at all hard to believe that you'll change the world, mijo."

Leo seemed a little disappointed at the prospect of remaining in the third grade, though he smiled to himself at his mother's kind words.

"And what you're working on is gonna change the world, too?" Leo asked, taking back one of the tools and putting it back in its proper place without needing to ask.

Leo's mother smiled, admiring her son more than the project. "I hope so. If this goes where I want it to, it'll change everything. Not just for that company I want to sign with, but for us, too. We could move to a bigger place, maybe closer to the park. I could get you that gaming console you always wanted...we could get a dog..." Leo's mom smiled as she noticed Leo light up at the idea. "I don't want to get your hopes up, of course, mijo. I'm perfectly okay with where we are now."

Leo nodded, holding one of those level tools in his hands, tilting it to watch the bubble move. "I'm okay, too, mama." He replied, surprisingly emotionally mature for an eight year old. "I just wanna be here, with you."

Leo's mom appeared a little misty-eyed at her son's words, and she stopped what she was doing to pull him into a hug. "I love you so much, Leo," she said, kissing the top of his head. She pulled away, looking at her work. "I think it's done. What do you think?"

"It's weird looking," Leo said, and his mother laughed. "But I like it."

"I'll go and present it tomorrow, and it should be perfect," Leo's mother said, half to herself. "But for now...let's go home."

Leo helped put away the little tools, again with no need to ask where each piece went-it was clear that he spent a lot of time here. His mom went into the back room to put away her project and some papers that came along with it. Leo picked up a rather large power saw, stumbling a little as he tried to direct himself to the high shelf. Nico stepped forward to help until he remembered that he was only in a memory, and he couldn't do anything here. Leo reached up, his small arms shaking as he struggled with the heavy tool, until the tool fell back, the young Leo tumbling down with it.

In the collision, he took down a large metal shelf, blocking off the back room. Leo yelled and started to cry as he held a hand to the back of his head, his frustration causing him to burst into flames.

Nico was reminded all too well of how Leo had burst into flames after the pegasus accident-between his flames and Nico's tendency to raise the dead when he got upset, the two were quite the groundbreaking duo.

"Leo!" Leo's mom called out, obstructed by the flaming metal shelf. "Leo, are you okay?"

"It hurts...I hit my head, but...I think I'm okay!" Leo called, standing on shaky legs. He reached up to grab the flaming shelf to pull it away. It must have been too heavy and too hot, because he quickly pulled away. "Mama, I don't know what to do! It won't stop-I don't know what to do!"

"It's alright, mijo, try not to panic," Leo's mom said, though Nico could clearly see that she was only saying that to comfort him. The fire had reached a canister of gasoline, causing the flames to burst into four times their current size, spreading across the walls.

Leo's mom grabbed an office chair, trying desperately to charge and push the shelf back to no avail. Leo continued trying to pull, sobbing as the heat burned through even his highest resistance.

"Mama, I can't move it!" Leo yelled. "I can't fix this!"

"Leo, listen to me!" His mom called. "The phone-the phone in here's burned, and I don't think-" she coughed from the smoke, and if Nico wasn't mistaken, she let out a sob of her own. "I don't think there's anything we can do. You need-you need to get out of here, okay?"

"No, Mama!" Leo protested, pulling on the shelf once more despite the burns covering both of his palms. "I'm not leaving you here, I can't!"

"There's only so much you can handle!" Leo's mom managed, her voice raspy. "I need you safe-go, now!"

Leo hesitated, and it was then he could hear a tapping against the wall-a series of knocks and pauses, like Leo had showed Nico that night in the hotel. Leo knocked the same pattern back, then called: "I love you, too!"

It was then that Nico heard an agonized scream, as if Leo's mom had been holding back the pain in front of her son for so long. That was enough for Leo to scramble back and run out of the building, landing on the pavement and scraping his knees.

Leo looked back at the once-cozy, humble shop, his face glowing with the light of his flames. He looked down at his hands, at how burned they were, as the flames across his body finally snuffed out.

Just as Nico heard a fire truck's siren in the distance, the vision faded.

Nico looked around this new vision to see that the sky was still dark. He was in an alleyway this time, with two old park benches disposed of to rot. Only they were being used-five guys, aged perhaps fourteen or fifteen, lounged around, sharing drinks and cigarettes.

"-can't believe you got us warm beer, James, you piece of shit," one of the guys nudged another, the oldest-looking of the group. This was probably due to the fact that his nose was crooked, as if it'd been broken, and he looked like he failed at least two grades.

"At least my fake ID worked," James protested. "Let's see any of you sons of bitches give it a shot, you'd get kicked out in about thirty seconds. Especially Leo." He nodded towards a space behind Nico.

Nico turned to see Leo, leaning against the wall, separate from the rest. James was right-Leo was the youngest looking of them all, but he was still...unsettling in this vision. He appeared relatively normal in a black jacket and jeans-even nursing a beer he seemed like every other slightly awkward underage drinker. But still-it was his eyes. His eyes didn't just suggest trouble-they answered it.

"He's good for other stuff, though," one of the guys suggested. "Like the lighter trick."

"Oh, yeah!" James nodded. "Yeah, do the lighter trick!"

"Come on, guys," Leo scoffed, shaking his head. "You know I don't like doing that stuff-I don't wanna hurt one of you shitheads when you get overexcited."

"Pussy!" One of the guys called, and the others laughed. Leo started to smile along with them, but he then just shook his head again and frowned.

Nico wondered what could ever make Leo hang out with guys like this. Nico supposed he was just so used to being alone-but was Leo really so lonely, really so in need of company, that he'd entertain these meatheads?

"Wait, someone's coming!" One of the guys whisper-shouted. "Come on, Leo, do your thing!"

"I-I dunno. Are you sure?" Leo started, and for a moment, Nico could see that same scared eight year old boy within him again.

At the group's name-calling and insistence, Leo stopped the next passerby, pinning a little boy to the wall under the cover of shadows.

"Hey, there," Leo started, his voice deceptively soft. "You just came back from that comic book store, right?"

The little boy nodded fearfully, sparing a glance at the group before looking at Leo. He appeared no older than ten-how old Nico was when he first discovered camp. "Are-are you gonna hurt me?"

Leo glanced at the group of guys before shaking his head. "Of course not-promise. We're just in need of some spare change, that's all. So what do you got?"

"Do the thing!" One of the guys called.

Leo glared at the group, shaking his head. "I already got it covered."

"Do the lighter trick, Leo, you little bitch!" James ordered. "God, I knew we should have let Mason beat the shit out of you."

Leo tensed further. The kid was trembling, looking through his plastic bag, which seemed to only contain a receipt and box that could hold an action figure.

Leo finished off the last of his drink-Nico could sense that he wasn't a stranger to the concept, but still; he could feel his inhibitions slip away along side Leo, the world slightly more unsteady and slightly less real.

He shattered the bottle against the wall, noticeably far from the boy's legs, though he still jumped. He started to cry, only more so when Leo spun the broken bottle in his hand, then lit it on fire.

"There, you happy now?" Leo asked, though clearly his so-called 'friends' were as they clapped and cheered. "Sorry about that," he said to the kid, who just shook his head, his eyes closed as if warding off a nightmare. "Now give me your change, and I'll let you go."

The little boy turned out his pockets, and Leo got a good fourteen dollars and some coins for his efforts. As soon as he let go of the little boy's shirt, he ran off, leaving Leo with his flaming broken bottle like a torch.

Leo threw the bottle on the ground, the glass crunching as he stamped out the flames under his boot.

"You gonna get some of those trading cards for Sarah with your cut?" One of the guys teased. "She's kinda hot for a seventh grader-you think she likes older guys?"

"Keep my sister's name out of your mouth," Leo snapped, glaring at him. "Or that bottle's going in your throat next time, Jake."

Nico once again opened his eyes to see the same cold, dark cave, the goddess Nyx hovering in front of him.

"It's such a sad thing, little hero," she mused. "To see a demigod finally ready to trust others, so noble and faithful...only to be told the truth. And I know better than anyone that the truth comes out best at night. That is, of course, that these demigods are not to be trusted. They will lead to your downfall, Nico di Angelo."

Nico's heart pounded as he thought back on what he was shone-Piper, so ready to use her Charmspeak at every angle, in defense or simply to get what she wanted, sometimes enjoying it. And Leo, burning that little girl's hand as if petty vengeance were in his nature. And stealing money from a child, all for the amusement of some meathead bullies. Even when protecting himself from bullies, even when he was trying to help his mom...he seemed to leave a trail of fire and victims behind him.

Leo Valdez was so ready to please others-it coursed within him, as if it made up for the fact that it was him. But where was his resolve? His morals? Was the kid that he met a few nights ago only a facade crafted as he scoped out his new best interest?

Perhaps he was making himself available to the toughest in the room for protection, like the runt of the litter. The kid with the biggest muscles in school, or the one with the most monsters killed.

Nico looked over at Leo's comatose body, crumpled on the cave floor next to Piper's. The glowing tears had stopped, their magic fading as they began to stir into consciousness.

Nico had to make up his mind.

He reflected on who Leo seemed to be as a person these past few days, their experiences and what he'd told him. Leo had told him and Piper about Sarah. About how he'd been able to open up to her, how she changed him and how much she meant to him-he told them definitely more than he'd probably ever tell those assholes Nico had seen earlier. Leo had volunteered for the quest, insisting on it with such annoying nobility when he could have ran away. He comforted him in the hotel room, he'd confronted a goddess when Nico was being treated unfairly.

He had his past, and Nico had his own-he couldn't judge him or Piper. They'd proven double their worth without even picking up a weapon, and Nico would be damned if he let anyone try to claim otherwise.

"You're right," Nico said, his voice small, filling the vast cavern. Some chains rattled, and the god Apollo lifted his head to survey the scene.

"Very good, Nico," Nyx mused. "I always knew you were clever. Now, while they're waking up, finish the job. If you do so, I shall make you a general of the monster army as they rise out of your true home."

His true home. In a way, Nyx was right-the Underworld was part of him. He couldn't dismiss that-he didn't want to. But he also knew that Camp Half-Blood and his friends would feel more like home than Tartarus ever would.

"You're right about there being someone here I can't trust," Nico continued. "But it's not my friends-it's the one trying to tell me to kill them. I might be a child of the Underworld, but I'd die before I let monsters invade Camp Half-Blood."

Nyx tilted her head to the side slightly, giving him a look that read 'oh, this poor, stupid demigod'. "If that is what you wish, little hero."

With that, ribbons of darkness began to writhe to life, springing forth to grab at Nico.

Nothing left to lose, Nico charged the goddess.