Ghost King Meets Batman

Annabeth has Hope

[Edited July 24, 2022]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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