The moment they entered the portion of the Duat where Bast was, it was easy to see why she needed help. There were demons everywhere. Every. Freaking. Where.

"Not good," Nico groaned and jumped off Anubis's back. He remembered what Anubis had told him, and he knew that Anubis probably needed to plunge straight into the middle of the fray, since that's where Bast was fighting. A course of action like that would probably take every bit of power and concentration that Anubis had, and Nico knew he'd only be in the way.

"Wait here!" Anubis ordered, and shape-shifted into his half-human, half-jackal form, growing so that he stood twelve feet tall before he raced forward and literally dove into the legion of demons surrounding Bast.

Nico covered his mouth and fought back the nausea, but was surprised when it wasn't so bad this time. He only felt sick for a couple seconds and then he was fine.

"Wait here," he muttered. "Yeah. Like that's going to happen."

He wasn't psycho enough to think plunging into a sea of Egyptian demons was a good idea, namely since he wasn't an un-killable god like Anubis and Bast were, but that didn't mean he was going to stand by and do nothing while they fought for . . . well, not their lives, but while they fought their hearts out like they were currently doing. He could at least cut down some of the demons who stood between them and the exit, help clear a path and all.

So that's what Nico did.

It worked to his advantage that all the focus was on the two gods. It meant that he could slice down his enemies from behind, and that was something Nico had absolutely no moral qualms against. Percy would have balked, he knew, but Percy was a morally better person than Nico, and Nico would be the first to admit it. That didn't mean Nico was a bad person. People like Percy needed people like Nico on their sides, Nico knew. They needed people who weren't honorable to carry out black bag ops, or drastically thin out their enemy's troops by any means necessary.

Nico cut down a dozen demons who never even realized he was there before they began to realize he was a threat. And that was when the real fun started. The demons began converging on him, like they'd enjoy nothing more than tearing him to pieces. Which was funny, because that was exactly how Nico felt about them. He felt his demigod reflexes begin to shift into overdrive, giving him a heightened sense of awareness, and with that came the incredible feeling that made him feel more alive than he could describe.

Combat.

Battle.

War.

It was what demigods were hardwired for, all of them, even the ones who claimed they wanted nothing to do with it. Sometimes, like now, Nico felt like this was the reason he was alive.

And it made him damn glad that they hadn't gotten some boring happily-ever-after when the Battle of Manhattan was finished. It made him glad there were still enemies to kill.

---------------------------------------------

What have you gotten yourself into, you stupid cat?" Anubis berated Bast the moment he was close enough for her to hear.

"About time, dog!" shouted Bast, right back at him. "What took you so long?"

Anubis gave her a wordless growl as he cut down demon after demon and fought his way to the cat goddess's side. "You've been waiting, what, five minutes?" he asked he was close enough to speak without having to shout over the dying wails of demons between both of them.

"More like ten!"

"You've always been a drama queen, you know?" said Anubis. "We just didn't have a word for it back at the dawn of civilization. Otherwise you'd be the patron goddess of drama queens and divas, you annoying -"

"Look out!" Bast leapt clear over Anubis to pounce on a demon who would have skewered him. In a blur of movement, she took down that demon and three others, striking so fast that even Anubis could barely track her. "Stop your whining and concentrate on fighting, you stupid mutt!"

"What do you think I'm doing?" demanded Anubis. Then he added grudgingly, "But thanks for that."

"Hmph. You owe me a can of Friskies."

"The hell I do."

"Which one?" Bast wanted to know.

"Take your pick," he told her.

"Less talking, more killing, pup," said Bast. "Unless you want your host to get a higher kill-count than you today."

"What?" Anubis looked up sharply and sought out Nico. As Bast had implied, he had joined in the battle. Or perhaps the battle had come to him. There was a sizable dent in the demon legion, as well as evidence of many demons having been dispatched. Nico! Are you okay?

I'm fine, telepathed Nico back to him. Is Bast okay?

She's annoying as ever, which means she's fine. Hang on, we'll fight our way to you and get out of here.

Nico telepathed a wordless sort of agreement then turned his attention back to his own fights. He was doing quite well, Anubis saw, sparing a fragment of his energy to give Nico a little extra, not that Nico seemed to need it. He was in his element. Kind of. Okay, his element would probably be him laying waste to an army of Greek monsters rather than Egyptian demons, but the fight and his devastating abilities remained the same. It reminded Anubis that even though it was so easy to see his host as just a lost little kid, he had hidden strengths beyond what most mortals could ever dream.

And there was something else, Anubis noticed, as he channeled a little extra power to Nico. Something had changed since the last time he'd spoken in Nico's head, which had been before he and Nico killed that rogue hippo goddess, but . . . if Anubis wasn't mistaken, there was more Egyptian power in Nico than there had been before, and not all of it was Anubis's power.

Did sword drain her powers and give them to Nico, he wondered. But there was no time to dwell on it. Not now. He was up to his ears in demons too, which was saying something considering that he was currently twelve feet tall.

"Did you find out what you needed to?" he asked Bast, praying that the answer was yes, because if not, they weren't likely to find out now.

"Yeah. I just needed some help with crowd control!" Bast told him. "It's taking me too long to get past these guys, so I needed a hand if I wanted to make it out sometime this month. It's not like I was in danger or anything."

Anubis snorted.

"What? I wasn't."

"Sure you weren't."

Fighting back to back with Bast was weird, but kind of nice. It was always nice to know that one of the best melee fighters in existence had your back, even if you were there to bail her out of trouble.

"No one else answered your call?" asked Anubis as he realized he and Nico were the only other ones there on their side.

Bast made an angry yowling sound that Anubis interpreted as a no. Further conversation was put on hold as they cleaved and scratched and cut their way back toward Nico, fighting for every inch. Time was of the essence. Every minute they wasted was hours in the mortal realm and this was definitely taking much too long. In fact, trying to clear a path back had already taken about ten times as long as it had to get to Bast in the first place, and they weren't even half-way there yet.

"I'm going to say something you're not going to like," said Anubis to Bast.

"So what else is new?"

"We need to turn tail and run."

"What?" yowled Bast.

"I don't get why you haven't already! In fact, I don't think I'll ever be able to figure you out. You spent half of eternity battling that cursed snake. Why do you pretend to be a scaredy cat so often?"

"I'm not the one suggesting we run from this!" said Bast with a furiosity Anubis hadn't expected.

"What? Do you want to be here until next century? Because my host doesn't feel like doing the time warp again! Prioritize for once, and put your pride aside!"

Bast's expression darkened, and she suddenly looked like she'd just realized something. Then she nodded. "I'll go first," she said as she shape-shifted into a more feline form than she'd been using before.

Anubis used his power to clear out a ten foot radius around himself and Bast before he shifted to full jackal form and telepathed the plan to Nico.

"By the way, Anubis," said Bast as her muscles were tensing as she prepared to run. "Thanks for coming."

Then she was off before Anubis could respond in any way except to follow at her heels. They tore through the throngs of demons but didn't take the time to cut them down. They just needed to get through them. Get past them, and out of this time compressed trap before any more time passed.

Nico was ready and waiting as they raced by, to the point where Anubis didn't even have to slow down or break stride to collect his host. Nico flung out one arm like he was a trick rider as Anubis sprinted by, and grabbed hold of Anubis's jeweled and gold collar. Anubis's momentum swept him off his feet and he twisted in the air so that he could get one leg over Anubis' back.

Nice move, Anubis told him.

Nico mentally beamed. Wasn't it? Anyone watching would think we'd practiced that.

Then they were racing through the distorted area between the two different realm segments, and then Nico was coughing and choking in the most undignified manner, like he might throw up, but Anubis didn't stop.

Do not get off. Even if you throw up, do not get off. We cannot let them catch up to us.

I'm holding on, Nico told him weakly. I actually think I'm getting the time compression sickness under better control.

It was true. Nico didn't get sick or jump off. In only seconds he'd stopped gagging and was just focused on holding on, and Anubis was able to sprint at full speed again. He and Bast kept on running for an hour, even though there were no signs of pursuit.

Finally, when Bast began to slow her steps, Anubis did as well. They both skidded to a stop next to a gently flowing stream. Nico didn't seem to have realized their drop in speed, however, and was unprepared for the sudden stop, and when it came he went catapulting off Anubis's back and landed in the stream.

Bast laughed as she shifted to her human form. Anubis held his laughter but shape-shifted back as well.

Nico stood up in the shallow water, spluttering. "You did that on purpose," he accused, but the accusation was hollow, and they both knew it. Nico had access to his thoughts. He had access to Nico's thoughts. Nico's contained no real anger or suspicion, and Anubis knew his didn't contain any malicious or mischievous intent, even though he did find the situation amusing.

"Sorry about that," said Anubis. He held out a hand to help Nico out of the water, which Nico immediately grabbed. And it occurred to Anubis that at one time Nico wouldn't have accepted a helping hand from anyone. He took it as a good sign that he was able to accept one now, and so casually at that.

"So . . . yeah," said Nico. He slicked back his hair, which had fallen all in his face when he'd been soaked. The effect made it look like he was just wearing a lot of hair gel, and gave him the look of either a young greaser or a Mafioso in training. Anubis wasn't quite sure which. "That was a good fight," continued Nico. "Too bad it was in that time compressed place or we could've stayed longer and maybe killed them all. My score was twenty-nine. What did you guys get?"

Anubis and Bast traded looks and shrugged. "I didn't count," admitted Anubis.

"Neither did I, but I'm pretty sure I had you beat, small fry," Bast told him.

"Yeah, well we don't know that, because you didn't count!" Nico gave them both mock annoyed looks.

"You got out of it okay?" asked Bast, looking him up and down. "No injuries?"

"A couple bruises and one small cut." Nico held up his arm to reveal a gash that looked like it probably needed stitches. "Nothing really worth noting. But are you okay, Bast? We came as fast as we could after Anubis got your message."

"I'm fine," said Bast. "Thanks for showing up, by the way. You really saved me some time in getting out of there."

"What's the situation?" asked Anubis.

"Not good," said Bast. "Those demons you saw and helped me fight? They were only a fraction of what Apophis has got working on his cage, trying to crack him open. They were just the ones who could be spared to follow me when I moved to a different zone of compression."

Anubis sensed Nico's confusion and explained. "The part of the Duat where Apophis's cage is kept is the number one most time compressed place in existence, and the longer you're there, the most time is compressed for you."

"Oh. That's smart, I guess," said Nico. "So even though only minutes pass there, it's like days in the real world . . . then eventually years, if you're there long enough. So even if Apophis was able to bust out on his own, if it took him five centuries, that would end up being like . . . like five eternities in our world. My world. Or whatever. Ugh, just thinking about these screwed up logistics gives me a headache."

"The thing is, he's timing his release to be right when Sadie and Carter awaken Ra," said Bast. Her face was drawn and thoughtful.

"That . . ." Anubis trailed off.

"Doesn't sound good," finished Nico.

"We should let them know," said Anubis. Then he sent out slivers of his soul to as many places of mourning as he could, searching for the Kanes. Beside him he sensed Bast doing the same thing, except sending her soul into cats. Out the corner of his eye he saw Nico kneel down and cup his hands, then dip them into the water so that he could drink from them. The sight made him want to kick himself. How long had it been since his host had eaten or drunk last? He couldn't remember. Nico hadn't complained, but that didn't change the fact that it had been a long time, and Anubis needed to watch him better. He needed to remember that his host was a mortal and needed food, water, and sleep at regular intervals. It made him wonder if this was what having a pet was like, but he banished those thoughts as quickly as he possibly could, because he knew that if Nico even got a gleaning of them, he would flip out so bad it wouldn't be funny.

"Got them," said Bast. Her announcement interrupted Anubis's thoughts and he shifted his concentration to her. "I'm letting them know about the snake's plan. Let's see what they think about it . . ."

Anubis nodded, even though she wasn't paying any attention to him. Then he knelt beside Nico. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, actually . . ." Nico pulled his Ziploc baggy of ambrosia out of his jacket pocket. Anubis noted with some concern that there was only one square left.

"Is that all you've been eating since we started this trip?" he asked.

"Well . . . yeah." Nico looked sheepish.

Anubis snatched the baggy away from him. "That's dangerous! Do you want to burst into flames and die?"

"Not particularly. Why, do you?"

"Do not make light of this!"

Nico looked like he was going to yell at Anubis for a second, but at the last minute changed his mind and took a deep breath. "Alright. I'm sorry. I know it wasn't the smartest thing to do -"

At that Anubis snorted.

Nico gave him a dirty look. "Dude, I'm trying to be mature here. But we were in a hurry, and we didn't have any other food, and jackals don't exactly hunt. Besides, it's not like I've eaten that much of it. I only had three squares to begin with."

"So all you have had to eat since you woke up after the ritual was two squares of ambrosia?"

"I've gone longer without eating anything when I was living on the streets," pointed out Nico. "I'm okay with fasting."

Anubis sighed. He wanted to yell at Nico, wanted to vent at him, but the truth was, he was more responsible for this situation than Nico. He was the older one. He should have done a better job looking after his host. If he yelled at Nico it would only be him taking out his frustrations at himself on the boy.

"I'm not okay with you fasting," said Anubis after taking a moment to calm himself. "I'm sorry. I should have paid more attention. I will in the future."

Nico looked like he didn't know what to say, and so he said nothing, but Anubis could feel his confusion through their connection. And underneath the confusion he could feel a sliver of gratitude.

"If you're hungry I can fish up something for you," said Bast. "Why didn't you just say so?"

"Aren't you supposed to be talking with Sadie and Carter?" asked Anubis. It annoyed him that the cat had butted in, even though he was grateful she'd be getting Nico some real food.

"It was only Sadie I spoke with. Well, her and Walt. Now, now, hackles down, boys," said Bast.

Anubis started as he realized he'd been baring his teeth. He glanced at Nico quickly, just in time so see his host's jaw was clenched before Nico forced it to relax.

"Sadie and Carter split up," explained Bast. "Foolishly. Sadie found a lead on where Zia may be, and Carter has gone with Bes to try to save her. So Sadie had to call Walt and get him to go with her to get the next piece of the scroll. They're not exactly on a romantic vacation to an oasis."

"So Carter might have found Anubis's mom?" asked Nico.

"Their information is hardly reliable," growled Bast. "And to go haring off on his own at a time like this, leaving his sister with only that half trained sau to help her get past all those improperly mummified Romans . . ."

"Romans?" asked Nico.

Anubis sent Bast a warning look, which she either didn't see, or ignored . . . or possibly didn't understand. She'd been sealed away when the Greco-Roman gods made the decision to keep their Greek children separate from their Roman counterparts, and it wasn't something that came up in everyday conversation, so it was very possible she didn't know that Nico wasn't supposed to be told more about the Romans than he had to. Which wasn't to say that Anubis would keep information from him, if he thought that Nico needed it, but so far he hadn't needed to know anything about them, and Anubis knew all about the kind of things that had happened in the past when the Greek and Roman demigods clashed. He was of the opinion that the other pantheon(s) had been right in keeping their children separated, and made a mental note to let Bast know this at his earliest possible convenience.

He grated his teeth as Bast went off on a venom-filled diatribe about all the things she hated about Romans, and Anubis found himself agreeing with all of them, even if he was on edge, worried she'd say something about the demigods that would have to be explained to Nico. At least the cat was a master multi-tasker. She was able to insult Romans, brief them about the situation with Sadie, and fish up a meal out of the stream all at the same time.

"So to sum it all up, Sadie decided we need to go ahead with trying to awaken Ra anyway, and she wants us to head to Brooklyn House and rally the troops for what might be our last stand," said Bast.

"Last stand?" asked Nico, his voice very incredulous. "For a couple demons and a couple more demented magicians? After what we just went through today?"

"Don't forget, we're not this powerful in your realm," Anubis cautioned him. He could tell that this had all completely slipped Nico's mind by the way his shoulders immediately drooped.

"Oh yeah . . . I had forgotten," admitted Nico.

"I can only manifest through you in the main part of the house, and Bast's power is greatly reduced since her host is a house cat."

"Rub it in, why don't you?" muttered Bast.

"It's the truth."

"So we're in a bit of a bind," said Nico. "No worries. We've been in worse binds before. At least I have. I've always managed to get out alive. You're a cat, so you'll always land on your feet. And Anubis, you're connected to my soul, so I'll save you too. You don't have to worry."

"Cocky little thing." Anubis swatted playfully at his head. "Are you going to eat those fish Bast caught for you, or just stare at them?"

Nico looked down at the fish and looked suddenly sheepish. "I . . . uh . . . I don't know how . . . I've never cleaned a fish before."

Bast sighed dramatically and pulled out one of her knives. "I'll do it for you. You don't mind sushi, do you?"

Nico shrugged, not looking too concerned. "I've never had it."

"But you're willing to try it, and you're not making faces. You're a brave soul," said Bast in a very praising tone.

Anubis frowned. He and Bast might not be best friends, but he had gotten to know her well enough to know that something was off in her mannerisms. There was something she wasn't telling them, and it had to do with Nico. Normally, Bast would be calling him an uncouth barbarian for never having tried sushi, or else berating him for not knowing how to expertly fillet fish. Instead she was acting like she was his aunt and he was her favorite nephew.

"Bast? What are you not telling us?"

Bast flinched, realizing she'd been caught. "Nothing."

"You're hiding something, and from your mannerisms, it's something we need to know. Now tell us what."

Bast sighed. Then she did something that surprised Nico and Anubis both. She put a hand on Nico's shoulder as if to brace him. "You're not going to like this, but I guess you do need to be forewarned."

"Wh-what?" Nico looked at her hand on his shoulder, then back to her, clearly freaked out by the sudden contact.

"In Carter's vision where he saw the House of Life assembling their magicians and demons . . . one of the magicians he saw was Aziza."