At first Anubis didn't even recognize the emotion that flooded his connection with Nico. It was only after looking at his host that he was able to figure out what it was: terror.

Nico's fists were clenched in a white-knuckled grip. His face, always pale, had gone a few shades lighter, so he looked eerily similar to a corpse. His eyes were wide and glassy and his breaths were coming in gasps.

"Nico?" asked Anubis, trying to mask his alarm.

Just as quickly as the terror had come, it was replaced by something else. A tidal wave of willpower and determination. Anubis watched as Nico made a monumental effort to fight down his fear, and he couldn't help but be impressed.

"What?" asked Nico in an almost normal voice. There was only the slightest waver in his tone, and his face looked normal again too. Only his hands remained clenched, and it was at those that Anubis looked at pointedly, to direct Nico's attention to them.

"Oh." Nico unclenched them and held them up. A trickle of black blood was oozing from one of them, where his nails had dug too far into his skin. "Oops."

"Are you okay?" asked Anubis.

"Yeah. Fine."

"You didn't look fine," said Bast.

Nico gave her a blistering look. "No one asked you."

"You are scared of Aziza," said Anubis.

"No," returned Nico.

"You are."

"Am not."

"There's no shame in it."

"I said I'm not freaking scared of her!" shouted Nico, his composure starting to fray.

Anubis could feel how badly Nico wanted that to be true, but he could also feel that it was a lie. It made him feel a bit bad, considering how hard Nico was trying to keep it hidden, but secrets between the two of them were very difficult to keep.

"She did kidnap and torture you," said Anubis, keeping his voice low. "She almost killed you, twice."

"Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades," said Nico. "Speaking of which, that might be a good birthday present for Sadie. The hand grenades, I mean, not the horseshoes. Sure, she's got some powerful magic, but I think there are some situations that really just call for a good, old fashioned explosion that comes out of nowhere -"

"Stop trying to change the subject."

"I don't want to talk about Aziza," said Nico.

"If this is how you're going to act when she's just mentioned then how bad is it going to be when you actually confront her?" demanded Anubis.

"Oh, don't worry," said Nico. His eyes took on a hard light. "I'll deal with her, just you wait."

Anubis was hesitant to bring his next point up, especially in front of Bast, but felt like he had to. "You froze during your last encounter with her."

"I did not."

"Yes you did. When Percy and Carter broke you and Sadie out of that prison, before you got into the boat, you froze. The others didn't notice so much because Percy was battling it out with Aziza and Carter was trying to summon the boat, but you were paralyzed by your fear."

Nico folded his arms over his chest. "Okay . . . maybe I was scared of her, but now I'm just mad. And I'm not going to let her and her demon buddies destroy Brooklyn House. Next time I see her, I'm taking her out."

Anubis opened his mouth to say something else, but Bast held up a hand, stopping him. "Let it be," she said.

"Alright," conceded Anubis, even though he knew this wasn't over. He hoped that Nico would be okay when he confronted Aziza, but if he wasn't, Anubis wouldn't let him go through it alone. If Anubis had to, he could take over. Nico would hate it, but at least he'd be alive to hate it.

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

They started moving again as soon as Nico finished eating.

Nico was annoyed. He'd gone from feeling powerful and badass, high on the adrenaline from his fight with all those demons, to feeling like the world's biggest wuss. All because of freaking Aziza.

He did his best to keep his shields up so that Anubis couldn't spy on his thoughts, but knew that some of his anxiety had to be filtering through. But that was okay . . . because it was Anubis. And Anubis had been in his head so much now that Nico was pretty much used to it. In some ways it was actually reassuring to know he was never alone.

Besides, it wasn't like he didn't know what Anubis was thinking, even if Anubis was taking pains to try and hide it. If Nico froze, Anubis would just tag in. And while that would be annoying, it was good to have a failsafe.

On some level Nico appreciated how Anubis had his back like that. But on the other hand, the person Nico really wanted alongside him during this fight was Percy. He hoped that there'd be time to contact him and get him to come to Brooklyn House before the battle started. No offense to Anubis, or anything, but in the mortal world, Anubis was limited to acting through Nico. Unless they were in a graveyard. So in battle, anyone with Nico and Anubis on their side would get Nico or Anubis, but not both of them at once. Percy wasn't stuck in a tag-team pair up. And he was a devastating destructive force all on his own. And he was probably the person Nico trusted most in the world.

"Are we there yet?" asked Nico when he grew tired of just dwelling on his own thoughts.

"Does it look like we're there?" asked Anubis.

"How long until we'll be there?"

"Awhile still."

"Any chance that Iris messages work in the Duat?" Nico wanted to know.

Anubis snorted impatiently while Bast sort of snickered.

Nico sighed. "I didn't think so."

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

It would turn out, though Nico didn't know it at the time, that it wasn't necessary to Iris message Percy after all.

When Brooklyn mysteriously caught on fire, Percy had been understandably concerned. Even more so when he realized that his little cousin was incommunicado.

He tried sending Nico an Iris Message first, but couldn't establish a connection. Then he tried calling Brooklyn House, where he knew Nico had been spending a lot of time lately. He got Carter on the phone, who told him that Nico had left over a week ago to look for something with Anubis, and was supposed to be back by now, but hadn't been heard from since.

After that, there wasn't much that Percy could do, except to wait and watch out for another sign that might help him find his cousin.

Several days later he got a phone call from Sadie.

He was in his room, staring at the ceiling. He should have been doing his homework, but his ADHD made it too hard to concentrate, especially since he was already distracted. When his mother tapped on his door he quickly sat up and pulled a book into his lap before calling for her to open it.

"You have a phone call," Sally told him.

"Nico?" he asked, jumping up.

She shook her head. "I think it's Sadie."

"Hey Percy," said Sadie as soon as he answered.

"Any word on Nico?" Percy wanted to know.

"Actually, yes," said Sadie. "Sorry, I guess I should have called you sooner, but there hasn't been time. I met up with Anubis a few days ago, just for a few minutes, and he told me that Nico got blasted deep in the Duat when they were doing a locator spell, because the scroll they were trying to divine the location of had been split in three pieces, and that it would be a few days before he could get out. Then I met Bast yesterday and she told me that Nico and Anubis took a detour and came to help her out because she got in a pinch. They're on their way to Brooklyn House now. They should get there around sundown, which is good, because we've got an army of Egyptian demons and House of Life freaks on their way there now, ready to burn our home to the ground."

"Right." Percy started looking for his shoes. "I'm on my way."

"Thanks. I knew I could count on you," said Sadie.

"You'd do the same for me"

"Our trainees are there right now. So is Amos -"

Percy groaned. "Oh man. That guy hates me."

"He doesn't hate you. He just doesn't like Greeks and Egyptians mixing, so he's wary of you. But anyway, he's there, and as soon as we can open some portals, Walt and Zia will be teleporting in."

"Zia? Carter's girlfriend who's hosting Anubis's mother?" asked Percy. "That Zia?"

"Yeah. Except she's not hosting Nephthys anymore. And she's not exactly Carter's girlfriend anymore either. It was her shabti that he hooked up with," explained Sadie. "But they'll arrive around the same time that Nico, Anubis, and Bast get there."

"How many demons are we talking about?" Percy wanted to know. "And how many magicians?"

"About a dozen magicians, twenty or so demons, and six flying, fire-breathing snakes."

"How many trainees do you have now?"

"You know Percy, I love it how I can tell you that there will be flying, fire-breathing snakes invading and you don't even bat an eye. We have about twenty trainees now, but Jaz was in a coma last time I checked."

"We're outnumbered pretty bad then," said Percy. "Magicians are a pain. It's hard to defend people other than myself from them, and am I right in guessing these guys were probably hand-picked for their skills, or at least their ruthlessness?"

"How'd you guess? But between you, Nico, Anubis, Bast, and our trainees, you should be okay, right?"

"I think so. It's easy to forget because he's always either getting into trouble or causing trouble, but Nico's one of the most powerful demigods alive. Anyone who underestimates him does so at their own peril."

"Aziza's going to be there."

Percy scowled. "You mean she didn't learn not to mess with us the first time?"

"We heard she was sent to Antarctica for that fiasco where she nearly pitted the House of Life against the House of Hades. She, along with most of the other magicians, were scouted from the worst personalities the House of Life has to offer, like you guessed. There are others coming who have murdered other members of the House of Life, and one who started a tsunami that killed lots of people."

"Just let him try starting a tsunami here," said Percy. "I'll make him eat it."

"That's what we love about you, Water Boy. Hey, I've got to go . . . but thanks again, Percy."

"How soon will you be able to get there?" Percy asked quickly.

"We'll be there at sunrise, assuming we live," said Sadie.

"Then I'll see you at sunrise." Percy refused to consider that they might fail.

After hanging up with Sadie, he finished lacing up his shoes, then grabbed the belt that Nico had given him for Christmas. It was more like a weight-lifting belt than the kind used to keep pants up, and it had been reinforced in the back with a layer of steel that covered the exact spot where Percy's only weakness was. Percy found it a bit eerie, and somehow doubted it was a coincidence. Nico was smarter than people gave him credit for, Percy knew. He was good at figuring things out. If he could just figure out how to stay out of trouble, Percy's life would be much easier, but since it didn't seem like that was going to happen anytime soon, Percy appreciated the armored belt. It could mean the difference between life and death for him.

"Mom? Paul? I found out where Nico is, so I'm going to meet him," Percy told his parents, giving them an abridged version of his plans. "Then we're going to head to Camp Half-Blood for the night, so don't wait up for us."

His mother looked at him with worried eyes. "Nico knows he's always welcome here, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he knows," said Percy. "Or at least he's been told at least a dozen times before. We've just got something to take care of at camp. It's kind of hard to explain, but it's nothing you need to be worried about."

Sally looked a little more at ease. "Send Nico my love."

"Mom! I can't do that." Percy pulled a face and headed for the door. He felt a little bad about lying to his mother, but it was the only way to keep her from worrying. Besides, if Sadie and Carter failed, a few lies would be the least of their worries.

Percy took the subway to get him as close to Brooklyn House as it could. Then he got a cab to take him the rest of the way. It would have taken longer to call Blackjack to come get him than it did for him to get there on his own, and it wasn't like he didn't have plenty of time. The cab driver probably thought Percy was crazy, getting out in front of an abandoned warehouse, or else there to buy drugs, but Percy had been suspected of much worse in the past. He hurried up to the mansion. Amos met him at the door.

"Percy," he said, looking happier than usual at seeing a demigod. "Thank you for coming. If ever we needed allies . . ."

"I guess Nico's not here yet?" asked Percy. He was a bit uncomfortable with Amos's blatant gratitude, and much more comfortable with chaos and battle, as strange as that might be.

"Not yet. We're expecting Walt and Zia at sunset, on the roof. As for Nico and Bast -"

A shriek resounded from further inside. Percy pulled out Riptide and sprinted past Amos, glad for some action. And for an excuse not to have to talk with Amos. Trying to be polite to him was just awkward when he'd made his feelings so clear about how Egyptians and Greeks shouldn't mix.

It turned out to be a false alarm. The shriek had been given by one of the trainees whose name Percy didn't know, when Nico and Bast materialized right on top of the table where she and several other magicians in training had been working on charms, probably to use in the upcoming battle. Then Nico had fallen on top of one of them, since shadow traveling with other people tired him out, even more so when he was forced to do it during the day.

"Percy!" In his exhausted state, Nico seemed oblivious to his own plight as he saw his cousin burst into the room. "You're here!"

"Yeah," said Percy, finally able to relax, and unable to help smiling as Bast pulled Nico off the trainee he'd toppled into. "So are you."

"Who are you?" asked a trainee who Percy didn't know, and hadn't seen before. She was eyeing him and his sword warily as though she thought he might be their enemies' advance scout. "Bast, who is he?"

"That's my cousin!" said Nico happily and carelessly. "My extremely badass cousin! He's here to save the day!"

"You're punch drunk," said Bast, as she hauled him over to Percy.

"Am not."

"And this is Percy, everyone. He's Nico's cousin, and a powerful ally. Be nice to him, because we're lucky to have him here."

Percy raised one hand to wave at them all and used the other to grip Nico's jacket. "Hi."

"Hey guys," said Nico. "Guys, listen! My cousin . . . he's the best swordsman in the world, and he's going to kick all our enemies' butts!"

"If you're such a great magician, why haven't you been here before now?"

"He has, a few times," said one of the other trainees. "I've seen him stop by."

The truth was that, to an extent, everyone who knew of Nico's situation had agreed that the fewer people who knew, the better. No one knew what the consequences would be once it got out that Nico, a Greek demigod, was the host of an Egyptian god. For that reason, though all the trainees knew Nico, none of them had been told what had happened. Even though he lived with them, he kept his distance. They didn't know that he was a demigod, or that he was the host of Anubis. All they had been told was that his powers dealt with necromancy. Naturally, they assumed he was one of them, an Egyptian magician, and the fact that he dealt with death magic obviously made them a bit uncomfortable, so they didn't ask too many questions about why he came and went as he pleased, and rarely participated in classes with them. Percy knew that they eventually planned to tell their trainees that Nico was a demigod, who also had the ability to perform a bit of Egyptian magic. He guessed now was as good a time as any to let that cat out of its bag.

"I'm not a magician," Percy told them. "I'm not even Egyptian. I'm a demigod. My father is Poseidon, the Greek god of the ocean."

For several seconds everyone just stared at him.

Then one of the youngest trainees darted forward looking excited. "Poseidon? Really? Honestly? Wow! He has the highest elemental defense against fire of any Mythomagic card ever!"

"Uh, sure." Percy looked at the others to see how they were taking this. There were a few doubtful and confused looks, but no one seemed completely against the idea of it even being possible.

"Is it really alright for you to help us?" asked one of the girls, a bookish looking one who Percy thought he'd seen before but hadn't been introduced to. "I thought there was some kind of unspoken agreement that Egyptians and Greeks leave each other alone."

"I heard there was some kind of huge blow up in the House of Life a few months ago, and the Greek pantheon nearly declared war," said a teenage boy.

"Yeah," said Percy. "That happened when Nico first met Sadie and Carter, when they were being attacked by a few House of Life agents. Nico obviously wasn't going to stand by while two adults attacked two kids. It escalated, and there were some misunderstandings all around, but Hades thought that Nico had been kidnapped by the House of Life and was ready to kill anyone he had to in order to get him back. My dad, Athena, Apollo, Hermes, and Ares were all poised to join the attack, and the rest of the Olympians probably would have followed, but we got that straightened out in time."

"Nico! Your dad's Hades! No way!" the boy who liked Mythomagic looked awestruck. "His figurine's super rare, I've been looking for it for years and still haven't found it!"

"Wait . . . Nico's a demigod? So he's not a magician?" asked the bookish girl.

"I am a magician and a demigod," said Nico.

"There's a reason he has an affinity for necromancy," Percy told them.

"Oh, this is going to be great! With the sons of Hades and Poseidon on our side, there's no way we can lose!"

"Quiet, Felix."

"But Cleo . . . you don't understand how epic this is!"

"Felix is right," agreed Nico. "We'll have a unique elemental strategy that they'll never see coming. Paring up water and death might be unorthodox but if it's Percy and me we can make it work. We'll drag these House of Life freaks into a watery grave!"

Percy frowned at his cousin, recognizing Nico's senseless cheer as what it really was: extreme exhaustion. Who knew what he'd been doing in the Duat before getting back to the mortal realm? And then to have shadow traveled not just himself, but Bast as well, before it was even dark out.

"You need to rest," he told Nico. "I want you to get your strength back before the fight starts. Have you had any nectar or ambrosia?"

"That's about all he's had, the entire time he was in the Duat," said Bast. "Except for once when I caught him some fish. Anubis doesn't think he should have any more of it unless he gets injured, and for once, I agree with the mutt."

Percy shot her a warning look, then nodded. "You guys . . . sorry, I don't know your names yet, even though we're allies in this, but please keep up whatever you were doing to prepare. I'm going to make sure Nico gets to his room okay, then I'll come back and help you however I can. Any questions you have, I'll do my best to answer, and if you have any doubts about me, I'll do my best to remove those too. I'm in this with you guys, and I promise I'll pull my own weight."

He maneuvered Nico out of the room and toward the stairs. Behind him he heard the trainees begin talking amongst themselves.

"I don't know about this -"

"No, no, this is a good thing! If the Greek gods almost declared war on the House of Life last time they messed with their kids, it'll hamper the House's movements more this time. We can use this!"

"Still, I don't -"

"So what if Nico's a demigod? He's still the same guy he's always been, and we've never doubted what side he was on before. If he vouches for his cousin, that's good enough for me."

"Don't you guys get it? This is going to be epic! This is going to be Clash of the Titans meets Mythomagic: The Movie! We are going to pwn these noobs!"

Percy couldn't help but smile. "That went better than I expected it to."

Nico yawned. "Yeah. Wait'll they see you in action."