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ax_mainWhen Nico gets a mysterious email with an offer he can't resist, he goes to check it out, but leaves a message for Yana, just in case. Yana doesn't wait to find out whether or not help is needed.
Nico hesitated, his pen raised against the paper, as he thought about what to write. He had gotten about as far as "Dear Yana" before he hesitated.
He had gotten an email from some dude named Midas offering to teach him how to truly raise the dead. And while Genosha was okay and all, if Nico knew how to do that...he could bring Bianca back.
How could he say no, really?
But he wasn't an idiot. He was going to be some TV special of "Boy found dead with creepy old guy." Trusting a stranger off the internet, one who magically had Nico's name and knew his powers, sounded like a huge, huge red flag.
So...Yana. She was his back up plan. He was going to write her a note with the basics, drop it off at her school, and then go to the place the guy had said. But he knew, if she was here, she'd try to talk him out of it. Or at least into letting her go with. This was something Nico had to do on his own.
Steeling himself, Nico quickly scribbled down the story for Yana, signing it N in case any of her classmates got any ideas. He grabbed his jacked, and his knife, before pulling up the picture of the school Yana had given to him, just in case.
He really, really hoped she wasn't in.
---
Luck was on Nico's side for once, because he found an empty dorm room. He dropped the note and then pulled up the picture that Midas had sent him. It was...an old cave? Well then. Shaking off his tiredness, Nico shadow traveled once more.
He ended up at a cave, in what looked to be the middle of the woods. Nico cautiously approached, eyes bouncing around, trying to see if anyone was there.
"Hello?" Nico called out tensely.
No response. Nico felt pulled into the cave and, against his better judgement, followed the pulled forward until--
"Shit!" Nico fell through what must've been a hole in the ground or something. He hit his head on impact what felt like a hundred feet down, and through the blurriness he could've sworn he heard...laughter?
And then a voice came through, "Welcome to the Labyrinth, Nico di Angelo."
________________________
It was several hours later before Yana returned to her room, and another hour or so before she finished her homework and noticed the note lying on her bed. Forehead furrowing, she went over to pick it up, wondering why Vex hadn't just texted her.
The quality of the spelling (or lack thereof) made the identity of its writer immediately obvious, and Illyana pouted, disappointed that she'd missed Nico's visit. Her expression quickly changed to one of concern as she deciphered the note. Of all the idiotic...she took a deep breath, pulled out her phone to text Kitty and let her know that she was going to go check on her moron of a newbie, just so someone knew where she was, and called up a stepping disk. She should be able to find Nico easily enough by scrying him, and once she did? She was going to give him one hell of a lecture on not talking to strangers. Apparently no one had ever done it when he was a kid.
___________________________
Nico came to in...a hallway? It looked like an office hallway, with doors every few feet or so. He shakily stood up and tried to shake off his lingering headache. Focus Nico, focus. He went to one of the doors and opened it to find...
Another hallway?
Hallway on hallway on hallway. It was endless. Nico was pretty sure he couldn't get back to his starting hallway if he tried as he opened door after door, hoping for something different.
"What are you playing at Midas?"
____________________
Scrying for Nico took far longer than Illyana'd thought it would, something that only served to increase her unease with the whole situation. It was almost as if Wanda or Billy were involved, someone whose powers played with the probabilities and made her magic unpredictable, and if that were the case, Nico was probably in even more trouble than she'd feared. Finally, though, she managed to catch a glimpse of him in the water, just long enough to latch on to his position.
Hoping that the lock wasn't so far in the past that he wasn't anywhere near there, now, Illyana morphed her jeans and t-shirt into the black X-Uniform she'd been given back when they'd done the Right rescues. She paused for just a moment, considering the X insignia, and topped it off with the black and silver kevlar vest from her Brotherhood uniform. Better. Just like her, the uniform was neither entirely one thing now nor the other.
She took a deep breath, focusing in on the location where she'd last scryed Nico, and summoned a disk...and reappeared moments later in a hallway that reminded her somewhat eerily of one of the ones she'd seen in TV depictions of haunted high schools. There wasn't anything in particular that was wrong, but she felt as if something were, anyway, almost as if the creepy mood music was playing in the background.
"Nico?" she called out tentatively, startling as her own voice echoed back at her. With no immediate answer, she started down the hallway, hoping it was at least the right direction.
___________________________
Nico had just opened what felt like his 5000th door, and let out a few choice words. What kind of sick game was this dude playing at? Did he just want to frustrate Nico to death?
Opening another door, because what else was he supposed to do, Nico suddenly found himself out of the hallway and into a closed dark room. Well, that was...not an upgrade.
"Hello?" He pulled out his knife. "Show yourself."
"Are you sure you want us to child?"
_____________________________
The corridor changed now and then, Illyana realized after she'd been walking for what felt like several hours. Not only did it branch (she stuck to the left whenever possible, hoping that like the hedge maze that would result in her not getting completely lost, but she suspected it was too late for that), but the walls changed, from concrete to brick to something that looked as if it were part of an old mine, carved out of the dirt. The floor changed too, and the ceiling; in some areas it was so high she felt as if she were in the main train station in New York, in others she found herself stooping so as not to bang her head. There were doors, and arches, and at one point, she found herself looking out a window at a landscape that looked as if it were straight out of Billy's stupid movie with the singing kids and the Nazi's.
What there wasn't was any sign of Nico. Or any other living people, though she'd seen more than one skeleton lying crumbled on the floor. They were odd, too - one had a sword gripped in its fist, while another had a rifle lying beside it and a hat that looked as if it were from the Civil War era. It was weird, and disturbing, and her legs felt like they were considering crumbling beneath her. Maybe it was time, she reflected, to try scrying again. She tried to call up a disk.
It didn't come. Frowning, she pulled out her phone, only to realize that it seemed to be dead as well. "Just what have you gotten me into, Nico," she grumbled as she put her phone back in her pocket and started walking again. There had to be a way out, right? Somewhere.
___
Nico starred into the face of a woman. Well, two faces of a woman would be more accurate. One was smiling at him, and one was frowning.
"You've found yourself in some trouble," they said as one.
"What else is new..." Nico muttered before clearing his throat and asking them. "How do I get out of it?"
"You could choose to give up your hope of forever raising those who want to remain in the ground...and leave this place," one head spoke, her words silky and slithering.
"You could choose to fight, and keep looking for the one who has tricked you," the other quickly follow with.
Nico frowned. Was this a trick question? He was pissed off, of course he wanted to fight!
Unless...was the other one offering a way out? Nico didn't really love this whole rat is a maze feeling he had going on. But could he really give up on Bianca?
No. Never.
"Where do I find Midas?"
One of the heads started to laugh while the other started to cry, and Nico felt more and more uncomfortable. A doorway appeared behind them, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Suit yourself, young Hades. Just remember the choices we gave you."
Nico tightened his hand on his knife as he ran past them, ready to be out of this room. He opened the door and...fell into nothing.
Well okay, not nothing. A ground like 10 ft down. Maybe he shouldn't have had his knife in hand? He winced as he examined the cut he had given himself in the minimal light. Oh well. No choice but forward now.
As long as he could find forward, that is.
________________________
And...a dead end.
Illyana sighed and pushed her hand back through her hair. Her legs ached, her head ached from where she'd bonked it on a too low ceiling, and she had a sick feeling that this was all some kind of trick and Nico wasn't in this maze at all. Maybe one of the demons? But She hadn't seen S'ym around in ages, and there wasn't anyone else who -
Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt as she turned and caught sight of something - or rather someone - completely different (but no less strange) than the demons she'd been imagining. It was a woman, she was pretty sure, but one with two heads. One smiled a a welcome, while the other had that same expression that Professor Xavier always did when he called her into his office.
She wasn't sure which was more alarming. Either way, she figured it wouldn't hurt to have her sword, and she summoned it. Almost to her surprise, it appeared in her hand, lighting the chamber with its cold glow.
"You have a choice to make, child," the smiling one said, not unkindly, apparently unfazed by the appearance of an eldritch weapon.
Great. Because she was so good at choices. "What choice?"
"You can put that aside," the smiling face said, with a pointed look towards her weapon before her eyes returned to Illyana's face. "All of it. Your sword, Limbo, Belasco - it can be as if it never happened. You could be back in Russia - or even back at the school if you preferred. But you'd be at peace."
Illyana frowned. "That's not possible. It did happen. You can't change the past."
"It can be done. Imagine it, child. Your soul your own, with no more inner turmoil, no warring impulses. We can do this for you."
She imagined it. It was pretty appealing. But...
"What's the other choice?" she asked, turning towards the other head. Because choices were never that easy.
"You go on," the other head said. "You find your friend. And if you survive, you leave here together."
"What would keep me from going on after you change me?" she demanded. "I could choose to stay here, couldn't I? After you changed me."
"That's not one of the options," the first head said, not unkindly. "Either you leave here alone and whole, or with Nico and conflicted."
"Choose," the second head ordered.
Illyana paused. If they could wipe everything away, give her a clean slate - she wanted that. So, so badly. No conflicting impulses, no demon realm to govern, no knowledge that eventually, her blood would fill the last two holes in the amulet and she'd wreck havoc on the world in the name of the Elder Gods. No demons, no Belasco - just her.
But it would come at a cost. All things did, which was the only reason she was inclined to think the woman could do as she said. She could have all of that - if she just abandoned Nico.
Her mind drifted, apparently at random, to what had happened in the Fantasyland they'd found themselves in the year before. Where she'd made a choice, without any prompting from the mystically dark side of her nature, that had resulted in Pyro's death. No. She might suck at choices, but she wasn't going to be responsible for that. Not again. Not after Pyro, and Ashake, and Cat. For better or worse, she was what she was. It wasn't as if she'd been any better a person without her past.
Besides, Nico was her newbie. She'd abandoned him once, to go back to the school. She wasn't going to do it again.
"Show me the door," she said decisively, and the woman stepped aside and gestured towards a doorway that hadn't been there moments before.
Bracing herself, Illyana walked through.
________________
Nico found himself in what looked to be an arena. One the plus side, there were skeletons around him.
On the minus side, there were skeletons around him.
A disembodied voice came overhead like a loud speaker, “Ladies and gents we have a newwww champion. In one corner, son of Hades. In the other, our returning champion, Minotaurrrrr.”
A hate Nico hadn’t noticed in the corner opened to reveal a giant...bull man? Furry man? Either way, “Shit.”
Nico limped back towards the wall, trying to raise the skeletons around him. No dice. What the fuck.
_________________________
The door opened into a void, and Illyana felt herself sucked through.
Screaming, Illyana fell - for how long, she couldn't have said. Long enough that she fully expected to go splat when she hit the bottom that she couldn't see in the darkness that seemed to suck in the light of her sword until she could barely see it, as well. But eventually, things began to grow lighter, and air began to slow her fall in a way she couldn't explain. Finally, she landed - hard, but on her feet.
In an arena. Illyana blinked. There were skeletons, and a giant demon-like figure with a bull head, and on the far side...
"Nico!" Despite everything else, she felt her heart lift at the sight of her bedraggled newbie, and shifted her grip. If the bull-headed figure was a demon, it was in for a real surprise. "You okay?"
Okay, Nico must have hit his head even harder than he though. He could’ve sworn he heard...
“Yana?” Across the arena, behind the bullman, he could swear he saw her.
“Is this some kind of trick Midas?”
"As you can see, Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a late entrant into the arena," a disembodied voice announced, ignoring Nico's question entirely. "The daughter of Hecate joins us, making this a three way fight to the death!"
"What?" Illyana demanded, just as the bull headed demon (or whatever it was) spun and saw her. Apparently deciding that she was an easier (or at least closer) target, it roared and charged towards her, and Illyana dove and rolled just in time for its claws to pass through where she'd been standing.
"Watch out!" Nico called out about a half second after what would have been too late. Whether this Yana was real or not, Nico really really really didn't want to see her die.
He gripped his knife tighter and yelled, "Hey, meat head, over here!"
The bull-headed demon spun towards Nico's voice, and Illyana took the opportunity to get back on her feet. Jaw set, she swung her sword, hoping that whatever it was, it was at least partially magic.
Unfortunately, her sword passed right through it. Cursing, she looked around for another weapon. Off to the side with the skeletons were a few swords - battered, rusty, but still in one piece. She sheathed hers by stabbing it into her chest and ran for an actual weapon. Hopefully she'd manage to get one before she drew its attention again.
Nico attempted to swipe at the bull man and, with a roll, barely managed to avoid getting hit instead. Shit. Nico wheeled around and ran, hoping that for being so big it wouldn't be as fast.
"Nico!" Yana called out as she managed to tug a sword out from under the skeletons. "Here!" She tossed it towards him, hilt first, and scrambled for another.
Nico attempted to catch the sword, clumsily getting a hand on the hilt. Shit, it was heavy. He took a swipe at the guy and felt a spark of hope when he howled in pain.
That was encouraging. Illyana managed to get a sword of her own out and regained her feet. Jaw setting once more, she charged in and took a swipe at the thing's back. This time, her sword connected, and she grinned evilly as it sliced a deep gash through fur and flesh, causing it to stumble forward.
Nico followed Yana's momentum. Or who he hoped was actually Yana's momentum. He swung forward, knocking the bull man in the knee and watching in satisfaction as it caused him to fall.
Illyana cheered as the thing fell, and stabbed downward as it landed, thrusting her sword through its chest. And turned to look at Nico. "Any particular reason we're in an arena fighting a half bull thing?"
Nico turned his sword toward Yana (not Yana?) and asked, "Tell me something only Yana would know." Ok, this place might be fucking with his mind a little bit.
"What?" Illyana stared at him incredulously, then realized what he was up to and sighed. "You collect Mythomagic cards, you have a Hades figurine that's probably in your jacket's left pocket, and when I got you a pair of Hercules pajama pants for Christmas last year you gave me a lecture on just how badly the movie compared to actual mythology. In detail. You got on such a roll that we almost missed getting any of Eileen's chocolate chip pancakes, because she told Freddy if we didn't show up in five minutes he could eat ours, and we made it only because you shadow walked us down to the kitchen with five seconds to spare. Is that good enough, or do you want me to list your favorite pizza toppings or something?”
Nico let out an exhale he didn’t know he was holding. “It’s you. Sorry, this place is fucking with my mind. I don’t...”
Know what’s real.
"Yeah, I hear you." In its own way, it was worse than Limbo, really. At least Limbo followed its own rules; wherever they were, there didn't seem to be any.
As a case in point, even as she had the thought, the arena shimmered and dissolved around them, leavng them standing in an empty cavern. No spectators, no announcer, no skeletons - and no dead whatever-it-had been. Only the sword she'd picked up remained in her hand - that, and the fact that her clothes had somehow transformed, leaving her standing in what looked like a cross between a statue of a Greek Goddess and Xena, Warrior Princess. She looked down at herself, blinked, then turned back to Nico. "So did you find the guy you were looking for?"
Similarly changed into what appeared to be Greek garb, Nico shook his head. "Haven't seen him yet. But when I find him..." Nico muttered darkly.
"I think we'd be better off finding our way out of here," Illyana pointed out, then grimaced. "I can't call a portal. Can you shadow walk?”
“No go I’m afraid,” Nico frowned. “I think the only way out might be...forward.”
"I was afraid you were going to say that." Illyana looked at him and quirked a smile. "Pick a direction?"
As if the labyrinth heard her, two doors appeared 10 feet apart. Nico weighed his options, but they looked the same.
Sending a quick prayer to Hades, he pointed to the left door. “Onwards and upwards. Hopefully.”
"Hopefully." Illyana stepped forward and opened a door, revealing a spiral staircase leading upwards. She peered up, trying to gauge how high it was, but gave up almost immediately.. "You had to say upwards, didn't you?" she joked.
"Better than down?" Nico tried to joke back, going around Yana so he could go first up the stairs. He tested the first step warily and was pleased when it held.
"Well...bets on this being a Stairway to Heaven?"
"Given our new outfits? I'm thinking a Stairway to Mount Olympus," Illyana suggested, plucking at the skirt of her "armor" as she started climbing. "I'm definitely in favor of them playing Led Zeppelin, though. Or turning it into an escalator."
A door suddenly appeared to the side of where Nico was climbing. "What do you think? Keep climbing, or try the door?"
Normally Illyana would have pointed out that it wouldn't hurt anything to try the door, but she wasn't sure that logic applied here. Or that any logic applied. She tried to remember exactly what the two faced woman had said. Sadly, it hadn't had any bearing. "I think...I think we need to keep focused," she said slowly. "Before we open anything, we need to agree on where we want to be going? Kind of like when we teleport - if you don't picture where you want to go, you don't get there."
"I want what Midas promised me," Nico answered back just as slowly, frowning slightly. This place was turning his head in all kinds of directions.
What if he got Yana killed trying to bring Bianca back?
"Nico..." Illyana paused, trying to figure out how best to put it. "Do you really think this Midas can do that? I mean, he kinda lured you down here," wherever here was, "and dumped you off. It seems more like some kind of trap."
"I gotta know if there's a chance or not..." Nico answered, hating every word as it left his mouth. He felt so torn.
"I don't think you're going to find out here," Illyana said softly. "Maybe we should just try to get out and go home?" Wherever that was. But if he needed her to go back to Genosha with him, she'd give it a try. At least until they kicked her out.
Yana was making sense, really. It was just so hard for Nico to let go. He felt like his heart was tearing in two. "Ok," Nico reluctantly gave in.
If the answer wasn't here...he was going to find the answer elsewhere.
The word was no sooner out of his mouth than a door appeared before them where a stair had been just a moment before. Illyana's eyebrows climbed and she looked at Nico. "Think that's our cue?"
"Ladies first?" Nico joked, quirking an eyebrow. He couldn't get a smile up, not right now.
Illyana wrinkled her nose, shifted her grip on the hilt of her sword, and reached for the door knob. "If I plummet to my death, it's entirely your fault," she pointed out, then opened the door. And blinked as she recognized the room in front of her. And the costume-clad students occupying it. "Well, we made it to the party?" she said as she stepped through, automatically sheathing her sword in the sheath that had appeared as part of her Greek warrior outfit. Which meant it was tomorrow, she was pretty sure. At least, given the number of people she recognized, it wasn't further in the future than that. Given how weird that whole experience had been? She wouldn't have been surprised.
"What party?" Nico asked as he stumbled after her, his eyes having trouble adjusting to the lighting change as he maintained his grip on his sword.
"The school's Halloween party. Remember, I mentioned it last week," Illyana reminded him. Granted, he hadn't promised to come, but...well, he was here now. It all worked, even if she was really too wiped out to enjoy it much. "Put the sword away and we'll find where they're keeping the booze."
Begrudgingly, Nico sheathed his sword and muttered, "There better be booze."
_____
The next day, Nico was feeling...restless. He had been so close...so close to finding the answer to the question that just wouldn't leave him alone. Okay, so maybe he hadn't been "close" exactly, since Midas turned out to be a scam, but still...he hadn't been THIS hungry for figuring this shit out since, well, he first manifested after Bianca died.
And if he knew anything for sure, he wasn't going to find the answer in Genosha, or even Xavier's for that matter. It wasn't like he had much to leave behind anyways.
Well, except Yana. The Brotherhood had given Nico a place to stay, a place to practice, but Yana had been the one to really take him in. He couldn't just leave her with no word.
Making up his mind, Nico shoved all of his belongings, what little he had, into a backpack and slung it over his back. In the next second, he was shadow traveling to Yana.
Only recently up and showered, Illyana was scowling at her reflection as she tugged her brush through her hair. Whatever kind of magic it had been that had re-dressed her and Nico the night before might have created an amazing ancient Greek hairstyle, but she wasn't sure she was ever going to get the tangles out. Even conditioner hadn't...
She saw a figure emerge from the shadows behind her, and set the brush down and turned around, a broad smile forming as she realized Nico had brought a backpack with him. "Hey. Moving in?" she asked as casually as she could manage.
"More like...hitting the road," Nico told her, a little nervously. He shuffled his feed and shrugged at her.
"Oh." Illyana's smile faded and her forehead furrowed. "Why? Did something happen?"
"I just can't sit around anymore," Nico tried to explain, pulling his backpack tighter against him. "I need to find answers...and I'm not going to anywhere around here, or Genosha."
There were a lot of questions that immediately popped into Illyana's mind; what questions, where did he think he'd find answers, how did he know he wouldn't find them here. But really, she knew the answers to most of them, and arguing wasn't going to change his mind. So she nodded, and instead asked the important one. "Did you want me to come with you?"
Nico shook his head. "You're happy here."
Illyana shrugged. She was, and at the same time, she wasn't. Either way, it wasn't what she'd asked. "Whatever. Did you want me to? Because I will." After all, he was her newbie, and she still felt bad about having left him in the first place.
It was tempting--Yana's offer. Nico did not love the idea of leaving her here, or of being alone again.
But on the other hand, there was a tiny voice in the back of his head that was saying some of the things he might have to do, or want to do, while on his own probably weren't something Yana would like. It may be better if she stayed here, safe, and available if he needed to come back.
This was something he should do on his own.
"I'm going to miss you," Nico answered her instead, giving her a small smile.
So that was that. It was his choice to make, and Illyana wasn't going to argue it, however much she might want to. Instead she forced a smile of her own and nodded. "I'm going to miss you too. You'll stay in touch?"
"I'll only send the best undead with messages," Nico promised, raising his hand like a goddamn boy scout or something. "And you can always find me in Limbo."
Illyana grinned impishly. "And you know I will." She let the grin soften to a smile, and moved in to hug him. "Take care of yourself, ok? And if you ever need anything... well, you know where to find me. Or how, at least."
Nico felt himself go from stiff in the hug to giving her a short, but firm, hug back. "Always. You take care of yourself too." Before he could get too emotional, Nico took a step back and shouldered his backpack. "I'll be in the shadows to watch your back."
"And even Limbo has shadows." Illyana's smile wavered and she forced it back in place, raising her hand a little in a gesture of farewell. She wasn't going to plead with him not to go, however much she might want to.
Nico raised his own hand in farewell and murmured, "See you later Yana." Then, before he could think too long or too hard on it, he stepped into the shadows and disappeared.
Nico hesitated, his pen raised against the paper, as he thought about what to write. He had gotten about as far as "Dear Yana" before he hesitated.
He had gotten an email from some dude named Midas offering to teach him how to truly raise the dead. And while Genosha was okay and all, if Nico knew how to do that...he could bring Bianca back.
How could he say no, really?
But he wasn't an idiot. He was going to be some TV special of "Boy found dead with creepy old guy." Trusting a stranger off the internet, one who magically had Nico's name and knew his powers, sounded like a huge, huge red flag.
So...Yana. She was his back up plan. He was going to write her a note with the basics, drop it off at her school, and then go to the place the guy had said. But he knew, if she was here, she'd try to talk him out of it. Or at least into letting her go with. This was something Nico had to do on his own.
Steeling himself, Nico quickly scribbled down the story for Yana, signing it N in case any of her classmates got any ideas. He grabbed his jacked, and his knife, before pulling up the picture of the school Yana had given to him, just in case.
He really, really hoped she wasn't in.
---
Luck was on Nico's side for once, because he found an empty dorm room. He dropped the note and then pulled up the picture that Midas had sent him. It was...an old cave? Well then. Shaking off his tiredness, Nico shadow traveled once more.
He ended up at a cave, in what looked to be the middle of the woods. Nico cautiously approached, eyes bouncing around, trying to see if anyone was there.
"Hello?" Nico called out tensely.
No response. Nico felt pulled into the cave and, against his better judgement, followed the pulled forward until--
"Shit!" Nico fell through what must've been a hole in the ground or something. He hit his head on impact what felt like a hundred feet down, and through the blurriness he could've sworn he heard...laughter?
And then a voice came through, "Welcome to the Labyrinth, Nico di Angelo."
________________________
It was several hours later before Yana returned to her room, and another hour or so before she finished her homework and noticed the note lying on her bed. Forehead furrowing, she went over to pick it up, wondering why Vex hadn't just texted her.
The quality of the spelling (or lack thereof) made the identity of its writer immediately obvious, and Illyana pouted, disappointed that she'd missed Nico's visit. Her expression quickly changed to one of concern as she deciphered the note. Of all the idiotic...she took a deep breath, pulled out her phone to text Kitty and let her know that she was going to go check on her moron of a newbie, just so someone knew where she was, and called up a stepping disk. She should be able to find Nico easily enough by scrying him, and once she did? She was going to give him one hell of a lecture on not talking to strangers. Apparently no one had ever done it when he was a kid.
___________________________
Nico came to in...a hallway? It looked like an office hallway, with doors every few feet or so. He shakily stood up and tried to shake off his lingering headache. Focus Nico, focus. He went to one of the doors and opened it to find...
Another hallway?
Hallway on hallway on hallway. It was endless. Nico was pretty sure he couldn't get back to his starting hallway if he tried as he opened door after door, hoping for something different.
"What are you playing at Midas?"
____________________
Scrying for Nico took far longer than Illyana'd thought it would, something that only served to increase her unease with the whole situation. It was almost as if Wanda or Billy were involved, someone whose powers played with the probabilities and made her magic unpredictable, and if that were the case, Nico was probably in even more trouble than she'd feared. Finally, though, she managed to catch a glimpse of him in the water, just long enough to latch on to his position.
Hoping that the lock wasn't so far in the past that he wasn't anywhere near there, now, Illyana morphed her jeans and t-shirt into the black X-Uniform she'd been given back when they'd done the Right rescues. She paused for just a moment, considering the X insignia, and topped it off with the black and silver kevlar vest from her Brotherhood uniform. Better. Just like her, the uniform was neither entirely one thing now nor the other.
She took a deep breath, focusing in on the location where she'd last scryed Nico, and summoned a disk...and reappeared moments later in a hallway that reminded her somewhat eerily of one of the ones she'd seen in TV depictions of haunted high schools. There wasn't anything in particular that was wrong, but she felt as if something were, anyway, almost as if the creepy mood music was playing in the background.
"Nico?" she called out tentatively, startling as her own voice echoed back at her. With no immediate answer, she started down the hallway, hoping it was at least the right direction.
___________________________
Nico had just opened what felt like his 5000th door, and let out a few choice words. What kind of sick game was this dude playing at? Did he just want to frustrate Nico to death?
Opening another door, because what else was he supposed to do, Nico suddenly found himself out of the hallway and into a closed dark room. Well, that was...not an upgrade.
"Hello?" He pulled out his knife. "Show yourself."
"Are you sure you want us to child?"
_____________________________
The corridor changed now and then, Illyana realized after she'd been walking for what felt like several hours. Not only did it branch (she stuck to the left whenever possible, hoping that like the hedge maze that would result in her not getting completely lost, but she suspected it was too late for that), but the walls changed, from concrete to brick to something that looked as if it were part of an old mine, carved out of the dirt. The floor changed too, and the ceiling; in some areas it was so high she felt as if she were in the main train station in New York, in others she found herself stooping so as not to bang her head. There were doors, and arches, and at one point, she found herself looking out a window at a landscape that looked as if it were straight out of Billy's stupid movie with the singing kids and the Nazi's.
What there wasn't was any sign of Nico. Or any other living people, though she'd seen more than one skeleton lying crumbled on the floor. They were odd, too - one had a sword gripped in its fist, while another had a rifle lying beside it and a hat that looked as if it were from the Civil War era. It was weird, and disturbing, and her legs felt like they were considering crumbling beneath her. Maybe it was time, she reflected, to try scrying again. She tried to call up a disk.
It didn't come. Frowning, she pulled out her phone, only to realize that it seemed to be dead as well. "Just what have you gotten me into, Nico," she grumbled as she put her phone back in her pocket and started walking again. There had to be a way out, right? Somewhere.
___
Nico starred into the face of a woman. Well, two faces of a woman would be more accurate. One was smiling at him, and one was frowning.
"You've found yourself in some trouble," they said as one.
"What else is new..." Nico muttered before clearing his throat and asking them. "How do I get out of it?"
"You could choose to give up your hope of forever raising those who want to remain in the ground...and leave this place," one head spoke, her words silky and slithering.
"You could choose to fight, and keep looking for the one who has tricked you," the other quickly follow with.
Nico frowned. Was this a trick question? He was pissed off, of course he wanted to fight!
Unless...was the other one offering a way out? Nico didn't really love this whole rat is a maze feeling he had going on. But could he really give up on Bianca?
No. Never.
"Where do I find Midas?"
One of the heads started to laugh while the other started to cry, and Nico felt more and more uncomfortable. A doorway appeared behind them, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Suit yourself, young Hades. Just remember the choices we gave you."
Nico tightened his hand on his knife as he ran past them, ready to be out of this room. He opened the door and...fell into nothing.
Well okay, not nothing. A ground like 10 ft down. Maybe he shouldn't have had his knife in hand? He winced as he examined the cut he had given himself in the minimal light. Oh well. No choice but forward now.
As long as he could find forward, that is.
________________________
And...a dead end.
Illyana sighed and pushed her hand back through her hair. Her legs ached, her head ached from where she'd bonked it on a too low ceiling, and she had a sick feeling that this was all some kind of trick and Nico wasn't in this maze at all. Maybe one of the demons? But She hadn't seen S'ym around in ages, and there wasn't anyone else who -
Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt as she turned and caught sight of something - or rather someone - completely different (but no less strange) than the demons she'd been imagining. It was a woman, she was pretty sure, but one with two heads. One smiled a a welcome, while the other had that same expression that Professor Xavier always did when he called her into his office.
She wasn't sure which was more alarming. Either way, she figured it wouldn't hurt to have her sword, and she summoned it. Almost to her surprise, it appeared in her hand, lighting the chamber with its cold glow.
"You have a choice to make, child," the smiling one said, not unkindly, apparently unfazed by the appearance of an eldritch weapon.
Great. Because she was so good at choices. "What choice?"
"You can put that aside," the smiling face said, with a pointed look towards her weapon before her eyes returned to Illyana's face. "All of it. Your sword, Limbo, Belasco - it can be as if it never happened. You could be back in Russia - or even back at the school if you preferred. But you'd be at peace."
Illyana frowned. "That's not possible. It did happen. You can't change the past."
"It can be done. Imagine it, child. Your soul your own, with no more inner turmoil, no warring impulses. We can do this for you."
She imagined it. It was pretty appealing. But...
"What's the other choice?" she asked, turning towards the other head. Because choices were never that easy.
"You go on," the other head said. "You find your friend. And if you survive, you leave here together."
"What would keep me from going on after you change me?" she demanded. "I could choose to stay here, couldn't I? After you changed me."
"That's not one of the options," the first head said, not unkindly. "Either you leave here alone and whole, or with Nico and conflicted."
"Choose," the second head ordered.
Illyana paused. If they could wipe everything away, give her a clean slate - she wanted that. So, so badly. No conflicting impulses, no demon realm to govern, no knowledge that eventually, her blood would fill the last two holes in the amulet and she'd wreck havoc on the world in the name of the Elder Gods. No demons, no Belasco - just her.
But it would come at a cost. All things did, which was the only reason she was inclined to think the woman could do as she said. She could have all of that - if she just abandoned Nico.
Her mind drifted, apparently at random, to what had happened in the Fantasyland they'd found themselves in the year before. Where she'd made a choice, without any prompting from the mystically dark side of her nature, that had resulted in Pyro's death. No. She might suck at choices, but she wasn't going to be responsible for that. Not again. Not after Pyro, and Ashake, and Cat. For better or worse, she was what she was. It wasn't as if she'd been any better a person without her past.
Besides, Nico was her newbie. She'd abandoned him once, to go back to the school. She wasn't going to do it again.
"Show me the door," she said decisively, and the woman stepped aside and gestured towards a doorway that hadn't been there moments before.
Bracing herself, Illyana walked through.
________________
Nico found himself in what looked to be an arena. One the plus side, there were skeletons around him.
On the minus side, there were skeletons around him.
A disembodied voice came overhead like a loud speaker, “Ladies and gents we have a newwww champion. In one corner, son of Hades. In the other, our returning champion, Minotaurrrrr.”
A hate Nico hadn’t noticed in the corner opened to reveal a giant...bull man? Furry man? Either way, “Shit.”
Nico limped back towards the wall, trying to raise the skeletons around him. No dice. What the fuck.
_________________________
The door opened into a void, and Illyana felt herself sucked through.
Screaming, Illyana fell - for how long, she couldn't have said. Long enough that she fully expected to go splat when she hit the bottom that she couldn't see in the darkness that seemed to suck in the light of her sword until she could barely see it, as well. But eventually, things began to grow lighter, and air began to slow her fall in a way she couldn't explain. Finally, she landed - hard, but on her feet.
In an arena. Illyana blinked. There were skeletons, and a giant demon-like figure with a bull head, and on the far side...
"Nico!" Despite everything else, she felt her heart lift at the sight of her bedraggled newbie, and shifted her grip. If the bull-headed figure was a demon, it was in for a real surprise. "You okay?"
Okay, Nico must have hit his head even harder than he though. He could’ve sworn he heard...
“Yana?” Across the arena, behind the bullman, he could swear he saw her.
“Is this some kind of trick Midas?”
"As you can see, Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a late entrant into the arena," a disembodied voice announced, ignoring Nico's question entirely. "The daughter of Hecate joins us, making this a three way fight to the death!"
"What?" Illyana demanded, just as the bull headed demon (or whatever it was) spun and saw her. Apparently deciding that she was an easier (or at least closer) target, it roared and charged towards her, and Illyana dove and rolled just in time for its claws to pass through where she'd been standing.
"Watch out!" Nico called out about a half second after what would have been too late. Whether this Yana was real or not, Nico really really really didn't want to see her die.
He gripped his knife tighter and yelled, "Hey, meat head, over here!"
The bull-headed demon spun towards Nico's voice, and Illyana took the opportunity to get back on her feet. Jaw set, she swung her sword, hoping that whatever it was, it was at least partially magic.
Unfortunately, her sword passed right through it. Cursing, she looked around for another weapon. Off to the side with the skeletons were a few swords - battered, rusty, but still in one piece. She sheathed hers by stabbing it into her chest and ran for an actual weapon. Hopefully she'd manage to get one before she drew its attention again.
Nico attempted to swipe at the bull man and, with a roll, barely managed to avoid getting hit instead. Shit. Nico wheeled around and ran, hoping that for being so big it wouldn't be as fast.
"Nico!" Yana called out as she managed to tug a sword out from under the skeletons. "Here!" She tossed it towards him, hilt first, and scrambled for another.
Nico attempted to catch the sword, clumsily getting a hand on the hilt. Shit, it was heavy. He took a swipe at the guy and felt a spark of hope when he howled in pain.
That was encouraging. Illyana managed to get a sword of her own out and regained her feet. Jaw setting once more, she charged in and took a swipe at the thing's back. This time, her sword connected, and she grinned evilly as it sliced a deep gash through fur and flesh, causing it to stumble forward.
Nico followed Yana's momentum. Or who he hoped was actually Yana's momentum. He swung forward, knocking the bull man in the knee and watching in satisfaction as it caused him to fall.
Illyana cheered as the thing fell, and stabbed downward as it landed, thrusting her sword through its chest. And turned to look at Nico. "Any particular reason we're in an arena fighting a half bull thing?"
Nico turned his sword toward Yana (not Yana?) and asked, "Tell me something only Yana would know." Ok, this place might be fucking with his mind a little bit.
"What?" Illyana stared at him incredulously, then realized what he was up to and sighed. "You collect Mythomagic cards, you have a Hades figurine that's probably in your jacket's left pocket, and when I got you a pair of Hercules pajama pants for Christmas last year you gave me a lecture on just how badly the movie compared to actual mythology. In detail. You got on such a roll that we almost missed getting any of Eileen's chocolate chip pancakes, because she told Freddy if we didn't show up in five minutes he could eat ours, and we made it only because you shadow walked us down to the kitchen with five seconds to spare. Is that good enough, or do you want me to list your favorite pizza toppings or something?”
Nico let out an exhale he didn’t know he was holding. “It’s you. Sorry, this place is fucking with my mind. I don’t...”
Know what’s real.
"Yeah, I hear you." In its own way, it was worse than Limbo, really. At least Limbo followed its own rules; wherever they were, there didn't seem to be any.
As a case in point, even as she had the thought, the arena shimmered and dissolved around them, leavng them standing in an empty cavern. No spectators, no announcer, no skeletons - and no dead whatever-it-had been. Only the sword she'd picked up remained in her hand - that, and the fact that her clothes had somehow transformed, leaving her standing in what looked like a cross between a statue of a Greek Goddess and Xena, Warrior Princess. She looked down at herself, blinked, then turned back to Nico. "So did you find the guy you were looking for?"
Similarly changed into what appeared to be Greek garb, Nico shook his head. "Haven't seen him yet. But when I find him..." Nico muttered darkly.
"I think we'd be better off finding our way out of here," Illyana pointed out, then grimaced. "I can't call a portal. Can you shadow walk?”
“No go I’m afraid,” Nico frowned. “I think the only way out might be...forward.”
"I was afraid you were going to say that." Illyana looked at him and quirked a smile. "Pick a direction?"
As if the labyrinth heard her, two doors appeared 10 feet apart. Nico weighed his options, but they looked the same.
Sending a quick prayer to Hades, he pointed to the left door. “Onwards and upwards. Hopefully.”
"Hopefully." Illyana stepped forward and opened a door, revealing a spiral staircase leading upwards. She peered up, trying to gauge how high it was, but gave up almost immediately.. "You had to say upwards, didn't you?" she joked.
"Better than down?" Nico tried to joke back, going around Yana so he could go first up the stairs. He tested the first step warily and was pleased when it held.
"Well...bets on this being a Stairway to Heaven?"
"Given our new outfits? I'm thinking a Stairway to Mount Olympus," Illyana suggested, plucking at the skirt of her "armor" as she started climbing. "I'm definitely in favor of them playing Led Zeppelin, though. Or turning it into an escalator."
A door suddenly appeared to the side of where Nico was climbing. "What do you think? Keep climbing, or try the door?"
Normally Illyana would have pointed out that it wouldn't hurt anything to try the door, but she wasn't sure that logic applied here. Or that any logic applied. She tried to remember exactly what the two faced woman had said. Sadly, it hadn't had any bearing. "I think...I think we need to keep focused," she said slowly. "Before we open anything, we need to agree on where we want to be going? Kind of like when we teleport - if you don't picture where you want to go, you don't get there."
"I want what Midas promised me," Nico answered back just as slowly, frowning slightly. This place was turning his head in all kinds of directions.
What if he got Yana killed trying to bring Bianca back?
"Nico..." Illyana paused, trying to figure out how best to put it. "Do you really think this Midas can do that? I mean, he kinda lured you down here," wherever here was, "and dumped you off. It seems more like some kind of trap."
"I gotta know if there's a chance or not..." Nico answered, hating every word as it left his mouth. He felt so torn.
"I don't think you're going to find out here," Illyana said softly. "Maybe we should just try to get out and go home?" Wherever that was. But if he needed her to go back to Genosha with him, she'd give it a try. At least until they kicked her out.
Yana was making sense, really. It was just so hard for Nico to let go. He felt like his heart was tearing in two. "Ok," Nico reluctantly gave in.
If the answer wasn't here...he was going to find the answer elsewhere.
The word was no sooner out of his mouth than a door appeared before them where a stair had been just a moment before. Illyana's eyebrows climbed and she looked at Nico. "Think that's our cue?"
"Ladies first?" Nico joked, quirking an eyebrow. He couldn't get a smile up, not right now.
Illyana wrinkled her nose, shifted her grip on the hilt of her sword, and reached for the door knob. "If I plummet to my death, it's entirely your fault," she pointed out, then opened the door. And blinked as she recognized the room in front of her. And the costume-clad students occupying it. "Well, we made it to the party?" she said as she stepped through, automatically sheathing her sword in the sheath that had appeared as part of her Greek warrior outfit. Which meant it was tomorrow, she was pretty sure. At least, given the number of people she recognized, it wasn't further in the future than that. Given how weird that whole experience had been? She wouldn't have been surprised.
"What party?" Nico asked as he stumbled after her, his eyes having trouble adjusting to the lighting change as he maintained his grip on his sword.
"The school's Halloween party. Remember, I mentioned it last week," Illyana reminded him. Granted, he hadn't promised to come, but...well, he was here now. It all worked, even if she was really too wiped out to enjoy it much. "Put the sword away and we'll find where they're keeping the booze."
Begrudgingly, Nico sheathed his sword and muttered, "There better be booze."
_____
The next day, Nico was feeling...restless. He had been so close...so close to finding the answer to the question that just wouldn't leave him alone. Okay, so maybe he hadn't been "close" exactly, since Midas turned out to be a scam, but still...he hadn't been THIS hungry for figuring this shit out since, well, he first manifested after Bianca died.
And if he knew anything for sure, he wasn't going to find the answer in Genosha, or even Xavier's for that matter. It wasn't like he had much to leave behind anyways.
Well, except Yana. The Brotherhood had given Nico a place to stay, a place to practice, but Yana had been the one to really take him in. He couldn't just leave her with no word.
Making up his mind, Nico shoved all of his belongings, what little he had, into a backpack and slung it over his back. In the next second, he was shadow traveling to Yana.
Only recently up and showered, Illyana was scowling at her reflection as she tugged her brush through her hair. Whatever kind of magic it had been that had re-dressed her and Nico the night before might have created an amazing ancient Greek hairstyle, but she wasn't sure she was ever going to get the tangles out. Even conditioner hadn't...
She saw a figure emerge from the shadows behind her, and set the brush down and turned around, a broad smile forming as she realized Nico had brought a backpack with him. "Hey. Moving in?" she asked as casually as she could manage.
"More like...hitting the road," Nico told her, a little nervously. He shuffled his feed and shrugged at her.
"Oh." Illyana's smile faded and her forehead furrowed. "Why? Did something happen?"
"I just can't sit around anymore," Nico tried to explain, pulling his backpack tighter against him. "I need to find answers...and I'm not going to anywhere around here, or Genosha."
There were a lot of questions that immediately popped into Illyana's mind; what questions, where did he think he'd find answers, how did he know he wouldn't find them here. But really, she knew the answers to most of them, and arguing wasn't going to change his mind. So she nodded, and instead asked the important one. "Did you want me to come with you?"
Nico shook his head. "You're happy here."
Illyana shrugged. She was, and at the same time, she wasn't. Either way, it wasn't what she'd asked. "Whatever. Did you want me to? Because I will." After all, he was her newbie, and she still felt bad about having left him in the first place.
It was tempting--Yana's offer. Nico did not love the idea of leaving her here, or of being alone again.
But on the other hand, there was a tiny voice in the back of his head that was saying some of the things he might have to do, or want to do, while on his own probably weren't something Yana would like. It may be better if she stayed here, safe, and available if he needed to come back.
This was something he should do on his own.
"I'm going to miss you," Nico answered her instead, giving her a small smile.
So that was that. It was his choice to make, and Illyana wasn't going to argue it, however much she might want to. Instead she forced a smile of her own and nodded. "I'm going to miss you too. You'll stay in touch?"
"I'll only send the best undead with messages," Nico promised, raising his hand like a goddamn boy scout or something. "And you can always find me in Limbo."
Illyana grinned impishly. "And you know I will." She let the grin soften to a smile, and moved in to hug him. "Take care of yourself, ok? And if you ever need anything... well, you know where to find me. Or how, at least."
Nico felt himself go from stiff in the hug to giving her a short, but firm, hug back. "Always. You take care of yourself too." Before he could get too emotional, Nico took a step back and shouldered his backpack. "I'll be in the shadows to watch your back."
"And even Limbo has shadows." Illyana's smile wavered and she forced it back in place, raising her hand a little in a gesture of farewell. She wasn't going to plead with him not to go, however much she might want to.
Nico raised his own hand in farewell and murmured, "See you later Yana." Then, before he could think too long or too hard on it, he stepped into the shadows and disappeared.
