Brothers Reunited

Chapter Eight: Nico PoV

Will and I returned back to camp and fell into our usual routine. He worked in the Infirmary, I helped teach sword fighting. My father claimed every other second of my time, forcing me to fill out extra paperwork. The paperwork was genuinely horrific. My father allocated a fourth of the Underworld's paperwork to me, another fourth to Thanatos, and the rest he completed himself or forced some of the dead to complete. I wasn't allowed to ask ghosts for help; my father claimed they were untrustworthy, and the work was character-building. I think he's just sadistic and enjoys seeing me in pain.

Hades really isn't that bad of a father, though. He loves me in his own way, and unlike the other gods, he cares. I have my own room, a place in his life; he's even made me his heir. Although, I'm not sure if that's the boon it seems to be. Becoming immortal, controlling parts of the Underworld, more paperwork; I don't know how ready I am to become a death god. Anubis is the youngest, and he's still centuries older than I am. Not to mention how broken I am. I can't even have coffee with my brother without having a flashback or panic attack.

You'd think they'd be going away, but they aren't. Even Will doesn't know just how many I'm having. It's the little things that throw me off like a shirt the color of pomegranate juice, someone cursing, "Go to hell," a phrase similar to something that was said to me down in Tartarus, the ashy smell of the bonfire; anything. I should be able to stay calm; I'm the Ghost King, for goodness' sake, but I flashback or start panicking, and suddenly I can't breathe, I can't think, I can't stop crying or screaming.

Being in Tartarus also brought back a lot of awful memories. I mourned for Bianca and made it out of that well of grief, yet a few days ago, I woke up screaming her name, face coated in slick sweat and glistening tears.

I've been thinking about starting therapy. I don't know that there's anyone who can actually relate to me, though. Asclepius offered to help any campers with mental health issues, but I don't know if he could see or talk about what I've been through and stay sane. I'm not even sure if I'm sane. It's probably still worth a shot.

I called a group of close spectral friends to my room after eating dinner at camp.

"Hey, Nick, Helena, Maya, Teresa, Remus, Aristotle, Robin, and Luca. How are things in the Underworld?" I inquire as they all appear on the beds in the Hades cabin, Maya and Aristotle taking two of the chairs instead. As I've grown, my abilities as Ghost King have expanded. Now, I can make them substantial and give them a physical form in my presence.

I have what one might call an odd group of friends if confiding in the dead isn't already considered bizarre. From a famous American actor like Robin Williams (not that I knew he was famous when we met) to a couple of land-residing ghosts like Helena and Nick, to an Ancient Greek like Aristotle, it's hard to find a shared point amongst them that I identify with.

Maya (Angelou) and Mother Teresa (that's what Luca, Remus, Nick, Robin, Helen, and I call her, the rest just say Teresa) are like the mothers of our group. Maya's a bit of a peacekeeper, not that it stops her from sharing her mind, and Mother Teresa's the one that takes care of us all. She nags me about my health almost as much as Will.

Robin (William)'s a bit of comedic relief, and, being an actor, he gets what it's like to have to pretend to be something you're not. His Parkinson's disease was cured after he died.

Nick's a bit of an outcast. He doesn't fit with the Headless Hunt because his head's still slightly attached, and he and Helena are both unable to reach my father's domain.

Remus also doesn't really fit in. He was a werewolf when living and was ostracized because of it. We both have felt unincluded due to an unchangeable and dangerous part of our identities. He's like the weird but thoughtful uncle that gets us in trouble with Maya. Aristotle's like everyone's grandfather, and he can get really deep in philosophy. It's an honor to have met him and know him. Then, Luca's just a random teenage mortal who died a year ago in a car crash. Being my age, he helps me with the modern era. It's a bit embarrassing knowing less about the current period than a dead person, but Luca's sympathetic to my situation.

"Elysium appears as majestic as always, yet my heart longs to do more than follow mine same routine each day. Speaking with you 'tis always a pleasure," Aristotle sings in his melodic voice the awkward English he's learned in the Underworld.

"He really does over-exaggerate! But it is nice to see you," Maya smiles this warm smile that seems to envelop you in a warm hug. She takes a closer look at me, "So you're still not eating; you need to get in the sun! At least some color's returned to your skin."

I smile sheepishly, "I'll try harder, but don't worry, my doctor's eyes are even more glued to me than yours."

Luca winks at me, "How's Will."

Robin, also being from pretty modern times, lightly shoves my shoulder.

"He's good," I say defectively. I don't enjoy discussing my emotions as others do. My strategy is really deflect and shove deep down into the abyss of things I want to forget or outrun.

Nick jumps in, knowing my aversion to specific topics. Especially around people from different eras where the LGBTQ community was persecuted, "Why exactly did you summon me to your father's throne room the other day?"

"That's actually what I wanted to discuss. I've recently been having an issue controlling skeletons from my father's domain. My father claims to have a theory, but he refuses to share it until he's confirmed certain suspicions. Do you have any thoughts?"

Helena looks at me analytically, and I can feel her absorbing everything I say. She's the analytical one of the group. Sure, Aristotle is extremely good at picking things apart and understanding complex ideas, but he likes the more philosophical and more significant problems. His gaze is nowhere near as piercing as Helena's.

Luca grows confused at that, "I can still feel your hold over me as Ghost King, Nico. What exactly is the difference between a ghost and a skeleton. I know I should know this, but I forgot."

"When a person dies, they leave their skeleton behind. A ghost is the soul and personality of a person. They're all the parts of a person that long to live and breathe and experience things. You all are ghosts, and you don't have a physical body. The skeleton, or the body, is the genuinely dead part of a person, and it's tangible. Maybe a dead body can talk when reanimated by my father or me, but beyond a retained accent, it's lifeless and without personality," I explained.

Aristotle hums in contemplation, "Perhaps this situation has something to do with your recent reconciliation."

What do you mean?" I ask.

"If I am correct, which I am, you only recently started connecting with other people and allowing yourself to associate with the living. Maybe your sudden closeness with others has affected your ability to relate with corpses. This might also explain why you've started being able to give us physical forms." Aristotle contemplates.

I think it over, "Maybe. But why hasn't anything similar happened to my father?"

Luca interjects, "You think Lord Hades is a people person? Nico, you are literally the only human your dad talks to! The only other living person he communicates with regularly is Persephone, but she's a goddess."

I shove the theory into the back of my head and just chat with the others for a while. We play games until I get tired. I fall asleep with a lot on my mind.

Word Count: 1503
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I'm back! Sorry for the extremely long time I've taken to update. I have approximately eight extremely time-consuming extra-curricular activities (school play, debate, quiz team, language lessons, instruments, school council, clubs, etc.) as well as highly homework-heavy teachers. I'm still trying to figure out when I have free time to write. I have another chapter half finished, so that should be up by Sunday (latest).

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