TW: heavy swearing, depictions of violence

Nico was lucky enough to not get abducted by giants again.

"You're alive, you're alive, you're alive," Nico muttered to himself as he awoke on the other bank of the Acheron.

Technically, the correct phrase would be "You're still dead, you're still dead, you're still fucking dead," but a dead person probably wouldn't call themselves dead if they were still living... Nico frowned to himself. All these technicalities were confusing.

Small Bob was pawing his face when his eyes opened. The cat looked almost concerned, and kept meowing as if to say 'Come on! Doors of Death! Almost there!'

Nico scowled at himself. He had almost forgotten why he was in Tartarus in the first place, until he heard Will's voice in his head.

Come back to me, sunshine.

As Nico slowly got to his feet, he spotted a white marble altar up ahead. His mind raced back to when Percy and Annabeth had sent them a note from Tartarus, appearing at the Camp's altar. 

He almost sobbed with relief. He could tell everyone he was okay! He didn't know if Will was back yet, and in a way, Nico hoped he wasn't. If Will was back, that meant Thanatos was. He'd much rather come back at the same time as Will so no one had to break the news of Nico's death to him.

Gods, Nico hoped he would get to Camp on time.

He limped towards the altar, dragging his numb right leg behind him. 

What would he say? 

Dear Camp, don't worry, I'm alive and well?

Dear Camp, I'm in Tartarus, but don't worry, I'll be back soon?

Nico reached a shaky hand out to grip the edge of the altar. "Thank the gods," he breathed, looking into the enchanted flames.

He patted the front pocket of his jeans for something, anything he could write on. His smile faded as he realized that there was nothing in his pockets that could help him write a note.

"What am I going to do, Small Bob?" Nico muttered to the cat. "I need to tell them to wait to use the stones until I get out."

Small Bob purred in response, rubbing his tail against Nico's neck. 

Nico twisted his skull ring, then froze. His skull ring.

With a sigh, Nico placed the skull ring into the fire and watched it disappear. It wasn't much, but it was a sign.

The only thing he could do now was rush to the Doors as fast as possible.

———

Nico almost laughed like a maniac when he saw the Doors.

Granted, they were half a mile away, but the sheer sight of them sent a current of hope through Nico's body.

"We're almost home, Small Bob," Nico smiled, eyes glittering with tears. He felt s though he might pass out at any given moment. He debated shadow-traveling to the Doors, but the last time he had tried, he'd almost faded into nothingness. 

So walking it was.

———

Halfway to the Doors, Nico ran into a hellhound. 

Normally, that wouldn't be an issue, but he was injured, fatigued, malnourished, dehydrated, and altogether exhausted.

"For fuck's sake," Nico growled under his breath as the large dog charged towards him, snarling.

He drew his Stygian iron sword and swung, slashing at hellhound's chest. It grazed the fur and left a scratch, essentially leaving it unharmed.

Nico swung again, legs quivering. 

"Just let me-"

Nico stabbed at it.

"Get back to-"

Nico dodged an attack.

"Will!"

The hellhound batted at Nico's shoulder, causing him to hiss in pain. The right sleeve of his aviator jacket tore, leaving a large bloodied patch of torn skin.

"Stupid dog," Nico grumbled, finally running his sword through hellhound's stomach.

It disappeared with a poof of golden dust, leaving Nico out of breath. Then he turned to look at the Doors of Death.

Will, I'm coming.

———

Nico ran through the Doors, his vision blurred with tears. 

He was out.

He was finally out.

When Nico burst through to the other side, the first thing that hit him was the blinding sun.

Then his mouth fell open at a single thought. Was it still 2014? He hadn't time traveled before. Come to think of it, he hadn't died before. He had no clue if time travel applied to death.

Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he limped over to the nearest person. They were sipping a cup of coffee outside of a cafe called "The Ilios," or "The Sun."

He was in Greece. Oh, great.

"Hello?" he choked out hoarsely, approaching her. 

The blonde woman yelped startled. "Can I... help you?" she responded in broken English. Her eyes scanned Nico's appearance. Nico tried to smile so the woman wouldn't call the police.

"What year is it?" Nico whispered.

The woman laughed. "Um, what?"

"The year. Please," Nico repeated.

"2023, of course," she blinked. "Are you okay? Oh, are you one of those people who got snapped?"

A grin spread across Nico's face. "Thank you so much."

Then he sped away from the woman and leant against the nearest pillar.

At least he was in the right year. From what he could tell, a few days had passed since he died. And from the woman's words, the team had used the stones already. Nico's heart soared. 

Will was back.

There was no time to rest, no time to lose. Nico had waited five years. He couldn't wait another second.

With as much energy as Nico could summon, he disappeared into the shadows.

Next stop, Camp Half-Blood.