By Amanda Pizzolatto (alias Aurora Mandeville)

Word Count: 31845

Rating: PG for scary situations

Summary: Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades, is used to being alone, until one day a girl with auburn hair waltzes into his life…

“Wait, first we find out that Lucy from the story is a real person brought to the future by an alien, Nico is the son of one of the Greek gods, Scipio is actually rich, there’s supposedly a magical merry-go-round we’re going to see, and now we find out that there are murderous statue aliens chasing us around Venice to find it?” asked Prop incredulously, his voice raised to be heard over the motor.

“Yes, I’m sorry we didn’t tell you earlier, but we really did think we had lost them!” replied Lucy.

“Not to mention that we didn’t know what they were really looking for until now. If we hadn’t met you, we would still be trying to figure that out!” added Nico.

“Coincidentally perfect, huh?” grinned Scipio as he slowed down the boat.

They had reached Isola Segreta, and all four instantly became quiet. Lucy made Nico jump when she grabbed his arm fiercely; he followed her line of vision, and his heart sank. There, right over to port, stood two angel statues, each one with an arm in the early stages of deterioration.  He glanced at Lucy, but neither of them uttered a sound while Scipio steered the boat around to the other side of the island. When they got close to shore, Nico and Prop jumped out of the boat to secure it to some trees that stood on the beach. After Lucy and Scipio made sure that the knots in the boat were tight and secure, they jumped out and joined the other two on the beach. They tiptoed up to a six-foot-high hedge that they scaled easily. The four swung their legs over the top, glancing around.

“See? Like I thought, no dogs at the back. Come on,” whispered Scipio as he leaped down. The other three followed suit before trailing Scipio silently through the brush.

Some muttered words drew his attention and he glanced back. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m scared,” replied Prop.

“Of what?”
“They have guns, and who knows how close those alien things are.”

Scipio merely gave Prop a glance before risking a look at Nico and Lucy. Scipio knew what those statues were and didn’t want Prop to know, but the troubled glance he gave to Nico and Lucy spilled the beans.

“Wait, you mean, those statues we saw, those were them?”

Nico glanced between Scipio and Prop before slowly nodding.

Prop paled. “What? But . . .”

“They’re scared of our friend Nico,” was all Scipio said before turning and leading farther onto the property.

Prop glanced at Nico with a worried expression on his face. Nico walked to him, smiled, and gave him a reassuring pat on the back. Prop hesitantly nodded before following Scipio. Lucy followed him, leaving Nico to take up the rear.

Nico sighed. Prop really didn’t have to worry about the Weeping Angels; that was his and Lucy’s job. Of the four, the two of them were, so to speak, more tasty morsels in terms of time energy. Despite how crazy that notion sounded, a chill went up and down his back as they stealthily weaved between the trees, trying to find the merry-go-round.

A sudden sound reached Nico’s ears. The others apparently heard it, too, as all four turned to face two large mastiffs that began barking.

“Don’t move; if we run, they’ll take us down,” Prop warned them.

Nico gritted his teeth; of course, they had to add killer dogs to their list of worries.

“Bimba! Bella! Enough!” shouted a voice, and the dogs immediately calmed down, at least a bit. A girl of about nine or ten years old, dressed in an adult woman’s business suit, walked between the dogs and grabbed their collars, glancing warily at the intruders. “What are you doing here?” she asked, with a somewhat older sounding voice than was usual for a girl of her age.

“We’ve come to see the Conte,” replied Scipio, his eyes scarcely leaving the dogs.

“The Conte doesn’t like unannounced visitors.”

“We had a deal with him, and he cheated us.”

She glanced them over, apparently trying to decide on what to do, when she tilted her head to the right. “That way, and don’t try to run; my dogs are faster than you.”

Then, taking the dogs by their collars, she led the way to the mansion that was closer than they had thought. The girl managed to get Scipio to explain who they were, what he meant by cheating, and what he wanted as compensation while Prop was more than happy to walk with Nico and Lucy. They reached the house without any incident, the girl only letting the dogs go after they entered through the front door.

“Renzo,” she said to a boy in the living room, playing with a train, “the Thief Lord has come to pay you a visit, something about fake money and a merry-go-round. I think it would be a capital idea to throw him and his little friends to the dogs.”

Nico raised an eyebrow; she and the boy were younger than the four of them.

“I apologise for my sister’s rudeness,” said the boy. “So you found out about the money, my apologies. It was Barbarossa’s idea, I wouldn’t have been able to pay you otherwise.”

Nico sucked in a breath as Scipio said, “I knew it, the merry-go-round works. You’re the Conte!”

Renzo smiled. “At your service, Thief Lord.” He leaned forward to stop the train, and the girl asked them another question.

“Does anyone know you’re here?”

“Our friends know, and there’s a detective too,’ Prop quickly replied.

Nico swallowed, hoping that would be enough to convince the Contessa to leave the dogs off of them. Sure, he might be able to fend them off if he had his sword, but still having to deal with two Weeping Angels wasn’t exactly good odds, either.

“We will settle everything to your full satisfaction. We’ll pay you with a ride on the merry-go-round. That is what you are here for, is it not?”

“It is, indeed,” replied Scipio, passing a quick glance in Nico’s direction. It was the reason why Scipio and Prop were there, after all.

“Just be aware that this is no simple fairground attraction. To ride one of the creatures is to ride into the teeth of peril. I only just managed to dismount in time.”

“Uh, looks like you went a little too far.”

“No, actually I didn’t; I wanted it this way. Come, follow me, I’ll explain.” The four teens followed the two children out and around to the back of the house. “You see, this is why we needed the merry-go-round; Morosina and I wanted to become young. We were never allowed a real childhood in which to play and grow up together.”

“How could we possibly want to make ourselves children?” Scipio said. “Prosper and I want to ride the merry-go-round forward.”

“Va bene, if that is your wish.”

Morosina glanced at Nico and Lucy. “Then what are they doing here?”

“We have our reasons, which may reveal themselves sooner than I’d like,” replied Nico, his eyes darting around. He was thankful he didn’t have to explain, as right then the dogs began barking up a storm.

Morosina and Renzo shared a questioning look.

“I’ll go and check on them,” she said.

“Are you expecting visitors?” Scipio asked.

“No one dares to set foot on this island,” Renzo explained. “The only visitor we’ve allowed to come on the island was Barbarossa.”

“Does he know about the merry-go-round?”

“Good heavens, no, he’d immediately start selling tickets at ten thousand a piece.”

Lucy began to snicker, and even the boys had to smile, for that was definitely Barbarossa. Then the smiles gave way to surprise as they burst through the brush to see the merry-go-round. Scipio recovered from the shock as he dashed forward with a look of glee on his face, Prop and Renzo not far behind. Nico stayed back a bit, his mind on his mission, while Lucy ventured forward. The merry-go-round was unique like Sister Antonia had said, and it was certainly breathtaking, but there were two problems. First, it wasn’t from the gods, which could mean trouble, at least for him; and second, he couldn’t see the angels. Of the two, he couldn’t figure out which was worse.

“Look at it, Prop, it’s incredible! This is the solution to all our problems.” Scipio had begun walking around the merry-go-round with him, surveying its wonders, Lucy a few steps behind.

“Problems don’t disappear just because you get older,” quipped Prop.

“That’s the point; you’d be a man, so you can overcome them any way you want.”

The three arrived back at their starting point, where Nico and Renzo still stood.

“Does it matter which one we ride?” wondered Scipio.

“The lion was the right mount for me, but to grow older, you two must choose one of the water creatures.”

“Come on, Prop, take your pick. Which one do you want, the seahorse or the merman?”

Nico glanced at the two Scipio mentioned, and his throat seemed to tighten; he could sense something, almost like a life force emitting from the mounts. The Weeping Angels might not be the only ones that were more than they seemed to be, and even the tone Renzo used when speaking of them made one think that these things could very well be alive. As for the part about the merry-go-round being a magical item that didn’t come from the Greek or Roman mythologies, things were fairly calm considering that a child of Hades was standing there. Or did it understand that Nico wasn’t the enemy and the Weeping Angels were? Prop’s answer took him out of his thoughts.

“What you do is your choice, but I can’t do this.”

“But what about Bo? Think of how happy he’ll be.”

“Bo wants me as a brother, not a father.” Nico smiled at the answer; that was exactly what Bo would want in the end, regardless of the problems they faced now. Besides, he could still shadow-travel them out of Venice until their aunt and uncle left—that seemed to be Bo’s favorite option, anyway.

“You heard him, Conte, looks like I’m riding solo. So let’s do it,” said Scipio as he climbed the stairs up to the merry-go-round platform.

Prop moved closer to Nico, and said, “Did I make the right decision?”

Nico glanced at him and smiled. “Of course you did. I think Bo would be more upset about not getting to shadow-travel to baffle your aunt and uncle than he would be about you not getting older.”

Prop grinned at him with relief.

“Come on, let’s go!” came Scipio’s shout. They glanced up; Scipio had mounted the seahorse.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life, and I swear I won’t get off until I need a shave.”

“Hold on tight,” replied the Conte as he moved forward to turn the lever to begin the ride. After cranking it a few times, he stepped back, and the merry-go-round started moving. Nico’s eyes immediately began darting around, looking for any sign of the Angels, but maybe, like him, they were waiting for the merry-go-round to really get going.

“Here we go,” said Scipio as the merry-go-round began to get faster, striking a pose and whooping.

He’s impatient, and nervous, thought Nico. Then Lucy gasped; Nico and Prop also noticed the smoke, right after.

“Yeah, roll on the good times!”  whooped Scipio when he saw the smoke.

It started in the middle, and as it grew, it spread to the rest of the merry-go-round, soon covering it completely in a little white cloud. They could no longer see Scipio, but even worse, they wouldn’t be able to see the Angels, especially now that the smoke was seeping onto the ground, covering it like a fog. Nico’s heartbeat sped up like the merry-go-round; what good would it be if he couldn’t see his adversaries to stop them? What would happen to Scipio if they were to feed upon the energy of the merry-go-round now? He tried to keep himself calm, but the panic was slowly gaining ground in his mind, especially when electricity crackled from the attraction and a nasty wind blew up, causing them to cover their eyes to protect them from the debris being picked up and tossed around.

“Isn’t it about time Scipio got off?” Nico shouted over the rising gale.

“Yes, you’re right, it’s time for him to get off; any longer and he’ll be an old man!”

“Scipio, get off!” yelled Prop. “Jump off!”

“Jump off!” the others joined in, but they weren’t sure if he heard or if he did jump.

But then the merry-go-round began to slow and the smoke began to dispense. When it came to a full stop, they could see the seahorse, but no Scipio. Prop glanced at Nico; where was he? Renzo had a small smile on his face when a noise came from the center of the merry-go-round. Someone was walking towards them, gasping and groaning. When he came within view, their mouths dropped open. It was Scipio, an older Scipio.

“That was incredible,” he muttered, massaging his forehead. He glanced at his friends. “Don’t look so shocked,” he said, walking forward and picking up Prop in a bear hug. He put him down and turned to Nico, who crossed his arms.

“Don’t even think about it,” Nico warned.

Scipio laughed “Alright, but look at me, it worked!” His hand went to his face, “Stubble, unbelieveable. Come on guys, what do you think? Am I bigger than my father?” Before anyone could answer, a twig was heard snapping, followed by Morosina’s voice.

“It’s this way, believe me. Ow!”

“Where are you taking me, you little squirt?”

The group glanced at each other.

“We’re nearly there. Ah!”

“That’s Barbarossa’s voice!” whispered Prop as the voices grew closer.

“I knew you were stringing me along, you were trying to get me away from the house, away . . . away from this extraordinary contraption.”

The two emerged from the bushes, Barbarossa letting go of Morosina’s hair upon seeing the merry-go-round.

“Signor Barbarossa, what in heaven’s sake are you doing with the Contessa?” Scipio said, stepping forward.

“Contessa?”

“Yes, Contessa,” Morosina replied before quickly going to her brother’s side.

“I presume you are here for the same reason at this late hour,” Scipio said. “Namely to experience the magic of this famous merry-go-round in operation.”

“Famous? Magic? Wait a moment, this is the legendary merry-go-round of the Merciful Sisters! Must be worth a fortune!”

Nico rolled his eyes, that was all he could think about, wasn’t it? Then he noticed Barbarossa scrutinizing their faces, smiling at Scipio.

“You may look older, but has it made you wiser, Thief Lord?”

Nico glanced at Prop. “How does he know what Scipio looked like?”

Prop shrugged. “Guess that Scipio used to do a lot of the selling before I came along.”

“Why don’t you try it out yourself?” Scipio’s question brought the two back to the conversation between him and Barbarossa.

“Of course, why not?”

“Shake off some years, get rid of those aches and pains, sharpen the mind, perhaps.”

Prop glanced at Nico and Lucy, the three sharing a grin.

“You do know how to work it?”

“I do, indeed. Come on you two, Signor Barbarossa wishes to take a ride.” Renzo and Prop moved to stand next to the operating lever while Nico moved back to get a better view of the area, his eyes peeled for the Angels.

“Which animal should I mount?”

“I would suggest the lion.”

Barbarossa quickly climbed to the platform and mounted the lion. “Excellent! I’m ready for my little test drive!”

“You heard Signor Barbarossa, let’s give him the ride he deserves.” Renzo and Prop grinned and spun the lever faster than Renzo had for Scipio.

“Not too hard. Just a few turns, first. Who wouldn’t want to shed a few years, eh? Goodbye wrinkles, goodbye saggy tummy, goodbye big fat, wobbly bottom.”

Nico rolled his eyes; he was getting tired of this guy already, but then two things happened at once. First, the merry-go-round was starting up faster than the first time, and secondly, Nico couldn’t mistake those cold, stone faces staring at them.

“Hey, not so hard, I’m going to be sick! Stop this thing, stop it!”

The smoke whirled faster and faster out of the merry-go-round. Nico knew there wouldn’t be enough time before visibility was lost and his chance at destroying them could disappear. He had no other choice, so he ran towards the merry-go-round.

“Nico, what are you doing? Nico!” Lucy shouted, her voice barely audible above the gale and Barbarossa’s screams.

Nico couldn’t stop and explain; the Angels were probably already in the center of the merry-go-round, attempting to feed. He didn’t want to fight them when they were at their full strength again, for that last time proved too disastrous. He fought the wind to get to the center where one Angel already stood, apparently waiting for him with outstretched claws. With a yell he rushed forward, gathering strength right before he lunged, both hands firmly pressed against the stone chest. The Angel deteriorated faster than before, completely gone in a matter of seconds, but it had taken its toll. Nico felt the energy sapping from his body, but he couldn’t pause to take a breath; the other one was still around.

“Nico! Ah!”

He spun around at Lucy’s scream. Her arm was pinned behind her back, the Angel’s cruel smile taunting him from behind her, its arm slowly mending itself.

“No!” he screamed and lunged for them, the wind picking up speed, and them along with it.

Nico held on tight to both the Angel and Lucy as they spun out of control. Finally, the wind stopped and they landed hard. The Angel had let go of Lucy, but Nico was still holding on. With a final rush of energy, Nico deteriorated the Angel before collapsing with utter exhaustion. “No,” he whispered, for he could tell that he was beginning to fade.

“Nico! Oh, you stupid, foolish boy, what were you thinking?!” exclaimed Lucy, pulling her fireflower cordial out of her pocket and pouring a drop into his mouth.

He instantly began to feel better and let out a sigh of relief. “I was thinking that if I didn’t stop the Angels right then and there, we’d be destroyed,” he replied as he slowly rose off the ground with Lucy’s help.

“Good idea, but I’d have to agree with your friend. That was rather reckless.”

The two looked up in alarm; a woman wearing 1940’s style clothes was watching them. Then they glanced around and discovered that they were nowhere near the merry-go-round, or any place they could immediately recognize. There were a few people milling about in the same style of clothes that this strange woman wore, but none of the faces were familiar.

Nico gasped and paled, for he knew where they were.

Lucy glanced at him worriedly. “Nico, what’s wrong?”

“W-we’re in the 1940s,” he whispered.

The woman smiled. “That’s right, sweetie, you’re in Venice, and today’s date is May 15th, 1943. Oh, and we should get you out of those clothes, we don’t need too many questions.”

Nico and Lucy glanced at each other in shock, then looked back at the woman who was clearly not surprised at their appearance, or their clothing.

“Wait, are you a friend of the Doctor’s?”

“Oh no, sweetie, I’m his wife.”

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