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…

Nico had closed his eyes, his body, his whole being bracing for the crushing weight of the cabinet, but it never came. Instead a loud clang resonated in his ears; something was between him and the cabinet, but how was that possible?

He cracked an eye open. Liesel was still underneath him, completely shocked. Mr. and Mrs. Hubermann were across from him, both unharmed, with surprise written all over their faces. Nico noticed something else, causing him to open both eyes wide. They were surrounded by light. He bounded up to glance around at his surroundings, but was nearly knocked back to the ground by a couple of warm bodies.

“Nico di Angelo, don’t you ever do that to me again!” Hazel cried, her tears disappearing into his jacket.

Reyna just held him, her face like hardened stone, her eyes doing all of the talking. She agreed with Hazel’s sentiments, warning him that to disobey her would be the last thing he would ever do. But he could only reply with a nervous grin as he got a better look at what was going on, farther into the TARDIS. Liesel had rushed into her parents’ arms. The three were overjoyed at being alive still. But they were apparently nervous about the strange appearance of the TARDIS. Meanwhile, Lucy was chattering away, going back and forth between German and English. Lucy’s family and friends were enraptured with her story as she introduced the Steiners and the Hubermanns to everybody, and tried to explain everything to their new friends with the help of the Doctor. The Germans were starting to catch on to what some of the English words meant, but Lucy still had to translate most of it. Nico wished he could help, but he was currently incapable due to the lingering pressure wrapped around his body.

“Um, Hazel, Reyna, can you let go? Or just let up? I guess you missed me, but . . .”

“Missed you! We thought you were dead when I found your sword!” exclaimed Hazel.

He paused as the words sank in, then burst out laughing.

“Nico, it isn’t funny!”

“Why are you laughing about it?” Reyna had let go to study him, and the dead seriousness in her eyes calmed him down real quick.

“Um, sorry, it’s just, I actually saw Death walking around Himmelsstrasse, preparing to take souls away.” He glanced at Liesel, the Hubermanns, and past them to the Steiners. “H-he let me know that he could only allow two families to live if I intervened.”

“Just you?” asked Lucy curiously as she took a step closer before turning and quickly translating the conversation into German.

Nico lowered his eyes, but nodded.

“Why just you?”

He cast a sideways glance at the Doctor, “Because only someone who has cheated Death by themselves can bargain with him. I guess he has a sort of respect for us.” He looked pointedly at the Doctor when he emphasized the word us. Everyone followed his eyes to the Doctor, who only looked back with curiosity on his face. “River told me and Lucy that you’ve cheated death; that’s the only reason why you were able to save the Pevensies when they were supposed to die.”

The Doctor’s eyes widened, “Really? You saw River?”

Nico nodded.

“How, how is she? Is she alright?”

Nico crossed his arms. “Maybe I’ll let her tell you yourself, since apparently you saw her in your future, her past.”

“Nico,” berated Lucy. “Yes, Doctor, she’s fine. She’s perfectly delightful.”

“No she isn’t,” muttered Nico. “She didn’t want to answer any of our questions. And her aura suggested she was dangerous.”

“That she is,” mumbled the Doctor. “But I love her for it. She knows how to take care of herself.” He paused before a soft smile passed over his face. “Besides, she doesn’t like to give spoilers away.”

“Apparently,” muttered Nico. “But she did give one away, that you had cheated death, hence why Death would only allow you to save the Pevensies.”

“Really?  I have that kind of a relationship with that entity?”

“Y-yes,” Nico muttered, slumping over, Hazel and Reyna supporting him. He could feel his eyes drooping; his adrenaline rush was wearing down fast.

“We don’t have time for any more chit-chat,” Reyna said. “Nico needs to rest.”

The youngest Steiners followed up with a pair of big yawns.

“I think it’s time we all got some rest,” Susan calmly stated.

Lila, Lucy, and Jill helped her usher everyone to different parts of the Tardis for a good night’s rest.

“What about Scip and Prop?” Nico mumbled, fighting the urge to sleep.

“They’re still on Isla Segreta, keeping an eye on things there until we get back,” replied Reyna as she tucked him in.  

“And we can get back there the moment we left, no biggie,” replied the Doctor.

“But we told them we’d meet them at Ida Spavento’s,” remarked Peter.

The Doctor nodded as he flipped switches. “True, true, so we’ll get back after having a nice long sleep.”

“Where are we going?” asked Leo, watching the Doctor’s movements like a vulture.

“Back to the forest; we can get some rest there without any interruptions.”

Minutes later, a blue phone box stood in the middle of a cold forest that was slowly waking up while everyone within the phone box was sound asleep. However, Nico’s sleep was restless, images of Weeping Angels haunting his mind for the first time in weeks. Figuring it was due to being back in the TARDIS after his first encounter with an Angel, Nico left. He walked through the forest for a bit, breathing in the fragrances of oak, elm, fir, and pine to clear his mind, before trying to settle down in some brush to go to sleep.

But it was worse out in the forest than in the TARDIS, for he kept getting the feeling that someone was watching him, the exact same feeling he had gotten whenever the Angels had been close. He got up and scanned the area, but there was no movement, no sign of life; not even any statues stood present in the silence that enveloped the forest. He tried to go back to sleep, but after a while, he still couldn’t. Sighing, he rose and found the nearest shadow, thinking that the other side of the forest would be a different story. He stepped in, the darkness wrapped around him, much more gently than his half-sister had, but he was too far in when he noticed something was wrong.

The shadows that had been so familiar and inviting seemed to turn strange and sinister, pressing on him from all sides, nearly suffocating him. He fought it with everything he had, but whoever was controlling this strange darkness was stronger, and Nico could feel his energy slowly ebbing from him. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. He began to mentally calling out to his father, his uncles, and any other Greek deity he could think of. Nothing came, the darkness only growing tighter around his chest.

Please, somebody, help, he thought weakly as tears began to stream down his face. He realized that there was one name he had not called out, but he paused, for he wasn’t sure of what would happen if he called on someone outside of the Greco-Roman pantheon. But, seeing as how he had no other options, his mind screamed with all he had left.

Aslan!

Suddenly, a roar echoed throughout the darkness as a point of light appeared. Nico rushed towards it, faster and faster, as the light seemed to pull him in. Finally, he was out of the shadows, stepping into a scene he did not recognize. The sunlight was brighter than he had ever seen it, but not a glaring brightness, letting him gaze at the golden disk without harming his eyes. He did not linger on it, though, as there was too much around him to see. The shadows here were sharper, bolder, filled with laughter and mischief; the trees came in an array of colors – some of the flowers, the leaves, and the fruit even sparkled in the dancing light. The bark of the trees was also different from others he had seen; the shade of brown was certainly different, as well as its texture. In fact, he was standing in the shadows of three of the closest trees. One looked like it was covered in purple-leaved vines with tanzanite grapes dangling from the branches. Another had white leaves and flowers clustered around azurite blueberries, while the third had lapis lazuli cherries, pale blue flowers, and indigo leaves.

“Eat a diamond acai,” rumbled a deep voice.

Nico glanced around; he couldn’t see the owner of the voice.

“W-why? Where is this diamond acai? And who are you? Where are you?”

“The diamond acai is just past the lapis lazuli cherries, it will replenish your energy. As for me, that will all be revealed in time.”

“But . . .”

“Replenish your energy, then I will answer the rest of your questions.”

Nico gulped, but he did as the voice commanded. He walked past the cherry tree, and paused. The tree that stood before him was magnificent. The berries were the clearest, most perfect diamonds Nico had ever seen, the leaves were intricate, gold designs, the blue lilacs released the sweetest perfume that floated around his nose, and the bark looked like purple-hued tiger’s eye. Nico took a shaky foot forward; he was almost scared of taking any fruit, it was just so lovely to look at.

“Go, eat.”

The voice snapped him partially out of his pleasant stupor, just long enough that he grabbed an acai and plopped it in his mouth. He was surprised at how soft the diamond acai was as the pierced skin let loose a stream of juice down his throat. He slowly chewed, trying to figure out what it tasted like—a mix of raspberry, blueberry, and something else, or a couple of other fruits, he wasn’t sure. What he did know was that it wasn’t too sweet, but enough that it was delicious, non-addictive, and restoring his energy at a rather rapid rate. He spat out the seeds next to the tree, wiped his mouth with his hand, and glanced around again.

“Okay, I ate the diamond acai. Can you answer the rest of my questions now?”

“What would you like to know?”

“Where am I? What is this place? Who are you? Where are you? Can I see you now?”

The voice chuckled. “Yes, you can see me now. Turn and do not be afraid, Nico di Angelo.”

Nico jumped at the mention of his name, but turned around and saw the second surprise that day. A lion – the largest of lions – looked at him.

The tower of golden fur took a step closer to Nico and breathed on him. “Yes, Nico, I am real. You called, and I answered. Are you unhappy?”

“Uh, uh, no, no, I’m not unhappy, I’m just, I’m just surprised that you would answer. I am wondering why nobody else did, though.”

“Because you have a connection to this island, and it called you, it pulled you into its shadows. These shadows are more powerful than those on Earth. Your father and any others who can control shadows have no power over them.”

“Any others?”

“You will know soon enough about them; for now, you are here.”

“And where is here? Narnia?”

Aslan chuckled. “No, child, this is not Narnia; that world is long gone. This is Antillia, the sister, so to speak, of Narnia.”

“But you said this is an island.”

“I did.”

“So, how could they be, well, sisters?”

“Must everything be the same size?”

“Um, no, I guess not.” Nico glanced at the lion. “Sorry, Aslan.”

“For what?”

Nico bit his lip as he glanced at the ground. “For doubting your existence, for being afraid of what would happen once I called on you.”

“But, thankfully, you did, or it would have been worse.”

Nico gulped. “H-how so?”

“The shadows of Antillia would have pulled you apart. They are wild, and you are not yet ready to tame or to train them.”

Nico’s eyes grew wide. “Oh.” Aslan lay on the ground. “Wait, what did you mean that I have a connection to, uh, Antillia, is it?”

“It is Antillia; as for the connection, you will find out soon enough. There is a lot about this place that you will soon know, but right now, you must know this: the danger is only growing for you.”

“W-wait, w-what, why me?”

“You have powers that many want to utilize for their own ends, and others know of your connection to Antillia. They will do anything to keep you from acting on your connection.”

“What should I do?”

“Wait for now; I have given information to the king of Antillia. The Antillians will arrive when you least expect it, and when you need them the most. They have the power and the expertise to handle your situation. You can trust them with anything.”

“How will I know that they’re from Antillia?”

“They will be the only ones who will recognise my name. Now it is time for you to sleep.”

“But . . .”

Aslan shook his head, “No buts, you must sleep; the answers to the rest of your questions will come soon enough.”

“But I want them now,” muttered Nico.

The lion smiled, “I know, it’s hard to wait. But wait you must, you will get them.”

Nico let out a sigh. “Very well. So, um, how do I get back to Molching?”

“Come, lie next to me.”

“Say what?” blurted Nico.

“I won’t bite,” stated Aslan with a chuckle.

“But . . .”

“This is the only way right now,” stated Aslan.

“Why is it the only way?”

“Because you came by way of shadow, not portal,” replied the lion.

“Portal?” asked Nico.

“Yes, the primary way to travel to and from the island, as any other way could tear you to shreds. The island is well guarded against intruders by magic,” replied Aslan.

“Oh, alright,” said Nico with a sigh.

He snuggled up next to the golden fur, the gentle warmth and the steady heartbeat of the great beast overwhelming him, lulling him into a dreamless sleep.

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