Nightmare

Summary: Leo is being plagued by nightmares, will Nico and the others figure out who's behind it and how to stop it before Leo loses his sanity?

••••

Leo was walking through the forest, not that far from the camp, he lost an important screw for one of his machines when messing around with Percy and Jason. He should be making them look for it since it was their rough housing that made him lose it in the first place. If he couldn't fix his baby, Leo didn't continue such a dreadful thought. Just when he was about to give up hope, a glint caught his attention. It was the screw!

Humming cheerfully, Leo bent down to retrieve his beloved item, just to have a sharp pain greet him instead. Wincing, the mechanic pulled back his right hand, after inspecting the bite on his finger he looked for the cause. There was a mean looking spider hiding under the screw, Leo stepped on it without a second glance, and left with the screw safely in his tool belt.

If he paid more attention, Leo would've noticed the spider healing itself, and something dark that appeared to spread across his hand. The son of Hephaestus was in for a ride. Which he would be bringing his friends and a certain ghost king along with. Although it would be a terrible and downright horrifyingly ride, that Leo Valdez would never speak of again.

••••

It was night, everyone was out cold, the days events seeming to tire them out. Aside from one curly haired mechanic who was tossing and turning in his sleep, covered in sweat, the bite on his finger looked as if it was growing worse by the minute. Everyone else in the cabin was oblivious to Leo's discomfort, until he voiced it when letting out a strangled cry.

People fell off their bunks, startled, they looked for the cause of noise and saw Leo starting to thrash in bed. Someone ran off to the big house, while the others tried to figure out what was wrong with their head counselor. No one wanted to move him in fear it would worsen his condition. Soon Argus came into the room with Apollo's head counselor, Will Solace, and made everyone back away from the patient. Argus paled when he saw Leo's bite, knowing what it could do to the demigod.

"Will, wake Chiron, this is something we can't fix with a bandage or two." Argus ordered. The head counselor nodded, making the reluctant Hephaestus cabin members exit the room before going to do what he was asked.

Argus sighed. What was the Valdez kid doing that got him thrown in such a position? Though, he might just be alright if his friends are willing to do the unthinkable to get him back. For Zeus' sake, Argus was getting too old for crap like this. It was going to be a long week for him and Valdez.

••••

Nico wouldn't go so far as to say he hated Camp-Half Blood, but it wasn't linked to any good memories. This was the place where he was informed of the death of his sister Bianca, but then there were alright times spent here. The ghost king was hesitant to admit that a certain mechanic was one of the reasons he didn't hate the camp. Nico was only visiting to inform Percy on the current events in the Underworld, and not because he missed Leo Valdez's warm smile.

He was greeted by a quiet camp, members were muttering and whispering under their breath. Intrigued, Nico walked a little closer to the group of campers who were gossiping the loudest, and picked up on a few sentences.

"Did you hear?" One of them muttered.

"Yeah, that Valdez guy-"

The camper was cut off when Nico suddenly reached out and grabbed their arm. Terrified, the other gossipers ran, leaving their friend for dead.

"What did you say?" Nico drawled.

"Wha-" The camper trembled.

"The Valdez kid," Nico growled impatiently. "What happened?"

"He's in the infirmary, at the big house, I don't know why!" The kid whimpered.

Nico let him go, Percy would have to wait, something more important came up. The ghost king hurried to the infirmary, wondering what could've happened to the mechanic. Part of him hoped it was another Valdez, but knowing Leo's luck it probably wasn't. Couldn't Nico have a peace of mind and not worry about people he, dare he say, cared about?

When Nico reached his destination, he slammed the door open, the site bestowed upon him making his stomach drop. Leo's friends, Piper and Jason were sitting on the right side of the mechanic, Piper was sobbing into Jason's shoulder, attempting to provide comfort. Percy looked grim, seating on the left side with Annabeth, who had bags under her eyes like she hadn't slept all night.

Then there was Leo Valdez, unconscious, drenched in sweat, and occasionally letting out a moan of pain. Nico saw the bite on his hand, spreading a dark liquid through the boy's veins. His was pale, a word Nico would've never associate with Leo. When Percy noticed him, he offered a sad sympathetic smile and got up to greet the ghost king.

"I'm happy to see you and all," Percy patted him on the back."But not under the circumstances."

Nico grimly nodded, taking Percy's seat, having to resist the urge to move Leo's hair from his face.

"What's wrong with him?" Nico asked, turning to Annabeth, she jolted, as if coming out of a trance.

"We're not sure," She bit her lip. "It seems like a…" Annabeth trailed off, everyone knew about Athena's kids fear of spiders.

"A spider bite, we need to find out what kind." Percy finished for her, earning him a grateful look from his girlfriend.

A spider? Nico wanted to laugh, it couldn't just be a simply bite, Leo looked ready to drop dead any minute. He winced at the thought, no, let's not even acknowledge that one. Nico doesn't want to see him end up like Bianca, death wouldn't suit a someone such as Leo. The mechanic was too lively for that. (Aside from being sick from a spider bite.)

"It isn't a simple bite." Argus grumbled, coming into the room with a wooden bucket of cold water.

"Then what is it?" Piper said, composing herself.

"A God has placed a curse on your friend," The nurse answered while dipping and wringing out the cloth before placing it on Leo's forehead. "Chiron will be here any minute, he'll explain it better than I."

Jason and Annabeth started discussing on what gods could be doing this to their friend, starting to get frustrated when they were getting leads. Piper and Percy came up with strategies that could be used to convince the God to lift the curse. (Charmspeak would only work so many times.) Then there was Nico, who felt out of place, not knowing how he could contribute to aiding Leo.

"The God we're seeking goes by the name Phobetor," Chiron, cut off the demigods discussion. "The personification of nightmares."

"How do we save Leo?" Piper asked.

"We can't." Chiron said sadly.

"Then we're just supposed to sit here and watch him suffer?" Nico asked hotly, his outburst surprised even Chiron, but Percy and others started agreeing.

"We can't just leave him to die!" Jason began.

"There must be some way to help him." Annabeth said.

"Leo may have to face Phobetor alone and if he fails the miasma will eventually kill him," the centaur answered. "But there may be a way for us to enter his dreams."

"So it's like that Inception movie." Percy stated.

"No," Chiron sighed. "Let me worry about the preparations, you all need to rest-" Leave it to Leo to start screaming then, his body shaking as if he were having a seizure. The demigods stood up, alarmed, not knowing how to help their friend. Argus rushed over, pulling out a needle and injecting Leo with it. Almost immediately his thrashing subsided, his screams lowering to groans of pain.

"Don't worry my ass." Percy muttered under his breath.

••••

It was dark in this place, Leo could still make out the things around him, though there wasn't a lot of anything anywhere.

Running, he was running from something, he didn't know what exactly, but wasn't planning to find out. Leo felt it grab him by the ankle, yanking the boy further into the darkness, the thing started wrapping itself around him. Suffocating him, his body started giving up slowly, letting the thing take him without a fight. Then he heard voices.

There must be some way to help him.

We can't just leave him to die!

Don't worry my ass.

How do we save Leo?

Then we're just suppose to sit here and let Leo suffer?

Nico? That would explain why this was a nightmare, but hearing the ghost king's voice along with his friend's made Leo start to fight against the creature trying to suffocate him alive. The mechanic caught on fire, trying to set the mystery monster aflame as well. It worked, the creature slowly turned to ashes, until Leo was fully free from its clutches.

Leo stood up stretching, ready to celebrate, and he turned to the pile ash to gloat. Everything slowed down and the mechanic felt his heart drop. There laid Esperanza Valdez, lying lifeless in front of her mijo, expression anything but peaceful. Leo's legs gave out.

A gut wrenching wail was let out through the darkness.

••••

Be still
One day you'll leave
Fearlessness on your sleeve
When you've come back, tell me what did you see
What did you see
Was there something out there for me?

Be Still- The Killers