Hi guys! So I thought this would make a really nice, angsty fanfic :3 I'm currently working on a Cinderella Nico x Percy x Jason one as well, so excuse the fact that this is really rushed. I just wanted to introduce the story. Anyway, enjoy!

William Solace considered himself to a pacifist. This didn't exactly make sense, since he was from a rich, highly-respected hunter family, well known for capturing and killing millions of demons. His father Apollo was one of the best hunters in the world, and the head of the small but efficient group of hunters. He had hunted the creatures for years, since his wife and Will's mother was murdered by one of the demons. All of Will's siblings were happy to inherit the family business; his eldest brother Lee; Michael, only a year older than Will; Austin, Will's kid brother; even little twelve year old Kayla. The worst member of the organisation was Octavian – he was Will's age and he was a cold hearted sadist. He had lost his mind after his entire family was slaughtered by a demon, and each time he caught one he tortured them and eventually killed them.

At the age of sixteen Will decided he had enough of the blood and killing and straight out told his father that he was done with the family business. To his surprise Apollo laughed and accepted it, saying Will never had the making for a demon killer – mostly since a lot of demons looked like humans, and Will couldn't bring himself to harm them. So he moved out of his large family mansion, got a nice loft in the countryside away from the smoke and roar of the city, he bought a car and went to medical school. When he turned twenty, Will was living happily by himself and he was, surprisingly, on good terms with his family.

It was during one of the trips to the Solace manor near Christmas that he met Nico di Angelo.

Will stood at the center of his loft, fists on hips, looking pleased with himself. Even though he was going to spend the Christmas holidays at his family's place, he took the liberty of decorating his entire loft. Will couldn't help it – he loved Christmas. Downstairs the whole place was wrapped in tinsel and a big Christmas tree stood in the corner connecting the kitchen to the livingroom. The cushions on the black couches were red and brown, and the fireplace was crackling happily. The stairs had been decorated with more tinsel and upstairs Will's bedroom was completely wrapped in fairy lights. A much smaller, fake Christmas tree stood on his desk, decorated with miniature glass ornaments. The only place that hadn't been touched was the bathroom. Will enjoyed the sight of his Christmassy loft so much he didn't even feel like leaving.

Eventually he sighted, grabbed his overnight bag and hauled himself to his car. Despite not living with his family, he still had a bunch of clothes at home and his room was still the same as it was when he was a sixteen year old, leaving home for the first time. Sighing about the few-hour journey he now had to go through, Will cranked up the music and hit the road.

At the same time as Will was pulling out of his driveway, Nico decided to give up. His own father, one of the higher demons, had banished him from the demon realm. Nico had just turned sixteen and as an initiation he had to come into the human world and go on a killing spree – that was what everyone expected. But Nico felt sick by just the idea of killing so he refused. His father had ran him through with his sword and left him to his own devices. The blow didn't kill Nico but it left him weak enough to be captured – by a smirking, thin bastard who introduced himself as Octavian as he wrapped handcuffs – the kind that burned demon skin – around Nico's wrists and locked him in a cell many feet below his house.

The cell was grimy and there were bones in the corners. No windows – Nico could barely see, even with his night-adjusted demon eyes. The handcuffs burned his skin but he refused to cry out. He could feel the screams and agony of dying demons imprinted in the walls and it was enough to drive him crazy. He had never felt sorry for the human-killing demons and thought they got what they deserved when they got captured by hunters, but their pain seeped right through him, and Nico couldn't do anything but curl up and hope for a quick death.

Three days later Nico was praying for death, no matter how painful it would be. He didn't think he'd be able to feel any more pain. He doubted the angry, ragged wounds on his wrists from the cuffs would ever disappear. He cursed his demon healing – Octavian had broken numerous bones and they had melded, only to be broken again. He cried when the man wasn't there, and eventually he ran out of tears. He got mouldy bread and dirty water; as if Octavian barely remembered to feed him so he wouldn't die too fast – so the fun wouldn't be over so soon. For three days Nico didn't cry out in from of Octavian, so he wouldn't give him the satisfaction, and he tried his best to stay awake, to stay alive. By the end of the third day, he didn't care anymore.

Nico wanted to die. His father hadn't cared that his son was being tortured; his family abandoned him. He was all alone, and that was the most terrifying thing. Octavian seemed to be bored with him – he sighed when Nico wouldn't scream and nudged him half heartedly when he let his eyes close and his chin drop to his chest. Nico was too tired to function. Octavian thought perhaps it was time to get a new toy.

''What!?''

William stared at his father in disbelief. Apollo's face was a mixture of sheepishness and defense.

''You're trying to tell me there's a sixteen year old boy in Octavian's dungeon and no one went to get him yet!?" Will couldn't believe what Apollo was saying.

''I'm trying to tell you that there's a teenage demon in Octavian's dungeon, and we can't very well stroll in there, take him and bring him here. We're hunters. That goes against the code,'' Apollo sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, ''but, since you're not a hunter that means you could go…''

Will was already halfway to the doors, ''I'll be back for Christmas. I'll call.'' He promised, grabbing his shoes and sprinting towards his car.

''OCTAVIAN!''

The man in question looked up to see Will stomping towards him. He had a silver sword in his hand, the kind he used to deliver the final blow. Will smacked it out of his hand and grabbed his collar, raising him off the ground.

''My, and I thought you were a pacifist,'' Octavian said, unimpressed.

''I might have to change my ways,'' Will hissed, ''where is the boy?''

''The demon scum is in the dungeons, but I wouldn't bother. He's already half way dead,'' Octavian hissed back. Will could tell he was angry, possibly because a.) He couldn't compete against Will, who was twice his size, b.) If the demon boy hadn't spilled blood then hunter wouldn't pursue him and c.) If Will wanted to take the boy away, Octavian couldn't stop him. Disgusted, Will tossed Octavian away and grabbed the keys to the cells from a hook in the walls. Many hunters had seen Octavian's dungeons before, as had Will at the age of fourteen – it was one of the reasons he quit being a hunter. Octavian was proud of his dungeons, and it took Will no time to run down the many stone steps and jam the key into the lock of the doors of the cell.

Will hadn't felt weak since he had developed his broad shoulders and muscles – for many years – but now he feared his knees might buckles underneath him. The boy – the demon – was chained to the wall, his wrists a bloody mess hung above his head, limp. His face and arms were bruised. His eyes were closed and dark hair fell into them, and he was so unbelievably pale Will feared he might be dead. But then the boy jerked and slowly opened his eyes – Will imagined he was much scarier-looking that scrawny Octavian because the boy pushed himself further into the wall, but he seemed resigned. Will didn't even get a good look at his eyes because they were closed again, as if the boy was waiting for the final blow.

Will was relieved that the boy was okay. He could take him away from that nightmare place and to his loft now. He reached out a large hand to cup the boy's chin, but his head was limp. Will decided that the demon had passed out, so he took a look at the handcuffs. He gritted his teeth at the wounds and snapped the cuffs. He picked the broken boy up as gently as he could – he weighed next to nothing.

Will walked past Octavian, groaning on the floor, and into the front yard, to his car. He placed the boy on the shotgun seat and buckled his seat belt. With the hard part over with, Will could only pray the boy wouldn't die on the way.

Ta-dah! Next chappie's gonna have some nakedness, so *Scar's voice* BE PREPARED! anyways, y'all tell me what you think in the reviews! Constructive criticism and ideas are welcome!