It was supposed to be a simple exorcism. Lately Nico said he had sensed strange things in the shadows, so he, Will, and Apollo (who had invited himself along) had gone out to exorcise ghosts from buildings, the woods, and (occasionally) people. Their latest endeavor took place in an old, rundown mansion down the coast a bit from Camp Half-Blood. There had been reports of ghost sightings and attacks on the mortals, and Nico confirmed that something was lingering in the house. So the boys (and the god) headed to the mansion to investigate.
"Well, that certainly looks ominous." Apollo said bluntly as they looked up at the dark and gloomy old mansion. The large front porch was overrun with vines of poison ivy, and the porch itself, much like the rest of the house, was falling apart. There were graffiti tags on the walls, some fully drawn and some hastily done or incomplete. The trees above them were so thick in the canopy that it seemed like dusk instead of the afternoon. But that wasn't the creepiest part. No, that would be the lack of vines or grass on the front walk and the path to the door. It was almost as if someone had expected them and prepared for their visit.
"It's just an old house, Apollo. Nothing omnicess about it. Now if you're scared, you can just go back to camp." Nico snapped. He had been in a bad mood ever since he had sensed the dark presence inside. Will rolled his eyes and reprimanded his boyfriend, "Nico, be nice. This place is even giving me the heebee jeebies."
Nico huffed, but didn't say anything else about the matter. Instead, he headed up the path to the porch without another word. Will and Apollo spared a glance with each other and the younger blonde gave his father an apologetic shrug. They eventually followed Nico and joined him on the porch.
"Will, Apollo… be careful. This one feels… wrong." Nico warned. He didn't know how to describe it any other way. The spirit inside this house just didn't seem like anything he had faced before. Will nodded and steeled his hls nerves, while Apollo gulped and tightened his grip on the duffel bag containing their supplies. Nico reached for the doorknob, only for it to swing open all on it's own.
"Okay nope. Time for Apollo to leave now." Apollo said and he turned around and attempted to leave, only for Nico to grab the back of his shirt and haul him into the house. Will followed, a bit wary of the house now that they were inside, but hid it well enough.
The entryway led into a larger room, almost the size of a ballroom. Along the walls were old paintings that had faded over time so that the faces were blurred and unrecognizable. The furniture, covered by a thick layer of dust, were pushed against the wall to make room in the center. This old room may have actually been a ballroom, or perhaps was used for dinner parties and the likes.
"Nico, you go get a feel of the place while Apollo and I set up the equipment. Oh, and Nico," Will paused and pressed a kiss to his boyfriend's cheek before he added, "Be careful."
"You're the one who needs to be careful, Doc." Will teased. Will chuckled at that and ruffled Nico's hair affectionately before the demigod went off to explore. Will turned back to Apollo, who had a grin plastered to his face as he said, "You two are really good for each other, you know?"
Will blushed at that and mumbled something about how they needed to get started to set up the camera. The kids at Half-Blood were in need of some kind of entertainment, so Will had suggested they film their little escapades as a sort of ghost hunters show. The kids knew that spirits and ghosts were real if course, but it was still fun to watch.
While Will and Apollo set everything up, Nico wandered around the house and one of the hallways that branched off from the ballroom. He looked up at the ancient portraits and busts of people long forgotten. A thick layer of dust covered the artwork, save for a cracked bust at the end of the hall of a man who looked like he was in his 20s or 30s, possibly from the Greek period. Nico had seen a fair share of Greek and Roman artwork, obviously, and was able to pick it out from the others with ease.
Unlike the other busts and portraits, this piece was spotless, save for a crack that ran across the face diagonally like a horrible scar. As Nico neared the portrait, he sensed something… wrong with it. Something was inside the painting itself- something evil. Before Nico could think about it further, the bust suddenly cracked open further along the scar and something black and smoke like leaked out and- that was the last thing Nico saw before he blacked out.
Back in the ballroom, Will and Apollo got worried about Nico, who never took longer than 5 minutes to look around. Will checked his watch over and over again until Apollo squeezed his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, he probably just got lost. I'll go look for him."
"Are you sure Apollo? Aren't you usually the one who never wants to split up?" Will asked in confusion.
"Yes, normally I am, but I don't like to set up even more than splitting up. I'll be right back." Apollo said before he went off to look for his future son in law. He spent about 5 or 6 minutes looking around the dusty old house looking for Nico before he found him standing in front of the remains of a bust, it's dust and pebbles coating the floor at Nico's feet.
"There you are Nico! Will was worried about you, so I heroically volunteered to… go look for… you? Nico… are you alright? I'm sensing something… off about you. And it's more than the usual Underworld vibe I usually get from you." Apollo asked as he approached Nico. He placed a hand on Nico's shoulder to turn the boy around, only for Nico turn on his own accord and bring his fist to Apollo's face with enough force to knock the god-turned-mortal out cold.
Will heard a crash come from the hallway Nico and his father were in and quickly called out as he stood up from the dusty floor, "You guys alright?"
When only silence met him, Will started towards the hallway, worried but sure that Apollo had just bumped into and knocked over something. His worry only increased as the air grew heavier around him and the shadows seemed to grow, but Will still had no idea he himself have need to fear for his life until all he could see was shadows and the world went dark.
Will woke up eventually, back in the ballroom, but hardly alone this time. Next to where he lay on the floor, Nico was standing over Apollo, a purple light surrounding and connecting the two. Nico was faced away from Will, but Apollo's face- twisted in pain and agony- could be seen pressed against the floorboards, as though some force was keeping him pinned.
"N-Nico? What are you doing to Apollo?" Will stammered out incoherently as he managed to push himself up to a kneeling position. Nico stiffened visibly at Will's words and the light faded. Apollo passed out then, exhausted. Now it was just Nico and Will, except… it wasn't Nico. The paler boy turned suddenly and purple eyes glowing like blacklight bulbs focused on Will with a cold, calculating gaze.
"... You're not Nico." Will whispered as he came to his senses and stood up. Nico- no, the person possessing Nico chuckled at that and said, "Give the son of Apollo a prize: he figured it out."
Will quickly but cautiously backed away from the stranger disguised as his boyfriend and demanded to know, "Who are you? What are you? Why have you possessed Nico? What were you doing to Apollo?"
"So many questions with this one. Unfortunately, I'm more of a ghost of actions than words. Let's see if you can use that brain if yours huh?" The ghost said as he stepped towards Will and raised his hand up next to his face. The hand became engulfed in purple light suddenly, which then formed into a ball before the ghost hurled it at Will, who quickly jumped out of the way before the ball of light hit the wall behind him and exploded in a shower of sparks.
"You're a ghost then! Someone who- gah!- used to live here? And what you were doing… Shit! You were stealing energy or power from Apollo, weren't you?" Will guessed as he dodged more balls of light before he eventually ducked behind some old furniture.
"Ding ding ding! Give the boy a prize, he's so smart. Unfortunately, dear old daddy here doesn't have much juice in him, being mortal now and all. But your boyfriend? Oh my, he could be a god all on his own. I think I'll keep him." The ghost chuckled darkly. Will's breath caught in his lungs at that, and a sudden blind rage filled the young demigod as he screamed and ran out from behind the couch to charge his assailant.
As soon as he did so, unfortunately, Will was hit with a ball of energy that blew him back against the wall with the force alone. The energy burned him and left scars along his face and body, as well as drained him of his own energy with one blow. Will fell forward after crashing into the wall, unconscious. The ghost snickered, pleased with his work, until he noticed his hold on Nico was fading. It seemed that all of those blasts had used up his energy and his time in this body was ending. With a frown and a scoff, The ghost grumbled, "Goddamnit."
With that the ghost left Nico's body, quickly hiding in the walls to avoid the Ghost King's wrath. As the purple glow faded from Nico's eyes, he stumbled slightly and groaned as he rubbed his face. He looked around a bit, shocked at the damage and curious as to what had happened, before his eyes landed on Will, who lay motionless on the floor in front of Nico.
"W-Will?... Oh my Gods…" Nico whispered in shock as he wrapped an arm around himself and felt tears start to sting his eyes. He quickly wiped them away before running to Will's side, gently flipping him over and checking his vitals. Thankfully, Will was alive and breathing, but he was badly burned and concussed. As Nico looked over his battered boyfriend, he knew somehow, that "This is all my fault."