The thrill of battle can sometime become too much for a teenager. I know it became too much for me. The wariness that comes after, the shroud burning.

It's disastrous.

So the Battle known as the After Battle, that occured precisely 4 years after the Giant War, was harsh on us all. I hated being the son of Hades, because some blamed me for all the deaths.

We thought that because Gaia was gone, the monster's were going to be less for a long, long time. We were right, but so very wrong.

"Nico! Oh my gods get your armour on!" Someone burst through my cabin door, and nearly tripped over my jeans which I had discarded on the floor. I groggily rolled over to see Jason and Percy standing in the door way, armoured up and looking anxious.

And I felt it, it hit me like a tidal wave. I could practically feel the death that was about to happen. I sat up in bed, Will mumbling incoherently next to me. It didn't even seem to faze the two boys that I was naked in bed with my boyfriend.

"What? What's happening?"

"Monsters. They've returned,"

You see, we had a well... shortage I'd say, of monsters. We found it highly weird that literally no monsters found their way to us demigods.

"They must have stayed hidden- I don't know how. They're all there. We called in Camp Jupiter but they're not going to make it in time,"

"Oh my gods," I twisted my torso so I was facing Will, and shook his shoulder.

"Will, Will babe you need to wake up,"

"We'll meet you at the Big House in ten," The boys left, looking antsy.

"What's wrong? Something's wrong with camp. I can feel it in the air I-"

"I know Will. Let's get dressed and go to the war meeting,"

It was eating up inside. There was no warning, no prophecy. This was an either live or die situation.

We each put on our clothes (because Will keeps a drawer of clothes in my cabin and vice versa) and he helped me put on my black armour.

"Will. Promise me you'll be careful," The war meeting was in hysterics. Chiron was confused- ANNABETH was confused. We were all just sitting and waiting for them to attack.

"We need to get the young ones and newbies out of here." Percy suggested, so that task was left for the Aphrodite cabin who volunteered. "Make a first aid tent. We'll need it, I can feel it," Chiron said, looking at Will.

Will nodded and stood up. I followed him out, "I probably won't see you until tonight, so save a seat for me at your table, okay?"

"Promise me you'll be careful,"

"I promise," He leant down and rested his warm doctor hands on my hips. He gave me a quick kiss before following his siblings off to complete their task.

I made my way back in, and when I sat down, everyone was looking at me.

"What?" I snapped.

"It's just uh... can you feel anything?" Percy, asked looking uncomfortable.

"Like death and destruction?" I had a slight urge to lie to the rest of the cabin leaders in the room, but I knew it wouldn't amount to anything good.

"Yes. A lot,"

Percy sighed and gripped Annabeth's hand, who was 8 months pregnant. She won't be fighting. Why did she have to be here? Why did they choose now for a holiday?

"Annabeth, do you want me to take you back to Camp Jupiter?"

"No," She said simply.

"I know you don't want me to, but the offer stands until this is done, alright?" She nodded, holding her belly.

"Okay. We need to set up a defense, because gods know we can't go offense. There's about triple the amount of monsters to demigod ratio." Annabeth said, sighing.

I could tell this wasn't going to end well, and it sent shivers down my spine.

The battle was long, and it lasted the whole day, but when night came, the monster's didn't relent, attacking with a new force that was teeth rattling. They were smarter, stronger, and we were losing.

The clock struck 2am when the monsters retreated back to their camps at the bottom of the hill, and we were glad. We were done. The only thing we could do was evacuate. But we knew we wouldn't. We are Greek, after all.

I made my way to the infirmary, to maybe help out Will, who was probably swamped.

As I stepped through the makshift tent, I heard Kayla call out in a shrill, depressed voice, "Somebody go find Nico, right now! If he isn't here in the next two minutes I will-"

I sidled up to her and looked at her. "What's wrong?" I asked, eyeing her watery eyes and messy, bloody hands.

"It's Will." She didn't have to say any more. I opened up my powers, which I have learnt who to do, and searched the infirmary for his life source.

Which was probably a mistake.

I felt the injured demigods, the heart ache, the loss of hope and despair, the hurt. I crinjed, but followed thr weak lofe source that was so familiar.

I made my way to the back door of the infirmary, which leads to the back area behind the Big House, Kayla behind me, looking at me with wide eyes. "How..." She mumbled.

"Life source. New trick, handy, huh?" She shrugged. I snarled a little. "It only happens when someone is close to death or injured greatly," She looked at her hands and nodded miserably.

I ignored her and opened the door to the back of the big hous. Austin and Vicki were out there, as well as maybe four other of his siblings. "Out," I pointed to the door with my thumb.

"What? No way. We've lost two brothers already to war, not a third,"

"Will wouldn't want you to be sitting in here while thirty young demigods are dying. Austin, bed 3, Kayla, bed 8, they need you," They nodded glumly and left, a soft glow I didn't see before leaving Will. They shut the door.

I'm alone.

There was blood everywhere, but a whole clot of it was over his chest. His eyed were half lidded and I knelt next to him, gripping his cold hands.

It hurts my heart, because his hands were never cold. It's terrifying that my hands were warmer than his.

I lied down next to him, wrapping an arm around him. He groaned as I touched his wound on his chest.

"What happened?" I asked softly.

"Monst-st-ter. I was healing a litt-ttle girl," He took a majorly deep breath that rattled his insides and said as he exhaled, "Monster attack, they took the girl so I ran and they dropped her and a hellhound got me and and and," He was crying. I was crying. He's going to be okay.

"I can feel my wounds, Death Breath. I can feel them not closing. I'm not going to-"

"No," I snapped. I sat up and placed my hands on his chest, and he groaned. I felt and heard the blood squish under my hands.

I called upon my father, and all my tricks of death that I've learnt since I was 10. His life force was diminishing, but mine was fine. I prayed to my father. He appeared in my mind, somehow, telling me to stop, telling me to let him die, yelling at me for the natural order take its course.

Fuck the natural order.

I took a deep breath and saw black fumes rolling off of Will. His death, in physical form. My dad appeared next to me, shouting at me, gripping my arm and yanking, but I was planted to Will.

I thought of all our fights, when we yelled at eachother and that one horrible time I said I hated him. The fumes slowed down, but I kept thinking about those times, and then the make up. The I love you's that fixed everything. The apologies. Our love so much bigger than before.

"Nico," My dad tried a different approach. "You're a son of Hades, not Apollo. You need to stop. He's gone," Father was next to me, hand on my arm. I was crying, blubbering.

"No,"

"What you're doing Nico, is powerful Black Magick. Stop," Black Magick? I'm not a witch. Lou Ellen is, I am not. "It's Underworld Magick, but with a mix of Hecate in, I developed some of her skills when she visited Persephone. You must of inherited them, please stop,"

"No," My voice was deep, gravely. Not mine. It sounded like I was possessed.

"NICO! YOU'RE MAKING HIM IMMORTAL! STOP!" I faltered. What? That's all my father needed, because he tackled me. I've never seen him move so fast before. I pushed against him, but I'm only a demigod, and he's Hades, Lord of the Underworld.

I felt whatever magic I was just doing snap like a cord, like a string instruments strings snapping all at once, and flinging straight into my face and heart. My soul. I cried out, Hades held me. I don't know why. He could have left, he could have. His stupid Hecate secret was not going to be let out. But he didn't leave. He held me as I sobbed, my face in his stupid black robe.

I pulled away from him and went over to Will, on all fours.

"N-Nico- what- was-?"

"Don't worry," I softly brushed away sweaty hair from his forehead. I didn't notice that the grass around me was slowly losing its life force, wilting.

"I love you," He said after a beat of silence.

"I love you too," I answered, immediately.

"Beat some monster ass, doctors orders," I snorted but nodded. "Don't over use your Underworld-ly powers, okay? And eat, not just McDonald's,"

"Tell me all this tomorrow okay?" His grip on mine slackened. What? Why? I searched for his life force, but... where is it? Despair touched me. Softly at first, but then with full force when realization hit too.

Later, I found out that all the gods felt Hades' presence in Camp Half Blood, and felt mine, too. Apparently, they gifted the whole Camp population with resistance to my magick, or whatever.

As soon as I realized what had happened, I went beserk, another person entirely. It wasn't fair. Why could Percy and Jason keep their loves through so many battles, and mine not through enough? WHY?

I felt like Achilles when Patroclus died. Pure pain and heart break. I didn't let Will go, my arms gripping his torso with such force that I could feel my bones cracking. I didn't care.

The monsters. I felt myself shift towards the camp's hill. I looked over at me dad and he was standing, silent, by the door. Kayla burst through the door, saw me hunched over Will and burst into tears. She accidentally bumped into Hades and she was crying even harder.

"No, not a third, not Will," Kayla mumbled, over and over. Not Will. I stood, Will's body still in my arms. Over the years, I grew into my shape, my frame. Will was always bigger than me, broader, but I have strength that he only dreamed of. I easily lifted Will's dead weight body. I moved mechanically.

My Will.

I walked around the Big House and to the top of the hill. I set down Will gently, and felt my rage roll off me in waves. Demigods- injured and uninjured stood behind me. I didn't care if they were watching me.

I skidded down the hill, and I felt more than saw Jason and Percy's presence near Will. Don't touch him.

"No," I spun around, and my voice was loud and clear. "Don't touch him." My voice had that gravelly sheen to it again.

"Nico, I'm so, so-" I cut Jason off. He cut Jason off. It was like I was another person. An evil, heart broken version of myself. It was the same when Bianca died, but worse.

"Nico, you need to calm down," Jason said loudly. No.

The monsters who thought it was a good idea to attack camp- attack Will, stood at the bottom of the hill. They seemed suprised, like 'oh! There's a demigod standing there! What is he doing?'

They weren't attacking. They thought I was joining them. Bastards. Never.

I lifted my sword, and pointed it at the most powerful looking thing, I didn't look, I felt.

I threw.

My sword sang through the wind and pierced the monster straight in the chest, and kept going, into the thing behind it. My sword stuck into the ground, and I let myself go. I felt my powers hit like a tidal wave into the suprised monsters. I felt Jason and Percy gripping my shoulders as I tipped forward. I felt everything go.

My Will.

I sunk low, to my knees. Jason went to touch me again, but when his skin connected with mine, he recoiled.

"He's so cold- like dry ice," Jason murmured.

My Will.

I collapsed onto my side, next to Will. I looked over. His bright blue eyes were so dull now. I closed his eyelids and curled into a ball next to him.

My Will. Is gone.

So, I've decided to do an alternate version of this story as well, where Will doesn't die, you'll see when I upload it. Please read and review!