Chapter Two:
Doctor Solace and Mr. Hyde
(Blondie Loves Himself Some Needles.)
Two weeks ago, Will Solace stumbled upon Nico di Angelo on the crest of Half-Blood Hill. He knew some of the preconceived notions others had towards the son of Hades; he was dangerous, he was distant, he was damaged… Altogether he was soon discovered to be a paradox which Will found enthralling, from the moment he said his name to the next, when Nico's sword was at his throat and he was glaring at Will with dark onyx eyes.
When Will had first looked into them, he was reminded of galaxies. Dark, deep, and glittering with secrets. In that instant Will judged him to be as cold and arcane as the dark side of the moon and as volatile as a supernova. A flight-risk, he knew, and yet he burned with desire to know him. Will was a healer; it was in his nature to want to understand people.
He had been quite pleased with himself when he'd managed to convince Nico di Angelo to spend a full three days recovering in the infirmary. Had he been surprised when he agreed to Will's terms so quickly? Sure. Had he expected him to be a thoroughly uncooperative and ungrateful patient? Well, given his personality, it was a reasonable hypothesis. Had he thought he would be so pointedly obnoxious that Will worried it was doing more damage to keep him there than to just let him stay at the Hades cabin instead? No, he hadn't really expected that.
Will decided the safest route would be to begin with a basic checkup.
After an hour of refusing to open his mouth for a thermometer (the son of Hades called it "a modern-day hoodoo trinket designed to befuddle and deceive it's holder into thinking they were a real doctor", or something similar which Will didn't quite understand), smacking the stethoscope away (it wouldn't matter because Nico "didn't have a heart anyways"), and merely flipping Will off when he asked for his arm to place a blood-pressure cuff on him, Will's patience was wearing thin.
Then Will discovered the damn werewolf scratches.
"Holy Gods, what happened?" Will had gasped, leaning forwards to scrutinize Nico's scrawny, pale arm.
"Lycaon." Nico shrugged uncaringly.
"Nico, this is really infected. We need to get these stitches out now!"
Nico raised a wry eyebrow and pondered his arm. "Really? I think it's looking pretty good." They both watched as a greenish blob of bloody puss oozed out of the festering wound. Nico gagged and covered his mouth.
"Why didn't you say something?!" Will cried as he began cutting the messily-sewn stitches out with suture scissors. Some of them didn't need to be cut; they were so grimy and gelatinous they fell out on their own. "They're putrefying!" Will nearly screamed. "Seriously, what's wrong with you? You should have done something sooner!"
"Like what?" Nico snapped acrimoniously. "I haven't had any time. What should I have done?"
"Literally anything." Will glared at him as ferociously as he was capable and Nico sniggered.
"Fine. Next time I'll chop it off."
"Anything except that."
"If you must know, Blondie, I was curious to see if I would turn into a werewolf. I've always thought it would be fun..."
Will groaned. "That's from a bite, not scratches Death Boy! Hold still. I need to disinfect it and make sure nothing has gotten into it." Will reached down into his bag and emerged with a hypodermic needle and a small vial of clear liquid. "I'll numb it first..."
"That's really not necessary." Nico said tersely. He watched in growing skittishness as Will dabbed an astringent-laced cotton ball on his arm.
"High tolerance for pain?" Will asked.
"No. I actually haven't been able to feel anything at all with that arm for about three days now."
Will's only response was to breathe heavily out his nose and pray for self-control. When he finished cleaning the small patch of skin and began filling the needle with lidocaine however, Nico ripped his arm away.
"Oh no, you are not going to skewer me with that thing," he snapped, feverishly trying to shift away from the son of Apollo. Will stared at him in disbelief.
"It's not possible to skewer you with this," he informed him. "Don't tell me you're afraid of needles?"
Nico cringed and Will sighed. "You're willing to run into battle and risk getting impaled on a sword, but you won't accept a shot?"
"You're damn right I don't want a shot! Just leave it. It's fine!" Nico yelped. He forced his voice into a calm, collected demeanor. "You know, I've been thinking Solace, and I actually really like my arm this way..." With that, he leapt up and tried to run for his life, but Will grabbed him.
"Unless you want your arm to fall off, I need to take care of it," Will said firmly.
Nico hesitated, a look somewhere between terror and curiosity frozen on his face. "If it falls off, can I get a hook instead?" he asked hopefully.
Will stared at him, trying to decide if he was joking or not. "Sure. But it's your entire arm that's infected. You'll have a hook coming out of your shoulder."
"Dang it."
A knock on the door made Will turn, and Austin poked his head in. "Hey Will, do you know where Kayla put the-,"
"Help me!" Nico yelled wretchedly at him. "Your brother's trying to kill me."
"Will wouldn't do that." Austin said slowly. He looked towards Will. "What's going on?"
"What's going on," Nico moaned miserably before Will could answer, "is doctor Jekyll has turned into mister Hyde."
Austin stared at him.
Will turned back to Nico in time to catch him in the act of smirking to himself, clearly pleased. No doubt the son of Hades considered this payback for Will following him around, setting reasonable safety guidelines during the battle.
"If you hate it here that much, maybe it would be better for you to rest in your cabin," Austin said kindly.
Nico blinked at him. "Really?"
"No!" Will shouted, turning back to his brother. "Austin, you don't understand; he's really stupid when it comes to his own health- no offense, Death Boy."
Nico scowled. "It sounded like a compliment." He took a deep breath and glared at Will. "I'm not staying here, with you and your torturous procedures-"
"You have to," Will exclaimed. "You promised. 'Styx and everything' remember?"
"Yeah…" Nico sighed sadly, shaking his head. "I didn't think that through…"
"Look, we can settle this without the needles," Will said placating. "Please stay?"
Nico crossed his arms with an indignant huff. He looked at Will consideringly, watching him with his inscrutable eyes. Finally he nodded silently glumly and allowed Will to look at his arm.
Needless to say, after lots of swearing, slapping, threats, and even one ornery bite, Will managed to clean up it up without Nico di Angelo ending up with a hook-arm or turning into a werewolf.
Now
Will burst into the infirmary with an unconscious son of Hades in his arms, expecting to find it quiet and empty. Instead he interrupted three of his siblings, Austin, Marisol, and Denise, who seemed to be in the middle of an intense conversation. The three of them froze, staring at their brother in shock.
"Will, what happened?" Denise gasped, standing up from the mulberry armchair she was sitting on. "You're covered in blood! Were you attacked?"
"It's not mine," Will gasped as Austin ran to help him.
Together, they got Nico situated on one of the beds. It wasn't difficult; the son of Hades was incredibly light, like his body was woven from the very shadows he so loved to disappear into. He groaned faintly and pulled away from them. Will grabbed his arm to keep him from falling over the side.
His heart jumped into his throat as he was able to take in the sight of his skull t-shirt, saturated and plastered down with blood. The color contrasted startling against Nico's fair skin. Will wasn't one to be easily nauseated by gaping wounds, but for some reason he suddenly felt sick. He didn't allow himself to dwell on it, and carefully pulled back the hem of his t-shirt.
The hydra had scratched him across the stomach. Sticky green ichor congealed in the wound, blending with the red to make a pool of muddy brown.
"Will, here." Austin reappeared with Will's medical bag. He snatched it from his brother and began pulling out cloths, antiseptic, nectar, and bandages.
Nico was completely delirious as Will cleaned the scratches, but as soon as he pressed the cloth of antiseptic to them, he lurched awake with a strangled cry.
"No, don't!" Nico shouted wildly, attempting to writhe away from him. "Just leave it!"
He smacked Will away, but the motion proved to be too much for him. Will felt the rest of his strength leave him, and Nico fell back on the bed utterly drained.
"Don't!" He mumbled weakly, clutching at his side in panic. "Don't touch-"
"I won't." Will reassured him immediately. "Just let me see."
He managed to convince the son of Hades to move his hands again, so he could inspect his side. Now that it was clean, he saw that the slices were not particularly deep. The poison was weak and would take about an hour to completely leave his system.
"You don't need stitches." Will said. A look of immense relief washed across his Nico's face as he realized he wouldn't be stabbed with a needle. "The poison's not lethal. But it'll sting for an hour or so."
Nico glared at him. "You don't say?" He groaned through his teeth.
Will was relieved to hear him talking but discovered soon that Nico was still too weak to sit up. Will made him drink several ounces of nectar. Part of him wanted to give Nico more, but he decided against it; Nico already had a fever, and with his status as a son of Hades Will assumed there was already high chance of him exploding into flames like a vampire.
While Will began cleaning and bandaging the wound, Nico drifted off into a slumber. Will had just finished and was considering staying with him, perhaps reading him a bedtime story, or spoon-feeding him chicken-noodle soup, or even just holding his hand, when Austin wandered back in.
"Are you hurt?" he asked Will.
"No, I'm fine," Will assured him. Of course, if Nico hadn't pushed him out of harm's way he imagined he would be singing a different tune. Well, not singing. More like croaking. His musical skills were rather lacking.
"Good. When you get the chance I think you should go talk to Marisol," Austin said. "She's not feeling so great."
Will looked quickly at him incredulously. "She's sick too?"
Austin nodded.
Will sighed. "Okay. I'll be right there."
After Austin left, Will turned back to Nico. His conversation with Austin must have woken him again, because he was squinting up at the bright light above him. "Nico, will you be okay on your own for a minute?" Will asked him.
Nico gave him a look that suggested he thought Will was insane. "You're joking right?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "Of course I'll be fine."
"I'll be right back." Will reassured him, reaching down to plump the pillow under his head.
"I can't wait." Nico muttered.
"It'll just take a moment."
"Oh goodie."
Will paused in the doorway. "Actually ou know what? I'm sure Marisol is fine. If you're upset, I can stay here-"
"Go away Solace," Nico grumbled and refusing to look at him.
"If your side still hurts I can numb it with a shot," Will offered innocently.
Nico glared furiously at him and growled, "You can take your needles and shove them-"
Will shut the door and went to find Marisol.
Denise was still sitting with her, grasping her hand, and speaking in a low soothing voice. They both stopped and look up as Will approached.
"Will, you should hear this," Denise said. "And then, you should be get some sleep," she added quickly after watching Will yawn.
"I will in a little bit," Will said. He turned to his other sister. "What's going on, Marisol? Austin said you were sick too?"
Marisol gave a sort of pained grimace. "Maybe just a little," she muttered through a stuffy nose.
That much was obvious as soon as Will looked closer at her. She was pale and clammy and Will could feel the heat of a fever coming on when he came near her. While he doubted it was serious, it was extremely bizarre. Children of Apollo rarely got sick. Thinking back, Will didn't think he had ever been ill with anything in his life. He shook the thought from his head; given her symptoms it was probably just a minor upper respiratory infection, a cold. He'd look her over to make sure.
"Did it just come on this morning?" Will asked. He took her temperature and discovered it was at 103 F. High, but not enough to be worried about, for a daughter of Apollo. Their temperatures usually rested at a toasty 100.2 F. She shivered when Will pressed a cold stethoscope to her back.
"Thanks Will, but I really don't think this is necessary. I'm sure it'll be gone by tomorrow. I- I only came here, because I didn't want to stay in the cabin." Marisol tucked a strand of auburn hair behind her ear. "You know, bad dreams and all."
"You can't sleep either?"
She shook her head. "No. It really seems to be going around, huh?"
"Maybe we should speak to Clovis," Will said. "He might be able to help."
"No, I don't want to bother him," Marisol said. "I'm sure it's some sort of post-trauma thing, brought on from the war. I'll be fine. Can I stay here though, in the infirmary? There's something about our cabin… it's eerie. I don't want to go back there right now." Will watched as shuddered, and then reached out to grab a kleenex.
"I know what you mean," he said. "Do you want me to bring you anything?"
"Nah, it's okay. Go get some rest Will, you look like you need it."
"So do you," Will told her as she blew her nose loudly.
She rolled her eyes. "Gee thanks."
"Right back at you."
Will himself had no desire return to their cabin, and instead wandered back to the adjacent ward to check on Nico again. To his surprise, the son of Hades was fast asleep, snoring softly.
Will sat next to him for a moment, listening to his breathing. His eyes traveled over his black hair, his dark eyelashes, and followed the soft slope of his nose, to the curve of his mouth. His lips were a soft pink and relaxed into a pout as he slept. He wanted to reach out and brush the lock of black hair from his forehead, the one that cascaded over his eyes. He shivered and Will pulled the blanket up over his arms, trying not to remember how it had felt having him pressed against his chest as he'd carried him back.
In a rush, Will realized how exhausted he was. More than anything he wanted to rest, but he didn't want to leave the son of Hades by himself.
There was only one solution he could see; he folded his arms on the side of his bed and layed his head on them.
For a short while the events of the night spun through his head, being attacked, nightmares, Austin and Marisol's nightmares… before long Will drifted off to sleep to the sound of Nico's steady breathing.
And in his sleep, he had a very odd dream.
Will was kneeling beside an old sofa. He squinted around, but as far as he could see everything else was cloaked in a shadowy mist. The sound of slithering crackled and buzzed in his ears, but it was muffled, almost as if he were underwater. It faded, overcome by a new sound, a thunderous rumble that quaked his eardrums. It sounded familiar.
A burst of light brought everything into sharper clarity.
He saw he was in a room. It looked like a standard hotel room; dingy floral-print beds pressed along a beige wall, an old TV and VCR sat perched on a pine dresser. The floor was a thickly matted carpet. The stench of mold and mildew filled Will's nose.
He saw that the light blossomed from a large window along the far wall. Beyond that window a huge, domed mountain loomed in the distance, sheets of white snow topping the tallest peaks.
Beyond the glass came the sound he was hearing, that thunderous roar. It was then he was able to place it; the sounds of cheering, screaming, and applause all jumbled together and multitudinous. Will had heard a similar sound before when his mother had taken him to a stadium to watch a game when he was younger.
A soft sound came from behind him. Drawing his eyes from the window, Will turned to look at the sofa. With a shock he saw that Nico di Angelo was now laying on it.
"Nico!" Will cried.
The son of Hades didn't respond. Will ran forward and knelt beside him but something was wrong; Nico's eyes were glassy when he looked at him, his breathing shallow. Will reached out to feel his forehead, brushing a wisp of black hair from his face.
At his touch, Nico shivered and looked over at Will.
"Why don't you want to save me Will?" he gasped, eyelids flickered weakly like he was fighting to stay conscious. "I've been trying to reach you for so long."
"I don't understand," Will said, his heart twisting in his chest. "Nico, what's wrong? What's happening?"
The son of Hades reached out and gripped Will's wrist tightly. "You must listen. You must help me. Listen, and you'll hear the voices."
Will had no idea what he was talking about. Voices? All he heard was the roar of the crowd from beyond this strange room.
Nico reached over to touch Will's face, his skull ring ice upon Will's skin. "You must come to me at once," Nico told him. He tried to smile at Will but it seemed contorted, not his own. He drew his hand away from Will, covering his own mouth as he coughed. "You must hurry. We don't have long. This will all be over soon."
Will placed his hand over Nico's, clasping his cold fingers. "Please, I don't understand. What do you mean?" he asked desperately, but Nico didn't seem able to answer. His coughing ceased abruptly and Will watched as Nico's expression seemed to twist, growing darker, calmer. He watched Will through glittering onyx eyes in a way that made Will suddenly feel very threatened.
He seemed almost hostile.
"This is all for you Will Solace," Nico murmured. He pointed out the window, all trace of injury gone, towards the sunlight that filtered in. "See that? Get a good look while you can. This is the last time you'll see the sun. It's its dying day, you could say." Nico reached out and grabbed Will's wrist in a vice-like grip.
"Let go of me," Will said hoarsely. An inexplicable fear was coursing through his veins. He didn't know what was happening but he didn't like it. No, he hated it. Everything felt off, a whimsically grotesque shadow of what it should be. He wanted to yank his hand away but found himself unable to move, his body disobeying him.
"Why should I do that," Nico whispered. "I've bided my time for thousands of years…" Will finally met his eyes and saw the pure malice that awaited in them. "Time's up."
Will looked at him for a brief second, contemplating. "Yes, it is."
Will shifted closer to the sofa and stood up. Nico blinked at him in confusion, when Will climbed onto the sofa. His brows drew together and he tried to shove Will away, but Will knocked his arm away with a strength that wasn't his.
"Will, what are you-,"
Will clapped a hand over his mouth, silencing him. It was a good question, and Will himself had no answer to it. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't seem to control his movements and had no way of stopping what happened next.
Swiftly he swung his other leg over the son of Hades, straddling him. Nico appeared to be too bewildered and shocked to do anything but stare at Will.
Dark eyes watched Will apprehensively over the hand on his mouth. When he was sure Nico wouldn't speak, Will withdrew his hand. He combed his fingers gently through Nico's hair and leaned down until their faces were only inches apart.
"It will all be over soon," Will repeated Nico's own words back to him. He stroked a finger down Nico's cheek, traced his bottom lip with his thumb. "Even sooner than you're expecting."
Then Will sat up and yanked the white pillow out from under Nico's head. Nico's flinch of surprise turned into a muffled cry when Will pushed it over his face, covering his nose and mouth. He thrashed violently under him, trying to throw him off.
Stop! Will screamed at himself. He didn't want to hurt Nico, he didn't want to hurt anyone.
He could feel Nico's nails digging into his wrist but Will held firm, pushing down with all of his weight-
"WILL!"
His eyes flew open.
It took Will a moment to realize where he was. His heart felt ready to burst from his chest any second, and he was shaking badly. Nico was still curled up in front of him, fast asleep. Something was wrong, but he was too groggy to understand what. Will looked at Nico. His breathing was steady and he took his pulse. Even. It was normal, everything was normal…
"Will!"
It was Marisol's voice he had heard and in a flash he was back in the other room. Denise and Austin were on either side of her, trying to soothe her.
"Guys what-"
"Will!" Marisol screamed, when she saw him enter. "Will! I can't- you have to- they want- LET GO OF ME!" she screamed when Denise grabbed her arm, trying to make her sit back down.
Will ran forward and grabbed her hands. "Hey, it's okay," he said. "What's wrong?"
"You have to go!" she sobbed. "He's g-going to kill us, if you don't-"
"Who?"
Marisol dissolved into broken sobs. Her hair was a disheveled mess of auburn, and her eyes were red-rimmed from sleep-deprivation and tears.
"You have to g-go to him!" she gasped out. "He said he'll prove it tomorrow, if you won't c-come to him! He's asked you to play the- the-" She dissolved into incoherent sobbing.
"Marisol, who said this?" Will demanded furiously. If someone had threatened his sister and siblings...
"I don't know!" she screamed. She yanked her hand free of Will's and looked at him with red-rimmed eyes.
"She just woke up," Denise said, wide eyed and alarmed. "She had another nightmare."
"It wasn't a normal dream!" Marisol screamed at her. "It's a warning!"
"It's okay, I believe you." Will assured her. She looked around wildly, staring into the dark corners like her nightmares would take shape and spring from their depths. Will stepped forward and put his arms around her.
"Please, don't let- I don't want..." she babbled incoherently, clutching his t-shirt and sobbing into his shoulder. Her words may have been a jumbled mess, but Will understood her perfectly.
"Shh. It's okay," he whispered, trying to remain calm. What were the odds she and him had had such strange dreams at the same time? "I won't let anyone hurt you. No one is going to come near us. I'll take care of it, okay? Just lay down."
Marisol continued to cry, but she nodded and Denise coaxed her back down onto the bed.
Will turned away and met Austin's eyes. He could see the worry written plain on his face, and Will knew they shared the same unspoken questions.
"I'll take care of it," Will told him quietly, all the while hoping he could. "Denise, will you stay with her?"
"Yeah, of course," Denise replied. She looked up at him anxiously. "Will, what are you-" she began, but Will shook his head. Truthfully, he had no idea what he was going to do, but he knew where he could start.
He turned to leave, and saw Nico standing in the shadows by the door, watching Will with an expression he couldn't place.
Will walked past him, in a silent signal for him to follow. He wasn't in any mood to argue with Nico about staying in the infirmary. Will looked down at his hands and realized they were trembling. He was surprised the others had accepted the idea that Will would take care of everything on his own.
Ever since Michael's disappearance, he felt as though he'd been hiding behind the guise of leadership, waiting for someone to pull back the blinds and discover it was all a façade. He was no leader, he shouldn't be the counselor for his cabin, he was basically inept compared to everyone else-
"Will are you okay?"
Will had no desire to respond to Nico's deigned inquiry, rather, he felt he should remove himself as far from the son of Hades as possible. There was no way it was a coincidence that both he and Marisol had been granted frightening dreams at the same time.
"Will."
Will felt a light hand on his arm and turned in surprise. It was a rare occurrence that Nico touched him willingly, and that alone was enough to bring him to a halt. As soon as Will looked at him, Nico seemed to realize his action. He dropped his hand and looked down uncomfortably.
Will waited for him to say something.
"Sorry," Nico muttered, to his consternation.
"Why?"
Nico bit his lip and folded his arms across his chest. Will stared at him.
He couldn't understand Nico's aversion to physical contact, for the life of him. If he tried to avoid people like the son of Hades did, he figured he would go insane. Perhaps that was what was wrong with Nico? A week in Tartarus and then locked in a jar and he no longer trusted anyone.
"Just... you know," Nico hesitated. "For your sister. For your dreams. I didn't realize how bad it was."
"It's not your fault," Will said.
Nico gave a half-shrug. "I know, but why didn't you tell me?"
"Honestly, I didn't think anything of it," Will muttered. "I mean how could I? The power of prophecy isn't working, so I figured they couldn't be important. I was stupid."
"You think it's something more now?" Nico asked sharply.
"It's something, that's for sure. I need to tell Chiron." Will sighed. Carefully he looked over at the son of Hades, trying to read his face. It revealed nothing. Nico was like journal, the kind with a lock and key, except he had thrown the key away somewhere even he couldn't find it. "Hey- Nico… you didn't happen to have some sort of weird dream did you?" Will asked, trying to sound indifferent. "Like in a hotel room, with a mountain…?"
Nico stared at him in confusion. "No, why?"
"Nevermind."
Before either of them could say anything else, Nico looked over Will's shoulder. "Hi Jason."
Will turned in surprise to see Jason Grace walking towards him.
"Hey guys," he said, with a grin. He looked closely at Nico and frowned. "Nico are you okay? You look kind of sick."
"A hydra tried to eat me," Nico muttered.
"Oh. I see you're adjusting to Camp-life nicely then."
Nico rolled his eyes. "What's up Jason? I doubt you're here just because you love the smell of sick people and medicine first thing in the morning."
Jason's expression darkened. He straightened his glasses on his nose and sighed. "There's an emergency meeting up at the Big House. Apparently it's serious."
"A meeting? You don't say." Nico and Will shared a look.
An hour later Will found himself sitting between Nico and Chiron among all the other Senior Counselors around the table in the Big House.
To his and everyone else's surprise they found themselves looing into a shimmering Iris Message. A pale face, frizzy red hair, freckles, and bright grass-green eyes... Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the living embodiment of the Oracle of Delphi.
"Hi everyone." Rachel's gaze traveled over the circle of demigods, who sat watching her wearily. Her gaze paused on Will for a second, before coming to a stop on the centaur.
"I wish I could say this is a pleasant surprise Rachel," Chiron said wearily. "How is New Rome treating you?"
Rachel smiled, but it was a thin veiling of the worry etched on her face. "Oh it's wonderful, but we have a bit of a conundrum over here, and I don't think you'll find anything I have to say very pleasant." She looked around the table, where everyone was watching her expectantly, and sighed. "It would seem there is a new prophecy."
Everyone at the table groaned in abject horror.
"I feared as much," Chiron said, astoundingly calm. "I figured it was something bad when you showed up asking for an emergency meeting. Are Reyna and Frank aware? What have they made of it?"
Rachel shook her head solemnly. "None of us can relate it to anything happening over here, so Reyna thought it would be a good idea for me to run it by you guys. Maybe it'll make more sense to you."
Chiron nodded. "Very well. Do you mind sharing it with us?"
"Of course," Rachel said. She lifted a piece of paper in front of her, and read:
'The die has been cast,
first move met it's mark,
should the hero not answer,
there'll be naught but dark.
To be shown the path,
before dawn of each day,
This answer they seek;
It's in the games they must play.
In the aid of the plight
of the flickering light,
for one it is vital,
a rhyme, a fatal title.'
Rachel's voice faded into terse silence.
There was moment in which everyone stared at each other in misery.
Percy crossed his arms. "Right. I haven't the foggiest what that means, but I'm telling you all right now; I'm out. I am so done with prophecies and quests and the whole shebang."
Annabeth waved her hand. "Me too," she said, uncharacteristically reticent. "However, I place my bet that Hera's behind it somehow."
Rachel lowered her piece of paper, brow furrowed. "I wish I could remember what I said, when I said it, and how I said it," she muttered. "At least Frank and Reyna were with me when it happened. Otherwise I could have missed it entirely."
"So, do we have any idea what it means?" Lou Ellen asked, anxiously twirling a strand of her short, strawberry blonde hair between her fingers.
"I think I might have an idea," Will muttered glumly. He felt Nico shift beside him.
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
"You do?" asked Cecil.
"Yeah… well, maybe. I think there's something going on with the Apollo cabin…"
Chiron leaned forward, studying him carefully. "The Apollo cabin? Please explain, Will."
Will shifted uncomfortably under everyone's gazes, and began to tell them about their inability to sleep, their sickness, and the newfound eeriness of the Apollo cabin. Chiron watched him closely throughout, particularly when he informed him about Marisol's dream.
Chiron looked grave by the end of it. "You were right to bring this up Will. It's normal for demigods- even those not related to Apollo- to have important dreams, but not in this magnitude. I fear it may be related to this prophecy somehow."
"It has to be," said Jason. "All that stuff about light, day... the prophecy must have something to do with Apollo," said Jason. He straightened professionally in his chair when everyone turned to him, hopeful for clarity. "What else did Marisol say?"
Will shrugged hopelessly, "Just that someone was asking for me. She didn't know who." He gulped and stared down at the table, acutely aware of Nico's eyes on his face.
"Hang on," said Lou Ellen. "Just because Marisol had a bad dream and then a prophecy popped up, doesn't necessarily mean they're related." She looked apologetically at Will. "No offense to your sister or anything. It was just the one dream right?"
"Actually I just had one, too," Will said quietly.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nico look at him sharply. "You did?"
Will nodded mutely.
"When was this Will?" Chiron asked, frowning at him.
"Only an hour or so ago, right before I came here. I fell asleep in the infirmary. I was on my way here to tell you when Jason found us and said a meeting had already been called."
"How long have these dreams been going on Will?" Chiron asked.
"About a week or so," Will muttered sheepishly. "I figured it was because Apollo… well, I guess no one knows what happened to him, but I doubt it's good. Our abilities have been all over the place, acting up. I didn't realize any of this would happen, or I would have come here immediately..."
"You couldn't have known Will," Chiron told him gently. "But it is true. Yours and Marisol's dreams are more than likely related, just as this prophecy and Apollo are somehow related."
"How could it be anything but a normal dream though?" Will asked miserably. "Granted, it was pretty disturbing, but I didn't think the power of prophecy was working at all anymore. The Oracle of Delphi hasn't been active since my dad-"
"This prophecy doesn't come from Apollo," Rachel interrupted him. Will looked at her in confusion.
"What do you mean, Rachel?" Chiron asked. "Who else could it come from?"
Rachel shook her head sadly. "I wish I knew Chiron. I just know it's not from him, it didn't feel right. There was something weird about it, like it was twisted or warped in some way. It's difficult to describe, but believe me about this. I know what Apollo's prophecies are like; this isn't one of them."
Chiron accepted her answer and turned back to Will. "Will, what exactly happened in your dream?"
Will squirmed. He had no desire to divulge to everyone the bizarre recesses of his mind, and he certainly didn't want Nico to know about his dream. He looked over at the son of Hades, but Nico was also watching Will expectantly, eyes bright and curious. Looking around he saw that everyone was watching him expectantly.
"Okay. Yeah sure," Will mumbled, tapping his finger on the wooden table. "Let's see, I was in a room. I thought it kind of looked like a hotel room..." He bit his lip and continued awkwardly. "It sounded like there were crowds cheering, like in a stadium or something. There was a mountain in the distance, outside the window. Someone said they were waiting for me, that they've been asking for me. He asked if I could hear the voices..."
Chiron frowned at him. "'Someone' said this? You don't know who?"
Will swallowed hard. Making a snap decision he said, "No, it was just a voice. It wasn't, like, a corporeal apparition of, say, someone I know or anything..." He faltered, expending all of his strength in the effort it took to not look at Nico. "He said the time is up, or something."
Chiron looked like he was going to ask him something else about his mysterious voice, and Will plunged on hurriedly.
"…and I don't understand what he was talking about either, or what voices he was talking about. None of it makes any sense to me." Will looked at Chiron. "Do you really think these dreams and the prophecy are related?"
"I'm afraid that is definitely how it appears," Chiron said.
"Of course they're related," said Jason, sitting forward. "The first line 'the die has been cast', and the line 'to be shown the path before dawn of each day.' I mean, before dawn any child of Apollo would be asleep, dreaming. Someone is trying to communicate to Will in his dreams, asking him to do something."
"All I've got to say," said Clarisse, "Is that if this is turning into a quest, I'd like to go."
"I don't think that's an option," said Annabeth.
"Why not?" Clarisse exclaimed furiously. "Someone who knows what they're doing should go. Someone who can fight, and has experience." She raised an eyebrow at Will. "No offense Solace."
"None taken," Will said hollowly.
"Clarisse," Chiron said gently, "I know it's unusual, but it seems the message is pretty clear. Will must be the one to go and he may choose whoever he wishes to accompany him."
Will hated the turn the meeting was taking. When he'd wanted to tell Chiron about Marisol, he had certainly not expected a prophecy or a quest to unfold, and most certainly had not expected to be pushed into leading one.
Clarisse huffed angrily and glared at Seymour's head on the wall.
Nico shifted next to him. "But we don't know where we're supposed to be going," he said, looking surprisingly agitated. "You can't just send Will off without a destination or a plan!"
"And we won't," Chiron assured him. "If he is going to be 'shown the way' as the prophecy states, than the best option would be to sleep on it and see where it takes us tomorrow."
Will hated that plan too. If Chiron thought another dream was in store for him tonight, Will was already scared to see it. He did not want a repeat of what had happened an hour ago.
There was a long silence while everyone considered the possibilities. Eventually Chiron broke it, standing up from his wheelchair.
"For now everyone should keep up with your responsibilities and activities. I think it would be best if you did not tell your cabins until we have a better understanding of the situation. We don't need to spread panic at the prospect of another prophecy, especially after what happened with the last one. The last thing we need is another war."
Everyone murmured their agreement and the meeting was adjourned. One by one they trickled out of the Big House. Will remained behind. Nico hesitated by the door looking concerned, but Will waved him onward and he left, casting one more look back as he wandered down the steps.
"Chiron, you don't really think this could lead to another war, do you?" Will asked the centaur.
Chiron pondered Will.
"I certainly hope not Will. But if recent events are anything to go by, I fear you may find yourself in the middle of it."
It was the last thing Will wanted to hear, but he was relieved Chiron didn't lying to him, or try to protect him. The latter happened far too often for Will's liking; everyone looked at him and saw a healer, not a fighter, someone who wouldn't be able to make a hard call if the situation called for it.
"Will, I know what I told the others about not spreading a panic, but I think it would be a good idea for you to inform your siblings of the current situation," Chiron told him.
"Yeah. Okay." Will murmured. He turned to leave, but Chiron wasn't finished.
"And Will?" Will looked back at him.
"It's one thing to fight a battle with swords and weapons; most demigods can do so. A battle of minds, however, is a different story."
To Be Continued...
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