Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness - Martin Luther King. Jr.

Salt rushed into Nicos mouth. Darkness clouded him. He had felt this feeling before, the feeling of thinness and weightlessness. He couldn't remember when, he just knew the feeling was familiar.
Shadows. That's it. Shadows. Just one slip up and he'd be there's, property of the shadows. Just one more step, Nico jumped and the shadows caught him. They accepted him as one of their own. He felt free. The shadows draped themselves around him, they licked him clean of his impurities.

Nicos eyes shot open. He felt pain in his chest and around his neck. It hurt to breathe. Each breath was like he was being stabbed in the lungs.
He was back in the limo leaning against Reyna . He saw Percy sitting and talking with Annabeth across from him. He opened his mouth to scream. a small raspy gasp of horror came out of his mouth. His throat felt like it had been scratched by sandpaper. Percy looked at him and Nico looked at him back.

"You died!" He said, it hurt to talk. He gasped for breath, soon he was hyperventilating.

"Nico, calm down." Reyna said, pulling him back so he was sitting

He felt his left hand inching. The skin was red and looked melted. He remembered touching the snake, it had burnt his hand. Reyna put some of the gel on his hand and wrist to help stop the itching.
His memory was fuzzy, he remembered the snake, death and blood. All of the images blurred together, he felt sick.
"I'm really confused." He said, "Percy was dead."
"You saved Percy." Jason said, he was next to Nico, "it was really something."
"But he died...how could I have saved him? I can't reverse the effects of death." His head felt like it had been hit with a thousand baseball bats, "he was dead. Death is final." Nico coughed, it was only a small cough.

"You got seawater." Jason said.

Nico felt like Jason was speaking another language. He looked at him and fought the urge to cry.

"What! Jason that explains nothing! Do you understand what death means? You can't bring someone back from the dead."

Hazel coughed to get Nico's attention, Nico rolled his eyes, "That was different...at least I think. You didn't make me go to the underworld to get him did you?"

"No. You went to the sea and got water to put on Percy...and now he's alive." Jason said.

"Jason, you are literally the worst person to tell a story! Can someone else please tell me what the heck happened before I explode." He gasped, "Where is Will?"

The door of the limo opened. Piper looked all fresh and clean while Will looked like he'd been dragged through a hedge backwards. His hair was messy and his clothes were damp. He had dark circles under his eyes. Piper was in a wheelchair, she could walk just fine but Will had insisted. Will helped Piper into the limo. He went to walk back out to take the wheelchair back to the hospital but he stopped dead in his tracks.
"Who's been hurt?" He asked.
"Percy-"
"No, no that's not it. I can feel- oh gods!" He looked at each of them, "Nico, who hurt you?"
"What...no one."
Will went over to him he scanned him with his eyes and tut.
"Lying won't help Nico."
"I'm not...I don't remember, it's all fuzzy."
"Fuzzy?" Will touched him and gasped, "Nico, you almost died."

Nico chuckled, "What's new?"

"Nico i'm serious!" Will looked at Annabeth, "remind me not to arm wrestle with you." He said darkly.
Will turned back to Nico. He made his hands glow and placed them over Nicos bruised neck.
"I want to know exactly what happened." Will demanded, his hands glowed brighter.
"Will, why are you angry?" Nico asked softly.
"Why am I- I'm not angry, Nico. I'm livid!"
His hands glowed even brighter, they were as bright as the summer sun.
"I go away for three days and I come back to a hand that's been burnt by acid, an asphyxiation attempt and a shadow coma...all on you."
"I'm sorry." Nico said.
Will looked at him sadly, "no, no, sweetheart it's not your fault."
Will removed his hands and stopped them glowing. The bruising on Nico's neck had gone. The burn on his hand had healed with only a thin white line. It had a slight plasticity look, like it was covered in cling-film. Nico felt whole, Will had taken his emptiness away. Will kissed Nicos lips gently.
"I love you."
Will went to take the wheelchair back.
Nico looked at the floor then to the others.
"I remember..." He said quietly, "Annabeth you...why would you do that to me?" Nico thought about that for a while, "I felt you die Percy. Hazel did you feel it?" He asked.
"I only feel it sometimes. The dead are more of your thing."
Nico held his head, "is there some prophecy of seven magic that prevents you from dying?" He groaned, "this is really messing with me."
Black spots dotted his vision. His head hurt, it was like it was being crushed by a vice. If there was a reply to any of his questions he didn't hear them. His ears buzzed loudly.
Warmth brought Nico out of his almost comatose state. Wills hand was only brushing against his leg, but it was enough for Nico to anchor himself. He heard yelling, he shrugged it off thinking it was the radio or something else. But then he snapped, it was Will.
"You can't just do that, Annabeth! What the actual fuck is wrong with you?"
Nico shot up and put his arms around Will.
"Calm down." He said softly.
"Calm down? Do you know what she did to you?"
"Yes...and it's okay. I forgive her."
"What!" Will pulled Nico off him and looked him in the eyes, "how can you? It's not okay."
"Grief makes you-"
Nico fell onto Will having lost the strength to stand. He coughed loudly, he tasted copper in his mouth. Blood dripped down Wills shoulder. When Nico noticed that the blood was on Will he tried to wipe it but he was too tired to lift his arm.
"I'm sorry Will." He murmured.
Will lifted Nico off of him so he could look at him. The blood drained from his face.
"I should have healed that. Why didn't it heal?"
"Maybe you can't heal this one." Nico replied.
"Are you trying to insult me?"
"No, I'm being serious." He coughed again, blood dripped from his mouth onto the floor, "what if-"
Nicos eyes fluttered, then they closed fully. Will sat him down on the seat and he made his hands glow again. Nico opened his eyes again. He grimaced and put a hand over his stomach.
"No! Nico don't give me that look! You are not going to-"
"It's okay." Nico said softly, "will, don't bother."
"I'm taking you inside the hospital."
"No! Please don't, it'll make it worse."
Will unbuttoned Nicos shirt and thrust his hands onto Nicos chest. He thought about how angry Annabeth had made him, he then took that anger and directed it to healing Nico. Nico pulled wills hands away.
"Just stop." Nico said.
"You want to die?" Will asked, anger and hurt seeped into his words, tears burnt his eyes.
"I don't, but if you heal me what about you? You will get sick."
"I don't care, let me heal you!"
"What will happen?" Piper asked, "if you heal him?"
"It takes too much energy." Nico muttered, another cough made blood rise up from his lungs. His lungs were screaming for air, desperate for it, blood was slowly filling them up. His breaths were getting less frequent. He wiped away the blood and spoke again, "Will, he will get tired. That's dangerous."
Nico noticed that Will had put his hands back on his chest. Nico was too tired to protest. His eyes closed, sleep sounded promising.
Will had tried so hard to keep himself together, but he couldn't hold it anymore.
"Nico, stay with me!" He sobbed, "I won't let you die."
"Will just let me go. It's going to come." He gave a weak smile, "Ti aspetto per voi. Ti amo sempre."
"Don't talk like that! Nico you won't die!"
Wills hands glowed even brighter. Nico coughed up more blood. It was spewing out of him like a fountain. Tears rolled down Wills cheeks.
"Hazel! Do something!"
"What can I do?"
"Now isn't the time to doubt yourself! Make some shadows or do bring up a ghost...keep death away. I don't know, just help me save him!" He tried not to, but he choked on his words.
"That thing that he was drinking the other day...that milkshake he got from the underworld, could that help?" Reyna offered.
"Hazel, go get that!" Will ordered.
"I can't-"
"I don't care! Hazel do it!"
"Will, I can't shadow travel."
"What?" Hope was stripped from his voice.
"Will..." Nico whispered softly, "It's close." He gave a small laugh, "Death is here."
"He's right." Hazel said sadly.
"You can't except this!" Will shouted, his hands glowed even brighter, "Nico you are not going to die! Don't die! You can't die!" Will put his lips onto Nico's, in that moment he didn't care about the blood. "There's so much I have to tell you, I haven't said enough."
"It's been fun." Nico said weakly, "ti amo."
"No!" Will screamed, "I will save you!"
There was a flash of light. It burned bright and hot. It healed every wound. Even with the cold presence of Death the light wasn't snuffed out.