A/N Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long, but I went on holiday. And, dun dun dun, there was no wifi! It's good to be back though, and I hope you enjoy the future chapters! Onwards!

Chapter 10: Unlocked

Percy's P.O.V

He couldn't tell Jason. That just put his secret in more jeopardy. It was bad enough that he knew, yet he had to tell him. If he didn't, and somehow Jason could help Annabeth, Nico and Will, Percy could never forgive himself for being given the opportunity to protect them, and not giving it to them. But that created more risk of Tartarus finding out. "Ugh," Percy thought. "What should I do?" He was sitting in the training area, with Jason by his side, and it was during his "alone time". It was basically a length of time that Tartarus gave them to be alone with their thoughts, and possibly talk to each other, as not even the greatest heroes could train non-stop everyday. But their conversations were always monitored anyway, so they never did talk. It wouldn't be safe to tell him then. But soon, Percy decided. Soon.

Jason's P.O.V

Jason tried to look over at Percy, but as usual his attempt was futile – he still couldn't move. His discovery had terrified him. He had to tell Percy, to protect him. "What happens if by any chance he has a way of preventing my attack?" Jason thought. "He could protect the others and get them out of Tartarus." He had always been willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good, but sometimes you have to sacrifice others for the greater good, and Jason couldn't do that. To ask others to lay down their lives for people they may not even know, let alone respect? That was unthinkable. Yet if it comes to it, he may have to try to kill Annabeth, Will and Nico, especially Nico. If they were dead, they couldn't help Tartarus's army, like Percy and he were being forced to do. And Nico's blood couldn't be used to awaken Tartarus fully. Percy would kill him, but then loyalty to his friends has always been a problem. He would ignore Jason's logic. But as Jason had said before, he's always been willing to lay down his life for the greater good.

Nico's P.O.V

He turned his hand over again in the dim red glow of Tartarus. After entering, the group of demigods had been exposed to the scorching heat and poisoned air, and were met with a view of the Cocytus. The door had shut behind them, but still left a distinct outline of black scorch lines. The door would be easy to find again, hopefully. The group had trekked further downstream until they got too exhausted to carry on. They pitched their tent by the bank of the Cocytus, which admittedly was probably not the best idea the group had had, but, hey, they were tired. They had all fallen asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows, but Nico had been the first to awake. He used his alone time to his advantage and decided to go and train outside while he waited for the other two to get up.

Once again, as he moved his hand, it shimmered into a skeleton's. Nico didn't like it; it made him think too much of his probable death. But still, he was able to pass his other hand through the spaces between his bones, which was a bit freaky. He flipped his arm back over again and concentrated on turning it back to its usual fleshy self. His arm obliged, and shimmered back. Experimenting, Nico decided to try the trick out with other parts of his body; his feet, legs, fingers, toes. After finding out all his limbs acted the same way, he decided to try something he wasn't entirely comfortable with, but he did it anyway. The son of Hades shook his messy mop of black hair, and pictured his head as something… morbid. He walked over to the edge of the river and willed the spirits out of a section of the water, leaving it clear and reflective. Nico leant over the water and saw that his theory has been right. His head was one of a skeleton's.

It disgusted Nico, but he somehow knew that it could protect him. The boy could still see, feel, hear, but it was a little disconcerting when he passed his hand through the eye sockets of the-his skull and he could still see perfectly fine. Nico shook his head again, and was greeted with his usual goth-like self. Perhaps this new skill would help him defend himself; after all, you can't knock out a skeleton…

Will's P.O.V

He was just waking up when he heard yells coming from outside the tent.

"Will! Annabeth! We've got company!" a familiar voice cried. Will quickly pulled on a random t-shirt, some jeans and a pair of running trainers and was joined by Annabeth as they both leaped out the tent. The sight before them was one of chaos. Nico was running around, clutching his bleeding sword arm. Flying beasts were following him as he ran out of their way.

"Arai," Will heard Annabeth whisper, terrified. She was stock-still, refusing to move.

"I killed one and then my arm started randomly bleeding!" Nico shouted. "What in Hades are these?!"

"Arai!" Annabeth cried back. "They're living embodiments of any curses placed upon you by others! Kill one, and it will choose a curse and bestow it on you!"

"Run into them before?" Will asked hurriedly as his boyfriend focused on avoiding the monsters.

Annabeth nodded slowly. "Last time Percy nearly died and we needed the help of a titan to survive."

Will thought about that briefly before rushing over to Nico. "I say we all kill one, and then recover from the curse before killing another wave!" he decided.

Annabeth sighed before leaping into the battle, slashing through one of the arai. Suddenly, she cried out in pain, and clutched her shoulder. When Nico asked what it was, she responded with "the weight of the sky; must be from Atlas." She started struggling to lift her arms, and was crouching slightly as the weight bore into her body.

"Keep running guys! It's my turn now!" Will said optimistically, but that was his job, wasn't it? To be the sunshine. He steeled himself as some of the arai turned to attack him, and swung his sword through one of them, bracing himself for pain. But what he wasn't expecting was the surge of power that raced through him. He felt refreshed, energised and stronger.

"What did you get, Sunshine?" Nico asked in dread as he dove out of the way of a swooping arai.

"Strength," Will muttered, then realised his boyfriend couldn't hear him. "Strength!" he repeated louder. At that, the other two demigods looked up in confusion.

"Strength?" Annabeth asked, confused.

"I think – I think that it's from one of the patients I've lost. The arai can carry wishes upon someone as well, I guess?" Will figured out.

"I've never thought about that before, but I don't see why not," Annabeth responded, narrowly dodging another monster. "Do you think that that means you could kill them for us?" she asked hopefully.

"I'll give it a shot!" Will yelled back, spinning away from one of the arai.

"No!" Nico yelled. "What if one of them carries a curse? I can't let you get hurt!"

"I don't see any other way to defeat them, Death Breath!" Will yelled back. And, with a deep breath, he let out a battle cry he didn't know he possessed and lunged towards the crowding arai, sword drawn. Swiping through beast after beast, Will had never felt more alive. Other than in the Giant War, he had never really attacked enemies properly. He was happy to finally let his ADHD battle instincts reign through his body. The final wishes of all his patients that he had lost probably helped as well. Soon, it was only three left, and they were being contained by the three demigods.

Will was certain he heard a distinct cackle before they all swooped towards him. He laughed, perhaps too soon, before sweeping his celestial bronze sword through all three of them at once. Then he realised his mistake, as he suddenly collapsed in pain, screaming.

"Will!" the other two screamed at the same time, racing towards him and sheathing their swords. "But-but I thought you'd never fought before," Nico said as the pair tried to stop the two visible injuries that had appeared on his arm and leg from bleeding. Luckily, the wounds weren't too deep, and Will had more than enough skill to heal them himself. It was the third pain that was the worst.

With a shaking voice, Will explained. "Two monsters in the Giant War… when-when the Romans attacked…"

"And what about the third arai?" Annabeth wondered aloud. "Was that another wish?" she asked hopefully, but Nico knew what was happening.

"Octavian," he whispered. Will nodded slowly.

"The-the pain he experienced… when… when he died-" Will choked off in a coughing fit.

Nico gasped, suddenly extremely more concerned for the son of Apollo. "Your body must feel as though it's on fire!"

Will started to feel himself lose consciousness, so he decided on what to tell them. "Simple dressings for the skin wounds," he recited academically. "Bind them in bandage and change them every two hours. Let me deal with the other pain."

"Will, please don't die. I can't let you die," Nico whispered, tears starting to appear in his eyes.

"I won't, Death Breath." And with that, the son of Apollo lost consciousness.