Ferris crossed the distance between himself and his brother in a few strides.

"'Get away from them'?" he said in a shrill, mocking tone. "That's hilarious. Look at yourself! You broke a Stygian Oath and you think you can still fight?"

Halt's gaze did not waver.

Ferris closed the remaining gap between them with a snarl, kneeing Halt hard in the gut. The Ranger gave a pained gasp and would have fallen, but Ferris lifted him up by his cloak with terrifying, superhuman strength.

"Look at yourself," he repeated, strangely quiet. "You're completely helpless. You don't even have the strength to shadow-travel out of here, do you?"

Will moved towards them, wresting with his cuffs. A Tem'uj grabbed him and jerked him back before he could make it more than a step.

"I have strength that you will never have," Halt said.

"Yet you are completely at my mercy." Ferris paused, loosening his hold on Halt and turning to examine the other four demigods in the room. His eyes lingered on Will. "Which reminds me, brother, that you never did answer my question."

"I have not answered many of your questions," Halt said evenly. That earned him another knee to the gut. Despite wheezing for breath, his expression remained calm.

Ferris looked at him for a moment, something unnerving in his eyes. "Oh how you evade, Halt. It was your specialty when we were young, remember? You always skirted around what you especially hated to answer. So I'll ask one more time, and this time you have no more tricks to play. Why did you come here today? Or more specifically, why did you not come sooner?"

Will clenched his jaw. He could sense Alyss's worried gaze. It made him want to rip his bonds off, run to Ferris, tear him to pieces. For a moment he found himself reveling in the idea: watching the light leave Ferris' eyes, watching the blood smear on the floor. Then he stopped himself, disgusted.

Ferris laughed, grabbing Halt's face with one hand. "Why the reluctance? Is it that you don't want to talk to your long-lost brother? Or do you just not want to admit that you've never forgiven Will for what he's done, and never will?"

Alyss inhaled sharply beside Will.

Halt's face did not visibly change, yet somehow it seemed harsher. "Be silent."

There was a nauseous feeling in Will's gut. A pulsing, tingling sensation traveled up and down his arms. His heart pounded unevenly and the adrenaline in his veins surged.

Ferris smiled. His eyes were the eyes of every foster family who had mistreated Will: malicious, self-satisfied, yet somehow utterly uncaring. "Well? Have you? Have you forgiven him?"

He asked with the smug tone of a man who already knew the answer.

Will gazed at Halt. Halt, who for Will had broken a Stygian Oath, given himself over to a fate worse than death. Halt, who had come when Will had called. Halt, who had fought past the point of exhaustion to save Alyss and Will's lives.

Halt, who lifted his head to meet Will's eyes and hesitated. Who opened his mouth, flinched, closed it, and looked away.

There was a long silence. Will's stomach hollowed out with it.

Ferris began to laugh. He stepped over to Will and grabbed him, shaking him like a dog would a toy. Will did not resist, suddenly too drained to fight.

"Would you look at that, Will?" he asked conspiratorially. "How long's it been, again? A year, almost a year and a half? And he still can't even look at you. He still can't even bear the sight of you, traitor."

I'm not a traitor, Will thought, but didn't dare voice it. Ferris chuckled as though he could read Will's mind.

"Oh, you are. You betrayed him every single week for months. You told me everything I needed to know, every weakness, every strength."

"You forced-" Will started, the age-old argument falling from his lips like refuse.

"You still cling to that excuse? I didn't force you to do anything. You had a choice. And you chose to betray the Rangers every single time."

"I didn't want to be a murderer!" Will yelled. His voice cracked. An uncontrolled burst of energy fizzled in the air around him.

"Yet you are anyway. Tell me, Will: how many Rangers died in that battle? Do you even know? Or do you deny that their deaths were your fault just like you deny everything else?"

"It wasn't-"

"Will. Don't lie."

He flinched. "Three. Three Rangers died that day."

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Ferris turned back to Halt. "How hard it must be, living with a traitor and a murderer."

Halt looked at him. "Was that not my entire childhood with you?"

Ferris bridled in rage. "You still think you can mock me even when I hold your life in my hands? If I'm already a murderer, then one more death means little to me."

"Then kill me," Halt said. "You know as well as I what the price of breaking my oath was. If I cared for my life, I would never have done so."

Will let out a breath and made to speak, but Halt's eyes flicked to him and he shook his head.

"You still dodge the question," Ferris said. "Why break it now? Did someone force you to? The boy does have unprecedented powers; many beings want him for their own gain. That's why, isn't it?"

There was an aching need to ask if Ferris was right, an incessant urge akin to pressing on a bruise. Will struggled against his bonds again and nearly got his eyes clawed out by his Tem'uj guard.

"Stop lying to yourself." Ferris' voice had become soft, sympathetic. "You don't care about him. How could you? You've been unfailingly loyal your whole life. Can you even comprehend what it would take to betray someone? I don't think you can. And knowing that it was your apprentice who did it, a person who by all rights should have been like a son to you..."

Will closed his eyes, wishing he could close his ears as well. The worst part of all this was that Ferris didn't want wealth. He didn't want power. He didn't even really want to kill them. No, he simply wanted them to suffer.

"That must've been so hard, waking up every day knowing you would have to face the child who betrayed you and murdered your fellows. How did you do it? How could you?"

Halt's jaw tightened. His eyes had gone sharp and cold. "Don't pretend to know what I feel."

"Have I been wrong? Have I said anything you can't agree with?" Ferris challenged.

Will's stomach dropped as silence fell once more. He couldn't stop himself from letting out a tiny, pathetic, "Halt."

Halt looked at him. His brow softened. "Will, it's alright. I have already-"

He cut himself off. Rather, something cut him off - for he winced mid-sentence and his expression convulsed as though he were in great pain.

"Well, Halt?" Ferris asked after a moment's silence. "How many times has this traitor tried to make up with you, as though he could ever make up for what he's done? How many times has he asked for forgiveness? How many times has he tried to die for you?"

Ferris stepped closer. He spoke his next words with utmost precision. "Tell me, if he jumped into Tartarus, would even that be enough for you?"

Halt looked over at Will. His tight expression relaxed - as close to a smile as Will had ever seen. He turned back to Ferris. "No."

Will's body went cold. He stared at Halt first in confusion, then in disbelief, then in dawning horror. The tingling feeling in his arms went haywire, burning and freezing all at once. A second later he realized he couldn't feel his legs.

A shrill sound met his ears. At first he thought it was just his own head; then he realized it was Ferris. Laughing. He sounded insane.

"There you have it, Will!" Ferris said once he'd finished laughing. "He has not, and will never, forgive you!"

The confirmation of what he'd dreaded for years washed over Will like a tidal wave. The numbness in his legs began to spread.

Halt said something furious but it came out as white noise. Alyss said something as well; even Cassandra and Horace were talking. None of it registered. The only thing he could feel, the only real thing left to him, was the cold, black knowledge that he would never be forgiven. He would never be good enough. Halt had been his one chance, his one opportunity to redeem himself. His one opportunity to find a home. And he had blown it. There were no second chances.

Will started to shake. His heart thudded violently. His lungs contracted and wouldn't release. He choked for a breath, for another, another. There wasn't enough air. Why wasn't there enough air?

Something shifted around him, like he had been restrained and was now being let go. When he opened his eyes dazedly - when had he closed them? - he couldn't see the Tem'uj who had been holding him. He looked farther and saw a disintegrating pile of dust.

He heard voices again, staticky like an out-of-tune radio. Halt's voice was there, sounding calm but urgent. Ferris's voice was there; his was angry. Alyss's was scared and urgent, like Halt's.

He couldn't breathe. He forced his eyes to Halt and opened his mouth, about to tell him that. He stopped. "He has not, and will never, forgive you."

Will did not deserve to ask Halt for help.

He looked at Alyss instead. He hadn't wronged her yet, not like Halt. He didn't deserve her help, either, but maybe she would be merciful.

"I can't-" He choked and stuttered before he could finish. A wave of terror washed over him. He felt petrified.

"...can't...do?"

Alyss's voice was closer now, but he could barely hear her over the pounding of his heart. The numbness in his legs had spread through his entire body. He didn't think he was in control of himself anymore.

Ferris appeared in front of him, sword drawn. Will flinched backwards. Something erupted inside of him and Ferris went flying. The voices around him crescendoed in volume.

Temujai swarmed towards him, flies to a carcass. He hesitated for an instant, eyes wide, and glanced at Halt. If not even his death were good enough for Halt...

The first Temujai reached him and Will's instincts decided his actions for him. A wild surge of energy throbbed inside Will and he watched, an outsider to his own body, as the monster shriveled, faded, dusted. Something inside of Will reveled.

He still couldn't breathe. He wondered if he were next to die. It certainly felt like it. It felt like - like he was having a heart attack, the way his heart had seized up, the way his arms and legs had gone numb.

"Will," came a voice. Halt. "Will, son, you need to calm down. You need to breathe."

Didn't Halt understand? He was trying to. He simply couldn' met Halt's eyes and wheezed out, "I can't."

Before Halt could respond, Ferris was there again. This time he was ready when a burst of light flew towards him. He deflected it with a heap of iron he'd formed into a shield.

"You really are a troublemaker, aren't you?" he asked. He waved off another one of Will's attacks with equal condescension. Will must've caught him by surprise before. "If I'd known the truth would have inspired such strong feelings, I would have told you much, much earlier."

"Halt," Will said, his voice a plea. "Halt, I c-can't bre- I can't-"

Ferris attacked, sending a wave of iron spikes towards him. Once again Will's powers reacted instinctively, giving a violent flash of light that sent Will staggering backwards. He clutched at his head. The lack of oxygen was starting to make him dizzy, and using his godly powers like this was exacerbating it.

"Yes, you can, Will. You can. I know you can." Halt tried to step forward. His Tem'uj guard remained unmoving. Halt struggled, but he was far too weak to break free.

Which- that was odd. Cassandra, Horace, and Alyss were huddled together several yards away, guard-less. Where had their Temujai gone? Will glanced around and saw nothing but heaps of dust. He paused.

Had he...?

How was he still standing? Killing that many monsters should've sent him unconscious, like at Camp Half-Blood. Yet he was very much conscious. Just possibly having a heart attack.

Ferris had advanced on Will during his distraction, hefting his Stygian sword high. Will dodged the first blow but stumbled. The numbness in his body was getting worse, as was the dizziness. He needed air.

"Will, focus! You need to breathe! You're going to suffocate if you don't stop panicking and breathe!"

Ferris lunged again and was intercepted by a Tem'uj claw.

Horace had stepped in front of Will. With a strength possessed only by children of Ares, he forced Ferris back. "Get away from him. He's suffered enough."

While Horace engaged with Ferris, a hand pulled at Will's elbow, tugging him sideways. Alyss, peering at him worriedly. "Will, please, you need to breathe. I think you're having a panic attack."

Why did none of them get it? "I can't!"

Alyss jerked back as though she'd been burned. She looked down at her hands, examining them with a wince. Will stared at her, wide-eyed, realizing what had happened. "I-I'm sor- I'm sorry!"

She started to say something, but he'd stopped listening. All of a sudden the piles of dust surrounding him went neon.

The bodies on the ground. "Three. Three Rangers died that day."

The blood dripping from Alyss's arm. "I couldn't take the shame if I let something like this kill me."

The exhaustion in Halt's eyes. "Styx and I...came to an agreement."

Everywhere he went, he left behind nothing but suffering. People suffered and people died because of him. He was a catastrophe waiting to happen.

Will took one step back. He looked down at his hands. They were spotless, not a speck of dust or drop of blood on them. Yet they were still the hands of a murderer.

He took another step, and then he started to run.

He didn't know where he was going until he'd stopped and the abyss of Tartarus was staring back at him. Somehow his instincts had brought him there, to the one place no demigod ever wanted to go. Will stepped back.

He didn't get far. Everyone else had followed him, even Halt. His Temujai guard was gone. Will wondered who had killed it.

Ferris, of course, reached Will first. He struck hard with his sword, a swing Will deflected with a flash of light. Will ducked under a swathe of steel and blasted away a spear headed straight for him. For a second he thought he'd finally gotten his powers back under control.

Then he made the mistake of meeting Halt's eyes.

"He has not, and will never, forgive you!"

The dizziness and numbness in Will suddenly compounded. The floor began to spin and shake underneath him. He looked dazedly down at his hands. They were glowing. His entire body was glowing. It was as if he'd been filled with radioactive isotopes and was spewing them out.

He couldn't breathe.

"Will! Will, you need to calm down!" Alyss. She was running towards him. Horace and Cassandra were holding back Ferris. Will didn't want to know where Halt was. "Whatever you're doing to the ground, you need to stop."

The ground? He couldn't make earthquakes. That was Hades' and Poseidon's domains.

He looked up at her to tell her that, and paused. For the first time, she looked scared. Not anxious, not concerned, not grim. Scared. It took him a second to realize why. She was scared of him.

He looked down. His expression dropped. He hadn't started an earthquake. He couldn't have - it wasn't his power. But somehow the ground around him had begun to disintegrate.

"Will, you have to stop! Please!"

He tried to swallow and couldn't. His mouth was dry as dust. He tried to stop shaking and couldn't. Tried to stop the ground's destruction and couldn't either. "I-I can't, I'm trying!"

Alyss had stopped a few yards away from him - a safe distance. She was too afraid to get near him. "Just - just calm down, it's going to be okay. We can get out of this. We will get out of this, I promise."

Her voice lied but her eyes didn't. She was terrified.

Will glanced back at Horace and Cassandra. They were still fending Ferris off, but they were losing ground. Cassandra's magic worked best on the unsuspecting and unaware, and Horace was bereft a proper weapon.

The low whisper of Tartarus picked up. Calling him. He lifted one hand. It shook, shining weak light over the disintegrating ground. His veins stood out, starkly illuminated, sanguine. He raised his head and met the unforgiving gaze of the abyss.

And it called him once more.

No one wanted him. Halt didn't want a traitor apprentice. Gilan didn't want a traitor best friend. Alyss was afraid of him. Horace and Cassandra didn't know him. His own father didn't even want him.

The floor was still breaking into pieces. Will tried again to stop it and screamed as the power he was expelling backfired on him. He stumbled backwards several paces and fell, landing right on Tartarus's brink.

And it called to him.

If no one wanted him...and if no one would ever want him...perhaps it would just be better to fall.

"Will, get away from there!"

Footsteps. One pair.

It would be better that way. He wouldn't be endangering others with the powers he could not control. Nor would others be targeted simply because of their association with him. And most importantly...he could finally atone for his sins.

He stood on unsteady legs and stared down.

A hand caught him and jerked him back. Caught by surprise, Will fell into the arms of the person who'd grabbed him. Upon recognizing who it was, he froze.

"Will, what are you doing?" Halt asked softly. Will could find no reprimand in his tone, no disappointment or condemnation in his gaze, but he knew it must be there anyway.

"What I should've already done," he said. "You told me a l-long time ago that my powers were dan- dangerous. I can't control them. I can't- can't breathe and I don't know w-why. I feel like I should...I don't know what's going on."

"He has not, and will never, forgive you!"

"And why do you care, anyway?" he went on viciously. He stepped back, closer to the abyss. "You couldn't have been clearer! You don't want me!"

"That's not true." Halt stepped towards him. "Will, don't you ever believe that."

"Then why haven't you forgiven me?" Will screamed. The ground crumbled around him.

"I-" Halt's face went white. "I promise-"

A black sword appeared through Halt's middle. Ferris threw his brother casually to the side like a piece of stray garbage and stepped forward.

Everything happened at once. Will let out a scream, Alyss scrambled towards Ferris, Horace and Cassandra leaped over Halt and sprinted towards Will. Ferris shadow-traveled just far enough away to avoid Alyss's lunge, sending her colliding into Horace and Cassandra. The three of them tumbled towards Will.

Will, still staring at Halt's prone body in horror, did not see the three demigods falling towards him. The ground crumbled underneath Will right as their three bodies slammed into him.

As one, the four of them fell into Tartarus.

xXx

xXx

xXx

A/N: It's taken me 16 chapters, but we've finally gotten to the chapter which gave this fic its name! I've had this chapter from the beginning, and part of it written for several months now. This, along with one other chapter I've gotten a few parts written of, is probably my favorite chapter in this entire story. Ironic, considering this is probably y'all's least favorite, but call me a sadist ;)

Before you come at me with the all-caps comments, a few words of comfort. First off, this fic WILL have a happy ending. That I promise. And it WILL have a full reconciliation between Halt and Will. Their reconciliation is actually the chapter I've already started writing - definitely not fully fleshed out, but it exists. Lord willing, you will all see it. There is an explanation for Halt's behavior, and a good one. Promise! :)