Disclaimer: All rights to Rick Riordan. I own nothing, but the plot.
Themes of self-harm, anxiety, and depression are expressed within this story. TRIGGER WARNING! Please do NOT read if these themes upset you. TRIGGER WARNING!
Criticism is appreciated, but please no hate. Please review and leave me suggestions! Enjoy!
Nico's POV:
Nico and Minos were standing in a graveyard, under the night sky. Nico had removed his aviator jacket to don a black cloak. There was a grave in front of him, freshly dug by skeletons that Minos had taught Nico had to summon and control. His powers continued to develop; Nico was growing stronger and more dangerous every day. He could manipulate rocks and Minos had taught him to control his nightmares.
It had been months in the real world since Nico had first tried shadow-traveling. After a few more run-ins with brick walls, he eventually managed to jump. And then proceeded to pass out for a week. It was a difficult and draining way to travel, but it made getting around a lot easier, even with the unexpected trips to China.
Now, he was summoning a very particular spirit in order to discover how to bring his sister back. Minos had told him that the only way to bring her back was to exchange a soul of someone who had cheated death for hers. He had suggested Daedalus, the inventor behind the Labyrinth, but Nico wanted a second opinion before killing the old man.
He grabbed the Wal-Mart bag that he had and pulled out a twelve-pack of Coke. He started pouring the soda into the grave. Shortly after, he overturned a Happy Meal from McDonald's into the depression. He closed his eyes focusing and began chanting in Ancient Greek. Words about the dead rising again and returning to the grave. Minos had drilled into him what to say, saying that even a mispronounced word could lead to unsettled spirits. It had already happened before and Nico was not anxious to see it again.
The grave started to bubble. Frothy brown liquid rose to the top like the whole thing was filling with soda. The fog thickened. The frogs stopped croaking. Dozens of figures began to appear among the gravestones: bluish, vaguely human shapes.
"There are too many," the ghost said nervously. "You don't know your own powers."
"I've got it under control," Nico said, but he wasn't sure if he could handle this many spirits. He pulled out his Stygian Iron sword. The crowd of shades retreated at the sight of it. He looked at the figures. "One at a time."
A single figure floated forward and knelt at the pool. It was a teenage guy in Greek armor, with curly hair and green eyes. He slurped the soda and grabbed a handful of French fries.
"Who are you?" Nico said. "Speak."
The young man frowned as if trying to remember. Then he spoke in a voice like dry, crumpling paper: "I am Theseus."
"How can I retrieve my sister?" Nico asked. "Will this quest into the Labyrinth help me win her back?"
Theseus turned his eyes back on Nico. "The Labyrinth is treacherous. There is only one thing that saw me through: the love of a mortal girl. The string was only part of the answer. It was the princess who guided me."
"We don't need any of that," Minos said. "I will guide you, my lord. Ask him if it is true about an exchange of souls. He will tell you."
"A soul for a soul," Nico asked. "Is it true?"
"I—I must say yes. But the specter—"
"Just answer the questions, knave!" the ghost said.
Suddenly, around the edges of the pool, the other ghosts became restless. They stirred, whispering in nervous tones.
"I want to see my sister!" Nico demanded. "Where is she?"
"He is coming," Theseus said fearfully. "He has sensed your summons. He comes."
"Who?" Nico demanded.
"He comes to find the source of this power," Theseus said. "You must release us."
Before Nico could even move, the spirits disappeared in flashes of smoke. Minos also disappeared into the night. Nico stepped back as a dark cloud of purple and black smoke appeared in front of him over the grave. Nico could feel the raw power emitting from the smoke. He threw his arms over his face, protecting himself as the smoke began to glow.
Eventually, the heat he had been feeling from the smoke died down. The light was not blinding him anymore, so he slowly removed his arms from his face. Standing at the edge of the grave was a man, but this was no ordinary man. He was very tall and muscular with albino white skin. His black eyes were flaring with purple fire. He had shoulder-length black hair, with slicked back bangs. His robes were where Nico's focus landed. They were black and flowing, with the souls of the dead threaded into the cloth. Nico shuddered when he watched the trapped souls trying to escape the folds.
"And just what do you think you are doing?" The god thundered. Nico had never seen him before, but he knew exactly who this god was.
"Father," Nico said simply, trying not to let his overwhelming fear show.
"Did you think I wouldn't notice, boy?" Hades said scornfully. "Raising spirits? Summoning skeletons? Manipulating shadows? You are a danger to yourself and others."
"I didn't think you cared," Nico blurted out before he could stop himself. "Considering you haven't shown up my entire life! What have you done to protect me?"
Hades looked taken aback and Nico immediately regretted his words. He didn't want his father to destroy him the first time he met him. The purple fire increased in his eyes.
"Do not try to lecture me about things you do not understand, boy! I have protected you for your entire life. I hid you away in the Lotus Hotel and Casino to protect you and your sister," Nico remembered the casino. Minos had told him how he had gone in the 1940s and come out in the 2000s. "If anyone has failed, it is you! You let Bianca leave you and she was killed."
Nico stumbled back, tears threatening his eyes. "That wasn't my fault- that was Percy-"
"Yes, the imbecile Perseus Jackson. You blame him for your sister's death and resent him for the hero that he is. And yet, you desire to be him!"
"Shut UP!" Nico screamed, a wave of energy expelling from him.
His father was wrong; he didn't want to be Percy Jackson, he wanted to be with him. And the fact that he desired the person who led to his sister death made Nico fill with self-loathing. As he shook with anger, skeletons broke through the ground. Unlike the spirits and few living- demigods that he had encountered, Hades did not run away in fear. He simply looked surprised and pointed at the skeletons who sunk back into the ground.
"What-?" Nico started, but an evil laugh from his father interrupted him.
"You really think that you have more control over the skeletons than I, the Lord of the Dead?" Hades' eyes shone. He moved forward and started circling Nico. "I have been keeping an eye on you, watching your powers grow. I did not realize how far you have progressed; Minos has been training you well."
"Keeping an eye on me? How?"
His father smiled creepily. "Child, I am a god; I see everything. And I have been watching you and your progress. You have more skills than I thought you would have. I would have preferred your sister to fulfill the prophecy, but I suppose you will do fine. Especially if you continue to allow your powers to grow."
The words stung, but Nico was more confused than anything. "The prophecy? What prophecy?"
Hades looked irritated. "The Great Prophecy. It was issued by the wretched Oracle after World War II, after you were born. In order to halt the prophecy, my brothers made me agree to a pact that we would sire no more children. That's why I hid you in the hotel."
"But, what's the prophecy?" Nico asked, determined to know if his father wanted to make him the center of it.
Hades considered Nico for a second before waving his hand. A glowing orb appeared before them, showing a young woman with glowing green eyes. Green smoke poured from her mouth as she spoke.
"A half-blood of the eldest gods
Shall reach sixteen against all odds
And see the world in endless sleep
The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap
A single choice shall end his days
Olympus to preserve or raze"
The vision faded. Nico felt fear go through him.
"You want me to be part of that prophecy?" Nico asked. "But, I'm barely 11. Percy is-"
"Percy Jackson cannot be allowed to fulfill that prophecy!" Hades thundered. "He is disrespectful and reckless. I want you to be the half-blood they speak of. I want to train you myself, so you can complete the prophecy and allow me to rise to Olympus."
Nico stepped back. "You just want to use me?"
"I want more power than my dear brother Zeus has allotted me. And if my child preserves Olympus, then perhaps, I will not be considered an outsider in my own family anymore. And you will not be feared by the demigods at that camp."
Nico felt his face burn red. "You know about that? That I was an outcast?"
"I have been watching. You are my son; you give off an aura of death and fear. Of course, those who don't understand your power will fear you." Hades extended his hand. "But I understand your power. I understand what it feels like to be alone. Let me train you; come under my tutelage. Together, we can fulfill this prophecy to get the respect we deserve."
Nico shook his head. "I don't want that. I don't want to be the hero of this prophecy. I just want my sister back."
Hades considered Nico carefully. "I have many years until you turn sixteen. I can make you see the errors of your ways. As for Bianca..." he trailed off.
"Have you seen her?" Nico asked, wanting some scrap of information about his beloved Bianca. "Can you bring her back?"
Hades considered him. Nico looked into his eyes, trying to plead with his father. There was raw anguish and desperation in Nico's eyes. He was so young and had already been through so much. His father broke the gaze first, looking to his feet and sighing.
He brought his hands together. "I have spoken to your sister. She wanted… answers from me about her past."
"I want answers about my past!" Nico complained. "And I want to talk to Bianca."
"In due time," Hades said simply.
"You've talked to her; can't you bring her back to life?"
Hades looked uneasy. "It's not that simple. I cannot just bring someone back to life because I want to. That would be misusing my powers as the god of the dead."
"Then you won't help me?" Nico asked.
Hades didn't say anything. He just fiddled with his hands. "Bianca…she wanted you to have this." He held out his hand.
Nico reached out and his father dropped something into his hand. He opened his palm to look at it. It was a silver skull ring, that his father had just been wearing. He closed his hand around it. "I- she couldn't have given this to me herself?"
"You can go looking for your sister, but I do not know if you will find her." Hades ignored his question.
Nico felt anger go through him. "What was the point of showing up here? Just give me a gift from my dead sister and not even help me bring her back?"
The purple fire reignited in Hades' eyes. "You should be appreciative that I even showed up! Most demigods never meet their godly parents!"
"Then I wish I was most demigods!" Nico yelled at his father.
"Your sister would not be this disrespectful to me." Hades sneered.
"Well she isn't here, so we wouldn't know that for sure!" Nico felt tears burn at his eyes and he furiously wiped them away. "Go to hell!"
"I live there," Hades shouted back. His eyes were full of fury as he spoke again. "You will learn some respect for your father in time. You will learn under me and we will fulfill the next Great Prophecy. Once your 'friends' turn their back on you again, you will rejoin me in the Underworld. I will have a room waiting for you."
Hades wrapped his cloak around himself and disappeared in a wall of smoke. Nico coughed as the smoke cleared. "Fat chance of that happening." Nico said to no one.
He felt tears threaten his eyes. He had no idea how the first meeting with his father should have gone, but he had not been expecting what had happened. His father would have preferred if Bianca had still been alive. Nico sat down on the ground, his face in his hands. Me too, father he thought Me too.
"I really was an ass to you back then wasn't I?" A voice jolted Nico onto his feet. He drew his sword and found it pointing at.
"Father! I thought you just left!" Nico said, trying to wipe his face of tears. He couldn't afford to appear weak in front of his father; he already thought that Nico wasn't as strong as Bianca.
"In reality, I did. And then Minos reappeared, and led you back into the maze. You were especially eager, filled with a vengeance to find and bring back your sister, in spite of me and to prove me wrong." Hades explained. He seemed very calm for someone who had been screaming at Nico not moments before. "The first exchange really did go terribly, so I was so surprised when I discovered that you kept that ring." He pointed down to the ring in Nico's hand. "I guess you just wanted a lasting reminder of your sister who you would fail to bring back to life."
"How- how do you know all this?" Nico asked, bewildered. "Can you see the future? Are you from the future?"
Hades laughed. "No, my child. You are stuck in the past. This is a dream. A memory of your life past."
"No," Nico said defensively. "This- this is real. I am- real?"
"No, you are really in the Infirmary, with your doctor boy, William, hovering over you anxiously, praying that you will awaken soon. You have been trapped in another memory, another nightmare. Who is doing this to you and why, I have not discovered, but I am working on it," Hades put his hand to his chin.
"If this is my dream, how are you in it?" Nico asked
"Because I was in your dream, I used that as a back door to get within your head and ty to wake you up. I'm afraid that if you do not wake up soon, you will be trapped in this dreamscape until you live out your entire adventure in the Labyrinth. You have a couple more months to go."
"I- I don't understand," even as Nico said it, memories of his current life were coming back to him. He was Nico di Angelo, a fourteen-year-old boy. He was dating Will Solace.
"You need to leave now, because if you stay here longer, the injuries you get in the maze will continue to transfer over to reality. Your doctor boy is very panicked about it, right at this moment."
All his memories came flooding back. "Oh, my gods, like with Aaron." He looked back at Hades. "Father?"
Hades smiled. "Glad to have you back. We have such fights back then. I am glad that we are on good terms now."
"So, I am trapped in a dream again?" Nico asked, looking around. He remembered this graveyard from when he was ten.
"Yes, but you should be able to wake up now, as you are aware that you are in a dream." Hades explained.
Even as he spoke, Nico could feel himself coming too, could hear the beeping of a heart monitor, and feel Will's hand gripping him, pleading with him. He blinked and the graveyard and his father were gone. He was waking up.
Will's POV:
Will woke up, disoriented. He lifted his head, realizing that Nico was stirring. Alertness took over Will as he realized what was happening. Nico was waking up. He put his hands onto Nico's shoulders, shaking him lightly.
"Nico, you are dreaming," Will said. "Please, please wake up. For me."
"…like with Aaron," Nico groaned trying to fight Will.
Sadness overtook Will; Nico was dreaming about Aaron, which was never a good sign. "He isn't here, Nico. Please, please wake up."
"Stop! No!" Nico screamed, eyes flying open. His onyx orbs darted around in a frenzy, trying to figure out where he was. He surveyed the room before his eyes latched onto Will. "Will—"
"You're back," Will reassured.
Nico reached his arms out; which Will took as an invitation. He moved forward, sitting on the bed, wrapping his arms around Nico. He was shaking as he buried his face into Will's chest. Will tightened his grip, squeezing Nico carefully, trying to not aggravate the boy's injuries. Nico was gasping for air.
"Will—" Nico gasped out. "I- I—"
"Shh," Will softly chided. "Don't try to talk; just focus on breathing."
"I can't- I can't- it hurts… my chest is so tight." Nico sobbed, digging his nails into Will's back.
Will readjusted his grip, trying to release some of the pressure on Nico's chest. "I know, baby, I know. But the only thing that is going to help the tightness is taking deep breaths. I know they hurt but breathing deeply will help relieve some of that pain."
Nico took a shuddering breath.
"That's it, darling." Will encouraged. "You aren't in any danger of hyperventilating. Your sympathetic nervous system is going into overdrive right now. You cannot flee, so your body is preparing you to fight. Nothing is happening; everything that you are feeling is just an imbalance of hormones. You are okay; you are safe."
Nico nodded numbly into Will's chest. After about ten minutes, Nico's breathing evened out. He lifted his head, looking up at Will.
"I wasn't ready for the Labyrinth."
"I know," Will admitted. Nico's eyes clouded with confusion. "I could see that you were scared."
"Why didn't you stop me?" Nico asked, but there was no accusation in his voice.
Will put his hand onto Nico's cheek. Nico closed his eyes, leaning into the warmth. "You know why."
"I thought I was ready—" Nico's voice cracked. "I thought you were just being overprotective. But, I guess I just wasn't strong enough."
"Oh, Nico," Will sighed. "That's not what this is about."
"It's- it's been years since I was there. I should- I should be over it by now," Nico excused.
"And?" Nico said nothing. Will moved his hand to intertwine it with Nico's. "Just because it was a long time ago doesn't mean that the pain is diminished. The painful memories are still there. And that's okay. So you can't beat yourself up for feeling all this, especially since you have repressed most of your memories. But, you don't have to do that anymore; you finally have a chance to deal with what you've been through. You can talk about how you feel and what you've been through."
"I don't want to talk or deal with it," Nico whispered, looking down at their hands. "I just want to be okay again."
"I know, but sometimes healing required pain. To heal a bone properly, sometimes you have to break it first."
Nico looked into his eyes; Will could see his anguish. "How much pain do I have to go through to heal?"
"As much as it takes," Will stated simply.
Nico was quiet for a moment, a haunted look in his eyes. He broke off eye contact, looking around. "I thought—it was literally called a death-race. Were there no other injuries?"
Will chuckled without humor. "There was an impromptu infirmary out on the greens. Chiron, Apollo, and I healed almost all of the campers and sent them back to their cabins."
"Kayla didn't force them into the infirmary?" Nico joked.
Mention of his sister send a stab of pain through Will. He had been so worried about Nico waking up that fear for his siblings had been filed away in the back of his mind; now, the fear and worry was back in full force.
"Will, what's wrong?" Nico must have picked up on Will's distress.
"Nothing—I- we were just very busy with reattaching Paolo's leg," Will evaded.
"Don't avoid—wait, what?" Nico blinked in confusion. "Paolo's leg was cut off? Right after his arms?" Will opened his mouth to respond but Nico held up a hand, stopping him. "No, stop; you are trying to distract me. What happened? Is Kayla okay?"
Will took a shaky breath. All the stress and fear overtook him as he collapsed forward, into Nico's arms. Nico caught him and started rubbing his back as Will burst into a torrent of tears. He had just lost his siblings, right after losing his best friend. His father was in mortal peril, with his own trials to face. And his boyfriend, though Nico was okay now, was facing danger himself from an unknown source. It was too much for him to handle.
"What happened?" Nico asked after Will's tears had slowed considerably.
"Kayla—" his voice cracked. "And Austin. They—they disappeared."
Nico's hand stilled on Will's back. "Like-?"
"Yeah, like Cecil, Miranda, and Ellis. They are just gone." Will said desperately.
"Search parties?" Nico asked.
Will nodded against Nico's chest. "Some were sent into the maze and others were sent to the outskirts. But, it was already so late at night, that Chiron forbade anyone from going into the woods."
Nico moved. "I'll look for them."
"Nico, you just woke up from almost fading out of existence; you really think I am going to let you go out there?"
"I'll be fine," Nico dismissed.
"You aren't invincible!" Will said harshly, stopping Nico in his attempt to move. Will looked into his boyfriend's eyes. "You are powerful, but you aren't invincible. Whatever got them can get you too! You aren't going anywhere."
"Aren't going anywhere? You don't control me, Will," Nico snapped. "We've been over this; Also, you don't think I'm powerful enough to fight whatever is out there? After you berated—"
"I can't lose you too!" Will shouted, cutting Nico off.
Nico froze, his mouth hanging open for a moment, before he closed it again. After a pause, he spoke up.
"You aren't going to lose me, Will. I'm not going anywhere?"
"As if I didn't almost lose you a couple of hours ago when you were fading out of existence?" Will retorted. "Or that you 'weren't going anywhere' when you disappeared from camp without telling me? And returned with ruined thighs? Excuse me if I don't believe you."
Nico looked hurt by his words, but Will didn't really care. Nico had scared him too many times the past couple of days and Will didn't know how much more fear he could take.
"I'm sorry for worrying you," Nico apologized after a little bit. "I- I should have been more sensitive to your problems."
"It's okay," Will said automatically.
"I promise I'm not going anywhere; I'm staying right here." Nico pledged.