AN: I'M SORRY THAT I HAVE BEEN NEGLECTING YALL! The pandemic has been a lot on me and my mental health, but I'm doing a little better and decided to update this! I cheated and used a lot of dialogue/plot from The Hidden Oracle so I apologize for that! (PLS DON'T SUE ME DISNEY; THIS IS JUST FOR THE MEMES) Please enjoy! I'll TRY t o update pretty soon after this (but I'm not making promises)

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:

He had just been captured by Luke's forces in the Labyrinth. Minos had convinced him that Percy Jackson, his unrequited crush, was in terrible danger. Although he had mixed feelings for the son of Poseidon, he did not want him to die. He was chained and pushed inside the doors of what looked like Daedalus's workshop.

Before long, he had gotten his chains off and was facing his old mentor.

"To me!" Minos cried. "Spirits of the dead!"

He raised his ghostly hands and the air began to hum.

"No!" Nico cried.

He was on his feet now, ready to take revenge on the old spirit for his abuse of power against him; he was done getting hurt by Minos.

"You do not control me, young fool," Minos sneered. "All this time, I have been controlling you! A soul for a soul, yes. But it is not your sister who will return from the dead. It is I, as soon as I slay the inventor!"

Spirits began to appear around Minos—shimmering forms that slowly multiplied, solidifying into Cretan soldiers.

"I am the son of Hades," Nico insisted. "Begone!"

Minos laughed. "You have no power over me. I am the lord of spirits! The ghost king!"

"No." Nico drew his sword. "I am."

He stabbed his black blade into the floor, and it cleaved through the stone like butter.

"Never!" Minos's form rippled. "I will not—"

The ground rumbled. The windows cracked and shattered to pieces, letting in a blast of fresh air. A fissure opened in the stone floor of the workshop, and Minos and all his spirits were sucked into the void with a horrible wail. Nico was pulled down too. When he landed, he was in front of his father. He realized that this too was a dream.

"Why that memory?" Nico asked. "What do I have to come to terms with in that memory?"

"I can't do this for you," his father insisted.

Nico thought about what had just happened. With a start, he realized that his capture by the Laistrygonians was eerily similar to his capture by Otis and Ephialtes in Tartarus. "Oh… oh no."

His father nodded.

"But… we haven't gotten to my memories of Tartarus yet… I'm… I'm not ready for that."

"You need to be," his father murmured. "They will be the hardest memories for you to experience again. Hopefully, once you do, you will begin to heal again." Nico said nothing in response. "I also showed you that memory to exemplify that you can overcome your demons and your enemies."

"You mean Minos?" Nico asked.

"You defeated him when you had just begun discovering your powers. He hurt and abused you and yet you were able to overcome him. Just as you must do with Aaron."

Nico winced at his attacker's name. "It's not like I can send him down to the Underworld as I did with Minos. He was a spirit that I was putting back in place. Aaron is alive."

"Bryce Lawrence was alive and that didn't stop you then," his father reminded.

"Don't say that name!" Nico snapped. Guilt ran through him. He felt sick to his stomach with the memory of how he had destroyed Bryce.

"You cannot just pretend like it did not happen, Nico," his father warned

"I've been doing fine so far," Nico retorted. "Can we be done now? I'm not in the mood for this."

"We just started, Nico," his father looked confused. "If you cannot handle these early memories, how do you expect to tackle the later ones? The worst ones?"

"I can't handle it!" Nico yelled. "I'm done for today."

"Nico…"

"I said I'm done!" Nico said, crossing his arms over his chest.

His father looked at him sadly before flourishing his hands.

Will's POV:

"Nico?" Will said as he walked out of Rachel's cave over to his boyfriend. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"I—" Nico started before looking around him to see into the cave. "What's going on here?"

"Rachel came back to camp—"

"I gathered that from the huge helicopter near the border," Nico said sarcastically. "I meant what are they talking about?"

"Hold on," Will said. "You seem upset; what happened?"

"I'll tell you later," Nico dismissed. "I want to know what's going on in there."

"Nico," Will whisper-shouted, but the son of Hades had already walked into the cave. He followed closely behind.

"That cruise ship, Princess Andromeda, was the property of Triumvirate Holdings."

Will sucked in a breath at Rachel's words. All the battles and problems that Camp Half-Blood had had in recent years were because of this empire, Triumvirate Holdings. How did they get so much money? What was their aim?

"These men..." Apollo picked up a tube of paint. "I'm afraid they are not modern demigods."

Rachel frowned. "You think they're ancient demigods who came through the Doors of Death— like Medea, or Midas? The thing is, Triumvirate Holdings has been around since way before Gaea started to wake. Decades, at least."

Will looked at Nico to see if he would react to Rachel mentioning the Doors of Death, but his gaze was laser-focused as he took in the information.

"Centuries," Apollo said. "The Beast said that he'd been building his empire for centuries."

Rachel shook her head. "Then who—?"

"I don't know," Apollo admitted. "But the Beast...in my dream, he called me his forefather. He assumed I would recognize him. And if my godly memory was intact, I think I would. His demeanor, his accent, his facial structure—I have met him before, just not in modern times.

"The name Triumvirate... The last triumvirate I dealt with included Lepidus, Marc Antony, and my son, the original Octavian. A triumvirate is a very Roman concept...like patriotism, skullduggery, and assassination."

Chiron stroked his beard. "You think these men are ancient Romans? How is that possible? Hades is quite good at tracking down escaped spirits from the Underworld."

Nico stepped forward. "My father would not allow three men from ancient times to run amok in the modern world for centuries."

"Ah, son of Hades and Will," Apollo looked at them. "Please, come join us."

Nico and Will accepted the invitation and sat on one of the couches.

"Back to your question, Chiron, I do not know," Apollo continued. "But it seems these men have been plotting against us for a very long time. They funded Luke Castellan's war. They supplied aid to Camp Jupiter when the Romans attacked Camp Half-Blood. And despite those two wars, the Triumvirate is still out there—still plotting. What if this company is the root cause of...well, everything?"

"That is a very troubling thought. Could three men be so powerful?" Chiron wondered.

Apollo spread his hands. "You've lived long enough to know, my friend. Gods, monsters, Titans...these are always dangerous. But the greatest threat to demigods has always been other demigods. Whoever this Triumvirate is, we must stop them before they take control of the Oracles."

Rachel sat up straight. "Excuse me? Oracles plural?"

"Ah...didn't I tell you about them when I was a god?"

"No," she said levelly, "you did not tell me about them."

"Oh...well, my mortal memory has been faulty, you see. I had to read some books in order to—"

"Oracles," Rachel repeated. "Plural."

"In ancient times," Apollo explained, "there were many Oracles. Of course, Delphi was the most famous, but there were four others of comparable power."

Chiron shook his head. "But those were destroyed ages ago."

"So I thought," Apollo agreed. "Now I am not so sure. I believe Triumvirate Holdings wants to control all the ancient Oracles. And I believe the most ancient Oracle of all, the Grove of Dodona, is right here at Camp Half-Blood."

The revelation caused the cave to fall silent.

"And I thought one Oracle was bad enough," Nico joked.

Rachel glared at him before speaking. "Four other Oracles…"

"Well, one was the Sybil of Cumae. You know, she wrote the Sibylline Books—

"Ella memorized those books," Nico supplied. "She is the primary source of prophecies for Camp Jupiter.

"Right, and the other three: There was an Oracle at Erythaea, and another at the Cave of Trophonius."

"Goodness," Chiron said. "I'd forgotten about those two."

"And the fifth," Apollo said, "was the Grove of Dodona."

"A grove," Meg said. "Like trees."

"Yes, Meg, like trees. Groves are typically composed of trees, rather than, say, Fudgsicles. Dodona was a stand of sacred oaks planted by the Mother Goddess in the first days of the world. They were ancient even when the Olympians were born."

"The Mother Goddess?" Rachel shivered in her patina jacket. "Please tell me you don't mean Gaea."

Nico tensed on the couch next to Will, but his facial expression gave away nothing.

"No, thankfully. I mean Rhea, Queen of the Titans, the mother of the first generation of Olympian gods. Her sacred trees could actually speak. Sometimes they issued prophecies."

"The voices in the woods," Will guessed.

"Exactly. I believe the Grove of Dodona has regrown itself here in the woods at camp. In my dreams, I saw a crowned woman imploring me to find her Oracle. I believe it was Rhea."

Rachel drummed her fingers on the couch's armrest. "If Rhea is a Titan, isn't she evil?"

"Not all Titans were bad," Nico murmured. Will knew that his boyfriend was referring to Bob. He laced their fingers together.

"Rhea was a gentle soul. She sided with the gods in their first great war. I think she wants us to succeed. She doesn't want her grove in the hands of our enemies." Apollo clarified.

Chiron's tail twitched. "My friend, Rhea has not been seen for millennia. Her grove was burned in ancient times. Emperor Theodosius ordered the last oak cut down in—"

"I know," the former sun god interrupted. "Nevertheless, many things from the old days have survived or regenerated. The Labyrinth has rebuilt itself. Why couldn't a grove of sacred trees spring up again right here in this valley?"

Nico silently squeezed Will's hand at the mention of the Labyrinth but still showed no other sign of emotion.

"So if the tree voices are sacred and stuff, why are they making people get lost?" Meg asked.

"For once, you ask a good question." Apollo commended. "In the old days, the priests of Dodona would take care of the trees, pruning them, watering them, and channeling their voices by hanging wind chimes in their branches. With proper care, these trees could divine the future."

Rachel smoothed her skirt. "And without proper care?"

"The voices were unfocused," Apollo explained. "A wild choir of disharmony. Untended, the grove could most definitely drive mortals to madness."

Chiron furrowed his brow. "So our missing campers are wandering in the trees, perhaps already insane from the voices."

"Or they're dead," Meg added.

It was Will's turn to squeeze Nico's hand. His best friend couldn't be dead; his family couldn't be dead!

"No," Nico informed. "No, they are still alive. I can sense that much."

"The Beast is using them, trying to bait me," Apollo realized.

"How can you be sure?" Rachel asked. "And why? If Python already controls Delphi, why are these other Oracles so important?"

"I'm not sure. I believe our enemies want to cut us off from every possible source of prophecy. Without a way to see and direct our fates, we will wither and die—gods and mortals alike, anyone who opposes the Triumvirate."

Meg turned upside down on the sofa and kicked off her red shoes. "They're strangling our taproots."

"As for why the Grove of Dodona is so important, Python mentioned that it was the one Oracle he could not control. I don't understand exactly why—perhaps because Dodona is the only Oracle that has no connection with me. Its power comes from Rhea. So if the grove is working, and it is free of Python's influence, and it is here at Camp Half-Blood—"

"It could provide us with prophecies," Nico said. "It could give us a chance against our enemies."

"Of course, we'd rather have our beloved Oracle of Delphi working again. And we will, eventually. But for now, the Grove of Dodona could be our best hope."

"Aren't prophecies all twisted and mysterious and murky, and people die trying to escape them?" Meg asked.

Apollo sighed. "The Grove of Dodona is a benevolent force. It has helped heroes before. The masthead of the original Argo, for instance, was carved from a branch of the sacred trees. It could speak to the Argonauts and give them guidance."

"Apollo…" The old centaur started. "If you are right about Dodona, how do we proceed? We are already shorthanded. If we send search teams into the woods, we have no guarantee they'll come back."

Meg brushed the hair out of her eyes. "We'll go. Just Apollo and me."

"We—we will?"

"You said you gotta do a bunch of trials or whatever to prove you're worthy, right? This'll be the first one."

Apollo looked hesitant. Rachel put her hand on his knee.

"Apollo, you have to try. If we can get a glimpse of the future…well, it may be the only way to get things back to normal." She looked longingly at the blank walls of her cave. "I'd like to have a future again."

Will looked at his father. "How can we help?"

"Meg is right," Apollo said. "We have to do this ourselves. We should leave immediately, but—"

"We've been up all night," Meg said. "We need some sleep."

Chiron rose on his front hooves. "This evening, then. Rest and prepare, my heroes. I fear you will need all your strength and wits for what comes next."

Nico's POV

The gathered demigods recognized their dismissal. Meg, Apollo, Will, and Nico headed out of the cave, but Rachel and Chiron stayed behind to continue their discussion. Allowing his father and his companion to move out of earshot, Will then looked at his boyfriend as they walked.

"Alright, you satisfied your curiosity," he remarked. "Now what's going on with you? You looked panicked when you first got to the cave."

Nico felt his anxiety spike; he was hoping Will would have forgotten about that. "I—I talked with my father."

Will stopped in his tracks. "You promised to stay in the Infirmary!"

"I did," Nico clarified, continuing to walk. "He and Clovis infiltrated my dreams. They pulled me off my dream course in order to have a conversation with me."

"About what?" Will asked.

"Why I keep getting trapped in my dreams," Nico murmured. "Like with A—aron and more recently, with the Labyrinth."

"What did they say?" Will looked hopeful. "Do they know what is causing it?"

"No," Nico said bitterly. "All my father's power and he doesn't even know who is causing this."

"Is it definitely a 'who'?" Will questioned. "I know that we posited that there was godly interference, but never confirmed it."

They arrived at the Hades cabin. Nico unlocked and opened the door before responding. "My father and Clovis seem to think so, but they don't know who. I don't even know if there is a god/goddess of nightmares or dreams."

Nico walked to the living room area, sitting down on the couch, in front of the fireplace.

"Morpheus is the god of dreams, but besides the Battle of Manhattan, you haven't had any contact with him, right?" Will asked.

Nico shook his head. "No, and I'm pretty sure he was pardoned by the council, so there's no reason he should have issues with me."

"Are there any gods or beings that do have issues with you?"

Too many, Nico thought, Cupid, Alecto, Otis, Ephialtes, Gaea, Akhlys.

"Nico?" Will said.

Nico blinked himself from his memories. "I- I don't think so."

Will narrowed his eyes. "Don't think so or don't want to tell me?"

"Look, it's complicated," Nico scoffed, standing up. Will looked at him in disbelief. "Really, it is. Let's just say, not a lot of people like me very much."

"Could it be any of them?"

Nico shrugged. "Maybe, but I don't think any of them have the power to trap me in my memories. To force me into a coma."

"You should still consider that they might be a threat," Will recommended. "And since you don't have issues with Morpheus, maybe you should discuss your dream problem with him? He might be able to help."

"Except you are forgetting that Olympus has sealed itself off," Nico reminded, sitting back down next to Will. "Besides my father and now your father."

"If you didn't discuss who is behind it, what did you talk about?" Will put his arm on the top of the couch, behind Nico, as he spoke.

"In the Labyrinth, I blacked out because I started reliving my experience; it's why I almost faded."

"Nico," Will tried to put his hand on Nico's cheek, but Nico caught his hand.

"Don't do that," Nico said.

Will looked confused. "Do what?"

"Pity me." Nico snapped.

"It's not pity; it's sympathy," Will replied gently.

"What's the difference?"

Will smiled sadly. "Pity is when you feel uncomfortable at someone else's distress. It's the acknowledgment that you are distressed, usually somewhat condescendingly. Sympathy, on the other hand, is a feeling of care or concern for someone, because you wish they were not experiencing their distress. I have never pitied you, Nico. I have sympathy for you and wish I could help ease the burden on your shoulders."

"Oh," Nico hadn't realized that there was a difference. He still didn't enjoy people pitying him for his past. "Well, thanks."

"Of course," Will smiled, putting his hand on Nico's cheek for a moment before removing it again.

"Anyway, the only reason I was able to wake up from blacking out was because my dad pulled me out. Then, I woke up in the Infirmary with you." Nico continued. "When I fell asleep again, my dad pulled me off my course to the Hypnos cabin where we started talking about my dream problem.

"He said that in order to stop falling into a coma that I will have to relive my memories, my worst experiences. I, apparently, have repressed a lot of my worst memories so I'm not able to determine what is real and what is fiction. If I am able to make the distinction between what is memories and what is reality, I should be able to pull myself out of my dreams."

Will paused for a moment before speaking. "All your memories? Even—"

He didn't say it, but Nico understood the implication. Tartarus. Nico grimaced. "All of them."

"I—" his big, blue eyes were sad as they looked into Nico's. "How? How are you going to relive them if you've repressed them?"

"I was confused about that too," Nico confessed, "but my father said that if I'm—I'm near the location or focusing on it, that will trigger the memories and the dream state."

"So that's why you passed out in the Labyrinth," Will realized.

Nico nodded. "Then, when I'm in the dream state, I can relive my experiences. My father says I can come to terms with them and maybe when I realize that they are just memories, they won't—impact me as harshly."

"How will you get out? Like how will you be able to make the distinction?"

This is the part that Nico had been dreading to tell Will. "My father. He will enter into the dream state with me and pull me out if I get overwhelmed." Hurt flashed across Will's face; Nico knew that his boyfriend was upset that he would trust his father with his worst memories over him. "I obviously don't want my father there, but he says that there is no other way. That, without him, I will be trapped."

"I—I could enter into the dream state with you," Will suggested.

"Absolutely not," Nico asserted. Will looked offended. "Will, you have to understand… I wouldn't wish my experiences on my worst enemies," Not even Bryce Lawrence… not even Aaron Stevenson. He suppressed a shudder. "I keep my memories and experiences and nightmares to myself because I don't want to hurt you; I don't want to burden you."

"But they hurt you!" Will exclaimed. "I don't want you to have to carry that burden alone."

"It's better this way, trust me," Nico assured.

"So, you are just never going to tell me what happened to you down there?" Will asked, not trying to hide the hurt evident in his voice. "You are going to carry that burden alone forever?"

Nico hung his head. "Maybe—maybe one day, but for now, I have to."

"Except your father will see it," Will reminded.

"You think that I want that, Will?" Nico stood again, facing his boyfriend. "You think I want my father, who has told me in the past that I am weak, to see me during my weakest points? During my worst experiences? Of course not! I just would like to stop being trapped in a coma for days while I am reliving memories and all the pain associated with them."

Will looked towards the ground. "I'm sorry; you're right. I'm just—I feel helpless. Like I'm a bad boyfriend."

Nico put his hands onto Will's shoulders which caused the latter to look up at him. "You are not helpless. And you are the opposite of a bad boyfriend; you are the best one I've had."

The statement had the desired effect; Will rolled his eyes, a small grin appearing on his face. "I'm the only one you've had."

"Keep believing that," Nico joked.

Will smiled fully this time, before stealing a quick kiss. He pulled back and his face got serious again. "But, if you will get trapped as you did with Aaron, that means you'll experience the injuries again. They will transfer over to real life."

Nico furrowed his eyebrows. "I didn't think of that. I'll mention something to my father, but, at the end of the day, I survived them the first time; I should survive them the second."

"Should?" Worry flitted across Will's face. "Nico… I don't want you to wake up with new injuries every single time you go to sleep."

"I don't either, but I don't really know a way around it."

"You should talk to your father," Will recommended. "Tell him that I, as your doctor," Nico rolled his eyes, "don't think you should be reliving memories if you also relive the physical pain."

"Like you said yourself: 'sometimes you have to break a bone to heal it properly'." Nico quipped.

"I was referring to emotional pain, and you know that," Will shot back.

"I don't have all the details yet, Will," Nico said, sitting back down. "I'm sure my father and I will discuss it in more detail soon."

"Did you already start reliving memories?" Will asked. "Or just the one in the Labyrinth?"

"Yeah, I did," Nico surprised himself with his honesty. "I restarted my journey in the Labyrinth."

"I know the answer, but I'll still ask; do you want to talk about it?"

Nico thought about it. Talking about the Labyrinth would be less difficult than talking about Tartarus. He knew how upset Will was with how much he kept from him. Maybe he could talk about it. "Not right now, I'm still processing, but soon, okay?"

"Okay," Will agreed.

"Do you want to talk about how you are feeling?" Nico asked. "About your father going into the woods."

Will shifted. "He and I talked a lot about it all last night. While I'm not okay with them going into the forest, I understand why he has to. I don't think I can stop him."

Nico nodded. "Meg is a powerful demigod. She'll protect them."

"I hope so," Will replied.