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 was running. Running through the forest, through the same path he always ran through. There was snow on the ground. Just like every other time he had had this dream, a force hit him out of nowhere. Even though he knew it was coming, it always happened when he least expected it. He went flying, hitting a tree. Aaron Stevenson appeared. He started laughing. Fear raced through Nico's heart.

"What do you want?"

The camper laughed. "I want to finish what I started last time."

"Beat him to a pulp, Aaron."

"Yeah, make him pay, Stevenson." His two cronies encouraged.

"Let's see, what problem do you have with me today, Aaron?" Nico questioned, trying to buy himself time to think of a plan. "Does my hair color offend you? Are you upset that you didn't get my position as head of defense?"

"I don't think that scrawny little gays should get positions made for men." His brothers laughed.

"Insulting my sexuality again, are we? Wow, so original." Nico sassed.

"You're pathetic. A week back, you were crying about your sister. You attacked Jason because you can't control your emotions. I heard that you were being disgusting when making out with your boyfriend."

The air was sucked out of Nico's lungs. "How-how did you know about all that?"

He shrugged, crossing his arms. "I have my sources. But imagine what would happen to your reputation if that got out. The terrifying son of Hades, crying over his sister, attacking his friends. They will finally see who you really are."

Nico felt a wave of fear, but he pushed it down. "You wanna see who I really am?" He let out a yell of frustration and skeletons broke through again. "This is who I really am."

Aaron's two henchmen started slicing the skeletons. Aaron grabbed Nico by the throat and slammed him against the tree.

Nico was trapped in his memories, in a perpetual state of fear; he couldn't escape.

Kayla's POV:

She woke up to the sound of Nico's heart monitor beeping loudly. The son of Hades had started breathing heavily. She secured the mask over his nose and mouth. He moaned into the mask and started speaking incomprehensibly. He had continually done this over the past five days. He was "in a coma" so the fact that he was speaking didn't really make any sense. The boy started writhing in his sheets. His stitches were going to burst open again if he didn't stop. Kayla wrapped her arms around the boy, avoiding the wires, to try to prevent him from injuring himself further. She really hoped he would wake up soon. For his sake and Will's. Nico slowly calmed down in Kayla's arms. She released him and he sunk back into sleep.

She let out a breath, looking at her watch. It was Friday, January 6th. Eight AM had just passed. Nico had been asleep since the 1st. Kayla left his room to go check on Will. She walked into the open infirmary. Will was still passed out on one of the beds. She was insanely worried about her brother. The only food he had consumed in the last week was force-fed to him through a tube. Will had slept off the sedative and was still catching up on the sleep he had missed. He had been asleep since Thursday morning. Kayla would wake him soon if he didn't wake up on his own. But she let him sleep for now. She kissed him on the forehead before leaving the infirmary, walking past Brandon who went to watch over Nico.

She headed for the rec room. They were about to have another meeting about Nico. When she arrived, the room was in turmoil.

"It's been almost a week since he's been beaten up, and you still haven't found anything?" Hazel had a touch of anger in her voice.

"It's not my fault. I've looked, but no solid evidence seems to be presenting itself." Annabeth protested.

"You have evidence, you just don't think it's good enough," Leo said.

"Guys, do not blame Annabeth." Percy advocated for his girlfriend. "She is just trying to do her job; she's not the bad guy."

"And you are saying Aaron is?" Clarisse exploded. "Will attacked him the other day. With eyewitness reports. Doesn't that make Will guilty?"

"Who is Aaron?" Reyna asked. "Is he a suspect?"

"Will attacked Aaron?" Annabeth asked, ignoring Reyna's question.

Jason spoke up. "Wait a second, Aaron attacked Will, not the other way around!"

"Who told you that? Will?" Clarisse asked.

"Yeah, he told me what happened. Will didn't attack him."

"Then what happened?" Annabeth asked.

Jason reddened. "Will provoked him, but Aaron threw the first punch."

"Aaron told me what happened, and it's a very different story than what you've said," Clarisse informed.

"Well, we also know that Aaron is a liar considering he said he didn't beat up Nico when he did." Jason retorted.

"Did he beat up Nico though?" Clarisse questioned.

"Are you on Aaron's side?" Percy asked, incredulous.

Clarisse leaned back in her chair, throwing her hands up in a shrugging gesture. "Show me the evidence, and then I'll consider the other side."

"Stop!" Reyna raised her voice slightly. It was authoritative enough that everyone fell quiet. They all looked at her. "I will not ask again; who is Aaron?"

Annabeth sighed before speaking. "He is one of our only suspects. He is dating Drew Tanaka, who Nico has had issues with in the past. He had injuries that were consistent with someone punching incorrectly. He was also the only one who knew where Nico was when he was injured."

Reyna was quiet as she considered this. Everyone was silent as she thought. She then laced her fingers, putting them on the table, and looked up. "I thought you were smarter than this, Annabeth."

Annabeth recoiled as if she had been burned. "Excuse me?"

"Don't get me wrong; I have great respect for you and our friendship. But you have to be an idiot to not see the evidence in front of you." Reyna's words were harsh.

Annabeth's eyes filled with tears. Percy moved to defend her. "Reyna, I know you are worried about Nico, but there is no need to take it out on Annabeth. At any rate, Chiron is the one who is demanding more evidence; not Annabeth."

"Then, I apologize, Annabeth," Reyna amended. "I did not mean to insult your intelligence, which is equal, if not greater than mine. I just did not have all the information." She paused for a moment. "Have you considered questioning Aaron about this? Determine his whereabouts?"

Chiron entered the room, stopping Annabeth from speaking. "I have not allowed her to question him."

"Clarisse grilled him, but to no avail. If he did do it, he is a very good liar." Annabeth revealed.

"So, we have no evidence?" Hazel said. Annabeth shook her head.

"Are you saying that we have no chance, no case against Aaron until Nico wakes up?" Piper asked. She didn't say the next part, but everyone thought it. If he wakes up.

Chiron inclined his head, giving his answer.

"Then I guess that concludes this meeting." Annabeth finished, looking exhausted.

Will's POV:

Will blinked the sleep from his eyes, stretching out his arms. He felt relaxed and well-rested. He turned his head and noticed he was in the infirmary. Wait, what? He looked down. There an IV sticking out of his arm. Memories rushed back in. Kayla had drugged him. Kayla had DRUGGED him. He sat up quickly, pulling the IV out.

"Kayla!" He called out. Kayla came from deeper in the infirmary, looking exhausted.

"Good, you're awake. I was beginning to worry." She sighed in relief. She put the back of her hand across his forehead. "How do you feel?"

"You drugged me," Will stated. Kayla gave him a look.

"You didn't give me much of a choice. You were on the edge of a panic attack. You hadn't slept or eaten in days. I had to do something, Will." Kayla said, exasperated.

"How's Nico?" Will asked, almost scared of the answer.

She opened her mouth to speak when there was a huge BOOM outside. The two siblings grabbed the bed to steady themselves and gained eye contact when the shaking had stopped. They ran for the infirmary door, down the steps and outside, looking up. A huge black cloud had descended on the camp, staying outside the boundaries, but blocking the sun. Will looked around. Campers had emerged from the cabins to see what was happening. The ground started rumbling. A blinding light went up in the middle of the camp. Will and Kayla shielded their eyes. When the light faded, there was a figure standing in the middle. Will sucked in a breath. It was Hades. Campers turned to each other, whispering. Will understood why. Gods didn't visit camp too often, besides Dionysus. Much less two in a week, considering Aphrodite had visited Will earlier that week.

Hades stalked over to Will and Kayla. Will held his ground, unwilling to fear the god. Hades came right up to Will. "Where is my son? And why did I get news that he is dying?"

Kayla gestured helplessly into the infirmary. Hades glided up the steps and the door flew open. Will followed him. "Lord Hades, it is an honor to-"

"Enough with the pleasantries. I want to see my son." He demanded, not turning to look at Will.

"But, sir," Will steeled himself. "The gods aren't supposed to interfere with their children's lives. Won't you get in trouble with the Olympic Council?"

"I have masked my presence from Zeus. He will never know I was here. And this is my son, and one of my only children. I am not losing him."

He opened the infirmary door and went straight back to Nico's room as if he knew where he was. He pointed at the handle and the door unlocked, opening. Nico was as comatose as ever, black hair spilling on the white pillow. There was a mask over his face and wires connected to his chest and arms. He looked so small, fragile, and helpless. Hades paused for a moment, taking in his son, before turning onto Will.

"You demanded that I make more of an effort for my son. Here I am, keeping my end of the bargain. Why haven't you kept your end?"

"Excuse me?" Will asked.

"When you came to the Underworld, you accused me of not being there for my son and said you were. And you let something like this happen?"

Will sucked in a breath. "This wasn't my fault. He was attacked-" he regretted his words the moment he said them. Hades' eyes started burning.

"Attacked?" Hades calmly stated. Will recognized the calm. It was the calm before the storm. "Attacked by whom?"

"We are not sure yet." Kayla rushed to answer. "There is an investigation to discover who the perpetrator is."

"He has been like this for long?" Hades asked. "Why hasn't he been healed?"

"He's been in a coma since last Sunday-"

"And you still haven't discovered who attacked him? Who is leading this investigation? Are they an imbecile?"

"Annabeth Chase is, sir. Under the supervision of Chiron." Will asserted.

Hades wrinkled his nose. Will knew that Annabeth and the god of the Underworld were familiar with each other. The god knew of her intelligence. "Why hasn't he been healed fully? I've seen your skills, Mr. Solace. You are perfectly capable of healing him."

"I wasn't this time," Will admitted. "When he first came him, I froze. It was as if my powers had turned off. I couldn't heal him." He paused. "The power to heal him was beyond Kayla and Chiron as well. Do-do you think you could heal him?"

Hades shook his head. "I do not have the same powers as your father. Healing is not my strong suit. Death and destruction are my path." He paused. "I want to talk to Chiron and Mrs. Chase. I want to know who is responsible for beating up my boy."

"You have a way of making an entrance." A voice sounded at the doorway. Will and Hades turned to find Chiron. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"How have you not discovered my son's attacker yet?" Hades interrogated.

"We are doing a thorough investigation-"

"That's bringing no results." Hades interrupted.

"We have a suspect," Chiron said.

Hades' eyes narrowed. "Why have you not brought him in? Was it the same boy who attacked my son a few weeks ago?" He directed the question at Will.

"We believe so," Will answered.

"Even if he is not guilty of beating up my son this time, he should be punished for the first time."

"We cannot prove that Aaron attacked Nico with the evidence we have gotten," Chiron replied. "The only evidence that would proof Mr. Stevenson's guilt would be a witness and the only witness we have is Nico."

"Why hasn't he woken up yet? He doesn't appear to have any head injuries?" Hades was examining his son, but not touching him.

"He is in a sort of a coma. But it's also not really a coma." Kayla struggled to find the words. "His brain activity is not reflective of a coma patient. More like REM sleep. Only he can't seem to wake up. It's like he's trapped inside his mind. And he's been having nightmares."

"Have you not tried again to heal my son?" Hades directed at Will.

"No sir," Will answered. "I have been... incapacitated the past couple of days."

"Well, then what are you waiting for?" Hades asked.

Will looked towards Kayla. She nodded encouragingly. He could do this. He could heal Nico. Will stepped forward. He looked at Nico and allowed his emotions to overtake him. His fear and anger, his love and compassion, his worry and hope. His eyes closed as his hands started glowing. He started muttering under his breath. Words of healing. He slowly moved his hands across Nico's body, not touching, hovering over the surface. His eyes slit open. The bruises and cuts were slowly fading and knitting themselves together. Will began to feel lightheaded but kept going. He poured everything he had into those final moments. With one final push, he released a shockwave around the room. The three occupants of the room stumbled backward, as Will steadied himself on the bed. He felt himself falling backward, but Kayla wasn't his side in a minute. She lowered him into the chair.

"You did well, Will." She whispered.

He leaned back in the chair. He had pushed himself too far too fast. His vision slowly faded to black.