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!

Will's POV:

He was in the forest, looking around. Clovis had told him that this was going to be very realistic and Will now understood what he meant. Every single detail was exact. The barren trees swayed in the breeze. The snow was untouched this deep into the woods. Will turned, looking for any sign of life. He heard a feminine scream. He whipped around towards it and started running. He knew this was a dream, but he couldn't stop his primary instinct of helping those in need. He finally located the source of the scream. It was Drew. She didn't appear to be in any pain.

"Drew." He said, but she didn't appear to hear him.

Her eyes were focused on the clearing. Will noticed three figures hiding in the trees. Aaron was one of them. Will realized that this was a trap for Nico. He sucked in his breath. The bastards. Nico came sprinting into the clearing and Aaron launched himself.

Will screamed as Nico went flying. "No, Nico!"

Nico hit the tree hard and slid down it, gasping for air as he hugged him stomach. Will wanted to move, but something was holding back. He could barely watch as the scene unfolded in front of him.

"Show yourself!" Nico's voice sounded authoritative.

"Make the kid a leader and he finally acts like a man. But you don't really have the strength of a leader, now do you?" Will growled as Aaron spoke. How dare he.

"What do you want?"

"I want to finish what I started last time."

"Beat him to a pulp, Aaron."

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

It was Ryan and Tyler, two of Aaron's siblings. Will had to remember that in order to tell Chiron and Annabeth.

"Let's see, what problem do you have with me today, Aaron?" Nico questioned. Will realized what his boyfriend was doing; he was trying to distract them to make up 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 Will's lungs. "How-how did you know about all that?"

Aaron 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." What was Aaron talking about?

"You wanna see who I really am?" Nico let out a yell of frustration and skeletons broke through the surface. "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.

"I see who you are-" Nico choked out. "You are too weak to beat me, so you brought your friends."

Aaron tightened his grip. "That is not true! I'm not the weak one here. You are."

His friends had cut down the skeletons. They came over to Aaron's side and held Nico against the tree. Aaron started punching Nico in the gut. Will gasped. He wanted to stop Aaron, but he still couldn't move. He watched helplessly as Nico was beaten up.

"Slicing your wrists." Punch. "Panicking over nightmares." Punch. "Crying over your dead sister." Punch. "Attacking people because you can't control yourself." Punch. He started coughing up blood. "Getting angry because of daddy issues. You are powerless. And weak. You are nothing."

Aaron punched Nico in the face, breaking his nose. Will winced, closing his eyes. He was horrified about the atrocities taking places before him. He opened his eyes again. Skeletons broke through the surface again and pulled the two boys off Nico. He fell to the ground as the dead overpowered the two sons of Ares. Aaron kicked him in the stomach and legs. The son of Ares then grabbed Nico by the throat again and began suffocating him.

"You can't even control them. You are pathetic. You kill defenseless people. You should just kill yourself. Or allow me to."

The force that was holding Will back finally released him. Will rushed forwards. "Stop!" He screamed.

The four boys fell silent. They could hear him. Aaron smirked.

"Well, looky here, boys. It's the healer." Aaron looked to Nico. "Looks like your boyfriend is here to save the day."

"Will-" Nico choked out.

"Enough," Will looked deeply into Nico's eyes, pouring conviction into his words. "This is a dream, Nico. You are trapped in a dream."

"What are you talking about Solace?" Aaron commanded. "I'm as real as you are."

"Nico, this is a memory! It isn't real! You have to wake up!"

Nico wheezed. "I-I- I can't."

"Yes, you can. You are Nico di Angelo; you can do anything. You have fought monsters and giants. You have defeated Titans. You survived Tartarus. All by yourself. That was all you. You can do this." Will let his pride for his boyfriend swell through his words.

Aaron tightened his grip. "He's not going anyway." His friends had cut down the skeletons. They came over to Aaron's side. He gestured them to Will. "Take him down."

Will backed up. He realized that this was a dream and they couldn't hurt him, but he didn't want to be trapped like Nico was, in his own head. The two boys grabbed Will and slammed him against the tree. A pain went through Will, causing him to gasp loudly. The two boys started punching Will. He grunted in pain and tried to focus on anything else. He looked up to focus on Nico, pleading with his eyes.

"Will-" Nico gasped.

He threw his hand out and skeletons broke through the surface. One of them threw their arms around Aaron. Aaron released Nico. The son of Hades fell gasping to the ground. Will summoned what strength he did have and clocked one of the assailants in the face. Ryan stumbled back but aimed another punch at Will's face. His fist connected with Will's jaw. The force of the punch almost knocked Will off his feet. Ryan went in for another punch, but his hand was held back. He turned around to look who stopped him. It was Nico.

"That's my boyfriend, you bastard." Nico pulled Ryan back, pushing him into another tree.

He hit his head and fell to the ground. Tyler ran like a bull to tackle Nico, but Nico sidestepped him. Tyler couldn't stop himself and he ran right into Aaron, who was trying to stand. They both fell to the floor. It was a little too perfect and convenient, but Will had to remind himself that they were dreaming. Will stood up, looking towards Nico.

"Nico," he breathed before everything started fading away.

"Will," Nico exclaimed, reaching out for him. Everything was turning black. Will was waking up.

Will sat up gasping. Kayla and Clovis were staring at him as if waiting for something.

"What happened?" Kayla asked. She was looking worriedly at his face. "How did you get this?"

Will realized that his jaw was throbbing. Somehow the injuries that he had gotten in the dream transferred to his real life. Some magical force must have been interfering. He shook the thought out of his head.

"That doesn't matter." He sat up quickly from his cot to go retake the seat next to Nico, who was still asleep. He grabbed his hand, bringing it up to his mouth. "Please, Nico." He whispered. "Please, please, please." Kayla, Clovis, Hazel, and Annabeth gasped quietly. He lifted his head up. Nico's eyes were open. "Nico?" He asked.

Nico blinked a couple of times. He was awake! He was actually awake. The son of Hades was confused and disoriented, his eyes moving rapidly around.

"Nico, focus on me." Annabeth's soothing voice said. His eyes latched onto hers.

"Do you have to do this now?" Will asked.

"Yes." She said, not breaking eye contact. "Was it Aaron? Did Aaron beat you up?"

The name sent fear through Nico. His eyes looked terrified as he nodded. Will looked back towards Annabeth. "Drew, Ryan, and Tyler were there as well." She regarded this information with thoughtful grey eyes as she backed out of the room.

"That's all the evidence I need, thank you." She threw over her shoulder as she jogged towards the door. Will turned his attention back to Nico. He had started to thrash around, trying to remove the cables and oxygen mask.

"Hey, hey Nico, it's okay, it's okay," Hazel reassured. "Calm down."

He kept thrashing. Will put his hands onto Nico's face, holding him in place. Nico's eyes immediately sought out his. Nico's carefully crafted walls had been destroyed. He wasn't trying to hide how he was feeling. There was a whirlwind of emotions within his eyes. Thoughts were racing through his head causing his panic. Will smiled at Nico. He stopped thrashing, so the heart monitor started slowing down.

"Breath deeply, everything is okay, okay?" Nico nodded. He swallowed, pointing to the mask on his face. "Yeah, we can take this off." He removed the oxygen mask. Nico sat up.

"Will." There were so many emotions in that one word.

They simultaneously moved forward, wrapping their arms around each other. Will could feel Nico's tears saturating his shirt, where he was silently crying. Will grasped tightly to his boyfriend, unwilling to let go of him. They stayed in each other's grasps without moving for about ten minutes before Will broke the silence.

"It's okay." Will murmured into his ear. He settled more comfortably on the bed. "You're safe."

"I was so scared," Nico whispered. "I was so terrified."

"And that's okay, but you are safe now. No one is going to hurt you. I got you." Nico slowly started to relax. Nico unfurled from Will. Nico looked to Kayla who was still in the room.

"How long?"

"Nine days." Nico sucked in a breath as Kayla answered.

"How? How was I out for that long?"

"You were severely injured. There was no way to wake you up the first couple of days. Will- we couldn't fix your injuries. Will knocked himself out trying. Once you were stable, we didn't know why you wouldn't wake up. You were trapped inside your dreams. We couldn't figure out how to get you out until today." Kayla admitted.

Nico turned to look at Will more closely at the mention of him being knocked out. His eyes grew wide as he noticed the damage of Will's face. The fading black eye, bags under his lids, reddening mark on his jaw. Nico's eyes searched Will and found the fading bruise on his hand as well as the thin scars on his wrists.

"What happened to you?" He asked, lightly tracing his wrists and gently touching his face. Will shrugged out of Nico's touch, avoiding the question.

"He picked a fight with Aaron Stevenson," Kayla informed. "And a medicine cabinet."

"You just got that bruise on your jaw though." Clovis pointed out. He was still in the room as well. "What happened?"

"I got punched in the dream. Somehow it transferred over." Will explained.

A questioning look crossed Kayla's face before understanding sparked. "Oh, this makes so much more sense. You got injured in the dream and it transferred to reality. That's why it was so difficult to heal Nico; he kept getting the same injuries over and over."

"But they were just dreams, weren't they?" Fear lining Nico's words.

"Yes, but there is an outside force interfering," Clovis answered. "A god or goddess of dreams or nightmares or memories or whatever was interfering with your dreams."

"How am I supposed to defend myself from that?" Nico looked small. "Am I ever going to sleep again without getting hurt? What if I dream of-" he trailed off, looking desperately at Will. He was terrified he was going to dream of Tartarus.

"It's not going to happen anymore, right Clovis?" Hazel asked.

Clovis put his hands up. "I don't know. I don't know if the god is still interfering or not. I can set you up with another sleeping draught that will give you dreamless sleep." Clovis put his hand to mouth as he thought, the gears turning in his head. "But that won't necessarily be a long-term solution. You could create mental walls while sleeping. Or maybe you have to face the god to defeat him and stop him from-but you already defeated the god during the- I'll have to research on this-"

"That doesn't matter right now." Will interrupted, not wanting to cause his boyfriend anymore panic. "He can take the draughts until he builds up strength. Then, we can discuss long-term solutions."

Everyone in the room fell silent before Nico spoke up again. "Where's Aaron?"

"We have him in custody. There is going to be a trial to determine his punishment. Don't worry. He will pay for what he did."

"It wasn't just him." Nico was getting agitated. "It was Drew too! She's the only who lead me into-into the trap- and-and his brothers-"

Will slowly wrapped his arms around Nico in an embrace. "Shhh, it's okay. We know what happened. Everything is okay now."

Nico pushed away. "No, it's not! They are going to hurt-hurt other people-and-and"

Will mouthed to Kayla as Nico stumbled over his words, asking her to give them a minute. She nodded, dragging Clovis and Hazel out.

"Nico," Will said, authoritatively. Nico went silent. "Everything is okay? Okay?"

Nico opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He nodded, fighting back tears. Will wrapped his arms around Nico again. There was so much tension in the boy. Will could feel it in his tight muscles. Will released Nico and moved to sit behind him in order to get access to his shoulder. He started kneading his hands gently into the knots in Nico's back. Nico groaned loudly as the knots loosened and some of the pressure was relieved. His eyes fluttered shut as Will worked his magic. He made his way down Nico's back, careful of any injuries that might be there. When he finished, Nico leaned back against his chest, the tension drained out of his body.

"Thank you." Nico murmured sleepily, settling comfortably on Will's chest.

"You're welcome," Will muttered back, kissing Nico on the cheek.

Nico looked blearily back at him, sleep pulling at him. Which was normal considering he had been asleep the last nine days. Also, he was still under a lot of stress which was very taxing on his body. Nico's eyes fluttered shut as he slowly fell back asleep.

The relaxed facade he had put on for Nico slid off his face. He had pushed aside his feelings and thoughts to be there for Nico. But now that his attention was off Nico, they all came rushing back. His fear during the dream, his utter disbelief at the things that the campers had said to Nico. Anger at the amount of pain Aaron had caused Nico and how far the son of Ares had gone. Rage burned in Will's stomach. He looked up, fire blazing in his eyes as Kayla re-entered the room with Clovis and Hazel. She stepped back when she made eye contact with him.

"Will-"

"He's asleep. Can you make sure he doesn't have nightmares?" Will demanded of Clovis more than asked.

Clovis blinked. It was the longest time Will had ever seen Clovis awake for. Kayla would later inform him that Percy had given Clovis a Five-Hour Energy. "Yes, of course." He walked over to the two boys. He closed his eyes and put his hand to Nico's head. Nico relaxed more fully against Will as Clovis's eyes opened. "He will have a dreamless sleep for the next couple of hours."

Will nodded his thanks and slid out from under Nico. He squeezed past Kayla to go to the door.

"Where are you going?" She interrogated.

Will didn't stop as he answered. "There is something I have to do."

Jason's POV:

Jason and Percy had their arms crossed. They were standing behind Annabeth who was currently interrogating Aaron Stevenson. They were in one of the many rooms of the Big House. Ryan Diaz and Tyler Smith were in a similar room, being interrogated by their angry older, Clarisse, and Reyna. Drew was in another room being questioned by Piper. Annabeth had ordered them all to be split up to see if their stories lined up and to see if they would rat each other out. Jason and Percy had been assigned to this room in case Aaron tried anything. Not that he could get far considering he was tied to his chair with rope. He was sitting across from Annabeth's chair, but she was pacing back and forth. He currently hadn't spoken. This interrogation had been going on for an hour.

"-are you going to answer my questions?" Annabeth repeated to Aaron. He turned his nose up.

"I have nothing to say. The allegations you have against me are fabrications. You have no evidence to support them. I am not guilty."

Annabeth smiled mercilessly. Jason felt a shiver go up his spine. There was something scary about her expression. She planted her hands and leaned across the table. "We have evidence; Nico woke up."

Fear ignited in the son of Ares' eyes, but he quickly masked it. Jason's brow scrunched. He had noticed another emotion in the boy's eyes. Relief.

Aaron looked straight into Annabeth's eyes as he answered. "You are going to trust one person's account when there are eyewitnesses who saw me somewhere else during the time of the attack?"

"Your friends are currently being interrogated in another room right now." Annabeth's words seemed to surprise Aaron. So, he didn't know that his friends had been caught. "One of them will break. Especially with the reward we are offering them."

"What are you offering them?" Aaron's voice was sharp. He didn't trust his friends.

Annabeth laughed without humor. "You don't get to know that until you give me the information I want to know." The offer didn't seem to affect Aaron's stubbornness.

"I'm done." He claimed. Annabeth stood up from the table.

"You will break. It just needs time." She turned to face the door. She spoke to Jason and Percy in low tones. "I'm going to see how the rest of the questioning is going. Stay here, make sure he doesn't try to leave. Also, make sure no one gets in. We don't need this spreading around camp just yet."

"It already has, Annabeth." Percy gently reminded.

She let out a breath. "Any more than it already has." She glanced back at Aaron. "I'll return shortly."

She opened the door, stalking out. The door didn't fully close behind her. Jason moved from his position to go and lock the door. A hand stopped the door before he could lock it.

"Will?" Jason asked, seeing the healer with anger in his eyes.

"Is he in here?"

"Who?" Jason asked, "Aaron?"

Will's eyes went wide. "Yes."

He pushed open the door. He gained eye contact with Aaron.

"You bastard." Will insulted as he flew at Aaron before Percy or Jason could move to stop him. He pushed the table out of the way and punched Aaron in the face so hard that his chair tipped over. "You BASTARD! I SAW WHAT YOU DID!" Will screamed, spit flying. He knelt on the floor, about to start punching him in the face; Aaron could do nothing as his hands were tied. "YOU ALMOST KILLED NICO! THE THINGS YOU SAID-" Will delivered another punch.

"I'm sorry!" Aaron gasped out, stopping Will's attack momentarily. "I didn't-didn't mean for it to go that far-"

Will let out a yell of rage and tried to punch the son of Ares again when Percy and Jason decided it was time to step in. Jason grabbed Will's arm as it was gaining momentum. He almost didn't stop him, but he managed to hold Will back. Percy wrapped his arms around Will and pulled him off Aaron. Aaron gasped loudly for air as Jason slowly sat his chair back up. Percy was still struggling with Will who was still screaming obscenities at Aaron. Percy pulled Will out of the room and Jason followed once he made sure Aaron's bonds were tight.

Once outside, Jason put his hands onto Will's shoulders, stopping him. "What the hell Will? What had gotten into you?! This is not who you are!"

"What the hell is going on here?" Annabeth's voice caused the three boys' heads to snap up. She saw Will's bloody knuckles. "Will, you didn't."

"I had to." He simply stated, not fighting against Percy anymore. Annabeth looked at Will sadly.

"Oh, Will," she started.

"I don't- I don't know what I'm doing. I just went against my one mandate as a healer: do no harm," Jason saw tears running down Will's face. He noticed the bruise on Will's jaw. Where had that come from? "But I had to. I saw what happened to Nico. I went into Nico's dreams and-and saw everything." Will stumbled over his words. "It was terrible. The things they said. How far they went in abusing him. It was absolutely horrifying."

Jason's heart broke. He couldn't imagine what it must have been like for him.

Annabeth also looked heartbroken as she spoke next. "Oh, Will, I'm so sorry. What he did was unforgivable, but that doesn't give you the right to beat him up either." She gave the next command to Percy. "Lock him in one of the rooms. Chiron is going to want to speak to him."