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!
Percy's POV:
Annabeth and Percy had traveled to the arena. They entered inside, interrupting a lesson Chiron was leading with the Hermes cabin. The campers all went quiet when the two heroes entered. People still got quiet around them sometimes. The fact that they had survived through Tartarus probably had something to do with that. Percy nodded his head to Chiron, indicating that they needed to talk. Chiron excused himself from the lesson and followed the two demigods out of the arena, to get some privacy.
"Any news?" He asked. Annabeth shook her head.
"I don't... I don't think I can do it Chiron. I can't break them. I've been interrogating them for days, but I can't get any of them to admit to anything."
Chiron's face looked disappointed. "I'm sure you did your best. I, once again, asked too much of you. We are going to move onto to the trial stage. Nico's confession should be enough."
"Enough for who?" Percy asked.
"I have reached out to Mr. D and he agreed to return to camp for the trial. We will be the judges of the trial, but Dionysus will have the final verdict on punishments and such." Chiron explained. "He is the most objective. And he has the least exposure to the campers."
"When will the trial take place?"
"It needs to happen as soon as possible. Whenever Nico is available to testify." Chiron informed.
"He's awake and talking. And is in good enough condition to have visitors." Percy added.
"I will consult with Kayla and Will to find out when they think Nico's condition would allow for the trial."
"Why is the trial even necessary? They assaulted Nico; his injuries are proof enough of that." Percy interjected.
"It's a formality. We need a confession and we need an impartial judge to determine the punishment." Chiron's tail swished back and forth as he spoke.
"It just seems so unnecessary to make Nico relive his ordeal." Percy advocated for his friend.
Chiron sighed. "I know, but we have to do it. It's just part of the process." He straightened. "Now, I have to get back to my lesson. I will discuss the matter with Kayla and Will." He turned from the two demigods.
"What about Nico?" Percy was curious. "Does he have a say?"
"He's not going to want to participate in the trial, Perce," Annabeth said.
"Then why should we force him to?"
"Because we need to make these monsters pay for their actions," Annabeth replied.
"I guess," Percy muttered. "It just seems unfair to Nico. He's under so much stress."
"I know, Percy." Annabeth shook her head. "As terrible as a situation that it was, it needs to be resolved, and we can't do that without Nico's help."
"Let's go down to the infirmary, then, to see if we can give him a heads-up." Percy directed, but Annabeth grabbed his arm, slowing him to a stop.
"Wait, Chiron said that he wanted to talk to Will and Kayla.
Percy put his hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "And I think that Chiron is wrong not to tell Nico that the trial is coming. He's not asking about what's right for Nico. And as much as I know you care about him, you had to be objective regarding his case as well. That's why I'm stepping in."
Annabeth's features softened. Percy could tell that his words had convinced her. She released his arm. "I guess you are right. I will come with you, try to apologize to Nico."
Percy pulled her into his arms. "You have nothing to apologize for; you didn't do anything wrong. You were doing your job and Nico should understand that."
"Should?" Uncertainty lined Annabeth's words as she spoke against Percy's chest.
Percy smiled softly. He kissed the top of her head. "With as much knowledge you have, Wise Girl, you let your brain cloud too much with worry. Relax. We can't assume anything bad is going to happen until it does."
"The worst kind of stuff always happens to us, Percy." Annabeth laughed bitterly.
"But that's with our enemies. Nico is a reasonable guy. He will, most likely, understand your position. He's done stuff for his father that he is probably not proud of."
Annabeth sighed. Percy released her a little bit, and she brought her head up. Percy became entrapped in her grey eyes. They were like two storms swirling, but instead of rain and clouds, it was information and deductions. She calculated everything and always measured a reasonable response. But she was unable to hide the emotions in her eyes. Percy had seen Annabeth afraid, excited, angry, and overjoyed. Now, he could read the doubt that she felt.
"Hey, if he can forgive me for going back on a promise that I'd protect his sister, he can forgive you."
"We can't assume the worst." Annabeth summarized his words.
"You got it. Now, let's get down there." He laced his hand with hers as they walked through the camp.
They arrived at the Big House steps and immediately knew something was off. Reyna, Hazel, and Jason were sitting solemnly on the steps, talking in hushed tones.
"What's going on?" Percy asked. The three demigods looked up as the two approached. "Why aren't you with Nico?"
"Nico isn't as stable as we thought he would be," Hazel mentioned as she launched in an explanation of the events that had recently occurred. When she finished, Annabeth looked back at Percy.
"Now can I assume the worst?"
Nico's POV:
He opened his eyes to find himself in a dark infirmary room. He looked around and thought he was alone. The clock read 12:38 am. He sighed and slowly sat up, resting his back against the headboard. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He wished he would go back to normal, but he didn't even know what that was anymore. He just didn't want to panic every time someone tried to touch him. He didn't want to have to be sedated every time he wanted to sleep. He didn't want to see Tartarus or Aaron's face whenever he closed his eyes. He wanted to be ten again, with Bianca, at Westover. He was ignorant of this world, but at least he was happy. He buried his head in his hands.
"Were you ever going to contact me?" Nico gasped, lurching back as a voice sounded from the corner. He peered into the dark. A figure in the chair leaned forward, snapping his fingers. Green Greek fire sprang up in front of Nico.
"Father." Nico grabbed his beating heart. "What are you doing- how long have you been here?"
Hades brushed his hand, causing the fire to take residence in the lamp. "I wanted to check on how my son was doing, as he failed to contact me and tell me what his condition was."
Nico faintly remembered someone telling him that his father wanted to see him. "Can't quite recall that."
Hades rolled his eyes dramatically. "Your friends are really terrible messengers."
"Why are you here, father?" Nico was getting annoyed; his head was aching.
Hades leaned forward, balancing his arms on his legs, his hands clasped together. "I really did want to see how you were doing. Mentally and physically."
Nico laughed bitterly. "How do you think I'm doing?"
Hades looked at him sadly, eyes burning dimly. He shifted uncomfortably. "Do... do you want to talk about it?"
Nico's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you feeling alright? Where is this coming from?"
"Your doctor boy told me that I need to be more receptive to your emotions. Relate to you more, blah blah blah."
Nico scoffed. "That's not really your style, father."
"Yes, I know. Enough of that. What's going on?"
Almost against his will, Nico started voicing his concerns about the trial. "I just don't think I'm prepared for the trial. I don't want to have to face… the monsters who hurt me. They almost killed me. I don't want to have to see them, much less testify against them. It's my word against theirs. Who is going to believe me?"
"What happened in that forest, son?" Hades inquired. "Who hurt you? What did they do? I tried to see but was unable to."
"Wait, Will didn't tell you what happened?" Nico asked. He assumed that his father knew about how he had been hurt. He assumed Will had told him.
"No, he just said that you had been assaulted. And that it has happened before. He didn't give me any details. I was waiting for you to wake up so you could give me information." Hades explained. "Tell me what happened. I want to know everything."
"That's quite a lot to ask father," Nico said honestly. "Starting when?"
"When you were attacked. In the forest. Tell me what happened. I can't help you if I don't know what happened."
"I-" Nico's voice cracked.
"Nico-"
"Don't." Nico interrupted. "I don't want your pity."
Hades looked taken aback. "What do you want? Tell me what I can do, and I'll do it." Hades said sincerely.
"I want to forget," Nico admitted. "I don't want to be plagued by this terrible event every single day. I don't want to remember the attack or Tar-Tartarus. I don't want to have nightmares every night. I don't want to feel scared or unsafe anymore. I want... I want to be happy."
"Son-"
Nico stood and started to pace the room. He started mentally beating himself up. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, what was I thinking? Just disregard that. It's impos-"
"Son." Hades' voice was firm as he stood as well. "You need to let me speak before you jump to conclusions." Nico closed his mouth. "Most of what you ask, yes, it is impossible. Taking your memories would change who you are. Change your very core. I cannot and will not take your memories from you. Because I cannot discern the good from the bad. If I take them, I take everything. That means your friends and Will."
Nico shuddered at the thought. As terrible as his trials and suffering had been, he didn't want to lose the few good things that had happened to him in life. "I guess I don't want that."
"But, some of what you ask is possible. I can help with the nightmares, especially since there was some god interfering with them. I will reach out to the gods I know associated with dreams and help you. And I can help you master your powers as well. My offer still stands for you to come and live in the Underworld with me. You'll be safe, down there, under my protection."
"I-I don't-"
Hades rushed to reassure him. "You don't have to decide right this moment. But I can get you away from this suffering. You wouldn't have to relive anything again. You wouldn't have to be on trial or deal with those delinquents again. I can deal with them with a snap of my fingers."
Nico felt fear fill him. No matter how much he despised the campers who attacked him, he didn't want them to face his father's wrath. Or even his own, reminded of Bryce Lawrence. No one deserved that. "No. I don't want you to exact revenge on them, father. I want them to receive the proper punishment."
"As you wish my son, but do you wish to go through the trial?" Hades asked.
"They can't do this without me," Nico admitted. As much as he didn't want to go through the trial, he knew that only he could condemn the campers.
"What do you want me to do then son?" Hades questioned.
"Just wait until after the trial and I will make my decision," Nico replied. "And... do you think you could..."
Hades inclined his head. "Of course, I will be present at the trial. I will be there to support you."
"Thank you," Nico said softly. "Father."
"Of course, my son." Hades led Nico back to his bed. Nico leaned back, feeling exhaustion wash over him, knowing that his father had something to do with it. "I do care about your safety and well-belling, my boy. Now, sleep well." Nico hit the pillows and felt his father's cool touch to his forehead.
Will's POV:
Will groaned as he pushed himself off the cold, infirmary floor.
"What the hell happened?" Kayla's voice sounded nearby. Will turned his head to see Kayla getting up from a similar position. Sunlight was filtering into the window. He glanced at his watch. It was 10:30 am on the 11th.
"I have no idea. We were in the rec room talking to Chiron last night around 9ish. Then we came back in here, to talk to Nico."
"I had been watching him-" another voice sounded. Will turned. It was Brandon. "- and I remember you guys coming in. We started talking."
"There was a black cloud and the doors opened, but I fell to the ground. I saw a figure-" Will groaned. Nico.
He stood quickly, grabbing a scalpel. He pushed through Nico's door to find... Nico, asleep in his bed. Nothing was wrong. He was still here. He breathed a sigh of relief and started to move over to him.
"Oh good, you are awake; I thought I had accidentally killed you."
Without thinking, Will threw the scalpel into the corner where the voice had issued from. It quivered from where it stuck into the wall.
"Will!" Kayla's voice was shrill. Will looked at who he had almost impaled.
"Oh my gods, your highness, I am so sorry." Will apologized, bowing towards the Lord of the Underworld.
Hades considered the medical knife in the wall behind him. He pulled it out of the wall and twirled it in his fingers. "Good throw. You could have caused some real damage."
"I didn't- I didn't realize you were here, sir." Will stammered.
"Hang out, did you make us pass out?" Kayla interjected.
She had her arms crossed over her chest. Kayla, in her fiery nature, wasn't scared of any god, especially one that broke into her infirmary. Brandon, on the other hand, was trying to hide behind her. He had never been exposed to any god as powerful as Hades before.
Hades smiled. "Perceptive, this one is." He placed the scalpel on the table. "Yes, I did cause you to lose consciousness."
"But you said you thought you killed us." Kayla continued.
"I was kidding." Hades smiled coolly. "Mostly."
"I mean no disrespect, but what are you doing here, Lord Hades?" Will asked.
He walked over to Nico and felt for his pulse. It was steady.
"Nico is fine. He's the reason I'm here."
Will's heart dropped. "Did something happen?"
"As I said before, he's fine," Hades repeated. "I just wished to converse with my son without interruption. I merely put you to sleep so I could attain the privacy that I desired."
"What did you speak with him about?" Will asked.
"That does not concern you, boy. It will remain between my son and me." Hades explained, the fire in his eyes lighting up.
"When did you speak to him?" Kayla asked. "Because we've been asleep since last night."
"We spoke around midnight, and he's been asleep ever since. I made sure to stop any nightmares coming his way."
"Why stay? If he fell asleep at midnight, why stay until this morning?" Kayla interrogated.
Hades considered her. "So many questions, tell me, do you ever stop talking?"
Kayla looked affronted, but that did not deter her from opening her mouth again.
"What my sister means to say is that-" Will interrupted, but Hades held up his hand for silence.
"She doesn't need you to jump to her defense. Let the girl speak." Hades indicated for Kayla to continue.
"What I was going to say is, no. I don't ever stop talking." Kayla finished. "Sir."
"Interesting." He turned in his chair to face the three siblings. "To answer your question, I stayed because I did not want to leave my son unattended, but I had underestimated the strength of my sleep-spell. You were all asleep for much longer than I anticipated, so I stayed to watch over him." Hades stood. "Since he is in such good hands, I will leave you now." He started to bring his arms up, but stopped, mid-motion. "Oh, and please inform me of the trial date. I wish to attend to see the punishments allotted out to the imbeciles who assaulted my son." He flourished his hands and in an instant, was gone.
Kayla and Will looked at each other, flummoxed.
"That was one of the most peculiar meetings I've ever had with a god," Kayla commented.
"You really get that a lot with my father," Nico said. Will looked around to see his boyfriend, alert and moving. He had failed to notice his change as he had been distracted by the dramatic exit of the god. "He has such drastic mood changes as well. Sometimes he's joking like he was, and sometimes it's like he's ready to reign terror down on the whole world."
"So that's must be where you get it from?" Will dared to joke, picking up on Nico's improved mood.
Nico rolled his eyes. "Haha, so funny."
"How long were you awake?" Will asked.
"Enough to see you try to impale my father."
Will held his hands out defensively. "It was an accident, I swear!"
"Well, your accidents are going to kill someone one day." Nico teased, but the statement hit home. Some of Will's accidents had caused deaths. Nico picked up on his mood change and attempted to veer conversation in a different direction. "So, when can I get out of this place?"
"You still have some healing to do, Nico." Kayla reminded. "And you can't leave until you are able to stomach real food."
"Yeah, haven't gotten that far yet."
"Exactly, so you are going to stay in here until you can," Will said in response to Nico's statement. "There's no rush or anything though. Only when you are ready."
"I know. I have a lot of things to get ready for." Nico said, cryptically. He shook his head and looked back at Will. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"