XXXVI

WILL

Will yawned as he shuffled through the hallway of JHH. He was tired as usual and his bones felt like made of bricks, as he dragged his body with heaviness. He shoved his hands deeper into the pocket of his lab coat. His shift was going to end soon and he was eager to go home.

"WILLIAM SOLACE!"

Will stopped walking and turned around. He found himself stumbling back to the wall as Kayla crashed into him. Cecil and Lou were trailing behind Kayla.

"What the-"

"Finally! I found you." Kayla panted like she had run a marathon. One hand was holding on to her knee and one hand holding to Will's sleeves.

Will looked inquiringly at his other friends, Cecil and Lou.

"We have something really important to tell you," Cecil said.

"Yeah, it was kind of creeping all of us out and it's hard to believe, honestly," Lou added rubbing her arm

"And what is it?" Will's eyebrow rose

Kayla straightened up and took a deep breath. She rambled. "I never got a chance to tell you yesterday since we were both in the OR's having a tight schedule and we need to talk this out in person so I never bothered to call, but anyway something weird is happening here."

Will sighed exasperatedly. "Again, what is it?"

"Everyone here in the hospital seemed to forget Nico di Angelo existed as if they all have amnesia like Nico."

Will froze. "What?"

Kayla dragged Will by the sleeve of his white coat. "Let's not talk about that here"

And so they went into an empty medical supplies room.

"What are you talking about?" Will asked immediately as soon as the four of them reached the room.

"I mean, it all started when Dr. Fletcher and I met Nico at the lobby the other day by chance."Kayla started. "Then Dr. Fletcher didn't recognize Nico when I asked about him. Furthermore, he seemed to forget that you dated Nico!"

"Besides…." Cecil chimed in. "We did a little investigation with all the staff of this hospital who met Nico but they claimed that they didn't know him. Like for example, Nurse Drew, she was the one who created your ship name, right? Now, she didn't even know what Solangelo is."

Then Lou spoke. "And the picture of you and Nico that I took with my phone on 3rd avenue last year? I let them see that picture and they all acted as if it was the first time they saw that. They were all asking who was the person you're holding hands with. How was that possible when most of us, the ER staff, looked at that picture last year? We're all even teasing you about that!"

"The two of you were the topic in the ER for a week. He's always been here at the hospital last year. So how is it possible that no one knows Nico? What is happening? Why it feels like, it was only the four of us remembered him?" Kayla said.

"We only noticed this at this time because you refused to talk about him for a long time," Cecil said. "Maybe that's why no one's asking how Nico and you were doing or asked why he suddenly disappeared and never came here again."

"M-maybe it was just a prank?" Will asked.

"Why would they do a prank on something like that? It doesn't make any sense." Lou countered.

"Besides," Cecil raised his hand. "I'm a self-proclaimed Ph.D. holder at doing pranks so I would know easily if they were pretending or not. But all of them were genuinely clueless about Nico that it was creepy. Look-" Cecil raised his arm. "-I have goosebumps."

"Me too," Lou grumbled rubbing her arm again.

Will pursed his lips and clenched his hands, his knuckles turning white. Nico forgetting everything was kind of tolerable but when everyone seemed to forget as if their story never existed and as if all of the things that Nico and he had gone through were just like a dream, it was too much. Whoever did this was way too cruel. How could someone mess people's minds like that? What that someone had done was a crime, stealing people's memories. Will was pissed as hell.

"Son of a bi-" Will closed his eyes and exhaled. Calm down, Will. Let's be calm about this and figure out what other things had gone to oblivion. But Will whirled around and punched the cemented wall in front of him.

"Will. . ." Lou called worriedly.

"You seemed to know something. So, what is happening here?" Kayla said crossing her arms. "I mean, we are all medical professionals here who believe that everything around us is made of science, and this is like something that would happen in Harry Potter books."

Will took a deep breath and faced his friends. "Do you perhaps know something about Death Angels? Colloquially known as Grim Reapers, because the truth is, they exist and I can see them."

His friends stared at him.

Will looked up at the burned twin building from across the street. He had left his friends to figure out the things he had told them. He had explained everything to them, Nico had been a death angel before and the punishment he had received. However, he had excluded telling them about his powers. He couldn't tell them about that yet. Not now.

Back at the present, as Will stared at the blackened 5-story building in front of him, memories that were hidden in the deepest part of his brain, resurfaced. Almost a year ago, he had thought that he was really going to die at this place. Fortunately, he hadn't died that day. Yet, his life had cost him to lose someone he cherished the most. He didn't die physically but something inside him had broken and shattered in a million pieces that it was almost the same as dying.

No one else aside from him and his friends knew the real story behind this building. That there was an angel who had changed Will's fate as if that angel had come down from the heavens and bestowed Will some mercy and miracle.

Python's body had been recovered, but it had been badly destroyed by the fire that the autopsy couldn't be done anymore. The authorities had no choice but to rely on Will's statement. That after Will had discreetly abled to break free from a tight bind in a chair, he had fought with Python and had shot him with a gun in the end. Then he and Austin had escaped. Austin, who had collapsed due to his injuries, had no idea what truly happened. Will had been a hero for months. He had even got interviews and featured in a magazine because of his heroic deed. But that heroic deed hadn't even his, and he had to pay a high price for a second chance in life.

"Am I seeing guilt etched on that face of yours, Will Solace?"

Will turned his head at his side and saw Bianca di Angelo approaching him.

"Nico said that I shouldn't blame myself for what happened so I'm obediently following what he had told me." Will looked up again at the building. "Besides, it's not guilt but sadness that I don't know if I would be able to overcome. Maybe this is my punishment too."

Bianca did not comment.

"Now, that you are here, I need to ask something." He faced her. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his cardigan. He hid his hands that had balled into fists. "Some people who met Nico before have forgotten his existence. Meanwhile, Nico can still see death angels. Do you know all of that all this time?"

"So you found that out too, took you long enough to know. I can't even get close to him because he still can see us." She said.

"And you never bothered to tell me?" He narrowed his eyes.

"I am not entitled to tell you everything I know, Solace. Besides, I told you before that the mist will alter everything to match up Nico's cover story as a mortal, and not as a former death angel." Bianca countered.

Will pursed his lips, trying to calm his nerves. "But at least you could have told me specifically. The hell I know about abracadabra magic. I still deserve to know that."

"Knowing everything is not always a good thing, Solace." She said. "I'm not doing it on purpose-well, a little bit but trust me, too much knowledge can be a burden."

"Wow." He rolled his eyes. "So I have to be thankful to you now that you are not giving me any burden to carry?"

Bianca frowned at Will. "What's gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into me?" He shot back. "I am so frustrated and hurt that I don't know what to feel anymore. And to add to the list of my frustrations, my sense of reality is starting to get warp up just because for everyone, Nico and I's story was something that never happened. It hurt so much here." Will pointed at his chest. "It felt like our feelings have been played. You should have erased all of our memories, that was so much better. Why my friends and I needed to remember everything? Is that your consolation-"

"Wait, hold on a sec." She raised her hand. "Your friends still remember Nico?"

This time, Will frowned. "Yes."

"How many of your friends remember?" Bianca asked.

"Only three and by the way, I told them the truth about Nico."

She ignored him. She bit her thumb while deep in thought. "What is happening, dad? Why are you doing this?"

"Dad?"

Bianca waved her hand dismissively. "Anyway, tell them whatever you want. There must be a reason why they remembered. The mist was supposed to wipe out everyone's memories who encountered Nico but I don't know why there are exceptions." She took a deep breath. "Another thing to add to my investigation."

"Investigation?"

"I told you, Nico being here is suspicious, which I know is related to the Underworld being restless and Lord Hades being so frustrated all the time like Nico. That's why I need to go somewhere to investigate further. You won't see me in a while, bet you will be happy with that, huh?"

"And you are also not going to tell me where are you going?"

"Russia."

Will raised an eyebrow at that. "You are going that far? How about your duties as a death angel?"

"Bob will take care of that."

"Is that possible with all your strict rules?"

"It's not possible for others but it is for me."

He nodded. "Of course, it will be possible for Bianca di Angelo. Bon voyage."

"One more thing, the reason I came here was to tell you something before I leave."

"Woah, that's the first voluntary spilling of information."

She glared at him. "Careful, Solace. I might change my mind about this."

"About what?"

"Don't avoid Nico anymore."

"W-what?" He took a step back. His hands in his cardigan loosened up.

She turned away. "There's nothing special about that, my feelings towards you remain the same. I still hate you. But for Nico. . . He might have forgotten about you but his feelings for you never changed. And that is something that cannot be changed or altered easily. The truth is, he's subconsciously trying to find you after he woke up from being in a coma."

Silence.

"Say, will he be able to get back his old memories?" He swallowed, looking down at his feet.

"I doubt that. It was his punishment after all." She answered. ". . . But you can always make new ones."

Will tilted his head at her. "Is it all right, though? Will he not get into trouble if I chose to be at his side again?"

"That I can't guarantee. When you two are together something always comes up but the hell with it. There's always a risk in everything and love is no different. Will you take that risk?"

"You are going to hate me more if Nico got in trouble again because of me."

"That is guaranteed, but what does an overprotective sister can do? Nico will never listen to me when it comes to you. He's all grown up now and he's not the little kid I used to protect. I cannot stop him from whatever he's about to do, it's his life. And if you're thinking about Nico being punished in the Underworld again because of you, don't worry, he can't be punished for the same reason twice."

"But I might confuse him, even more, when everything about us seemed not to exist for everyone."

"Make new memories remember? Besides, you don't have to tell him what happened in the past."

He was silent.

"What am I trying to say here is, Nico never have given up on you. So don't give up on him either," She said. "Well, my business here is over. I should get going." She turned around and started to leave.

Before Will could say anything she disappeared in black smoke.

Don't give up huh?