LII
WILL
Will instantly knew that he was in a dream. He used to dream a lot about Nico but this was different. In his dream, Nico was tied to a chair on the rooftop of a building. He was talking to a man in front of him who Will recognized as Bryce Lawrence, brother of a resident doctor in JHH, Agatha Lawrence.
"You tried to kill me three times, you asshole," Nico spat at Bryce. "You were the one who gave me the cookies back then. I don't know how you know my allergy or that it could kill me, same as the subway incident and the bathroom incident on Broadway."
Bryce scratched his chin as he played with a kitchen knife on his other hand. "I don't know why but you seemed to have lady luck on your side. You always managed to survive. Then, of course, there was your stupid hellhound and this annoying big dude in black like you who's constantly around you, so I couldn't do more to you. It's just recently that I discovered the red ball trick to distract that hellhound. I don't know what happened to that other guy but he seems to be MIA at the moment. No one's going to save you now." Bryce gave him a wicked smile.
He crouched in front of Nico, still playing with the knife. Its sharp end gleamed against the emergency lamp sitting on a stack of wooden boards not too far away. "So, how should we start this? Do you even know where we are? Do you remember this place?"
Nico looked around. A look of recognition passed on his face but he didn't say anything.
"That's right." Bryce stood up as he walked in a circle. He then paused to give Nico a side-glance. "This is the place where you killed me almost a year ago, remember? You stabbed me with that weird looking sword inside this building."
Will was confused for a moment. Stabbed? Killed? He killed Bryce? But that's impossible, because-
He was then hit by a sudden realization that the one who was speaking wasn't Bryce Lawrence, but Python. He started to feel dread as his dream was slowly turning into a nightmare.
Python, in the body of Bryce, tsked. "I figured that I should do the same to you, you know, stab you. It's not a sword but this knife will do."
"Then do it." Nico didn't miss a beat. "This is what you were aiming for a long time, right? To kill me?"
Python nodded. "At first that was the plan. I didn't want to die yet so I could take my revenge on you. That's why I possessed the first person I encountered on the street, which is this body." He pointed to himself. "Do you know that you were not the only person at the scene where you got hit by that idiotic Luke Castellan in his car? I was there too. I mean the real Bryce was and then I possessed him and learned all about the Diocletian's scepter." Python walked to the stack of wooden boards, bringing the scepter out of its hiding place.
"Let's just say that I was lucky to have possessed Bryce when I did." He walked back towards Nico, the scepter in hand. "Because if I didn't possess Bryce in that instant, I might have been sucked up by this scepter too. Like those countless souls who fell under this scepter's spell. So, another plan had been made. I would take my revenge and get this scepter from that bastard Nero. Actually, I was a bit glad that he was already caught by the police. He was so annoying that he did nothing but boss us around. If not for the money, I would have ended him a long time ago." Python shook his head. "You've seen what this scepter could do, so it's not just my revenge that I would get but also power! I could just ask the souls to do whatever I want."
There was a manic gleam in Python's eyes, he was smiling widely. "Imagine, di Angelo, what I can do with this scepter! I'm getting a lot of ideas now, seriously."
"You are far eviler than Nero." Nico glared at Python.
Python laughed. "Say all you want but there's nothing you can do about it. No one's going to save you from here and I already have an army of the dead -thanks to Nero, so maybe after my business with you, I will create an empire," Python started to ramble as he walked in circles excitedly. "Should I start with colonizing the US? Ah, I should start first with the president of the United States. Right, right. Then everyone will tremble under me. Of course, I'll pick up your soul too, you are going to be my right-hand man-"
"YOU ARE INSANE!" Nico shouted at him.
Python looked sharply at Nico. "What did you say?"
Will wanted to reach for Nico so badly. It felt like he was just in front of them, watching every scene unfold. He wanted to do something; yet, there was something that was pulling him away from Nico. Will wanted to scream but he couldn't.
When Will thought that everything was going to fade, at the last second, Nico looked over Python's shoulder and, as if he could see him. He stared straight into Will's eyes.
"Sunshine, at all costs, stop him," Nico said to him.
Python whipped around to look wherever Nico was looking at but seemed to find nothing. "Who are you talking to?"
Python's manic voice echoed as everything faded in gray.
Will's eyes snapped open and he gasped for breath as he sat up. He looked around and found he was lying on a hospital bed inside a room. Next to him was Lou Ellen holding the paddles of a defibrillator, her eyes were wide and her cheeks were stained with tears.
"L-Lou?" Will was startled by the look on his friend's face. He slowly sat up.
Lou dropped the paddles. Its spring wires stretched and the paddles thudded on the floor. Will mildly panicked because if they broke that machine that would be a salary deduction-
"WILL!" Lou cried and hugged Will tightly to her chest.
"H-hey Lou, w-why are you crying?"
Lou pulled back and glared fiercely at Will. "Why am I crying? You just died, William! I thought -I thought I couldn't save you anymore. I-it's been 4 minutes and you didn't have a heartbeat and Cecil already called a doctor and he's taking too long and I thought you really died!" Lou cried harder. "We saw you passed out on the floor-" Her voice cracked, stopping her from speaking. She covered her face with her hands and cried.
"H-Hey." Will stood up and hugged Lou to comfort his friend. "I'm so sorry that I scared and worried the hell out of you. But hey, good news. I'm back and alive!"
Lou pulled away again, her face was red and stained with tears. She sniffed. "But are you alright-"
"Yep! As you can see, I'm standing on my own two feet." Will spread his arms for good measure.
"But what happened-"
The door suddenly burst open.
"Here he is-!" Cecil shouted, running into the room. Dr. Fletcher was in tow. They both froze when he saw Will.
"What the hell, man? I thought he was dying," Lee Fletcher said annoyed.
"B-but..." Cecil was speechless.
"I'm good," Will said to them. "Thanks for, uh, dropping by and offering your help."
Lee Fletcher glared at Cecil. "You interrupted my one-hour long precious sleep, Cecil. You know that's unforgivable, right?"
Cecil bowed his head. "I'm sorry."
Lee Fletcher shook his head and walked out. When he was gone, Cecil closed the door behind him. "Explain."
"I really wish I could but I can't do that right now because-"
"You have something to do first?" Lou interrupted him, frustrated. "Seriously, Will? What's going on? Are you ill? Are you in danger?"
"Not me, Nico," Will said, dread starting to pool in the pit of his stomach again.
"Nico's ill?" Cecil frowned.
"No, he's in danger."
"What? How?" Lou asked, concerned.
Will took a deep breath. "I really have to go-"
"And march alone to wherever Nico is and save his ass but get killed in the process? Nuh-uh. Not gonna happen, buddy." Cecil interrupted.
Will took another deep breath. "Listen, guys, I have to do this because I think I'm the only one who can stop him."
"Who?" they asked in unison.
"Just call the cops for me, yeah?" Will changed the subject. "I'll write down the address where they should go. Tell them that Nico has been captured by a bad guy."
"But-"
"Please, just trust me on this. I won't die this time." Probably, Will added as an afterthought.
Will emerged from JHH, still wearing a surgeon's scrub over a gray cardigan he had borrowed from Cecil. He had no time to change clothes when Nico's life was in danger. He stood at the sidewalk ready to flag down a cab when a royal blue Volvo stopped in front of him.
Wait, he knew that car.
The passenger's side window rolled down. His father, Apollo, was in the driver seat, and beside him was Detective Percy Jackson. The window from the backseat also rolled down, revealing Detective Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano and Jason Grace.
"Dad? What are you-"
"Get in," his dad commanded; his voice was unusually authoritative. "We know where Nico is."
"You know?" Will echoed dumbly.
"Yes, so just get in!"
Will obliged immediately as he opened the door to the back and climbed in. The Volvo zoomed off, the car maneuvering through cars on the street.
He was supposed to be asking questions but it was kind of hard when he didn't know what to ask first.
"Uhm, what's going on?" Will decided for the much simpler question.
"That's the same thing we wanted to ask your father," Percy said, looking at the rearview mirror. "We were trying to find Nico earlier because we need his statement about the mysterious explosion in the Triumvirate Laboratories. He didn't answer his phone though so we couldn't reach him. Then your father came, telling us that Nico is in danger. He wouldn't give us any details. We don't even know why we're following him in the first place." Percy mumbled the last part.
Will looked at his father. Apollo was quiet, which was odd for him. If there was one thing that his father and Will had in common, it was their sunny disposition.
"Dad?" Will called.
The Volvo swerved, entering an alleyway. They turned into several other unknown alleyways that Will didn't even know existed.
"Say, Will, do you know how to manipulate your light powers?" Apollo asked, eyes on the road.
To say that Will was shocked was an understatement. He was frozen in his seat, his mind seemed to halt and unable to process what his father had just asked him.
The three detectives were watching the latter two silently.
"I mean, can you manipulate it to be a weapon or something like that?" Apollo continued casually as if he was talking about the weather outside. "Because it's going to be useful if-"
"Hold on a second." Will signaled for a time out as he shook his head, willing his brain to cooperate with him. "How did you know about that?" He glanced at the detectives sitting beside him.
Apollo laughed without any humor. "Of course I'd know, you're my son after all, and you inherited it from me."
"I did WHAT?" It was just then that Will realized, as he looked out the windshield, that everything outside was a blur-as if they were traveling through time and space. Will suddenly had a similar feeling when he and Nico shadow-travel. The only difference was, this was . . .brighter. "W-where are we?"
"You just noticed? It's, uh, been happening for a while," Jason said.
"Traffic is murder, we'll never make it to our destination if we travel the usual route," Apollo said. Then suddenly the blur faded and everything cleared. They were back on the streets. "Here we are."
The car stopped.
Across from them was the blackened five-story twin building where Will was captured by Python and where Nico had saved him almost a year ago. Now the situation was reversed because Will was sure that Nico was inside of that building captured by Python and here was Will, outside, trying his best to save him.
Apollo peered at the building from the window. It was dark outside as the night fell upon them. The only light source was from the blinking lamp post nearby. The street and the other surrounding streets were empty of people.
"The mist will cover all of us from mortals so we should be good to strike back from here," Apollo said.
Before Will could ask, Apollo climbed out of the car, the three detectives following suit, which left Will with no choice but to follow as well. He was starting to get frustrated by the fact that he was so confused and he still had no idea what on earth was going on with his dad. Then there was also another fact that he went to this place unprepared. Like how in gods' name was he going to save Nico? Was he just going to march in and confront Python?
"Is Nico here?" Reyna asked.
"On the rooftop." Apollo glanced up.
"We've been waiting for you for ages!" They looked at the direction of the voice and from the corner of the street, two figures in black emerged. It was Bob Iapetus and Bianca di Angelo. Bianca was armed with an onyx black bow and quiver of black arrows while Bob was carrying a black double-double edged sword.
Apollo snorted. "Don't tell me you're the reinforcement that Hades sent?"
Bianca and Bob seemed to bow in respect when they saw Apollo. "With all due respect, Lord Apollo, don't underestimate our strength."
"But, uh, are we getting ourselves into some sort of war?" Jason asked, gazing at the weapons that the death angels were carrying. "Not to mention this place feels eerily weird and out of place."
"Agreed. This place seems...off." Percy looked around.
It was rare for Will, but he was starting to lose his patience. "For once, Dad! Can you tell us what's going on here? I hate wasting my time right now because as you have said before, Nico is in danger and who knows what's happening to him!"
Will's loud voice must have stirred something inside because a rumbling sound echoed out through the building. Instinctively, the three detectives pulled out their guns.
"W-What's that?" Will stammered, looking at the building.
"That, my dear friend, are our enemies." Bob readied his sword.
"Enemies...as in plural?" Percy asked.
As if on cue, a figure emerged from the entrance of the building, standing tall in black clothes. But when Will squinted his eyes, he realized that it was just a human figure made of black smoke. He glimmered against the scarce light of the lamp post nearby and then suddenly, a whole bunch more figures shimmering in black, started to come out from the building.
Hundreds of them.
"Guns won't work on them, will they?" Jason stared at the armies of the dead.
"Nope." Bianca stood alongside Will as she nocked an arrow in her bow.
"What are they?" Will asked.
"Dead souls who can't go to the Underworld anymore because they lost their essence," Bob said on the other side of Will.
"And we must kill them before they kill us," Bianca said. "Because I'm sure as hell that's what Python commanded them to do."
"Python," Apollo said, irritated. His mouth formed in a thin line. "I love that guy so much." Then he started to glow, much brighter than Will had ever achieved with his light power. Tendrils of light surrounding him started to morph into something and it turned into a golden quiver full of arrows and bow, almost identical to what Bianca was holding.
"Dad?" Will was getting tired of being this dumb.
"Can you do what I've done?" Apollo asked his son.
Will shook his head.
"As I've thought, you're more on the healing side." Apollo nodded slinging across his back the golden quiver. "Non-violent side, per-say. So just command the dead to back away and head straight to Nico, we're going to take care of everything down here because I believe your own battle is waiting for you on the rooftop."
"We're going to take care of this?" Percy asked, flabbergasted. He started to shake his head. "This isn't in my job description."
"Man, it's not like it's your first time to see something bizarre like this," Jason said. "We just encountered a cynocephali last month."
"This still isn't in my job description," Percy muttered.
"Just treat this as a monthly thing, you know."Jason shrugged putting back his gun on his holster vest. He produced a coin from his pocket, then he flipped it, and it turned into a golden sword. He caught it in mid-air.
Will's mouth hung open.
Percy was still shaking his head as he also put away his gun and produced a pen out of his own pocket. He uncapped it and it turned into yet another sword, bronze in color. On the other hand, Reyna was now holding a golden javelin.
"I knew it!" Percy turned to Reyna. "You weren't just an average detective after all!"
"I could say the same thing to you," Reyna answered flipping the javelin in her hand as if it were a toy.
"Well, Will don't just stand there," Apollo said. "Do your thing!"
"My thing? Oh, y-yeah, right." Will's body started to glow, the small area around him scaring the darkness away. He was encased in a ball of light.
"Apparently, so is doc," Jason whistled.
Will looked at his father. "Dad, seriously, who are you?"
Apollo smiled. "Why, haven't you heard of the Greek myth about a god named Apollo? I am him." He looked ahead, nocking an arrow into his bow. "Well, I never told you because Naomi didn't want me to. She wanted you to have a life as normal as a demigod could have."
"Demigod." Will looked down at his glowing hand. "So that's what I am?"
"So are we," Percy waved his hand. "We're glad to meet another fellow demigod, doc."
"Okay, enough pleasantries," Apollo said looking ahead at the armies of the dead. "We have something to take care of. The dead are looking more agitated by the second. I wonder why they're not attacking us first."
"The passersby," Bianca said. "We surveyed the area earlier, and there were random people who happened to pass by this building. The dead were here long ago, and we believed Nero transported some of the dead here for safekeeping. Mortals cannot see them but, as not to attract attention, they don't attack unless provoked."
"Wait, you were here already? Nico was here all along and you didn't do anything?" Will turned to Bianca.
"You think I like standing here while my brother is up there, risking his life?" Bianca snapped at him. "I hate it. There are hundreds of dead inside that building and we're outnumbered. The whole building is enchanted so we can't just shadow travel onto the rooftop. The only way is the stairs inside but it's too heavily guarded and the only way we can defeat all of them is to get help from a god."
"Yeah, yeah, that's my job. That's why I'm here," Apollo said unenthusiastically as he raised his bow towards the dead. "But my powers are, uh, limited because I'm living as a mortal right now. I need your assistance."
"We're ready." Reyna stood in a fighting stance, her javelin in hand. Jason, Percy, Bob, and Bianca did the same.
"What's the plan?" Jason asked.
"Simple. Destroy all of them," Apollo said. "Will needs to go to the rooftop. You can handle that son, right?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Son, 'Yeah, I think so' will not save you from an impending battle."
"Fine! Okay, I can do it!"
"You need to command Python to get out of Bryce's body and I'll handle the rest from there," Apollo said.
"Yeah, I figured the same thing. . ." Will answered.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. It's showtime." Apollo released the golden arrow and it multiplied into ten. They exploded into golden dust when they made contact with the dead, extinguishing several of them at once.
The dead growled and charged at them.
And with a loud battle cry, so did Apollo and his gang.
The clash of the dead and the living began.