LIV

NICO

When Nico di Angelo was still a death angel, he had remembered swearing that nothing could ever surprise or scare the living daylights out of him. Because, after all, he had been in the mortal world for a very, very long time that he thought he had seen it all. Although he still had faith in the good of humanity, he was also aware of the destruction that a human mind could conduct. The cruelties, the nightmares, the selfishness-the list goes on and on. They were all out there in the small blue vulnerable planet they call Earth. That was why Nico had gotten a little bit cocky on the idea that he wouldn't be caught off-guard anymore.

Of course, that hadn't been the case when he freaking met Will Solace. It had always started with that blond, the roller coaster of emotions, the unexpected shenanigans, and all other things that had made him question his still stable sanity.

Nico was sure that he already lost that said sanity when the blond was in his arms, eyes closed and bleeding to death.

Nico looked fiercely at the sun god kneeling on the other side of Will. The death angel's eyes were red and stained with tears. "You're a god! Heal him!"

Apollo looked distraught. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He was visibly shaking in an effort to calm himself. He then looked at Nico, frowning. "I-I can't. He's not here anymore and you know it." Apollo gave him a meaningful look.

"Hold him for me," Nico said quietly and Apollo obliged.

That's when Nico disappeared. He dissolved in a black mass like a black hole. The remaining black mass turned into a black ray and sailed towards the sky. Apollo shut his eyes as he kissed Will's forehead before throwing his head back and screaming. He burst into light, creating a golden light beam that also shot up towards the sky. Percy, Jason, and Bob had to shield their eyes away from the blinding light. That was when Bob noticed that Bianca di Angelo had also disappeared from his side.

After a long while, Nico set foot again on the grounds of the Underworld. He was already inside the Palace of Hades so he ran through the long, dark, and narrow corridor towards his destination. The sounds of his steps echoed through the black marbled floor. The walls of the hallway were obsidian black. Torches lined the walls and were lit by green flames.

Nico squinted his eyes as he saw a figure far ahead. He slowed down as he came to a pause. Not far from him, a familiar mop of blond hair in blue surgeon's scrubs was already looking at him. His head was tilted to the side as if confused by what was happening.

Nico started to run again towards Will Solace. Then he tackled the blond into a hug, a hug so tight that might break a few rib cages. He buried his face into the blond's chest.

"I-I don't understand. Where are we?" Will spoke quietly returning the hug. "I thought I was dead. . ."

Nico pulled away and looked up at Will. It was painful to look at him when they were in this kind of situation. When it might be only one of them could return to the land of the living. Nico exhaled as he held Will's hand. "You are. This is the Underworld or the afterlife."

"Oh. . ."

Silence.

"Nico, it's fine-"

"Well, it isn't for me!" Nico shouted, his voice ringing through the hallway. He exhaled again looking into Will's eyes. "Listen. We're gonna make this work. If you are here instead of being in the Court of Judgement, then something is up."

"You're still not making any sense."

"If you are here, it only means that Father wants to see us. . ."

"Father?"

"Yeah, Hades, God of the Underworld."

Will stared at Nico.

"What? You are not the only one who's allowed to have a father who's a god. Come on. We're gonna do some negotiations." Nico tugged Will's hand and they started walking.

"How long did you know that my dad was a god?" Will asked.

"Just earlier, when hell broke loose," Nico said.

"Oh. . ."

Another silence.

"Seriously, Nico I totally accept that I'm dead and-"

"Well, I refuse to accept that."

Will stopped walking and so did Nico. Will looked exasperated. "Nico, if there's one thing I learned about this whole thing, we cannot escape death. That's where we all go in the end, some people just reach it early and there's nothing we can do about that-"

"Why is it so easy for you to say that?" Nico exclaimed. "Do you really want to leave me and the other people who care about you? Don't you care how I feel when you say something like that?"

"Gods no, Nico-"

"Then stop acting like you already chose death over me-"

"Because I'm goddamn dead for gods' sake!" Will's voice raised. "I am preparing myself for the worst. I am freaking out right now because this came all too suddenly and I wasn't able to say goodbye to my family or friends and the thought that I'm not going to see them literally forever-" Will inhaled and exhaled. "It's just. . . this is not easy for me! Who wants to die anyway?"

Nico was about to open his mouth to say something when he sensed a presence nearby.

"Wow. How could you be in an argument and hold hands at the same time?"

Will and Nico turned their heads toward the direction of the voice. Not far away from them, Bianca di Angelo was smirking at them, her arms crossed over her chest. She wore a simple black dress and black Greek-style sandals, completely different from the combat attire she usually wore. Her hair was braided over one shoulder. She walked towards them.

"Your voices can be heard all the way to the Fields of Asphodels, you know."

Nico was rooted to his spot. "Bianca. . ."

Bianca smiled warmly at him as she reached them. "Hi, brother dear, it's nice to see you again."

It was Will's cue to let go of Nico's hand. Nico threw himself at his sister, who hugged him back just as fiercely.

Bianca rubbed Nico's back comfortingly. "Good job, you did right there. You never failed to amaze us."

Nico pulled away. "I didn't do all the work. Other people helped, like Will. . ." he turned to look at Will.

"Ah, good ol' Will Solace." Bianca gave him another smirk. "How is it going for you?"

"You might not notice it but I'm dead. Yay."

"I see, still fluent in sarcasm until death."

"Of course, can't risk being rusty on it, comes in handy at times."

Nico looked back and forth between his sister and Will.

Bianca just rolled her eyes and regarded Nico. "Anyway, you wanted to talk to father, right? I shouldn't keep you from it." Bianca stepped to the side and she extended her arm as if saying that they should go.

Nico didn't realize that the doors to the throne of Hades were quite close by. Nico looked at Bianca. "Will I be able to talk to you after this?"

Bianca smiled at him. "We'll make a date for that. Now go."

Nico reached for Will's hand again as they walked towards the throne of Hades.

Nico was about to push the door open when he paused and looked up at Will. "What's with you and my sister?"

Will shrugged. "Just take it as a form of camaraderie."

Nico raised an eyebrow.

"Your sister hates me," Will relented.

Nico pushed the door open and they stepped inside.

"Why do we need to talk to your father again?" Will looked at Nico as they walked towards the throne

"I told you, we're going to negotiate."

"Negotiate for what?"

This time it was Nico who looked exasperated. "Negotiate for your death, dummy. Come on."

As Nico gazed at the throne, where he was sure that his father Lord Hades was waiting, he frowned. Lord Hades stood up from his throne wearing a black pinstripe suit and gray tie. His shoulder-length hair was combed and gelled back, and he was also in his regular height that Hades would certainly pass as a mortal.

"Does the god of the Underworld usually look like he's going to the premiere night of a movie?" Will whispered to Nico.

"Not usually. . ." Nico answered.

"Lord Hades," Nico said as he stepped forward and bowed in respect. Will also bowed but rather more awkwardly.

"Nico." Hades regarded him and looked at Will. "So, I finally meet the Will Solace, the reason why my son made a record of breaking all the rules of Underworld and would do it again without hesitation."

Will looked back uncertainly at Nico.

"Father-"

Hades raised his hand, and Nico clamped his mouth shut. The Lord of Underworld stepped off his throne, his hands clasped behind his back. "I've been watching you, son of Apollo, for a long time and I still don't understand why my son took a great liking to you."

"Oh, come on. This isn't the part where you're going to embarrass me in front of him, is it?" Nico muttered.

"Isn't that what regular mortal parents do?" Hades raised an eyebrow at Nico.

"But you're a god, not a mortal." Nico pointed out.

"Fair point." Hades stopped in front of them.

"Look, father, we are here to negotiate Will's death. He is coming back with me to the land of the living," Nico continued.

Hades tilted his head to the side, eyeing his son. "And what makes you think both of you are going back?"

"What, you're going to imprison us here?" This time it was Nico who raised an eyebrow.

"I've already prepared a chamber for you here."

"I can't tell if you're joking or not."

"I could say the same thing to you, son."

Nico exhaled. "Father, I've accomplished the job for you. This is what you planned all along, right? You brought me back to the mortal world because of Nero and that stupid scepter. I wouldn't be able to do all of that without the help of Will." He pointed at Will. "And he died because of me, at my expense, because of Python's revenge for me."

"And that revenge wouldn't have happened if you hadn't killed him in the first place."

"He was going to kill a lot of people if I hadn't done that. I know you knew what a lunatic he was. You knew what he was planning with the scepter. And by all the gods, I hope you gave Python the worst punishment of all or I swear, I'm going to the Fields of Punishment myself-"

"He's gone."

"Gone?" Nico frowned. "As in gone gone?"

Hades turned around and vanished in black smoke, he reappeared on his throne and sat down. "Apollo wouldn't just let it pass after what happened to his son, so he vanished Python's existence, which he should have done millennia ago. I am quite amazed that Python kept up his existence for a very long time. He kept on being reborn and influencing mortals' minds. Then, of course, Apollo got enraged and extinguished him for good. I also believe that Apollo is close to barging into the Underworld because of his rage that also extends towards me. I have his son involved in this, after all."

Nico remained silent.

"But then again, I didn't expect Python would kill Will Solace instead of you. Everything just spiraled out of control. If it had been you, Nico, things would have been easier; you would've been resurrected back as a death angel or you would've been my right-hand man on the throne. But unfortunately, it was William Solace instead."

"What do you mean?" Nico asked.

"It wasn't on the plan to get Will Solace killed," Hades answered. "It's an entirely different matter when a mortal death is involved."

"But he's a demigod!"

"He's still part mortal."

"And your point is?"

"Son, there are laws of death here. You know how strict I am when it comes to the rules. No exception to it even if it involves my children."

"Okay, yeah, I get that my memories of Will before will not return anymore as punishment, but what about him? He needs to go back with me to the land of the living! He has family and friends waiting for him there."

"So are the countless souls who arrived here," Hades countered. "Will Solace isn't the only one who had a sudden death. He can't be an exception."

"Father, he wouldn't have died in the first place if not because of your plan."

"So are you blaming me for it?"

"No," Nico sighed. "It's not that. What I want to say is, let's be accountable for the actions we've done. You see, it's not just Will but also this mortal Kayla Knowles who's in the hospital because of me yet again."

A thunder-like sound echoed through the throne. Nico concluded that he pushed it too far with the god but he wasn't going to back down on this either, even if he got incinerated to dust on the spot.

"Well, what do you want? Hades said quietly. "You know there are two ways whereas a soul could go back to the living, it's either being reborn or being a death angel."

"Being reborn means he's going to start his life all over again in another body and who knows who it could be," Nico countered. "And being a death angel means his mortal memories and emotions would be wiped out. That's not the answer that I want. I want him to go back as a whole, as Dr. William Solace whom I goddamn fell in love with."

Silence.

"That's a surprise." Hades threw his hands in the air. "It's not every day that Nico di Angelo would be openly vocal on how he truly feels."

Nico was silent, though he stared defiantly at Hades.

"But no matter how much you declare your undying love -no pun intended, it still won't change the fact that Will Solace is dead and you are refusing the only two ways he could go back to the land of the living."

"But you are a god! Can't you make exceptions?" Nico's tone was almost pleading.

"Why do you think Orpheus was the only one who made it out alive and escaped the Underworld?" Hades stood up. "Because I don't make exceptions, Nico di Angelo. Why do you think you and your sister became death angels? Because I wanted both of you to have another chance at living. Did I break any rules just for my children to be in the living again? No. So, tell me, why do I need to break rules for a demigod, Will Solace? Death has always a high price to pay and sometimes, that price comes in a form of chaos. If I always do that every time someone is going to die, I am constantly breaking the natural laws of death and that's not something you want to mess with. Just because I am a god doesn't mean I can always interfere with the Fates. You, Nico, of all people should know what it's like to interfere with the Fates. You did it once."

Nico felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to Will who was smiling sadly at him. "Nico, I understand it, you know, death is death. There were battles we couldn't win, the same as there are people I couldn't save. It's all right." Will wiped off the tears that slid down Nico's cheeks that Nico hadn't noticed until Will had wiped them away. "Maybe, I can be with my mom now, so that's a consolation, and somehow, there's a part of me that was glad that I was the one who got shot instead of you. I don't think I could handle it, seeing you taken away from me for a second time."

"And what about me?" Nico asked, looking away. "Do you think I can handle it without you?"

Will cradled both sides of Nico's face in his hands and turned it to look at him. "Hey, it's all right. Even if it's not, we have to be okay with it because that's how everything goes whether we like it or not."

Nico bowed his head. His world and his heart crumbled right there and then.

He truly was losing his solace.