By the time they had arrived at the Gates of Hell, Nico had tried everything to get Will back. Everything, that is, except talking to him. Instead, the two resolutely kept their conversations solely with Hazel, refusing to even acknowledge the other's existence.

"Minos is there?"

Nico pointed to a large mass of swirling dead people, all wandering in front of the gates. They seemed a cesspool of misery; he heard wailing, cries of anguish, and the occasional pleading with the judges.

Hazel nodded. "Let's go."

She teleported a few of the drugged doggy biscuits they had brought, and they watched as Cerberus sniffed suspiciously at them. Finally, he apparently decided they smelled normal enough, because he picked one up and ate it. Good. That would keep him unable to recognize them as Elysium folk.

Finding Minos wasn't the hard part. The ghost king looked exactly as Nico remembered him; with manic eyes, a fading beard, and a frail frame.

He walked up to the king, pushing aside a pair of ghosts, and grabbed his shoulder. Minos looked up in surprise.

"Oh, my. Nico Di Angelo, it's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Cut it. What do we have to do to get rid of the poison?"

Minos' face shuffled through a variety of expressions in a few moments, before finally landing on a smirking, know-it-all look.

Hazel spoke nervously. "Um, Nico, maybe this is a bit too rash.."

Minos laughed. "You think I have something to do about the poison? The Underworld's curse is caused by me?"

Nico felt his face flush. "Obviously. The prophecy said a King, and we all know you have reason to hate the Underworld, and especially heroes."

"A prophecy, you say? Why don't you ask your prophet if I'm the King?" He beckoned to Will, who was staring uncomfortably at his feet.

"Will?'

The blonde mumbled, "Maybe not, Nico. I don't know."

He looked back up, glaring at Minos, who was wearing a grin that stretched wide. If he wasn't translucent, he would've punched the guy.

Beside them, Cerberus began howling, the drug probably wearing off. Hazel shot Nico a worried look, and held up the bag of biscuits, revealing that there was only one left. She tossed it, and the dog snapped it up with one head, while the other two sniffed the air.

Nico looked at Will, who was now blatantly refusing to meet his eyes. Ever since their fight back on the beach, Will had been acting awfully strange.

He flinched when he heard, no, felt, Minos' ghastly breath inches from his skin.

"Because my heart has been warmed from the visit of such charming demigods, though, I'll give you a hint."

Nico narrowed his eyes at the king. "Why would you help us?"

Minos sighed. "Young man, just because I hate you and your father doesn't mean I hate you more than I care about myself. Don't think so highly of yourself. If Elysium fails, then the lanes of the dead will be overcrowded, and I'll never get a proper coffee break anymore."

This time it was Will who spoke, although to Nico, his voice sounded a little strange. "Minos, what were you going to say about a hint?"

Minos smiled and patted Will on the back, not caring or unnoticing when his hand went straight through. "Child of Apollo, I think your light is bright enough to reveal the truth, isn't it?" Will's face instantly turned blank, no trace of emotion.

Minos chuckled. "And yet I will still give you a hint. Who knows, it might make your journey more interesting. I cannot reveal the quest; that would be against the Ancient Laws. However, this much is clear- the cure you seek will only be revealed in the Pit.

Nico's mind lurched at those words. The Pit. Tartarus.

Burn. That's all he felt. Around him, the pustules of fire burst up, scalding his skin, as if from a sadistic, real-life Mario game.

He gritted his teeth and stretched his arm just a bit farther, feeling his arms burn. He had coated them with the waters of the Cocytus, cold enough to keep his skin intact, but he could still feel every inch of the pain. Below him, in the skin of Tartarus, a small ball pulsed.

Just. A. Few. More. Inches. He felt his fingers grasp the smooth surface, and he gave it a yank.

He fell backwards, clutching the sphere in his hands, and grinned, despite the painful sores that were forming on his arms. In his hands was a fully formed Hydra egg, enough to be ground into gallons of powder. Will always complained about not having enough to treat his patients; the only bits Will could get were from the scraps lying in Hydra nests, and Nico was afraid Will would get hurt.

Tartarus. He had grown up to that symphony of evil, listening to that soft, muttering, voice of evil always over his shoulder. It was like a knife, slowly carving away every layer of skin until it exposed his deepest thoughts. Percy and Annabeth, two of the strongest heroes he knew, barely survived a few days down there.

He couldn't go back there.

He felt a hand rest on his back, and looked up to see Will grimacing at him.

"Maybe, I could just go with Hazel, if it hurts you so much. After all, the prophecy does say that one falls midway."

Will's eyes were a tender blue, caressing, almost like the sky surrounding a cloud. Nico sighed.

"I can't let you go alone. I'm coming." He moved his hand, grasping onto Will's slender one. Nico looked up, and Will blushed lightly at him.

"You don't have to."

"But I want to."

His breath hitched as he saw Will's lips curl into a tiny smile. Gods, he was so beautiful.

And before he could stop himself, he found their lips clashed together. He tasted like the dew after a rainstorm, fresh and light, with a hint of sweetness.

"Please, let's get going," Hazel grumbled from behind them, and Nico drew back with a smirk.

"We all good, baby?"

Will offered him a weak smile.

The entrance to Tartarus, proper, was a long winding corridor of stone clinging onto the walls of the Pit, slowly inching downwards. Besides them, the screams of various damned souls sounded; as they walked lower, the path narrowed, and the torturous screams grew. At one point, Nico could make out the bodies, charred, carried along in the fire.

Beside him, Will shivered, and Nico felt his hand clench on his own.

"Can't heal them. I've never felt pain so strong."

He was deathly pale. As a contrast, Nico had felt his skin darkening as they went deeper and deeper into Tartarus; it was as if the pain was bleeding onto his skin, coloring it. Hazel seemed the same.

"So, what do you think we'll find down there?" Hazel asked, walking in front of the group on the narrow pathway.

Nico shrugged. "The last time I went down, there were just a bunch of monsters chilling."

They walked a bit more, in silence, before finally hitting the bottom. They stood in what seemed a large rotunda, with the floor a reddish clay. The light from the Underworld had long since vanished, replaced with a crimson shade of red that cast a glow upon all of them.

A voice rang out from the darkness, and although it had no tone, it was the purest melody Nico had ever heard.

"Welcome to Tartarus."

Out of the shadows walked what seemed a particularly handsome zombie. He had chunks of flesh missing from his body, and other parts, not completely disemboweled, hung.

Nico raised his hand, and a ball of shadows appeared, but Hazel stepped in front of him.

"Don't worry, Nico."

She looked straight at the man. "Spirit of Orpheus, will you grant us your song?"

The man nodded, a solemn expression on his face. "If you so desire, I shall sing, daughter of Pluto."

He opened his mouth.

What came out, Nico didn't remember. All he knew was that, well, it sounded damn good. He could've been singing a commercial jingle, he didn't know or particularly care, but it poured over him and washed him away. He felt his eyelids fall.

When he next opened his eyes, Nico found himself lying in what felt like water, although the intense darkness made it difficult to tell.

"Hazel? Will?"

Silence.

He stood up, feeling the water drip down his clothing. Looking around, he was in a cave of some sorts. Ahead of him, the faint glow of light shone from a source, but he couldn't really tell what it was. He stumbled forward on the rocks.

The light ahead grew closer, and closer. He turned the corner.

And instantly shielded his eyes. He seemed to be in a massive cavern, atop a cliff. All around him, streams of lava poured down into a boiling lake below, where they gurgled and sank beneath the black water.

The hill he stood on was covered in dead weeds. Ahead of him stood a tiny graveyard, a small cluster of tombstones.

He walked forward. The gravestones looked like they hadn't been cleaned in centuries, with dust etched onto the carvings.

"Wait, Nico!"

He turned around at Will's voice. The blonde limped towards him, his face in pain.

Nico gasped. Will was translucent; parts of his skin were peeling away, and Nico could see the stalagmites through his chest.

"Will!"

Thoughts of the graveyard were lost as Nico rushed forward to catch his boyfriend. He touched Will's forehead; it was ice cold. Will flinched as Nico touched him, as if his fingers were boiling daggers.

Will looked up, and his normally light blue eyes were a dark shade, nearing black. "Nico, I- I figured it out. Don't listen to her, please."

A girl's voice spoke. "Nico, the prophecy. We only have a few minutes."

Hazel. She moved silently behind Will, and it wasn't for a second until Nico realized her feet had all but disappeared. Her face, too, was etched in pain, but at least she seemed to be intact.

"Hazel? What's happening?" His voice cracked.

His sister stumbled forward.

"Nico, touch me," she said.

"What?"

"Just do it."

Nico moved his finger forward, and gently brushed Hazel's cheek. She flinched, and Nico's finger slipped straight through.

"The poison. You know what it is, don't you?"

The King.

"Hurry up, Ghost King!" Will's cheerful voice called to him from upstairs.

He pouted. "Don't call me that."

Will popped out from behind a wall, causing Nico to jump. "But baby, I can be your queen."

The Ghost King. He had been that once. He looked over at the gravestones.

Two of them stood in a row, with names in silver etched onto them. They glowed in the darkness suddenly, as if him noticing them caused them to react.

Bianca Di Angelo. Maria Di Angelo.

Nico Di Angelo.

"Nico…" Will's weak voice called out. "Please don't. You can't come back from the Phlegethon."

Will. Was fading. It was him.

He stepped forward, looking at the blazing lava-falls. In a way, it was beautiful- they coated the room with a glow. It was like stepping into a sunrise.

Hazel wiped a tear, then went up and hugged him. "I love you," she whispered into his ear

He held his sister in his arms. She had earned this life, earned the right to Paradise.

"I love you too, Hazel. Take care of Will."

He unclasped the necklace from his neck, and placed it in Hazel's hand. There was a sliver of light showing on the clock; barely a minute.

"Maybe, somehow I'll make it out." He said, slightly too loud. "After all, you know what they say about children of Hades…"

Will lifted his head slightly. Hazel's eyes widened, and she smiled softly.

"I'm sure we'll see you again, Nico."

He smiled, this time for real, and turned around.

Three steps.

Two steps.

One step.

Will's arms wrapped themselves around him. He felt Will's body tense up at the pain, but the boy held on tight.

"I love you so much. So, so, so much."

He was sobbing, and then he was sobbing, and their words tumbled over each other, declarations of love mingling in front of the pits of Hell.

"Goodbye, Will."

Nico moved to step forward, but Will's arms held on tight.

"Please don't go." His eyes, now almost translucent, plead with Nico.

Nico smiled and leaned in, letting their lips rest on each other.

Will closed his eyes.

Nico slowly extracted him from Will's arms, Luke's broken watch laying on the ground near them.

They stood at the precipice of the cliff, Will's eyes still blissfully closed, lips pursed, beautifully frozen in time.

The watch laying on the ground ticked. 3 seconds left.

As he fell, arms spread like an eagle, he saw the light of the fire catch onto Will's blond hair.

Paradise, he thought, as he felt the fire of the river wash over him. It was worth dying for.

He had spoken the words. He had killed Nico.

In the center, of the plaza, he stood. The globe of sunlight didn't rise that day, per Hades' request. In the center of the beach, the first funeral of Elysium.

One from Heaven, two of Hell.

He wasn't worthy of heaven. He, and Hazel, and the rest of the bastards, they were all forever tainted, of Hell. Heaven's Angel took the plunge.

Envenom and soothe the wrath of the King.

His Angel soothed the anger of death; his wrath soothed by the Muse of the Pit, poisoned by Will's toxic love.

Astray, Midway, in journey one fell.

Just like the riddle. They entered Hell together sick, and walked out healthy and broken.

Then, through Passion's kiss and sting,

"I love you."

The bells of Death once more shall ring."

The bells tolled. Will wept.