**So, I got a little carried away here… Hehe. Heh. *awkwardly rubs neck* We've made it to the super violent chapter, here are the warnings: frequent VERY strong language, violence in the form of torture and rape. If you don't want to read all those, just go to the next chapter and I'll have a clean abridgement of what happened.

Nico was sluggish coming to, but once he did, adrenaline made sure he was goddamn awake.

His hands were chained above his head, and he had to begin wriggling his numb fingers and throbbing toes to get the blood flow back up again. Looking around he was in what looked like a stone cave, presumably under that rocky outcropping of boulders he'd seen Perc— the mania emerge from before he… Passed out?

Well, that would've been embarrassing.

Systematically checking his body, Nico seemed okay, except for the busted ankle, and intense pain that came from rolling his neck. Glancing down, rivets of blood had dried down his chest and Nico figured the mania had bitten him. The bastard.

Also, he wasn't wearing a shirt, which was a little weird.

On second thought, was not weird. The mania had already proven it was pretty into Nico, and with a heavy heart the son of Hades realised there was a good chance that the mania, in Percy's body, would rape him before he could get Percy and escape.

Letting out a wistful breath, he hung his head and tried to gather his thoughts.

Okay, I've been captured. Technically, this is to plan. Now I just have to get out of these bonds, and find a way out of Tartarus.

The Doors of Death was pretty clearly not an option, so he'd have to use a sneaky beat-the-line way out, probably Tartarus's armpit or something. But there was one problem, and that was that Nico didn't know where this hidden exit could be, so that meant he needed the mania. Which meant he needed his sword back, but to use it, he needed to heal.

Okay Nico, we can do that, and it won't be more than a week. Just wait till it fucks up, then force it to get us out. Easy.

~ Present, five weeks later ~

Damn, these chains ache, Nico mused not for the first time as he swayed from the binds that had kept him in the mania's clutches for what must've been a few weeks, now. Despite all of Nico's wishful thinking, he had not healed, and the mania had not fucked up. The manacles were tight around his scabbed wrists and the chain had no intention of breaking out of the chain loop embedded in the stone above the demigod. His sword had not moved from where it had been dropped haphazardly near the entrance, taunting Nico constantly.

Trying to loosen up his knotted muscles, Nico rolled his shoulders, and though he felt the sting of lash wounds reopening, it was worth the pops of his spine and the minuscule relief that came with it.

There was the sound of scuffing sneakers on the boulders that mostly covered the entrance and Percy dropped into the dim cave. In the first few days, when Nico had been delirious with thirst and hunger, he'd been fooled into thinking Percy had come to save him. It was when instead of cutting him free of his bonds, Percy cut him. Yeah, Nico didn't fall for that anymore.

'Hello, darling.' The mania greeted as it strutted over and kissed Nico on the cheek. Nico hated when it was like this, but he was grateful the mania actually talked nothing like Percy, so it made this a little easier.

If he wasn't so dehydrated, Nico would've spat right on the mania's Percy-looking face. Or whatever.

It seemed the mania noticed, and reached to draw something from his pant pocket. Percy's pants, Nico scowled. The mania unclipped a flask from the belt loops and held it up to Nico's lips. Closing his eyes tight Nico prepared for the burning sensation of the Phlegethon's fire-water that seemed to hurt more every time he was fed it, he gulped it down. Gasping for air (and also out of pain) as the lip of the bottle was taken away from his, Nico once again cursed his inaction and how he hadn't busted out of here yet. Still, despite all his silent cursing, the son of Hades could feel himself growing weaker after every whipping, or cutting, or whatever the mania chose to punish him with for its entertainment, and knew that he had to break out, and he had to do it soon.

'How are you today, Nico?' The mania asked, the most curious look in its voice and on its innocent little face.

'Fucking peachy.' He rasped, head hanging despite his efforts to keep it up. There was a soft laugh before Nico must've blacked out for a few seconds. He was quickly brought back to consciousness by a light pressure on his back, then burning pain that spread through his body and made even the tips of his fingers tingle. Nico screamed, but with his burnt throat he began coughing violently afterward, blood —well, more blood— spattering his feet. The screams died off into broken sobs and the occasional choked gasp as the mania tore through an especially big nerve with its blade, but a short eternity later, Nico was left alone.

Time seemed to slow just after these sessions, and it seemed like days later that Nico was able to return to himself.

This time, the demigod screamed for all he was worth out of frustration, pulling on those fucking manacles, and thrashing about for some leverage, for anything to loosen, to just give him a chance.

When he finally stopped struggling, Nico hung his head, took shaky breaths and spent the next few minutes hating the tears that rolled down his nose and splatted on the floor with a passion unlike any other. He did this not only to pass the time, but because he knew that if he focused too much on what the mania was doing in Percy's skin, he wouldn't ever be able to forgive him.

~ O ~

Nico didn't really pay attention to what it must've done to his wrists to fall asleep while hanging from them, but after an especially bad pulling session, the pain had all but disappeared. Nico figured that was probably a bad sign, but really couldn't bring himself to care.

It was hard to tell time now, and the demigod had the horrible feeling that it had been weeks since his last lucid thoughts. And though the torture was beyond horrible, the times he was left alone were worse than that. Knowing he was alone, chained up, and in Tartarus, totally defenceless just made him breathe faster and faster until he couldn't anymore and essentially passed out. The sound of Percy's sneakers dropping into their little cavern brought with it an insurmountable feeling of dread, but Nico knew enough to be grateful that it wasn't someone— something else.

'I am Nico di Angelo,' Nico rasped to himself whenever he could find the energy. 'I love Percy Jackson. I am the son of Hades.'

Nico was pretty sure that list of sanity-keeping topics had originally been longer, but it had obviously tapered off into the three most important things to him.

'I am Nico di Angelo. I love Percy… Percy Jackson. I'm the son of Hades. I'm Nico di Angelo. I love Percy Jackson. Hades is my father. I am Nico di Angelo…'

Time was strange here.

~ O ~

Though the mania was stranger. Sometimes it would just be amazingly happy, buzzing around its chained up Nico like a doting housewife (and chatting him up like one, too), other times it was obviously trying its hardest to be Percy, using the language he used and the same mannerisms. Occasionally it was like Nico existed for nothing more than to be abused, and the mania liked it.

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry Percy.' Nico would whisper as he was whipped along his front and back with what felt like solidified fire when he'd been ordered to count the lashes. He knew that if he did, his captor would stop at a certain number, but since he refused to he was beaten until he passed out.

The nightmares were probably the worst, though. The mania could do whatever he wanted to him (thought he hadn't had sex with him yet, strange) but the nightmares were when Nico's barriers were at their lowest.

Nico had pretty much figured he wasn't healing pretty much at all because all his energy was being put into not seeing Tartarus. He wasn't even trying, but it was most likely a subconscious thing, his reptile bring knowing that that would be the final straw. Nico had once forced his energy elsewhere, if anything to just relieve the growing pressure in his head, but once the stones around him turned fleshy and the back of the cave behind him morphed into a spiked throat glistening with acid, he'd screamed so horrifically that Percy beat him into unconsciousness, for fear of attracting other monsters, perhaps.

Worryingly, Nico couldn't actually recall the nightmares. He just knew they left his muscles trembling and lungs paralysed, and his brain severely craving a bleaching.

Percy — the mania, seemed to enjoy waking him up, so Nico wasn't really surprised to be woken from his fitful sleep (which was really just collapsing from sheer exhaustion) by pain digging its way deeper into his chest, until Nico felt like he was being skewered, and looking into the joyful yet carefully calculating eyes of the mania. This was one of its favourites, forcing its talons slowly into Nico's chest, missing anything vital of course but leaving thin, yet very deep incisions.

As Nico struggled for breath alongside the now horribly-familiar feeling of having demon claws pressing into his lungs, the mania stilled. Nico glanced at it, assuming it was just savouring the feeling of having its prisoner literally and physically at its fingertips, but Nico was even more disturbed by its expression.

Oh gods please, please no not this, not now, Nico chanted in his head as the talons receded and the mania frowned in confusion, before blinking as if just waking up.

Nico took a deep breath and tried to think of what he'd say in these next few vital seconds, ignoring the way blood was streaming from his chest.

'Percy? Percy, you with me?' Nico searched his boyfriend's eyes as they were fixed on his own hands, which were covered in Nico's blood. Percy blinked again and began breathing faster, before looking up at Nico, terror beyond anything Nico had ever seen on Percy's face written in his eyes.

'Oh god— oh my gods!' Percy all but screeched, looking around for something to press into Nico's wounds to staunch the bleeding.

'Percy, stop it! I need you to grab my sword and untie me!'

'What, no you're—'

'Percy just shut up and give me my sword!' Nico screamed. There was no way he could get this close, have this opportunity and not take for all it was worth. Percy stopped his scrambling about and looked Nico in the eye.

'... Nico, there's no way you could even lift your sword right now.' He said, almost gently. With a sinking feeling, Nico realised he was right. Before he could muster up the energy to thrash about in frustration of having come up with the most useless plan ever, Percy had undone the shackles and was holding Nico's broken body as they both fell to the ground.

'Oh gods I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry,' Was the litany of apologies coming from Percy as Nico pressed his hands to his eyes in an effort to stop the hot tears. He knew Percy was looking him over and was probably about to be sick from the injuries Nico was currently sporting, but really, really, he couldn't bring himself to care. He just couldn't.

Sniffing and blinking through the tears, Nico raised a shaking hand to Percy's cheek to bring their eyes to meet. After looking him over, Percy was just looking down in shame, but Nico wanted to see the greens of his eyes again.

'Beautiful,' He whispered as their eyes met. Percy cringed and looked down in shame again, but laid his hand over Nico's and squeezed gently. Percy was crying, and still apologising relentlessly, but Nico was in his beloved's arms and was going numb from shock.

'Please, Nico. Please kill me,' Percy begged as he reached behind him to grab Nico' s sword and pressed it into Nico's hand. 'It's coming back, I can feel it. I'm so sorry but please kill me before it—'

'I'm not fucking killing you Percy,' Nico said, the way a parent would tell a child they couldn't have bricks as a side dish to their cheesecake. Seeing Percy so, well, broken brought tears to Nico's eyes again.

'And anyway, didn't you promise to never leave me when I needed you again?' Nico tried for a smile, which was difficult and Percy didn't see anyway.

'Yeah, but—' Percy sobbed, and Nico winced at the broken sound. 'this is what's best for you. I-I can't be… You can't have…'

'You promised me, Percy. I need you now, okay?' Nico said quietly, wishing— wishing for a lot of things, actually, but in that moment, wishing Percy would just hold him. Percy shook his head and tears landed on Nico's arm.

'You… Rachael isn't even here, Nico. She's… It let her g-go.' Percy brought the arms that was around Nico's shoulder tighter into him, and pressed his face against Nico's. Well, Percy was holding him now, but it reminded Nico of some movie where the hero cradles the body of their dead lover— not exactly hopeful material. Nico gathered up the last of his courage, his strength.

'Percy, I'm gonna die before you do, okay?' Nico chided at more begging for Nico to kill him. It didn't really seem to help, as Percy began sobbing all over again and hugging him tight, which was painful but Nico wasn't about to stop him.

'I'll be fine, Perce.' Nico said, but his voice broke as his faux strength failed. He was crying again and just grasped Percy's head as well as he could with a hand that barely worked as they both cried. After a few moments, Percy stilled, but when he leaned back up he was giving Nico a slightly more hopeful smile. He began to say something about escape before Nico started strangling him.

~ O ~

So, having both your wrists fractured over a few months isn't great for when you want to strangle you thrice-possessed boyfriend, it seemed. The mania easily threw Nico off its lap before Nico could even try to squeeze, and the demigod landed with his head banging dangerously against the cold rock. Before Nico could blink the spots from his eyes, he felt legs straddling his hips, easily pinning his weak body to the floor. Those insane eyes swept over his still-bleeding chest and slender fingers probed the wounds. Nico felt himself go still— a lamb before a lion, waiting to be devoured. The mania leaned down to whisper something that was probably incredibly terrifying and no small amount important (Nico couldn't hear, part of the whole "blocking everything out so I don't go crazy" thing) in Nico's ear before leaning up again with a scowl on its face and—

Oh no.

Nico had told himself it was a matter of time, but he was still reeling over seeing the real Percy again. He really couldn't handle being… Gods, "Rape" was such an ugly word.

Nico grasped with unfeeling hands around him for anything to pull on to get away from the hips currently grinding onto his. Shit, shitshitshitshitshit.

He managed to pull himself away a bit and turn on one side before realising that was probably not the best move. Strong hands came down on his shoulders, pushing Nico onto his front. One arm was trapped painfully between Nico's chest and the rough rock, and the other was quickly grabbed and twisted up and behind him painfully. Painful enough to cry out, and it seemed that was enough to jog Nico's defensive tactics. Hearing, seeing and worst of all feeling was no longer blocked out, and Nico began to tremble and struggle harder.

The mania laughed, which grated Nico's nerves like hearing nails on a chalkboard, and leaned down to swipe its tongue from the base of Nico's spine up to his neck. The feeling of acid seeping into his broken skin and burning was almost negated by the pure agony of having the mania suck a hickey onto Nico's shoulder.

'I love you, Percy,' The acidic voice mocked, making Nico glare at the rocks in front of him in anger. Cold fingers reached down Nico's pants to fondle his hole, before pressing slowly in. Against his will, Nico felt his face scrunch up in an effort to stop tears and his lips begin to tremble. Gods, this was like the claws punishment, but so much worse.

'Ah, fits like a glove. You were just made for me, it seems, Nico.' The fingers rescinded and grasped the hem of Nico's slacks, pulling and tearing the material away easily. Nico may've heard a sob from somewhere, but it didn't make sense for the mania to be crying… Unless…

'Percy!?' Nico gasped out, trying to wriggle around to see his once-again unpossessed boyfriend before he freaked again. Percy must've been in shock still, because the grip on Nico's twisted arm didn't loosen, so he was still stuck in the painful position.

'It's me,' Was breathed from above, and relief flooded through Nico's body, making him finally relax.

'Percy, I—' Nico was cut off by Percy quickly thrusting his member into him, which he had totally forgotten was still ready to go. Panic flooded through Nico's being again, 'Percy, please— I,'

'I love you, I love you so goddamn much,' Percy panted as he grabbed a fistful of Nico's hair to drag his head upwards, exposing his neck and making it difficult to breathe, but also using it as a handhold to pull Nico down harder onto his cock.

Before Nico knew it, it was over. Percy spilled his seed inside Nico with the shudder the son of Hades used to think was enchanting. He pulled out with cautiousness Nico previously found charming, and he left.

Percy left, like — deep down — Nico always knew he would.