The elevator ride down feels shorter than it had the way up, but Will's not sure if it's just his nerves or if it's the gods. Either way, it has his stomach twisting in knots. He can feel the anxiety rolling off of the other demigods around him, curse his empathic healing.
That huge hellhound of Percy's is wolfing down hot dogs when they arrive, and Argus just stares at them with his many eyes. Will has never been able to not find him creepy, even if he is very helpful.
"You should get back to camp, and guard it the best you can." Percy says, after explaining what had happened in Olympus. Argus points at Percy, a questioning look in his… many eyes.
"I'm staying." Percy replies. Argus nods, and turns to Annabeth, drawing a circle in the air. Will frowns.
"Yes, I think it is time." Annabeth replies, and everyone looks at her like she has three heads. Will blinks. Children of Athena and their planning ahead, he muses. It comes in handy, but sometimes it's a little freaky just how ahead of the curb they are.
Argus pulls a shield out of the back of the van. Ah, the circle. Will understands that now, at least. He hands it to Annabeth, who sets it down on the ground, pushing her bangs out of her face. As soon as it hits the light, the reflection changes, showing the Statue of Liberty. Will blinks. Woah.
"A video shield?" Percy asks, and Annabeth nods.
"One of Daedalus's ideas. I had Beckendorf make it before–" She glances at Silena, the older girl starting to tear up a bit again. One of the other Aphrodite girls holds onto her arm, whispering something soft to her that Will can't hear. "Um, anyway, the shield bends sunlight or moonlight to create a reflection. You can see anywhere in the world that has either sun or moonlight on it." Will shares a look with Aaron, who has an amazing expression on his face. Bending their dad's domain? Crazy. Only a child of Athena, as Daedalus was, would come up with something like this.
Everyone crowds around the shield as Annabeth scrolls through the city. Will hums, his lower lip jutting out just a bit as he examines the city. Everything is still. It's eerie.
"Whoa! Back up. Zoom in over there." Connor says suddenly, and Annabeth gives him a nervous look.
"Did you see intruders?" She asks, zooming in where he had instructed.
"Nah, right there! Dylan's Candy Bar!" Will sighs, rubbing his temples. Seriously? Connor grins at Travis, a glint in his eye. "It's wide open. Everyone is asleep! You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Connor!" Katie scolds, a frown on her face. "This is serious, you cannot raid a candy store in the middle of a war!"
"Sorry." He mutters, but Will can tell that he's not sorry at all.
Annabeth changes the scene again, and then looks up. "This will show us what is going on in the city. Thank you, Argus. Hopefully we can see you at camp again."
He grunts, and before long, he and the harpies are speeding the camp vans away from them, leaving Will and all of the campers effectively alone. His hands start to shake again, but he takes two big breaths, slowing himself down. Breathe. Conceal. You're fine.
Will looks up to see Penelope sitting down next to a stranger, her dark eyes confused but focused as she presses a hand to their arm. He walks over, crouching down next to her.
"Whatcha doing, Penny?" He asks, and she looks up at him, tugging on the dual purple and pink ribbons in her hair.
"I don't understand what happened to them." She says, looking back down at the person. A teenager, Will notices. He reaches out and puts his hand next to Penelope's, closing his eyes and concentrating his skills. After a minute, he opens his eyes, looking back at his younger sister.
"Feel how strong their heartbeat is." He says gently, and she nods. "Can you tell how old they are?" She tilts her head, thinking intently.
"Maybe… 15?" He nods, a smile on his face.
"Okay, now dig a bit deeper. Listen to their vitals." Her nose scrunches in thought.
"Even breathing, maybe a little bit low on blood sugar… they… Will, they're just sleeping!" She exclaims, and he laughs softly, nodding and patting her on the head. "But how?" Will looks back at his siblings, Michael discussing something with the other head counselors, Aria and Aaron checking over quiver supplies.
"You know who Morpheus is, right?" Penelope frowns, clearly thinking hard before nodding.
"The god of sleep right?" Will hums in agreement.
"Exactly. It seems like he has put a sleeping spell over all of Manhattan." Penelope's expression doesn't change, the frown still gracing her features.
"But why aren't we asleep?" She asks, and Will shrugs his shoulders.
"Demigods are a lot harder to make spells work with, I suppose. We are a bit hardier and more used to magic than regular mortals are." Penelope hums, nodding her head.
"I guess that's true." She stands up, brushing her hands off on her jeans.
"Will." Michael calls, motioning him over. Will gives Penelope an apologetic look before walking over to his older brother, a confused look on his face.
"We are going to hold Manhattan." Percy says as Will approaches, and he stops in his tracks. Hold? Manhattan?
"Percy, Manhattan is huge." Silena says, tugging on her armor. Will nods in agreement. How are they supposed to hold the entire city?
"We are going to, we have to." Percy says, and Will curls one of his hands into a fist. They don't have much of a choice, do they?
"He's right." Annabeth cuts in, brushing a piece of blonde hair out of her face. "The wind gods are helping keep their forces away from Olympus through the air, so they're likely to try a ground assault. We need to cut off all the entrances to the island."
"They have boats." Michael says, and Will can see the gears turning in his head as his brother thinks. Percy frowns for a moment, before Will can see realization dawn on his face.
"I'll take care of the boats." He says after a minute.
"How?" Michael asks, but Percy just waves his hand.
"Let me take care of it. We need to guard the bridges and tunnels. They'll probably try and come downtown first. That's the most direct way to the Empire State Building. Michael, you and your siblings take WIlliamsburg Bridge. Katie, you and the rest of the Demeter to Brooklyn-Battery. Grow a bunch of thorns and poison ivy through the tunnel. Do what you can, but keep them out! Connor, you take half of Hermes and cover the Manhattan Bridge. Travis, the other half to Brooklyn. And don't even think about looting or pillaging. We don't have time for that." Percy commands, and Will grips onto the hilt of his dagger.
"Aw man!" The Hermes cabin whines, and Will has to internalize the urge to roll his eyes. Seriously, not even during a war could those guys be serious.
"Silena," Percy continues. "Take Aphrodite Cabin to Queens-Midtown."
"Oh my gods." Will hears one of Silena's sisters, Indira, say. "Fifth Avenue is totally on the way! We can accessorize, and monsters, like, totally hate the smell of Gucci."
"No delays." Percy reminds them gently, but then hesitates. "Unless you think the perfume thing will work." A bunch of the Aphrodite girls kiss Percy on the cheek, and Will pretends he doesn't practically see fumes coming off of Annabeth.
Percy takes another deep breath, opening his eyes. "Holland Tunnel. Jake, can you take Hephaestus there? Set traps, use Greek fire, anything you can."
"Sure thing! We've a grudge to fulfill anyway. For Beckendorf!" He shouts, and all the Cabin Nine kids shout in agreement.
"The 59th Street Bridge. Clarisse–" Percy freezes, and Will feels his blood run cold. He's almost forgotten that Clarisse wasn't here. He shares an uneasy look with Michael.
"We'll take that." Annabeth says, and Will catches the grateful look Percy gives her. "Malcolm, you take the rest of the cabin over there. Activate plan twenty three just like we talked about." Her brother nods, a determined look in his gray eyes.
"You got it, Annabeth." He says, and she nods.
"I'll go with Percy." Will shares a look with Aria, a grin on the older girl's face. Of course. "We will join you later, or go wherever we are needed."
"No detours, you two!" Aaron calls, and there's a collective snort of laughter. Percy's expression twitches, but he quickly moves on.
"Keep in touch with cell phones." He says, and Will looks at Michael, who mouths Nychelle's name at him. Of course she has one.
"We don't have cell phones!" Silena protests, and Percy leans down, picking a random person's cell up and throwing it to you.
"Now you do. If you need to make a call, pick one up, call, then drop it. Keep the monsters from pinpointing your location too much."
"Soooo… If we find a super cool phone–"
"No, Travis, you can't keep it."
"Awe man!"
"Wait, Percy." Jake Mason says, a hand on his toolbelt. "You forgot Lincoln Tunnel." Percy swears under his breath, panic flickering in his green eyes.
"How about you leave that to us?" Will turns his head and sees a group of young girls crossing the street to them, their silver jackets gleaming in the sunlight. Will recognizes the one in front, a silver circlet in her short spiky hair.
"Thalia!" Annabeth cries out, running forward to envelop her in a hug. A few other campers linger close enough to give greetings, and after a while Will feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns and sees Thalia behind him, a grin on her face.
"Nice to see ya, Will. Glad you're still alive in all of this." He can't help but laugh. He hadn't known her for that long, only checked over her those years ago, but clearly it meant they were friendly.
"You too, Thalia. Thanks for coming up here to fight with us." He says, smiling warmly at her. She just hums, patting him on the shoulder again before heading back to talk with Percy and Annabeth a further bit away.
Before long, Thalia slaps the bracelet on her wrist, her horrible shield appearing like magic. Will remembers the shape of it, and he still rears back from the image of Medusa on the front. Jeez. He'll never get over that.
"Hunters, move out!" She calls, and they take off into the distance towards the tunnel they were assigned to. Dang. Will hadn't realized she was put in charge of them. That's a terrifying thought if he's ever had one. Thalia in charge.
Percy turns to face them all, and Will blinks. He's not used to seeing so much emotion from people like this. It's sort of overwhelming. "You're the greatest heroes of this millennium." Percy says, and Will feels his hands start to shake. "Who cares how many monsters come your way? Fight with honor and we will win." He raises his sword over his head. "FOR OLYMPUS!"
"FOR OLYMPUS!" Will shouts with the rest of camp.
It rings hollow, but it's all they can do.
—
The walk over to the bridge is quiet. It's just the eight of them, against potentially hundreds of monsters.
The sound of his arrows rattling in his golden quiver as he walks is the only thing that Will can hear. He's never thought of New York as a quiet place, but… now it is.
"Nychelle." Michael says suddenly, not breaking stride. "Give your phone to Kayla." Nychelle frowns, but does as he says, handing a small device to Kayla.
"What for?" Michael sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Kayla… Austin. I need you two to stay back behind us. Okay?" The two youngest campers give each other a look, confused.
"Why? Shouldn't you have us fighting with you?" Michael grips his bow a little tighter.
"You can from a distance. Set up traps and stuff. But…" He breathes out deeply, and Will can tell he's calming himself. He'd learned just as much from Chloe as Will had, if not more. "You're too young to die here." He says plainly, and Kayla squeaks.
"Who said anything about dying! No one is dying!" She exclaims, clutching onto her bow. Michael turns to face her, a sorrowful look in his dark eyes.
"Kayla. Austin. It's not a matter of if. It's how many. You know that right? This is a war. There are eight of us. I don't want to burn a shroud for either of you. I need you to listen and be good and stay back. Okay?" Austin nods, a determined look in his eyes.
"We can get some good target practice in, Kayla." He offers, tugging on the end of one of his braids. "Kill some monsters before they hurt anyone. It'll be like archery with Chiron." Will feels his heart break just a bit. They're so young…
"Okay…" Kayla says uncertainly, her fingers curling around Nychelle's phone before she stuffs it into the pocket of her jean shorts. "I'm not letting any of you die though, not today." She says, adjusting her quiver on her back.
Michael just laughs, reaching out to ruffle her green tipped hair. "That's my Kayla."
Will smiles sadly, placing a kiss on the top of Kayla's head as she and Austin retreat back behind a few cars.
All they want is to protect them.
—
"Will! Fall back over there!" Michael shouts, stepping on top of a car. Will slashes out, disintegrating a dracaenae with his dagger, her screech making his ears ring.
"Where?" He shouts, and Michael points, a wild look in his dark eyes. Will nods, jumping over a burning hood, wincing at the heat against his skin.
"Michael!" He hears another voice, and he sees Nychelle, blood spattered across her helmet. She has another arrow nocked, the arrowhead blazing blue with how hot the flame is.
"What?!" Michael yells back, launching another arrow, a supersonic boom rocking the bridge on impact. A few enemies screech in pain, disintegrating into dust.
"What the fuck is THAT?" Nychelle screams, gesturing to something looming behind the rest of the army of monsters.
"Fuck me, that's the Minotaur!" Aaron yells from his spot on top of an abandoned truck, launching another flaming arrow straight into the eye of a dracaenae. "We need to call Annabeth and Percy NOW!" He jumps down, running over to them.
Kayla pops out from behind the car that she had been hiding behind with Austin, but she whirls and releases an arrow straight into the eye of a monster, a manic grin on her face.
"Here!" She calls, tossing Nychelle's phone to Michael. The older boy catches it, giving her a grateful look.
"She's 1 on speed dial." Nychelle says, releasing another arrow. "I changed it just before the battle just in case." Michael hums in thanks, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder.
"Hey, Annabeth. It's Michael. Yeah, we need help really badly. Yeah. Buncha dracaenae, some hellhounds. The Minotaur. Yes, that Minotaur. Yes, I'm sure. No, I'm not kidding. Okay, just hurry as fast as you can. Percy's taking care of the rivers, right? Okay, good. Yeah, I'll see you in a bit. Kbye." He tosses the phone back to Kayla.
"Alright, sunbabies. Let's get these motherfuckers. For the gods!" Michael yells, and all of them echo his cheer.
Michael is in over his head, Will realizes. "Get over here!" He screams, and Michael rolls his eyes before jumping over a burning tire. "You're bleeding, Michael Yew." Will chastises, taking out a bandage.
"It's war, Will, I'm gonna bleed." He huffs, but Will smacks him on the shoulder, a deep frown on his lips. He pours a bit of nectar over Michael's arm. "Fuck, Will! That's my bow arm."
"You're gonna lose your bow arm if you don't chill out and let me do this." Will says darkly, and Michael sighs, relenting. Will wraps the bandage tightly around his brother's arm, eyes flicking up here and there. Aaron's got seven arrows left. Austin scampers from place to place, picking up stray arrows and shoving them into his sibling's quivers. He's quite fast and lithe, so he's definitely the best suited for that.
"Percy and Annabeth should be here soon– Ah there they are!" Michael says, and Aria turns her head to see the Pegasi galloping through the air.
"Percy!" Will calls, and he and Michael run over to the pair of campers who had just landed.
"Glad you could join us, Jackson, Chase." Michael says, wiping some soot off of his face. "Did you bring backup?"
Percy shakes his head, sharing a look with Annabeth. "For now, we are it."
"Great! So we're dead." Michael says cheerfully, and Will sighs, his grip tightening on his dagger. He really wishes Michael wasn't so flippant about their deaths. Or anyone's deaths really.
"Do you have your chariot?" Annabeth asks, and Michael shakes his head, rolling his eyes slightly.
"Nah, we left it at camp, remember? I tried to give it back to Clarisse, told her to shove her stupid pride and come join us, but she said it was 'too late' and that we 'insulted her for the last time' or some shit like that." Michael accents Clarisse's words with air quotes, utter disdain for the Ares camper in his voice. Annabeth and Percy share a look, and Percy sighs.
"Well, at least you tried." Michael shrugs.
"Yeah, well, I called her a bunch of very ugly names so I really doubt that helped. Here come the monsters, so let's– AARON, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!"
Will turns, and sees something that he really, really wishes he hadn't. It'll haunt him forever he's sure.
Aaron, Aaron his self assured brother, his most outright boisterous, kind, crazy brother. Standing defenseless in front of a hellhound. He notches another arrow, aiming directly at the hellhound's mouth.
"Aaron!" Will yells, taking off, trying to get closer to him. Aaron turns his head slightly, a dopey grin on his tanned face, blood streaking across his cheek.
"Will! Get out of here, RUN!" Aaron yells, and Will feels a rush of dread as he realizes where he had heard this before. His dream. This part, at least, is coming true.
Before Will can reach him, before Aaron can even launch his arrow, the mouth of the hellhound clamps down on his midriff. Aaron screams the loudest that Will has ever heard him scream, and Will recoils in horror. Aaron's golden bow drops to the ground, blood dripping off of it.
"Aaron!" Will cries out again, tears blurring his vision. He steps back, watching helplessly as the hellhound drags Aaron away, his brother still screaming.
One crunch.
Two.
Silence.
Will can hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears. He'd never heard bones crunch like that before. It's the most awful sound he's ever heard.
"Aaron!" He sobs, and he feels a harsh tug on the back of his armor. He turns to face Aria, and the older girl has tears pouring down her cheeks.
"Will, you need to get it together. If you don't, you're gonna get killed, and we cannot handle that right now. Okay? I need you to breathe." Will nods, wiping his cheeks with his hands. Conceal. He takes one deep breath, two, three. He closes his eyes, and he hears Aaron's laughter ringing in his ears.
Focus, Will.
"I'm okay. Okay." He says, and Aria smiles sadly, brushing his cheek with the back of her hand.
"We can do this, alright? For Aaron." He nods.
Watching Percy fight is something that Will can quite frankly, never understand, but also something that he can barely take his eyes off of. The way the older boy has such command of his movements, the way water whips around him.
Will knows that Percy had defeated the Minotaur before, when he had first come to camp, so this is personal beef.
What he doesn't expect is the anger that rips through his own body at the sight of the Minotaur's axe. The beads swinging from it. He knows those beads, he's helped other campers PAINT those beads.
He shares those beads with them and with the ones around his wrist.
He's not a great shot by any means, but right now his aim is fueled by pure spite and anger. "Help me father, help me aim true." He mutters, launching a flaming arrow into the neck of a hellhound. The beast howls, eyes gleaming red. One, two, three arrows more.
Dead.
Will watches with a dark cloud looming over him as it crumbles into shimmery gold dust.
That's for killing Aaron, you bitch. He thinks, notching another arrow.
A loud crunch reverbs through the bridge as Percy lodges the axe of the Minotaur through its breastplate, and Will hesitates, waiting with baited breath.
Percy tosses the monster over the side of the bridge, gold dust floating away as it returns to Tarturus where it belongs. Good fucking riddance.
He whirls on the rest of the monsters, and Will swears he's never seen anything like it. It's like Percy is invincible. It's like… Will recoils, his arrow faltering, falling just short of a monster.
The curse of Achilles. Hestia wasn't saying that lightly.
Will watches Percy, taking care to shoot down any enemies that he can, even with his awful aim. Percy laughs maniacally as he slashes through armor and skin like its paper, and it's the first time Will actually feels afraid of him. This is something he's never seen before.
"Man, I gotta get my hands on that kid so I can see what his vitals look like." Aria mutters from her spot beside Will, and Will just laughs, nodding his head.
"Hestia said the curse of Achilles, remember?" He says, and Aria nods, blasting a hellhound in the side with a sonic arrow. "I wonder where his spot is." Aria just shrugs, pulling another arrow out.
She's not usually this quiet, Will thinks. Aaron was her best friend, and he can imagine the toll of his loss is weighing heavily on her shoulders. It still feels like his lung has been punched out from within him.
"Percy!" Annabeth calls, slicing through a dracaenae. "Pull back! We are overextended!" Will looks around, and he knows it to be true. They'd advanced too far forward, Kayla and Austin's traps were set further back.
Percy suddenly stops, his eyes wide.
Will sees it too.
Luke.
No, not Luke. Luke's eyes were never that shade of gold.
Kronos. It has to be.
"Now… we pull back." Percy says. Michael barks out an order, and Will and his siblings launch a volley of arrows into the air, hitting some of the demigods that are part of Kronos's army. Will feels irrationally angry about seeing them.
James died so these fuckers could live, and that's not something he's even had time to process yet.
An angry yell rips through Will's chest as he jumps down off the truck they had been standing on, slashing out at skeletal horses, ripping wounds in demigod armor. He doesn't recognize anyone, but it doesn't matter.
The only person he cared about in that army is dead.
"Will!" He hears Michael yell, and he looks up. Michael frowns at him from his perch, another cut down his arm. "Get outta there! I know you have your dagger, but you're our best healer, you need to get safe!"
"But Michael–"
"You HEARD me, Solace! Get clear!" Michael barks, and Will blanches. Michael's never really yelled at him like that before, but he can hear the panic in his brother's voice. He can tell how scared Michael is for them. They'd already watched one sibling die.
"Michael–"
"Nychelle needs you, go make sure she's okay." Michael launches another flaming arrow. "I need you to stay alive, Will. Seriously."
"Annabeth!" Will freezes. What the hell? He turns in time to see Percy step over her, bashing another demigod in the helm. Will gasps when he recognizes the other demigod.
Ethan. He'd gone missing last summer, no one had heard from him in months.
Percy slashes in the air, his eyes wild. "No one touches her!" Luke… Kronos stares down at Percy, his hand flexing around that scythe. Will feels a chill run up his spine. He says something that Will can't quite hear, but before he can make any movement, Percy yells.
"Blackjack!" A pegasi bursts out of thin air, grabs onto the back of Annabeth's armor, and carries her away. Will watches her go. He will need to get to her soon, he muses. No one else will be able to heal her like he can.
He turns his gaze back to the scene before him, another arrow notched. Percy battles with Kronos, shockwaves shaking the bridge every time their swords meet. Kronos hits the bridge with the end of his weapon, and Will shrieks as the shockwave tosses him backwards.
He lands hard on his side, the wind knocking out of him. Will coughs, standing up on shaky legs. The shockwave had thrown him quite a bit back.
"Michael, GO!" Percy yells, and Will feels his shout die in his throat. He sees his oldest brother standing on a suspension cable, one last arrow in his hand.
"The bridge! It's already weak!" He yells, and Percy looks around. "Break it, use your powers."
"Michael!" Will yells, scrambling closer. He feels two arms wrap around his waist, holding him back.
Penny.
"Will, you can't! It's too dangerous!" She cries out. Will starts to protest, but the words fail as Percy stabs into the bridge.
"MICHAEL!" He yells, and he sees his brother turn, a small smile on his face. Will knows then. He knows.
"I'm sorry." Michael mouths.
And he falls.
"No!" Will yells, moving closer, ripping away from Penelope. Michael's golden bow lays on the ground, Michael nowhere to be seen.
"Michael!" He yells, picking up the bow. The M.Y. engraved in the grip.
"Will, I–, I'm so sorry, I didn't think–"
"Of course you didn't think!" He whirls on Percy, angrier than he ever has been. "You should have let him get clear! He could've… He has to have survived. I can't, we can't…." He's interrupted by a shrill ring, and Percy takes out a cell phone.
"What is it?" He asks as he answers the call. Will watches as his face drains of color, his lips settling into a frown. "Okay. Yeah. I'll be there as soon as I can. Thanks, Silena." He hangs up the phone and turns to Will.
"Will, we need to get to Annabeth now. I need you, okay?" Will feels his hands start to shake again. He needs to look for Michael.
"We need to— I can't just leave them here!" He cries, and Percy puts a hand on his shoulder, sea green eyes sad.
"I'm really sorry, Will. I am. Annabeth is hurt though, and we need your healing. Your siblings can look for Michael." Will takes a deep shuddering breath, nodding.
"Will!" Aria runs up to him, her blonde hair wild. She stops when she sees the bow in Will's hand. "He's not–"
"You need to help them look. I have to go with Percy. You're–" Will inhales sharply. "You're the oldest." His voice breaks. Aria pulls him into a rough hug, burying her nose in his shoulder.
"I've got this, baby brother. I can do this. Go help Percy. Be brave, and be strong, okay? I love you." Will hugs her back, breathing in deeply. After a second, he lets her go, wiping furiously at his cheeks.
"Okay, let's go."
—
"When did you learn how to drive a motorcycle?" Will yells over the wind, his arms wrapped tightly around Percy's slim waist. The older boy just laughs, turning his head slightly so Will can see the glint in his eyes.
"Who said I know how to?" Percy says, and Will tightens his grip, burying his face in the back of Percy's shirt.
"Okay, I'm just gonna forget you said that and pretend you told me you've been learning for years." Percy just laughs more, speeding through the streets of Manhattan. Before long, they stop in front of a hotel, and Percy practically leaps off of the bike.
"Oh, fine, I suppose I'll just watch your bike too!" Will squints, looking up at the statue, only to take a step back in surprise.
It's… moving. And talking. He blinks a few times.
"Are you supposed to be Demeter?" Percy asks, and the goddess statue throws another apple, face twisted in a grimace.
"Everyone asks that! I'm Pompona! Roman goddess of plenty! Why do you even care? More power to the minor gods. You wouldn't be losing if you cared about them! Three cheers for Nemesis and Hecate!"
"Just… watch the bike. C'mon Will." Percy pulls him away, but Will can't help the pit that's forming in his stomach. She wasn't wrong. What cost did they have left to pay?
They make it up to the penthouse in record time, and Will can't help the frown that graces his lips when he sees Annabeth laying on the chair.
"Let me through." He says, pushing through a throng of Athena kids. He kneels down next to Annabeth, pulling back her bloodied bandages.
It's not as bad as it could be. Clearly a poisoned knife. He takes two deep breaths, pressing a hand against her skin and closing his eyes. Not too much blood loss, decent heart rate. He can feel the tendrils of the poison pulsing its way through her veins. He can do this.
"It's not so bad, Annabeth." He says, pointedly ignoring the looks Percy and Annabeth are sharing. "A few more minutes and we'd've been in some hot water, but none of the venom is past your shoulder. Just hang tight, someone get me some nectar."
Percy hands him a canteen of the godly liquid, and he pours some over her wound, making her gasp in pain.
"Sorry, let me just–" He breathes out, calling upon his father in the usual hymn. He presses his fingers into her bloody shoulder, his calming and healing spreading across her skin. He can feel it attacking and neutralizing the poison, the golden tendrils fighting against the green ones. It's not physical, the tendrils, but he can see them in his mind.
After a minute, he sits back, suddenly dizzy. "That… that should do it." He says, and he can hear how his voice shakes. "But I need more mortal supplies. My siblings have the rest of the ones we packed."
He stands, crossing over to a pad of paper. Where was that pharmacy that— His world tilts on axis for a moment. Get it together Solace. Sam and Aaron and Lee are dead. There's nothing you can do.
He jots down an address, turning and handing it to Timothy, one of the older Athena guys.
"There's a Walgreens on Fifth. I wouldn't normally recommend stealing but…"
"I would." Travis Stoll says, and Will levels him with a glare. He's not in the mood for the Stoll siblings bullshit right now.
"Leave cash or drachmas or whatever you have. This is an emergency. There's gonna be way more injured demigods to heal, and I can't use my healing powers for everything, unless you want me dead."
No one says anything, but Will can see the look on Percy's face. Yeah, serves you right. He thinks bitterly.
"Let's go guys. Give Annabeth some space to heal. We have a drugstore to raid–" Will glares at him again. "I mean visit!"
Will sits back on his haunches once they leave, and he can feel the lack of strength in his body.
"Will, honey, you should rest." Silena says, motioning to one of the other chairs. Will blinks at her. She's never called him honey before. Weird. "You look like you're about to pass out." He feels like it too.
"I think I should… take a small nap. But–" Silena shakes her head.
"Annabeth is fine. If anything happens, we will wake you up, okay? If your siblings make it back here too." Will nods, moving to curl up in one of the other lounge chairs.
Maybe just for a bit.
—
He's shaken awake hours later by Kayla, tears streaming down her face. He doesn't like that look.
"Will, Will you need to come now." He blinks sleep out of his eyes, rubbing his face with his hands.
"What's going on?" He says, and Kayla just shakes her head, pulling him up, up, up. "I was just told to get you to the makeshift infirmary as soon as I could wake you up. It's… it's not good."
Not good is, quite frankly, an understatement.
"I didn't know we had one left." He says, looking down and thumbing the fabric between his fingers. Kayla nods sadly, twisting her fingers in her camp shirt.
"She was trying to hold the line, but…" Will looks down at the peaceful face of his sister. If he didn't know better, he would think she was just asleep. But the angry gash across her throat, the lack of a rise and fall of her chest… he'd grown used to her sleeping next to him for the past year, how was he supposed to pretend now?
"She went down with a fight. For Phoebe." Austin says softly, and Will pulls the shroud up, covering Penelope's face.
"Alright, we are gonna stay here and field incoming campers with injuries. It's just you two with me, correct?" Austin nods.
"Aria went with the other head counselors and took Nychelle with her. I don't know where they had them placed because there's only…two of them." Austin looks pained, and Will understands.
Five Apollo siblings left. The oldest of them barely 15.
"They'll be helpful wherever they're placed. I've never seen Aria miss a shot." Will leans down, picking up Penelope's body. They have to free up the bed. He places her in a safe spot, taking a moment to close his eyes and let himself feel the grief that piles up in his chest.
Aaron. Michael. Penelope.
How many more would he lose before this war was over?
Lee. James. Sam. Phoebe.
Daniel.
He inhales. Squares his shoulders.
"Let's get to work."
"I heard you may be in need of some… assistance." Will gapes at the girl standing awkwardly in front of them, her long hair in a braid over her shoulder. She crosses her arms, the silver of her jacket gleaming.
"I… yeah always of course. What's your name again?" The Hunter steps into the makeshift infirmary, her dark brown eyes flicking around at all of the injured campers and Hunters. She frowns, then turns to Will.
"Mary. I am a Healer in the Hunters' ranks. Thalia asked if I would come be of some help with our own techniques, especially when it comes to our own." Will nods, turning to try and spot some green hair.
"Kayla!" He calls out, and his sister appears in front of them, bandages in her hands. "You work with Mary, okay? She's one of the Hunters' Healers." Kayla nods, and Will turns back to face Mary, "I thought it would be best if you went with Kayla, since…" Mary gives him a wry smile.
"I understand, son of Apollo. I have magic that you do not, since I am a nymph and older than you would think in this immortal body of mine." Will nods, and motions for her to follow Kayla. Austin appears at his side, a plaster across his cheek from where he had been cut on the face trying to get Penelope's body back to them.
"Well… that's something I never expected to see. A Hunter with us." Will shrugs, turning back to assess who they have in the infirmary.
"Wartime means all hands on deck. Plus, she said Thalia sent her. Thalia wouldn't do that if she wasn't sure that it would be okay." Austin nods.
"Do you have all the supplies you need?" Austin shrugs, then nods.
"Yeah, at least for now. I've been healing little wounds here and there, but I'm not nearly as good as you are at this." Will grasps onto his little brother's shoulder.
"We are all just doing the best we can, Austin. Now, let's get to it. The sooner we heal people, the sooner they can get back out there."
—
"Will!" He hears a shout, and suddenly, Malcolm from the Athena cabin bursts in, his gray eyes wide. "We have… a very big problem." Will looks up from wrapping a bandage around Violet from Demeter's leg, finishing off the bandages covering nearly her entire body from burns, and he stiffens when he sees the look in Malcolm's eye. No.
"Who?" He asks, venom in his voice. Malcolm rubs the back of his neck and shouts for someone to "bring her in."
Will has to steady his hand against the bed when he sees the damage, his knees almost giving out.
"Aria." He runs to her side, and his older sister weakly laughs, blood dripping down her chin from where she had spit up. He looks her over, but what happened is clear from the javelin sticking out from her chest.
"Hey kiddo…" She rasps, and coughs up more blood, dribbles of crimson staining her golden armor. "Guess I got kinda.. Skewered didn't I?"
"Shut up. Please." He says, his voice wobbly. What can he even do? She's barely standing, supported on either side by beefy Hephaestus guys keeping her upright. A javelin sticking out of her chest, right through the middle. Right by her heart. He takes her wrist in his hand, and his eyes close. He knows. There's nothing he can do for her.
"That bad huh?" She quips, and Will can't help the pained laugh that leaves his lips.
"Why are you making jokes when you're like this?" He says, and she shrugs her shoulders before hissing in pain.
"Note to self, don't shrug when you've been skewered like a slab of meat ready for barbeque." She wheezes. "You should pull this out of me, no?" Will hesitates.
"If I do, you'll bleed out." He says softly, and she hums, her blonde hair falling in her face.
"But I can at least die laying down if you do." She mentions, and he hears the intake of breath from the guys holding her.
"She's right." He says, steeling his shoulders. "I should pull it out of her, but she is gonna bleed out. I can't… I can't save her. I need you to hold her still while I pull this out though. She… she should get to lie down." The two guys, and Will feels horrible for not remembering their names, nod and brace Aria.
Will places one hand on Aria's shoulder, his calming power creeping out of his fingers to her body, and gently, slowly, carefully pulls the javelin forward. Aria's gasps of pain echo through the hallway, and it isn't long before the javelin clatters to the ground, and Aria slumps.
"Let's get her to a bed." Will urges, and the Hephaestus campers help Will lay her down, her head lolling to the side. Will takes her hand in his own, tears pricking in his eyes.
"Will…" She says, blue eyes barely open. "I need to tell you something really important." Will presses a cloth to her chest, trying to stave off the worst of the bleeding. "They… they got Chelly." Will freezes.
"What?"
"Nychelle… She took a sword to the gut. One of the enemy demigods. She was… she was gone before I could blink." Will feels his hands start to shake.
"Aria, that can't be true, that would mean—"
"It's up to you now, sunbaby." She coughs, spitting up more blood. "It's all up to you now. Take care of Austin and Kayla, take care of anyone else that comes after us if we win." Will clutches onto her hand, shaking his head.
"Aria, I can't! I don't know how! I'm only thirteen."
"You're almost fourteen." She says, her grip weakening around his fingers. "There's nothing we can do, Will. Everyone else… they're all gone. I'll be gone too." She's crying, and Will reaches up to brush her tears away. He can feel her fading, see the blood dripping down her chest.
"I'm sorry…" He says softly, and she blinks, the reaction time drastically dropping. "I couldn't save anyone. You're all dying in front of me. I can't save anyone." Aria shakes her head, wetting her lips with her tongue.
"You did your best Will. That's all a big sister could ask for." She says, and her eyes start to close.
"Aria, no, stay with me!" He cries, but her hand goes limp.
Dead.
"Will! They need you out on the field to help and— oh my god." Kayla runs in before stopping in her tracks. Her big blue eyes widen as she realizes what is going on.
"Is she–"
"It's you and me and Austin." Will says, standing up, breathing out once, twice, three times.
"But Ny–"
"She's dead." Kayla inhales shakily, and her hands form fists. "You and Austin are not to leave here, okay? As your… Senior Counselor, I'm forbidding it, do you hear me Kayla Knowles?" Her gaze snaps up to meet his, and her eyes go just as cold as Will feels his own.
"Understood. They need you out there. Be safe please?" Will nods and crosses over to kiss the top of her head.
"I'll come back, I promise."
—
"There's nothing I can do for Clarisse right now." Will says, looking at the frozen block that was the older camper. "I don't have that kind of magic." Chris sighs and nods, running a hand through his hair.
"Yeah, I get that. Thanks for trying, Will." He smiles, glad that Chris seems so much better than he had been last year. He knows that Mr. D had cured his madness, but he hadn't actually been in the infirmary when that had happened.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" He asks, and Chris shakes his head.
"Nah, nothing that requires your healing. You should save it for people that are worse off than me." Will nods, running a hand through his messy curls. Gods, he really needs a shower.
Will leans down to check on another camper, one of the Ares kids, Noelle. She seems okay, her skin pale from blood loss, but it doesn't seem to be bleeding anymore. He can't move anyone anyway.
He's doing everything in his power to ignore the fact that the Titan lord Kronos is standing not that far away from him, looking everything like Luke Castellan.
It's seriously creeping him out.
He watches the skirmish going on with Percy, Annabeth, Chiron and Thalia from a distance, really not wanting to get himself all mixed up in that mess. He promised Kayla that he would come back alive. He intends on keeping that promise for her.
His head snaps up when a blinding white light flashes, and he sees Chiron fly back into a wall, the stone collapsing around him. A gasp leaves his lips, but he hesitates getting up from where he is crouched by some unconscious campers. He can't risk it. It's too dangerous for him.
He hears Annabeth cry out in pain, and then a noise like a dog howling. He steps closer, until he is hiding behind a cart not far from the action.
"Nico?" He hears Percy call out and his blood freezes. Nico? Nico is here? He steps out further, still out of the line of sight from Kronos, and he sees him.
Will's not religious by any means, but he's pretty sure Nico looks like an angel of death or something. Hah. Di Angelo. He snorts inwardly.
Suddenly, the ground starts to shake, and thousands of dead start to rise. Will's eyes widen, and he steps back. Was this Nico's doing? Is he that powerful? He watches as Nico stride forward confidently, and Will feels darkness curl in his chest.
Familiar darkness.
He blinks. What… the fuck is this?
It doesn't feel cold. It feels… like home? He presses a hand against his chest curiously. His healing pokes at it like a child, playful. It doesn't hurt him, the darkness. Huh.
His experiment is interrupted by a flash of cold, and Will feels a chill run up his spine. A chariot roars to life, and Will's jaw drops in surprise.
Hades, with who he assumes is Persephone and Demeter.
Holy Hera.
Will hides back behind a food truck, his heartbeat racing wildly. Of course, he had expected some gods to show up at some point, now that Kronos was around, but… Hades? This had to be Nico's doing.
Nico…
Will hears a commotion, and he stands up. Before he can even think about it too much, he unsheathes his dagger and races towards the battle.
Will's never fought so hard in his lifetime. Of course, he's not really been in that many battles, but this is like nothing he's ever seen before.
"Ssssson of Apollo." He freezes, gripping onto his dagger. This feels all too familiar. His blue eyes lock onto the dracaenae making its way towards him. This feels like the battle last year, like Daniel should be running towards him just like before.
A flash of black hair. Will recoils.
Daniel?
No.
Nico, looking everything like an avenging angel, rips his sword out of the dracaenae's chest, shadows curling around his feet.
"What are you DOING?" He yells, whirling around to look at Will.
Will hesitates, staring at Nico. The younger boy had taken off his helmet, his dark hair falling into his eyes. He's still that pale skin tone that confuses Will. Where had the tanned skin that Nico had come to camp with gone?
""Will! I swear to all the gods, if you don't get out of here– Go!" Nico yells, and Will startles. His dream. His dream FROM YEARS AGO.
Darkness. Screaming. The voices of his siblings yelling commands. He couldn't make out exactly who, but someone loudly wailing. His hands covered in blood, trembling. A shout in a language Will knows but can't understand at the moment, a flash of black hair and a dark sword. Shadows curling around the edges of Will's vision.
He can tick off every single box now. Nico's shadows. Michael dying. Penelope crying as Aaron gets snapped up by the hellhound. Aria's blood on his hands. Nico yelling. Nico's hair. Nico's sword. Nico.
"You–" He starts to say, but Nico shoves him backwards, his black sword gleaming.
"Will, I am being so serious right now, gods above this dense motherfucker is going to get himself killed, you need to go back to the infirmary, now." Will stumbles back as Nico pushes him back again.
"I can help!" He yells and Nico laughs almost cruelly, shaking his head.
"You can't stay here, Will! You have to go back!"
"Why are you treating me like I'm weak?" Will yells, indignation coloring his voice. He can help! He can fight!
"I'm NOT! But you have to go!" Will whirls, feeling a presence over his shoulder. He shouts, feeling a searing pain across the back of his leg, causing him to drop to his knees. FUCK.
"Why aren't you listening to me, WILL GO!" Nico says, sword locked with the enemy demigod who had just slashed Will. "You're a healer, GO HEAL SOMEONE." Will stands, wincing. Nico shoves the other demigod back, slamming the hilt of his sword down and knocking them out. He sighs, turning to face Will.
"Seriously, Solace. Go. We can handle this. You're needed elsewhere. Just please… Go!"
Will gives him one last look before limping his way back to the makeshift infirmary.
He takes a second to look back at Nico before turning the corner. The younger boy is a force in battle, yelling commands to the skeletons under his control. Will's never seen anything like it. He's not sure he will ever see anything like this again.
Nico's beautiful.
He frowns again, curling his hand over his chest. That familiar darkness settles in his bones again, but a warmth too.
He doesn't have time for this.
"Will, where in the HELL have you been?" Kayla shrieks when he drags himself into the infirmary, blood dripping down his leg. He laughs nervously, and she stares down at his leg before whirling.
"Austin!" She yells shrilly. "Is there an open bed? Or chair? Will's hurt!" His younger brother appears, and Will can see the sheen of sweat on his forehead.
"Guys, I'm fine, just give me a square of ambrosia or something and a bandage. I can take care of myself." Kayla shakes her head, and she and Austin help Will to an empty chair, making him sit down. Kayla kneels, pressing her fingers onto Will's leg.
"That's a deep cut, and it's bleeding quite a lot. It cut into your muscle here and here." She points to two parts on his leg. "Sword?" He nods.
"Demigod. Nico took care of it though." Kayla squints at him, a frown on her face.
"Who's Nico?" She asks, and Will feels a rush of heat run up his neck. Oh. She'd never met the younger boy.
"It's… not important. He's another demigod. Our side." Kayla tilts her head to the side, and Will looks away. Her curious gaze is scary, blue eyes boring into him like she can see straight through him.
"Hmm… okay, whatever you say." Austin runs back over to them, and Will blinks. He hadn't even noticed the younger boy disappear. He holds out a cup of nectar, and Will takes it gratefully, tipping his head back to swallow it all at once.
Hot chocolate and just a tinge of cinnamon. The hot chocolate from the Big House that they had on birthdays.
"I'm gonna heal your leg." Austin says, and pushes Kayla gently away. "You go deal with something else, I can take care of Will." Kayla nods, standing up and pulling her hair back into a ponytail.
"I'll be back in just a second okay?" Will smiles, waving her away. She hurries off, shouting commands at someone in the back, something about not messing up her handiwork. Typical Kayla.
"I'm not gonna ask you questions like she is." Austin comments offhandedly, poking at Will's leg. Will feels his cheeks go scarlet again.
"Oh, um. Thanks. I don't… I wouldn't have any answers anyway. I–"
"You don't need to explain anything to me either." Austin says with a laugh, before starting to sing the hymn to their father that is so familiar to Will. Austin's always been one of the best singers in Apollo cabin, his voice warm and velvety. Clearly, Dad had poured all of his best music talent into Austin.
"Thanks, Austin." Will says softly, and his brother looks up at him, chocolate brown eyes warm.
"Puh-lease." Austin teases, and they both freeze. He'd sounded just like Aaron. A reminder of everything they'd both lost. Austin clears his throat, setting Will's leg back down. "That should… be good, right? Can you take a look at it?" Will nods, pulling his leg up so he can inspect the wound. It'll probably scar with how deep it was, but Austin did a good job.
"Thanks, kiddo." He says, and Austin flushes a little bit with pride. Will laughs, reaching out to pat Austin on the shoulder.
The younger demigod urges him to lean back against the chair, and Will does that, closing his eyes slightly. He just needs a minute of rest before–
Another demigod rushes in, her cheeks flushed with exertion. She looks around, clearly looking for something. She spots the pair of them and runs over.
"Who's the… head counselor for Apollo?" She asks, and Will remembers this is one of the Aphrodite kids. Drew, he thinks. He stands, running a hand through his hair.
"Me. I'm… the oldest." She blinks, clearly taken aback.
"Oh, I assumed— anyway, they're requesting you and me on Olympus." Will frowns.
"What do you mean you? You're Cabin 10 right?" She nods, and Will blinks. "Shouldn't it be Silena?" Drew's expression morphs into distaste, anger, and then she schools it into nonchalance.
"Silena is dead. I'm Head Counselor now."
Will inhales sharply. What the hell happened? Silena's dead? How? Why does Drew look like Silena had just killed someone?
"O…kay. Lemme just, Austin, you and Kayla can handle things here, right?" The younger boy nods, eyes flicking between Drew and Will.
"Yeah, we can do it. Go do your head counselor stuff. Or whatever it is." Will nods, patting Austin on the shoulder.
"Thanks, Austin. Again. I'll be back." Austin nods and heads back towards the campers waiting for him. Will takes a moment to take a deep breath before turning to face Drew, who is eyeing him in a way that makes his skin crawl just a bit.
"Ready?" She asks, and Will nods.
"You're gonna have to help me up there though, I just took a sword to the back of my leg and it's still painful." Drew flicks her long hair out of her face, sighing.
"We can find Jake and have him help you. Let's go." He follows her out of the building, limping heavily.
—
Will can't keep his eyes off of his dad. He's never seen him before, and he hadn't quite expected this to be the first time. Of course, he doesn't talk to Will. None of the gods do. He leans heavily on Jake Mason, still weak from blood loss and healing. The other camper just pats his shoulder, grimacing slightly. Will turns his head, concern on his face.
"You hurt?" Will eyes him, and Jake sighs, shaking his head.
"Nothing important. You focus on staying upright and then I'll get Austin or Kayla to shove some food your way so you don't pass out." He bites back, and Will just snorts.
"Percy's ambitious, isn't he?" Will asks, and Jake laughs louder than he probably should have, getting a glare from Katie Gardner.
"Or he just has a death wish. Forcing an oath to get all the campers claimed? To make cabins for everyone? The gods don't like being told they're making mistakes." Will shrugs. It leaves a sour taste in his mouth that his dad had protested Percy's demand. How many siblings did he have out there that just weren't claimed? How many had died without knowing he was their dad?
"Hey, Will… I'm sorry about your siblings." Jake says, and Will sighs. They had so many shrouds to make.
"They died valiantly." He whispers, and Jake nods, a frown on his face.
"Still… It's awful. Is it just–"
"Me and Kayla and Austin. Yeah. For now… I guess. " He sighs, pushing off of Jake, a little wobbly on his feet. Ugh. He really needs a snack or something.
"Aren't you gonna talk to your dad?" Jake asks when Will makes to leave. Will hesitates, looking back at the blonde form sitting on the golden throne. He shakes his head.
"I don't… I don't have anything to say to him right now. I need time to sort out my feelings about my siblings and everything that has happened. I have to figure out how to run my cabin, same as you. I can't do that and talk to my dad. I need… time." Jake nods, lifting his hand in a wave.
"I'll see you back at camp, yeah?" Will smiles, waving back at Jake with a nod.
—
Being in the clearing alone is weird. But there's no better place for Will to think, even with the ghosts of his siblings hanging over his head. Not literally, but Will can feel the weight of their loss all the same.
"Ow." He winces, holding his finger up. Pricked again. The golden fabric in his lap shifts with the sunlight, just as beautiful as it had been the first time he'd seen it.
Beautiful and horrible.
"Are you really doing this all by yourself?" He hears a voice, and he turns. Nico appears out of the shadows, his dark sword hanging from his belt.
"Well, I wasn't gonna make Kayla and Austin do it." He says, looking down at the fabric. Nico sighs, plopping down on the ground next to him.
"Give me one." Will gives Nico an incredulous look. "What? You think I don't know how to do this?" Will shakes his head, hesitating before passing one of the golden fabrics to Nico. They work in silence for a few minutes, only the sound of Will's swearing when he pricks his finger again.
"Why are you helping me?" Will asks after a minute, setting one of the finished shrouds to the side. Nico sighs, dark eyes still focused on the golden fabric in his lap.
"You were always nice to me. Even when I wasn't so nice." Will frowns.
"You've always been nice, what do you mean?" Nico shakes his head, not looking at Will.
"Anyway, I'm a son of Hades. God of the Underworld. You lost, what, five siblings?" Will doesn't answer, but he knows that Nico isn't actually asking. "I figured… I want to try and… be here. I'm working on plans with Annabeth for my cabin. So I want to try and… I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing. But you needed help, and this is something I know. Death. Losing a sibling."
"Thank you, Nico." Will interrupts. He can feel Nico clamming up, and he doesn't want the younger boy to feel uncomfortable. "I think we're almost done, right?" Nico looks at the fabric in front of them and nods, standing up and dusting his pants off.
"It's almost time for dinner. You should get these back so that we can burn them with everyone else's." Will nods, standing up and folding the shrouds gently. Four of them. The fifth was still with Penelope's body.
"Thanks again, Nico." He turns to say, but the younger boy is already gone, melted away into the shadows.
Will sighs, looking around the clearing. He can still hear Aria's laughter, hear Aaron's loud boisterous voice. He holds the shrouds close to his chest, breathing in deeply. He can do this.
They burn the shrouds after dinner, with everyone in attendance. Will looks around at the remaining campers. Most of them gravely injured in some way. He sees more than one missing limb that he had dealt with either on site or once they had arrived at camp. More than one cabin down to only a few siblings, if any at all.
"Will." He hears a soft voice and Annabeth nudges his shoulder. "It's your turn." He steps forward and places the five shrouds down one at a time.
"Michael Yew, Aaron Black, Aria Mann, Penelope Salamin, Nychelle Thornson." He says with each one, watching the fire catch on the golden material. Sparks of gold drift into the air, and Will feels a breeze start to pick up.
"My siblings fought bravely in the Battle for Olympus. Without them, I wouldn't be here still. They sacrificed their lives to keep us all safe, and for that, we should remember them. I know that I'll never forget the little moments, how you could hear Aaron's laughter bouncing off the amphitheater when he was teaching archery. Aria's voice drifting through the cabin in the morning as she got ready for the day. Michael's sarcastic quips as he taught me something I needed to know to heal better. Nychelle playing music that somehow fit every single situation, whether a breakup or just something to make me feel better. I'll remember Penelope singing to the flowers outside of our cabin, something she picked up after Phoebe died. These things are going to be how I remember my siblings, not the way that they died." Will feels his voice catch. "They were the bravest people that I ever knew, and I'm honored to be able to have called them my siblings."
As he steps back to let another head counselor through, he thinks that he catches a flash of gold in the distance. But that can't be.
There's no way his dad would be here.
He sighs, running a hand through his hair.
They have so much work to do.