Chapter Text
If no one had stopped him, Nico might have turned Harley into an undead shish kebab. Nico could understand now that most people at Camp Half-Blood were not actively afraid of him. Will and Jason and every other annoyingly optimistic person in his life had convinced him of that much. But people were still uneasy with his powers if he showed them, and they were especially uneasy if he got angry. Even Will, who put up with every mood swing Nico had had in the past year, had admitted to him that he got scared when Nico got angry enough. Harley, however, seemed immune to even that. And it drove Nico crazy. Nico had no idea why Harley had chosen him to bounce around all afternoon. Maybe it was because Nico had been too considerate earlier and had told Harley that his sword technique was looking better at training earlier. Or maybe it was because Nico had asked if Harley was okay the other day when he had found him staring aimlessly into the trees. Whatever the reason, Harley had been stuck to him like glue. Nico’s already thin patience was becoming nonexistent.
For a kid who was supposed to be preparing for a very intense game of capture the flag, Harley wasn’t taking anything seriously. The straps on his armor were not even and the breastplate seemed about five sizes too big. His helmet and the blue plume on top of it were comically big on his head. The worst part was how hyper he was. He simply never stopped moving. Or talking. Nico really hoped all kids weren’t like this. And he really, really hoped that he hadn’t been this bad when he had first gotten to camp. He almost winced thinking about it. If Percy had had to put up with this, Nico was surprised he hadn’t been smashed into a grease spot on the beach. Would have saved the both of them a good amount of strife.
“Do you think they put anything fun in the woods this time?” Harley said, bouncing up and down on his toes so forcefully that Nico was afraid he would blast off. “Like a hydra? Or some dracaenae?”
Nico glanced towards the sound as he adjusted his armor, blissfully wondering if he could dive into the ocean and swim away. Drew walked past him. Her eyebrows knit together, and Nico assumed she was wondering why Harley was talking to him. Nico could relate to the question. Then her expression shifted into something similar to pity. Nico grit his teeth, then sighed.
“No. They tell us if they put things in the woods. If we see anything, it’s probably just leftovers from other training exercises.”
Someone handed Harley a sword. It was way too big for him, but he swung it around anyway, nearly cutting a huge gash in Nico’s legs and mauling a couple of dryads. Nico grabbed his wrist before he could disembowel anyone. Harley seemed unfazed.
“This is so cool. I love capture the flag. I’ve played it a million times but it never seems to get old.” He stared into the trees for a minute. It was the stillest Nico had seen the kid in months. Then his eyes snapped back to the sword and a grin broke out across his face. “Although, it would be cooler if Chiron had let me implement those booby traps we talked about. I think capture the flag would be a lot more fun if we used those drones that could spray lava so that everyone would have to—”
“I think most of us have had enough danger for one lifetime,” Nico muttered. “Let’s keep the lava confined to the rock wall.”
Nico tried to take a step in the other direction to at least put a little space between him and Harley, but the younger boy jumped in front of him. “Hey, you’ve been to the Underworld. And to Tartarus! I bet there’s all kinds of cool traps and stuff down there. Maybe we could work together, and I could make some new traps and exercises for the camp that…”
A dim ringing filled his ears when Harley mentioned Tartarus. It was as if his brain was trying to protect him, shutting itself off so that he couldn’t be reminded of anything that had happened down there. That had been happening more and more lately, even though Nico was sure that he was supposed to be moving past that trauma, or something. Why did Harley have to mention the one thing that shut Nico down completely? Anger boiled deep in his stomach. Harley didn’t have the right to mention it. Some small part of Nico’s brain realized that he was being somewhat unfair to Harley. He was young. He probably barely knew what it was. But Nico was annoyed, and he was angry. He needed Harley to stop talking.
The weight of his sword in his hand suddenly felt good. He wouldn’t hurt Harley, but maybe if he threatened to stab him it would be enough to make him give Nico some space for five minutes.
A hand on his shoulder interrupted his mounting rage. Nico turned to see Kayla standing behind him.
“Will requests your presence over by the left side of the creek.”
Nico furrowed his brow. The anger in his stomach melted into confusion. “The left side of the creek?”
Kayla shrugged, as if telling directions wasn’t really important to her. “I don’t know. Somewhere over to the left. Through the people. I’m sure you’ll see his mop of blonde hair.”
In spite of himself, Nico smiled. He liked Kayla. Spending all his meals at the Apollo table had made him like her more. She and Will were almost polar opposites and sometimes it was hard to remember that they were siblings, but Nico appreciated her humor. Anyone that could annoy Will was a friend of his. It was also just nice to see her conscious and joking around again after her time in the woods.
“Alright. I’ll find him. Thanks.” Kayla smiled at him then bounced away.
Nico left Harley where he was, thrilled to have a chance to not be near him, though he had the sneaking suspicion that Harley would find him again as soon as the game started. Everyone was overly excited for this capture the flag game. Nico supposed that was fair enough. The first signs of spring on the Long Island Sound had come early. The unseasonal warmth seemed to have inserted mania into everyone. Plus, simulated combat was much more fun than real combat. A few monsters had managed to sneak to the camp boundary in the past few weeks, and so everyone was itching to fight someone who wasn’t actually going to kill them. It was also nice to know that no one was going to die and that no one was going to wander off into the woods and need to be rescued. Everyone was teeming with energy. People had barely even complained about the team assignments, which was a first. The energy of the camp made Nico feel happy, which was weird because he usually reserved that emotion for winning battles and Will.
He found his boyfriend leaning against a tree. Nico wished he could train his stomach not to do a somersault every time he saw Will, but he had been trying for months and nothing had worked so far. He was fine with liking Will. He liked him so much that he couldn’t imagine his life without him. But it was a little annoying to have his brain short circuit every time he saw him. It was particularly bad right now. The light from the sunset reflected off of Will’s hair, making it glow a very appealing shade of yellowish-orange. He was wearing his camp sweatshirt under his bronze chestplate and plain blue jeans. Even though he wasn’t wearing anything special, Nico still thought he looked incredible. Nico grumbled to himself. Will was hot. It wasn’t fair.
Will’s eyes lit up when he saw him. “Hey, Death Boy.”
Nico rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t entirely suppress his smile. He pushed Will to the right, making room for himself on the tree. “You called me?”
Will shrugged. “I always like your company.” He glanced over at Nico, a small smile fluttering across his face. “How’s Harley?” Nico shoved Will off the tree. Will chuckled.
“You playing today? No battlefield medic duties?”
“Chiron is making me.” Nico glanced over at their mentor. He was currently pleading with a son of Nike to wear armor. “He says I’ve spent too much time in the infirmary and that I need to learn how to defend myself. I think he’s just worried about me.”
Nico snorted a little. “Well, I get that. I think we’re all worried about you.” Will opened his mouth to argue, but Nico kept talking. “Not worried in a bad way. We know that 90% of the time you’re doing what you need to do. You know what you’re doing and you usually don’t push it. I’m certainly not one to talk about diversifying your life and taking care of yourself. But you’ve been working hard. And you’ve done everything you need to. You deserve a break.”
Will made a small huffing sound, then leaned his head on Nico’s shoulder. Nico imagined that must be awkward or downright painful considering how much shorter Nico was than him, but Nico didn’t complain.
“I have to fight with a sword,” Will drawled. “It’s too heavy.”
Nico smirked. “You may be a healer, but you’re not weak. I’ve seen your arms. Where’s the sword?” Will got off him and Nico immediately missed the warmth. He leaned around to the other side of the tree and brought back a sword. Nico had to bite back a laugh. “That’s your sword?”
Will’s eyebrows knit together. He spun the sword in his hands, but he nearly dropped it in the process. “Yeah. What’s wrong with it?”
“It’s a greatsword.” Nico pulled it out of his hand. It felt so drastically different to his sword that he almost wasn’t sure what to do with it. “It’s meant to be used with two hands. It’s definitely not the easiest sword to use, especially for our purposes. Who gave this to you?”
“Sherman.”
“Figures. Come on.” Without waiting for Will to protest, Nico grabbed his arm and started dragging him back to the armory. They broke into a run the minute they were out in the open. Chiron noticed them running and started shouting at them. Maybe it was to tell them to slow down, or maybe it was him protesting that the two of them were running off alone somewhere so close to the start of the game. Will shouted something noncommittal back.
The armory was obviously empty. Everyone had gone to the woods to get ready and had emptied out about ten minutes ago. Will doubled over the minute they were inside.
“Why did you make me run?” Will said between gulps of air. “Not good at running.”
Nico’s eyes were already scanning the shelves. “You’re right. You’re not. You’ll live though.”
He was about to make a suggestion for what sword Will should have when Will’s arms wrapped around him. He leaned into Will’s chest, trying to ignore how fast his heart was thrumming. Maybe he could blame the running. Will was still breathing heavier than normal, but the rhythmic, strong rising and falling of his chest almost made Nico like the hug more.
“I’ve missed you today.” Will’s voice sounded more southern than normal, and it made Nico squirm. He wanted to turn around and kiss the grin off of Will’s stupid face, but he restrained himself.
“Come out of the infirmary and maybe you’ll see me more.”
“Hm.” Will rested his chin on the top of Nico’s head. Nico closed his eyes for a second. Then he remembered why they were in here in the first place.
“We need to get you a sword. The game is gonna start soon.”
Will whipped him around and kissed him. Nico’s knees felt numb. His head spun.
It was over too soon. Will laughed when he saw Nico’s face. “You look like I just dumped a bucket of water over your head.” You might as well have, Nico thought. It would be less embarrassing. “Like I said. I missed you.”
Nico stared for another second, then straightened out his posture and turned back to the weapons. “Sword, Will. You need something you can use.” Nico pulled something off the shelf at random. He tossed it at Will, who barely caught it. “Cavalry sword. Should be a little easier for you to use.”
Will smiled. “But I’m not on a horse.”
“Are you trying to be overly annoying or are you just really desperate to miss the capture the flag game?”
“I don’t think Chiron would be very happy about that,” Will said, the smile dropping from his face.
Nico raised his eyebrows. “Then stop distracting me and go.”
They made it back to the woods just as the teams were splitting up. The two of them melted into the sea of blue plumes, only earning one disapproving glare from Chiron. Nico shrugged it off. Will looked like he wanted to die. He didn’t break the rules very often.
Will was on his team this week, which made Nico slightly happy but also unnerved him. Something about fighting around Will always made him uneasy. He was always afraid that he would go too far and scare Will off. Will never seemed to care what Nico did in battle as long as Nico didn’t overuse his powers, but Nico was waiting for the day that he got a little bit too angry and Will suddenly decided that Nico was too much for him to handle. Annabeth had told him about how Percy had nearly killed Akhlys in Tartarus with her own poison and tears. Nico still thought about how he killed Bryce. The two scenarios terrified him. The memory would pop into his head randomly, and it nearly always ruined his day. In fact, all his bad memories had been cropping up more and more recently. Against his will, Nico had been forced to talk about these memories with Mr.D, who had likened it to something similar to PTSD. Nico was not fond of his new diagnosis. He was afraid he was going to fall back into bad habits. He could already feel it happening.
“You okay?”
Nico grunted, straightening up and looking around wildly. When he saw nothing new around, he sighed. “Yeah. Why?”
Will turned his head to the side a little bit. “You’re glaring at the trees.”
“I’m fine. Just thinking.”
“Thinking?” Will’s expression shifted into concern. Nico cursed himself. Will definitely assumed Nico was having another flashback. Will grabbed his shoulder in a way that Nico assumed was supposed to be comforting but wasn’t. Nico shrugged him off, then immediately wished he hadn’t. “Are you sure? Can I do anything to help?”
“I said I’m fine. I promise.” Will looked unconvinced. “I’ll talk to you about it later, okay? I just, I don’t want to get into it right now.” That answer seemed to satisfy him.
Nico barely listened to Malcolm rattling off the plan for the game. He was getting more anxious as every minute passed. He just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very wrong. He hoped he was just anxious about the game. This didn’t seem fair. He had been having a good day.
Lou Ellen popped her head between the two of them. “Good news gang. We’re on defense duty!”
Will grinned. “Cool. That means I probably won’t have to do anything.”
Nico crossed his arms. “You really are not in the spirit of this.”
“Fighting is not my forte.”
“So I’ve seen.”
“Aw, don’t be like that,” Lou Ellen chided. Nico wasn’t sure if she was talking to him or Will. “Capture the flag is meant to be fun. And you don’t spend enough time outside of the infirmary—”
“As everyone keeps mentioning.”
“—so the sunshine will be good for you.”
Cecil walked over to the three of them. “Just like old times huh? Sabotaging all the onagers and whatnot.”
“How about we not mention that?” Nico grumbled.
Will raised his hand. “I second.”
Kayla hung their team’s flag in one of the branches of a nearby tree. The branches were tall enough that it would be difficult to get but not so tall that it was unreachable. At the sound of Chiron’s horn, Sherman led the offensive team into the woods. The four of them were left alone, the sunlight flitting through the trees.
“Do we have a plan?” Will asked. “If we’re supposed to be defending, do we have a plan for what we’re gonna do when we actually have to defend?”
The three of them looked at Nico. He rolled his eyes. “You guys know how to fight. You don’t need me to tell you what to do.”
“You’re way better at it than any of us,” Lou Ellen argued. “And last I remember, you like to lead.”
Nico glared. “I just know how to do it.”
She waved her arms wildly as if he had solidified his point. “Exactly. So lead.”
Nico needed to remember to smack her after the game. He grit his teeth. “Fine. Stay close to the tree. Cecil and you take that side. Will and I will take this one. If anyone shows up, keep staying close to the tree, and get rid of them.”
Staring into the woods was boring. Occasionally they heard yelling from other parts of the woods, but they didn’t see anyone. Eventually, Nico leaned back against the tree. He figured he could get his sword out or summon some skeletons fast enough if he needed to. Will leaned back with him and held Nico’s hand. Nico closed his eyes, listening to the sound of the crickets.
When he opened them again, he wasn’t in the woods. A dark landscape stretched out endlessly in front of him. Steep cliffs rose up in all directions. Above him, hazy red clouds hung low in the sky. Something about them reminded Nico of leeches ready to fall down and eat him alive. The air was hot and painful. The longer he looked, the more alive everything looked. The cliffs were bones. The ground underneath him was skin. Nico’s head spun. He didn’t need much processing time to figure out where he was. Tartarus.
His heart rate picked up.
Every sound was suddenly louder. A monster circling above his head cawed. The sound felt like a bullet in Nico’s skull. A strange roaring filled his ears. It sounded like it was coming from his own head. He looked down at his arms. Blisters covered them.
“Why would you come down here, son of Hades?” Nico spun, pulling his sword off his belt in a single motion. A group of empousai was standing a few yards behind him. One of them had a cheerleader uniform on.
“Don’t you know you don’t belong here?”
Nico set his jaw and tightened his grip on his sword. “Why do you care?”
She stepped closer. The sickening scent of perfume wafted off of her. For once, Nico was glad he was gay. Dying to the goat version of a beauty queen because he was seduced by them wasn’t on his list of top ten ways to go out.
“I don’t. But it’s all the better than you’re here anyway. Gaea told us you were coming.”
Nico’s pulse sped up. Emerging from the fog he could see more monsters coming to join the empousa. There were maybe five or six of them. Nico didn’t know if he could take them all. But he would have to try.
“Tell her I said hello.”
He sprung forward, attempting to slice through the empousa’s stomach, but she was faster than Nico would have given her credit for. His sword passed clean through on the second pass, but it seemed like two more monsters had taken her place. He sliced and stabbed in whatever way he could. Monsters dissolved into dust all around him. The number of them didn’t decrease. He cut through a dracnae’s arm. As he spun back around to fight the next offender, pain shot through his shoulder. He looked up just in time to see a harpy disappearing into the layer of haze. Blood trickled down his arm, making his grip on his sword looser.
He kept slicing. Kept stabbing.
On another pass, he spun too fast. The blood from the cuts on his shoulder had made his grip too loose. His sword spun out of his hand. Claws dug into his arms.
“Nowhere to run now, di Angelo.” He tried to pull out of their grip, but it was no use.
“Nico!” His head was pounding. “Nico!” The arms were dragging him away. Spikes were growing out of the ground. “Nico!”
Will’s face appeared in front of him. He looked very, very concerned. His hands were locked on Nico’s shoulders. Lou Ellen and Cecil were on either side of him, staring. Nico’s stomach twisted. He must have had another flashback.
“I’m fine,” Nico muttered, not at all convinced it was true. “It’s okay.” He leaned back so that his head was resting on the tree. At some point he must have sat down because he could feel the dirt underneath his fingers.
Will couldn’t hide his apprehension. “You sure? Do I need to get Mr. D?”
Nico shook his head. “We can’t get Mr. D everytime something happens or he’ll never catch a break.” He made eye contact with Lou Ellen. Her eyes dropped to the ground. He looked back at Will. His eyes were so blue and so perfect, even in the dull light of the woods. Nico wanted to get lost in them. Maybe he could dive inside them and pretend his life wasn’t happening the way it was.
“Help me up?” Will wrapped his arm around Nico’s wrists and hauled him to his feet. Nico’s legs felt numb. And something still felt wrong.
Then he realized what it was. His ears were buzzing. Had they been buzzing before he blacked out and he hadn’t noticed? Did they just start? He didn’t know. But it was loud. And it wasn’t going away.
Then he realized what it meant. And he nearly fell down again.
He turned to Will. He could only imagine how pale he was and how terrified he looked. “Jason.”