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“Will, you have to be careful!” Nico yelled (quietly). “This is Tartarus. I don’t want you to end up getting hurt. You have to follow me.”
Will sighed. “I know, Nico. You’ve only told me 10 times today,” he added with a bit of a bite. “But I’m just worried. And scared. We both are.”
Nico looked away briefly, then put his arms around Will. “I guess so.”
Will hugged Nico back, pressing his face into Nico’s greasy and dirty hair. It didn’t smell like him anymore; now it just smelled like death. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”
They hugged for a couple more seconds, relishing in the brief reprieve from stress and fighting. Will pulled away, quickly scanning their surroundings for any threats as they’d both become prone to doing. He slipped his hand into Nico’s, and they kept walking.
There was a poof of smoke, and a woman appeared in front of them. Will stepped back in shock, but Nico determinedly stood his ground and lifted his chin up. Though his stance appeared to exude confidence and strength, Will could see that Nico was scared. Will took up a defensive position, supporting Nico and ready to have his back in a fight if necessary.
“Akhlys,” Nico said, his voice strained. “It’s a… pleasure to see you again.”
“No, son of Hades, the pleasure is all mine,” she replied, a sadistic glint in her eye. Her dress was tattered and tear-stained, and her pitch-black hair hung limply. The goddess of misery truly was frightening.
“Do you require something from me?” Nico asked politely, now with a faint tremor in his tone. Will gritted his teeth, preparing himself for trouble. If Nico’s mask was slipping enough to bely even the tiniest waver in the face of such a threat, he must be truly terrified.
Akhlys grinned widely, the smile coming across as intimidating instead of welcoming. “Why, yes. I’ve kept up with you, Nico. You used to be perfect. So miserable,” she relished in Nico’s slight flinch, as if he knew what was coming. “But I’ve noticed that you’ve changed. You’re… happy,” she said disgustedly, spitting out the word as if it was a curse. “So, I figured I should change that, and you were kind enough to bring the boy along.” Nico’s eyes widened in fear and he shouted, turning and reaching out to Will, but suddenly Will couldn’t feel or hear anything.
The pain was just physical, at first. It was as though every atom in his body was exploding in agony, making stars burst in front of his eyes. Will clenched them shut, his legs giving out. He crashed to the ground, someone’s arms around him, pressing into his forehead. Will shrieked, the touch causing even more pain to roll across his body in waves. The hands retreated, leaving Will hunched in a ball on the floor. That was when the memories started.
Will watched his mother getting attacked by a monster, him arriving at camp, his loneliness, the deaths of Lee and Michael. He screamed as Lee was felled by a monster, and Michael disappeared under the wreckage of the bridge, at every camper who he couldn’t save. A little girl begged him to save her brother as Will grabbed the scalpel. The girl didn’t blame him after, but her silence spoke more than her words. A grieving boy slapped him across the face as Will broke the news to him that his sister hadn’t survived. The Ares cabin shunned him, blaming him for the death of one of their own and the years-old grudge. The broken, bloody bodies flashed in his mind, their open, staring eyes looking straight at him. Will blacked out.
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?” Nico screamed, hovering over Will but not wanting to touch him in case he reacted badly again. Akhlys was simply standing there, watching over both of them. Will was shaking wildly, seemingly having passed out. Nico couldn’t imagine what he was going through; even he didn’t know the full extent of the goddess of misery’s powers.
Akhlys turned her black, tear-filled eyes upon him. “I’m the goddess of misery, Nico. And I’ve taken a liking to you. You’re not going to escape me now.” She raised a hand, pointing straight at him.
Nico froze, the pain coursing through every vein and artery, lighting his nerves on fire. He stared in front of him, barely even registering Will’s slowly blinking eyes and subsequent frantic expression. Nico fell onto his side, twitching as though he was having a seizure. A high-pitched scream was wrenched from his throat, the pain fully taking hold as Akhlys only watched. Maria’s laugh echoed in his ears, the smell of burning flesh filling his nose. He choked on a sob, hyperventilating.
“P-please,” Nico begged. “Please, make it stop.”
Bianca, blown to pieces in an explosion of fiery light. Minos, guiding him through the Labyrinth, a sick smirk on his face. Percy, glaring at him with his sword to his throat. Bryce Lawrence turning into a ghost, and Reyna and Coach Hedge’s horrified faces at his wave of emotions. Jason, toppling to the ground, a spear through his back. The memories layered on top of each other, building up until he couldn’t take it. Nico cried out, skeletons burst from the ground and attempting to take on Akhlys. The goddess of misery merely swept them aside, breaking her connection with Nico as she did so. Nico gasped, shivering as his body violently reacted to the trauma he’d just re-experienced in the span of what was probably only a few minutes.
Nico slowly came back to consciousness. Someone was yelling at him to stay calm, but they didn’t sound so calm themself. Honestly, they sounded completely freaked out, and kind of ill. To be fair, Nico himself wasn’t feeling too great either.
Nico opened his eyes, squinting up at the brilliant blues above him. They softened, corners creasing with worry. Nico shot up, his hands flying everywhere. Will, was Will okay?
“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Will said shakily. Apparently he’d voiced his thoughts out loud. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” Nico replied, gulping down the bile rising in his throat. “Are you sure-?”
“This is touching, really, but I must depart,” Akhlys said dryly. “This was just a taste of my powers. I could keep you in Tartarus forever, torturing you for the rest of time. But I have other things to do. Remember, Nico di Angelo… misery has not forgotten you.” Smoke rose up around her, and when it dissipated, she was gone.
Nico and Will stared at the spot, holding each other’s hands tightly. Nico was the first to look away, while Will was much more cautious.
“We’re kind of fucked, I guess.”
“Yup,” Will said, popping the ‘p’. “Nothing to do but move on, though.”
They scanned the area to check for any more vengeful gods or monsters. Will then tried to use his healing powers to restore their energy slightly, but after being in Tartarus for a while, his powers weren’t functioning as they should have. He almost cried tears of frustration at that point; all this and he couldn’t even help? Will reminded himself of his usefulness in other areas and took a deep breath, calming himself. Nico still looked pretty shaken; Will guessed that having so much more trauma than the average person, it’d take a little longer for him to bounce back. “Hey, sunshine,” Will whispered. “Talk to me.”
Nico shuddered, leaning his forehead on Will’s shoulder from their position still half-collapsed on the ground. “It’s just… you know. I thought that was the last I’d ever see of her. And this is important to me, but it’s hard.” Will hummed in response, having nothing to say. They sat quietly for a little longer, then Nico stood and pulled Will up.
They had to keep going, no matter how hard it got.