Sunkissed Solangelo

☼Will☼

Without a doubt, Apollo was correct: what Will was doing was downright painful.

Promptly following Will waking up from Apollo's advice, he aggressively rubbed his eyes to correct his blurry vision, and raced out of the Hypnos cabin. In his peripheral view he noticed Clovis snoring loudly in his cabin bed.

Daylight shone as he ran across the archery targets towards the infirmary. For the first time in his life, he wished the sky was darker, as if it would spare him more time that he missed while dreaming. He tried not to panic over the possibility that he may be too late.

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Will stroked Nico's dark tufts of hair, which were softer than they appeared to be. Instinct was overcoming him at the moment, and his mind urged him to hold his friend's hand. So he did, closing his eyes. And concentrating... focusing... hoping upon hope that this would work...

After a flash of darkness, he finds himself in a dank room that smelled musty, with ancient columns surrounding him. Will seemed to be underground, but had no idea where. Suddenly, across the vast room, a wall collapses, bricks of limestone crumbling to the ground. That's when he sees a teenager in a torn purple shirt rolling away, whom he soon recognized as Jason Grace. But what was he doing here?

"Stop it!" a familiar voice yelled. "It's me you want. Leave him alone!"

Nico emerged from the swirling dust from the crumbling infrastructure. He looked murderous and Will wasn't sure who that was aimed at, though certainly not the son of Zeus. Unusually, behind those pitch-black eyes of Nico's, Will noticed a slight hint of fear. He had never known Nico DiAngelo to be scared of anything.

Then, the source of the destruction, as Will logically deducted, spoke. Poor Nico DiAngelo. He could see no face, but gathering from the authoritative tone, he could guess it was a god. Do you know what you want, much less what I want? My beloved Psyche risked everything in the name of Love. It was the only way to atone for her lack of faith. And you- what have you risked in my name?

The name Psyche sounded vaguely familiar to Will, but he couldn't make the connection between her and the mystery god.

"I've been to Tartarus and back. You don't scare me." Nico's voice came out to outweigh his appearance in terms of anger. Still, part of him sounded like he was hanging at the edge of a cliff.

I scare you very, very much. Face me. Be honest.

Will noticed Nico's hands were trembling like wave frequencies, and the stone ground surrounding him was beginning to crack.

"Give us Diocletian's scepter. We don't have time for games."

An invisible force knocked Nico into a granite pedestal. Will wanted to rush towards him, but was unable to move his feet. He then remembered with a twinge of helplessness this was just a memory of the past, and he couldn't change anything that was going to happen next.

Games? Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work- a quest that never ends. It demands everything from you- especially the truth. Only then does it yield reward.

Well it was clear now. After mentioning love twice now, Will felt positive this mystery god was Cupid.

"Nico," Jason suddenly asked. "What does this guy want from you?"

Will couldn't see Cupid, but he imagined his ugly handsome face was smirking at Nico's sensitivity towards a subject about love. He wanted to punch the god for it; he knew exactly how furious that would make him feel.

Tell him, Nico DiAngelo. Tell him you are a coward, afraid of yourself and you feelings. Tell him the real reason you ran from Camp Half Blood, and why you are always alone.