Lighting Up The Dark

Chapter 1

Black and white.

Two colors, so completely different.

Two colors, so completely bland.

Two colors that made up Nico's vision. Others spoke of the colors they saw, others tried to explain to him. Percy went on and on about the color blue, Annabeth seemed to talk about gray a lot. Neither made any sense to Nico or any of the other campers who hadn't found their soulmate. Some never would.

And Nico had believed that he'd be one of those few for years. Years after he had a crush on Percy, years after he found out they weren't meant to be. Years after he watched him get with Annabeth, years after he watched Hazel get with Frank. And who was Nico with?

Nobody. Nobody would ever be his soulmate. Did he ever even have one?

According to Hades, it was possible to be born without one. It was rare, but it was possible. Nico was already rare enough as it was, even without this bit of news.

But if it was true...

Then he truly was all alone.

"Nico?" Percy Jackson's voice broke through his subconscious, causing him to look up at the messy haired boy. He stood in the darkness of night, his hands deep in his pockets. "The campfire's been over for an hour now..."

"Right." Nico stood up, his movements jerky. "Right. I'll go to my cabin."

"Wait." Percy grabbed his arm, causing his muscles to tense up. "Are you okay? You've been acting weird."

"I'm fine, Percy. I'm fine." Nico insisted. "Let me go. I don't like to be touched."

Percy stared down at the son of Hades, concern filling his eyes. "Nico... Do you need to talk about something? Because I'm always here if you need to."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Nico pulled away. "We should get to our cabins. It's getting late."

"Yeah, yeah..." Percy scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, okay. Want to walk back together?"

"Not really," Nico admitted. "I was just going to shadow travel."

"Right... Well, goodnight." Percy stuffed his hands in his pockets again. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, whatever." Nico stepped back into the shadows, closing his eyes as he let them take him away from Percy, as they took him away from his problems. When had it become so exhausting just to talk to an old friend?

When had he started to stop thinking of Percy as a friend?

The shadows spit him out over his bed, giving him a second to register where he was before he crashed onto the worn mattress. The silk sheets rested against his itchy skin, the soft pillow cradled his neck. Laying in bed was the only thing he ever looked forward to nowadays.

That was when the dreams didn't come, however.

That night they came in all their agonizing glory.

As he looked around, all he could see was darkness. No light leaked through from anywhere, not even a sliver from under a door. In the back of his mind, he could feel the souls around him. Two, it felt like. Two in wherever he was.

A dull pain throbbed in his lower back, a sharper pain split his head in two. His hands, chained together, shot pain into his arms with each movement he made. The chains felt like wisps of smoke, delicate but unbreakable. Around his hands, they choked whatever light he had out of him.

"Hello?!" Nico's throat was as raw as those traveling through the desert. "Hello?! Who's there?!"

No voices, no sounds. Only the darkness. The pain in his lower back got worse, the pain in his head seemed to be splitting him in half. These dreams...he could barely ever stand them. Why was the pain so prominent? What god was so obsessed with giving it to him?

Unless...

Nico tried to look around him again, using his hands to feel around. Below him was what felt like a concrete floor, behind his back was what felt like a concrete wall. He could feel the earth beneath the concrete, could feel the earth behind it. A basement of some sort, it had to be. But why...

"Hello?" Nico asked, this time calmer. "Hello? Whoever's here, I'm not going to hurt you. I need you to talk to me. I think...I think I can see you for a reason. I think someone wants me to get you out of here. But you have to talk to me."

A whimper, a gasp of pain and fear. "I...I..." The voice was raspy and tainted with torment. "I... Help... Help."

He woke up, his eyes snapping open to meet the ceiling of his cabin. The pain was gone, his wrists looked fine. Nothing seemed to remain of the dream but memories, and that was enough.

"I need to talk to Chiron." Nico jumped to his feet and grabbed his jacket, slipping it and his shoes on before heading out. The sun was high in the sky as he made his way through camp, as he tried to stay clear of those around him. Yet before long, Percy Jackson was at his side with Riptide in his hand.

"Hey, Nico, is everything okay?" Percy asked. "What's wrong?"

"I have to talk to Chiron." Nico knew Percy was just trying to be nice, but so much kindness became annoying after awhile. "It's nothing to worry about."

Percy's face filled with the sense of danger. "What is it? Both prophecies are over..."

"It's probably nothing." Nico coaxed. "Probably just a task my dad wants me on. Don't worry about it."

"Okay...well, you know to just ask if you need help, right?"

Nico nodded. "Right." He stopped at the porch of the Big House, his eyes meeting Percy's. "Okay...you can go now."

"Right." Percy scratched the back of his neck. "So...bye?"

"Bye, Jackson."