The Infirmary

Nico's P.O.V.

As Will began to heal the girl, Nico's chest felt like it has been set on fire. Hissing in pain, he hunched over, grasping at his chest and struggling to breathe.

Nico knew exactly who this was.

"Nico?" Kayla had stepped back from the group trying to save the girl, instead focusing her attention on Nico. "What's wrong? What hurts?" She began to step towards him but stopped when he shook his head.

"He needs to stop. He has to stop." Tears were beginning to run down Nico's face as the air seemed to turn into sludge. It felt like he was drowning.

Kayla's eyes widened. Acting quickly, she grabbed Will by the wrists and wrenched him away from the girl, giving Will the only explanation she had when met with bewilderment. Will looked over at Nico, aghast.

I told you, Nico. He won't even want to know your name after this.

"Nico, I can't just - I can't let her die," Will sputtered, hands still held out in front of him. Confusion covered every feature, and through his own pain, Nico could see Will's. "I need to help you too. How am I supposed to do that when whatever is happening is hurting you? I can't just stop."

Instead of replying like he had planned, Nico fell into a coughing fit. He knew the darkness was back in his lungs, remembering a fleeting moment of the first time is had happened. Nico registered a thud next to him before Kayla's concerned face appeared in his field of vision, one of her hands on his chest supporting him while the other was rubbing circles on his back.

Nico had always felt as though Kayla seemed uncertain towards him, but now? Now it seemed like she had begun to care. Without questioning, Kayla had taken in the information Nico seemed to ramble and ran with it. Nico felt a small feeling of safety light in his chest as he realized that not only did he trust her, but Kayla now trusted him.

Opening his eyes, Nico could see the darkness begin to pool in his hands. It was surrounding him. It was within him.

It was him.

The burn in Nico's chest was getting worse by the second. It was like it was trying to prevent him from telling, prevent them from knowing. Well of course it was, Nico realized. That was the whole point.

"Not human - Algea," Nico choked out, tears streaming down his face. Will pulled his hands into his chest, looking at the girl in disbelief.

Nico had seen her. She had flitted around Tartarus, carrying the same aura of despair as her relative Akhlys. She had taunted, teased, and sneered at what Nico didn't have. She had picked at his insecurities one by one, finding old scabs and scratching until he bled. Nico knew who this was now. What Nico didn't understand, however, was why she was here.

Kayla gasped as Nico fell through her arms, fading in and out of the shadows. He was flickering at this point, his body ready to disappear completely at any moment. Nico could feel himself starting to go. Every part of him wanted to leave. His body pulled itself apart over and over again, causing Nico to struggle to understand where the shadows ended and where he began.

Faintly, Nico decided it might not be too bad.

Soon, you will be gone. Just a memory.

Familiar hands wrapped around Nico's arms and pulled him into a pair of equally familiar arms. He began to solidify, his joints screaming in pain, his mind a mess of confusion. Still choking on his own lungs, Nico relaxed into Will's shoulder. Placing a hand on Nico's chest, Will's hands began to glow, causing a gentle warmth to cut through the ice of the shadows. Slowly, Nico began to breathe. He knew he was still walking dangerously close to the line that separated the shadows from life, but Nico couldn't help but to feel a little safer.

The girl began to thrash, seizing. One of Will's siblings touched her to go and help on an instinct, causing Nico to cry out in pain as another flash of burning spread through his lungs. Kayla leaped up from her spot on the ground. motioning for everyone to move back and away from the bed. "Don't touch her. Do not approach her," she commanded, standing as a boundary between them. Choked gasps filled the room as the girl - the Algea - continued to seize, her lips turning a pale blue. After an eternity of a minute. the room grew completely still, the heart monitor's flat tone echoed.

It was over.

Nico felt himself relax. Will adjusted slightly to support both of them, still working on healing Nico's lungs.

The girl sat up, her eyes fierce.

Maybe it wasn't over.

"Oh my gods," Will muttered under his breath.

"You're an absolute nuisance, you know that?" The Algea's face was contorted, her limp hair falling over her face, creating shadows that exemplified her disgust. "Akhyls decided you didn't need anymore sorrow. You didn't need anymore pain."

"Did you not agree?" Nico asked, not really caring to know the answer.

"No, of course not. You're 15."

"14."

"14. Who has enough misery in their life to be considered perfect by the goddess of misery by 14? No one." The Algea's face was shifting now, her eyes sinking into her face, her cheeks hollowing out, and her skin paling. She was becoming more painful to look at by the second, and out of the corner of his eye, Nico saw the children of Apollo take another step away. "You had too much stability, knowing that Akhyls wasn't going to target you."

Nico raised an eyebrow. He was aware that he shouldn't provoke a spirit, but he truthfully did not care anymore.

"So I had to ruin you. I was going to pick you apart, piece by piece until it was over. You would have lost everyone, or whoever you had left." Nico couldn't help but tense at that comment, much to the joy of the Alega. "All alone again, Nico. Just like before. You would have disintegrated into what was left you, darkness. You would have turned right into the thing that you both fear and relish the most."

Nico realized that Will was practically hugging him now, his warmth providing comfort, his presence providing a shield. The Alega looked down at him - them - with disgust.

"I guess she was right though," the Alega continued on angrily. "Looking at your memories, I couldn't have done anything better. It was perfect. How do you fix something that's perfect? You can't, Nico. And you are perfect."

Nico did not feel as though this was a complement.

With a final glare, her features more horrifying than ever, the Alega disappeared, leaving nothing but silence in the room. Everyone was still for a minute before Kayla ushered the rest of the siblings out of the room, reminding them quietly about patient confidentiality.

All of this? All of this was because of her? Nico thought, drooping with exhaustion. The weeks of sickness? Of exhaustion?

Even in his 'perfection', Nico was bound to misfortune.

However, as Nico sat there, leaning against Will, he thought maybe, just maybe, things might be a little brighter.

"That's a lot to take in," Will finally spoke, helping Nico sit up on his own. Concerned blue eyes met tired, deep brown ones. "Are you okay? I think I underestimated how good in health you were - you're doing much better than I thought you would."

Nico smiled at Will before shaking his head. "No, you were right," Nico responded, the room spinning. He heard a stuttered response from Will before promptly passing out.