What if... (A Nico di Angelo story)

Chapter 1: Memory

The sun rose, turning the sky into an Ombre of colors, like a warm colored rainbow. The entirety of camp started to gain color, the Apollo cabin glowing as bright as gold as the sun reflected off of it. Head Counselors began to wake the demigods, each one groaning loudly. The children of Apollo begun to wake up, with a volunteer counselor shaking them up so they may eat and do their daily training.

The volunteer was a girl with  they called Alice. (A/N: a made up character I am only using in this chapter.) Alice stopped by an empty infirmary room that became Will's room, the room was faintly lit as there were curtains blocking the sunlight; the room was designed for when Nico had to stop by, curtsey of Will, so he wasn't complaining about the light. Will stayed in there for a reason no one knew. Well, Chiron, Mr. D, Percy, Annabeth and the rest of the Seven knew, but no one else. "Will? It's time to wake up. Don't you want breakfeast?" Alice spoke quietly, not wanting his agitation to grow this early. Will's body moved, and he stood up, grabbing clothing from a bag and going behind the open door to change.

After he was done, he moved from behind the door to slip on his flip-flops; he wore his normal outfit: cargo shorts with a Camp Half-blood shirt. He silently trudged out the room into the hallway, Alice following shortly. "Alice?" he groggily spoke, "What day is it today?"

Alice thought for a minute, looked at the nearby calendar, and answered, "(Insert the date Nico and Will went to Tartarus), why?"

He stayed silent, slowly gaining pace as he left the cabin. "Wait! Will! You got to wait for the group!"

He couldn't wait for the Apollo demigods, he had to meet with Chiron and Mr. D for the annual "Nico is okay" meeting. He made his way to the Big House, his heart heavy. Once he made it, he knocked, swiftly being answered by a centaur. "Will Solace, your here early." He sounded nervous, "Have you ate yet?" Will looked at him like he was crazy, "The food isn't out yet, Chiron. Are you okay?"

The centaur sighed, "No, I'm not. You know what day it is today. Right?" He nodded, "Well, that's good. Come in, we'll get you something to eat." Chiron made room for the Son of Apollo. Will nodded and briskly walked in, the centaur closing the door once he was fully in. They trekked farther into the house, where Dionysus was waiting, sitting down with a can of Coke. "Hello, Mr. D, how are you doing?" Will inquired. Mr. D turned to them, and gave them a small smile and beckoned them over to sit, offering a soda can each. "So how are you doing, Solace? Hopefully better than last year."

"Good, sir."

They sat and chatted for a while. After a couple of hours, it was time to go to the Pavilion to eat. "Well, have a good day, Will." Will sat up and started to make his way to the door, "See you later Chiron and Mr. D!" He opened the door, exited the Big House, and closed the door behind him. He looked up at the blue, cloudy sky. 'Wish you were here... Nico, please be okay.' As he walked to the Dining Pavilion, he remembered that day.

<~-~-~-~-FLASHBACK-~-~-~-~>

Will saw how frantic Nico was while he was searching for the boat oars. "Where are the oars?" Nico cried out. He looked at Will, "Will, do you see them?"

"Nico, I'm really sorry, but I kinda... lost them? Back before the swamp." Will apologized. "We don't need them," Bob said stoically. "We'll be fine." Nyx roared from behind them, she fell to all fours as the darkness she was creating was growing bigger and bigger. "Are you sure?" the son of Hades shouted. "Because it looks like she's going to absorb us!" As the boat slowly drifted down the River, Nyx begun to crawl forward, screaming at them, her dress devouring all that it touched.

"Yes," said Bob. "She doesn't realize we are safe." Will glanced at his boyfriend, noticing his scowl. Suddenly, Nico spoke up, his voice a whisper against Nyx's shrieks, "Will," he said. "Can you hear the river?" Will grimaced, how could he hear it over the loud Goddess? "No, not over Nyx." A chunk of landscape was swallowed by said Goddess as she reached for them.