Nico's Pain

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. If I did, I'd be a middle aged man. All rights to these characters and the Percy Jackson franchise go to Rick Riordan. The cover art belongs to Viria, not me (although I wish it was mine). So yeah...on with the story I guess.

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No one noticed him. He was sitting under a tree near the edge of the forest, grateful for the shade it provided him. His knees were pulled close to his chest and his eyes shut tight, his black hair hanging in front of his face. Images of Tartarus flashed in his mind, and he tried desperately to shut them out. Voices whispered in his head, voices he'd been trying to block out ever since he escaped.

He whimpered as the images in his mind started becoming longer, more realistic. Soon, he knew, he wouldn't be able to see the real world anymore. He'd be dragged down again, just like the last time, and the time before that.

The flashbacks had been haunting Nico ever since he had escaped Tartarus. At first, they started out small, but over time, they grew in size and frequency. He had tried many things to stop them, to get rid of them, to convince himself that it was just an illusion. It never worked. Now, he just accepted the fact that they happened, and ran to the darkest, most secluded place he could find when they did.

Not that anyone else cares. The voice said, louder than it was before.

"S-shut up!" He growled, his hands grabbing the sides of his head in an effort to block out the voice.

You know it's true. It's always been true. No one cares about you. In fact, they would like it better if you were dead.

"No! Stop it! People care! T-the seven. Some of them care! Percy, Annabeth, all of them!"

Stop lying to yourself Nico. All anyone cared about was your usefulness in the war. Now that it's over, it's back to the way it was.

"No, no, no, no, no! Just shut up!" Nico shook his head violently, trying desperately to get rid of the thing in his head. Tears started to prick in the corners of his eyes, but he hardly noticed.

Does anyone care that you fell into Tartarus? No, it's Percy this, Annabeth that. Gods forbid they have a nightmare from their time down in the pit. Everyone rushes to their sides. But you? They leave you to wallow in your own tears!

"Please stop! Just stop it! It's not true! Any of it!" Tears were streaming down his cheeks now, and he was sobbing uncontrollably. "They care! They have to!"

Oh, poor little Nico. So scared of being alone, when that's all you ever were. You never had any friends. They never cared about you! The only reason they came to save you was because they needed you! They. Will. Never. Ever. Want. You!

Nico couldn't help it. He screamed. He didn't care if anyone found him now. The black of his vision gave way to the realm of Tartarus, and he was forced to go through hell again. Alone. Just like before.

He was helpless as everything that happened to him before, the pain, the torture, happened all over again. For what seemed like eternity, he went through it all, until his vision started to go black again. As he accepted the darkness, he heard someone screaming, and he realized that that someone was him.

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Percy didn't know why, but he felt strangely attracted to the edge of the forest. Him and the rest of the seven were having one of those rare moments where they just sat together and talked. No saving the world, no worrying about the camps, no Tartarus. Just them.