(Discontinued) The Light At The End of The Tunnel - Solangelo (Percy Jackson)

Part 28

Will's POV

I watched Nico sink into the shadows in the shade of a maple tree. I groaned, I hated it when he did that. He knew it was killing him slowly but he still does it all the time. He overreacted to me trying to help calm him down. Granted, I didn't say the most reassuring things, but still.

Now people's eyes were on me, wondering what was happening. I knew something was bothering him, but I don't think he knew himself to be honest. But I knew something wasn't right. I had to find him.

I went to his cabin but found him nowhere. I went out of camp, now in the forest, he could be anywhere. Anywhere! He was pretty difficult at times. But he was worth it. It was kind of adorable when he got mad. Well, until he got scary, I hate admitting this but I do get scared of him at times. Like when he's mad. I knew he could snap me in half without any struggle, plus, his powers are terrifying. He is very strong, you can't deny it.

He also has pretty big anger issues. He can take a lot of emotional trauma, I know that, but that doesn't mean the terrible things that happened in his life doesn't affect him. He's shown me his sensitive side I doubt anyone else has seen.

I walked along the path to Zeus' fist, to the place that we went to sometimes. Nothing. I finally saw a change in the atmosphere once I got closer to Thalia's Pine Tree. It was darker. Gloomier. It was because of the shadows thickening around. I knew that because every time Nico is upset, the shadows seem to stretch out to him.

I finally found the source of the change in the atmosphere. Nico was breathing heavily, whispering things to himself. He didn't notice me at first but he froze all of a sudden he turned his head towards me. I could tell something was wrong, well at this point anyone could see that.

"S-something's not right... It's not normal." He breathed.

I helped him to his feet, he leaned all of his weight against me. I stumbled a little, not expecting him to do that. I put my arm under his and led him to a fallen tree. He sat down and I sat down next to him. He went unconscious for a few seconds before blinking back awake.

"What do you mean?" I asked once he regained consciousness.

"He's alive Will! He's alive..." He croaked.

"What? Who's alive?" I asked, confused. Who could be alive that had shaken Nico so much?

"Th-they came back to life, Will... I can feel it.." He put his face into his hands.

Someone came back to life?! No wonder Nico has been on edge lately, he could feel them come back to life. But who?

"Who came back to life?" I asked cautiously.

"... Leo did. Leo Valdez is alive." He said quietly.

My mouth fell open, I heard that he had the Physician's Cure but who could have been there to give it to him? Nico must have felt him come back. I wondered if it hurt.

"Well did it hurt you?" I asked frantically.

He nodded hesitantly, I looked in the pocket of my flannel and pulled out an Ambrosia square.

"Eat," I ordered. "Doctor's Orders."

Nico gave me a weird look. "You just keep things like that in your pocket?" He asked.

"Yes, but that doesn't matter, now eat."

Nico sighed and took it from my hand. "Why do I have to even eat it?" He asked popping it into his mouth. He immediately sighed in relief, and he didn't look as pale as before.

Once he regained some of his strength I told him. "Because you're weak from all that Shadow-Traveling." I shot him a dirty look, he knew I hated it when he did that. But he didn't seem to care. "Also from that weird Underworld-y thing that you just did with feeling Leo come back to life."

Nico didn't say anything, he looked at his lap and twisted the skull ring he did as a stress reliever. I sighed and put my arm over his shoulders, pulling him closer to me. He snuggled into my side and gave out a shaky breath.

"I need to talk to Hazel... Do you have a Gold Drachma?" He asked quietly.

I shook my head and he sighed. He got up to find a source of water. He stumbled at first and I went to help him, but he just pushed me away. He regained his balance and went to find some water. On the way to Zaphyros Crook, he summoned a Gold Drachma from the ground. I didn't even know he could do that.

I didn't say anything about it though. Once we got to the Crook he threw the Drachma into it. "Show me, Hazel Levesque." He ordered.

The Drachma shimmered into a rainbow and after a few moments Hazel appeared, who I think was Frank, her boyfriend was sitting next to her on a bed. She looked horrible like she just saw a ghost. Though I don't think it was far from it.

"So it's true isn't it?" She said, not looking up her voice was barely audible.

Nico nodded grimly, "Leo is alive." He said confirming her thoughts.

Hazel looked up at him, she couldn't help but smile a little. "Oh, Gods... I knew he had the Physician's Cure... But it's so-" her voice broke.

Frank rubbed her back, he was a big, muscular guy with short-cropped black hair. I think he was Chinese, but I'm not too sure. She wiped her eyes and laughed hoarsely.

"I'm going to tell everyone at Camp Jupiter okay? You tell everyone at Camp Half-Blood." She told him.

Nico hesitated and nodded. "Okay, I will."

Hazel nodded, "okay Nico, I'll see you later. Bye." She waved her hand over the mirage and she vanished.

Author's Notes: Guys, this story has almost 1K views! Thank you so much for your support. I was rereading it and I can see that I've improved my writing skills a lot. Thank you for reading.