Time slowed down for Nico, when he pulled the trigger. Everything was slowed down; he had time to admire Will's perfect face one last time before the darkness swallowed him whole. It was almost like a dream.

He was back in his father's throne room, looking up at the imposing figure of Hades. Nico felt cold, so cold. Darkness crept throughout his body, crawling down his spine. Goosebumps erupted on Nico's skin, and when he tried to rub them away, he was surprised to find that he was transparent. He was dead for sure this time, there was no going back.

"I admire your decision, son. A courageous one." His voice was hoarse. If Nico didn't know better, he would've thought that his old man was sad. That couldn't be right. He was the king of the underworld, seeing his son off to his grave.

"There was nothing else I could've done. The choice was clear." Nico said quietly. He couldn't believe the fact that he was dead. He was far too young; he hadn't gotten a chance to fully live his life. The thought pained him. Bianca was young, too, when she died. Bianca. The name was a stinging slap to his face every time he heard it.

Hades swiped his hair, and a projection showed up, in mid-air, floating above Hades' throne. Nico's limp body was being held in Will's arms. His sobs were shards of ice digging their way into his chest. Frank and Hazel soon entered the holographic room. The shards left his body, just to plunge deeper into his skin. Nico actually gasped in pain, his emotions were killing him as he watched his half-sister cry over his dead body.

"Dad…" Nico started, trying out the words. They sounded different in his mouth, foreign. Dad. Dad, dad, dad. Nico distanced himself from most people, which included Hades. Now there was no need to distance himself. It was too late.

"Is he gone? Is Erebus gone?" Nico asked, watching his father carefully. He was sure not to move his eyes to the projection or he would go mad with grief.

Hades' eyebrows furrowed together, he looked drawn into a world of thought. Just when he opened his mouth to say something, a blinding light filled the throne room.

Was it Nico's time to leave? Was he gone so easily? He didn't want to die, but it was necessary.

"I love you, dad." Nico whispered. If that was the last sentence he spoke to his dad, so be it. He wanted his dad to know.

Nico woke up from the dead few seconds after the light ceased. He was in the bathroom, gasping in mouthfuls of sweet air. It was a shame, how much air was overlooked. So simple, but still needed to survive. Air was taken for granted. Nico decided that he would never take air for granted again.

Beauty was another thing that was overlooked. Nothing was ever enough; no one was ever perfect enough for other people's standards. Will, though, was pure beauty, even with his mouth hanging open, his beautiful eyes practically bugging out of his head in surprise. Nico was not going to take this god-like boy for granted, either. He was going to make the most of every minute, second, millisecond of his remaining life.

Nico propped himself up on his elbows and smashed his lips into Will's, hard enough to bruise. Will's arms looped around Nico, and there it began. The most passionate kiss that they had ever shared.

Teeth, tongue, lips clashing together. Their bodies moved in sync, small gasps of breath taken here and there.

Nico could've sworn that he died all over again and went to Elysium, the way Will was kissing him. They kissed like there was no one else in the world. They kissed like they were long-lost lovers, reunited at last. They kissed like the only refuge from the world was each other's embrace, each other's lips.

Will's hands felt like they were catching Nico's body on fire, they were everywhere and nowhere, overwhelming but not enough, too close but way too far away. His touches, his kisses, the essence of him, it was intoxicating.

'I love you, I love you, I love you. You are so stupid. I love you.' A soft voice echoed in Nico's mind, inside of his thoughts. It wasn't Nico's voice. It wasn't Erebus's voice. It was the voice of Will Solace. How in the Hades was that able to happen? Nico pulled away from Will with a gasp, backing up. There were both covered I Nico's blood, it was on the floor and the wall, on their clothes and their skin, under their fingernails and smudged along their faces.

Panic rose in Nico's throat. Sure, he was alive. Sure, he had just had the hottest kiss of his life with his true love. Sure, he was lucky. But he couldn't help feeling… different.

Nico panted for breath, trying to take in as much as he could. His lungs felt like they were collapsing. No, not exactly collapsing. The tubes, the airways that carried the vital air through them, they felt constricted. They were like the straws that get a piece of ice or part of your drink stuck for good. You keep sucking and sucking, but it never does any good, besides the fact that it is lodging it deeper and deeper inside, until you just decide to blow it instead of sucking the air, and then…

Nico found himself on the ground, coughing hard. He could breathe again; it was possible to breathe again. He was okay. It was going to be fine. He was going to be fine. Everyone would be A-Okay.

'I can hear you in my mind. Can you hear me, too?' A curious voice asked, reverberating throughout his body. Nico swallowed and nodded to Will.

"How did you…" Nico trailed off. His mind must've supplied the rest of the question, because Will was ready with an answer in no time.

"I don't know, I used to try it on…"

'Plants. I did it at the orphanage-'

"I lived in." Will continued. The sentence was varied, some words spoken out loud, some words secretly shared between the two.

"Will, that's extraordinary. Apollo kids don't usually have that power. Actually, they never have that power. It's unheard of. I don't even think that's possible." Nico murmured, still in awe.

"Your mom… She was a demigod or a god, I assume. There's no way that you got that just from Apollo." Nico continued to try to figure it out, shaping the puzzle pieces together.

"Your eyes were golden, when you woke up. Just for a second, then they were back to normal." Will said quietly. Nico stopped talking and focused his attention on Will.

"Huh?"

"When you un-died. Your eyes were golden. You hair is a dark brown instead of black. Your skin is super tan. You are still skinny, but you don't look like you're on the verge of death, like before…"

"Hey!"

"Just stating the facts. Anyways,"

"Who's your mom, Will?" Nico demanded to know. He wasn't going to play games with him. He wanted an answer, and he intended to get an answer, right at that very moment.

"You don't need to know about my mom right now, I'll tell you some other time."

"You have to tell me now, Will."

"It isn't that important right now, I'll save it for a rainy day or something…" Will trailed off, giving Nico a sheepish smile. The smile dropped, though, as he saw the look on Nico's face.

"William Thomas Solace, you will tell me right now who your mother is."

"You sound like a mom right now, does that count?" Will asked dryly. Nico looked just about ready to throttle him.

A weak mumble came from Will's lips, two syllables of something indecipherable.

"Come again?" Nico said, his arms crossed. Will's voice was a pitch louder this time, but still blurred out.

"So help me, Solace, I will send you straight to Tartarus." Nico threatened, but it was obviously a lie. Anyone who knew Nico knew that he could never be that heartless, even if he tried to act that way.

"Chaos. My mother is Chaos." Will admitted just as campers flooded into the room, led by Frank and Hazel. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks as they heard the sentence uttered from Will. If a pin dropped, they would be able to hear it. A bird chirped somewhere far off in the distance. The sound of a cricket. The rustle of the grass and the trees as the wind blew through them. The sound of breath being held. The creak of a floorboard. That was the only sound that anyone in the cabin could hear.

The worst Greek deity there ever was, and it had birthed Will? Sweet, caring, sensitive, adorable Will? It was unbelievable.

((Author's note: Thanks for being patient, guys! I just got back a few hours ago. I probably made a few mistakes in writing, this is definitely not my best piece, I'm telling you that. Sorry for the crap I guess? Hopefully, next chapter will be better. Please, please, please keep reviewing! Cather guessed my plot lol thanks for ruining it! xD Anyways, please please please review, view, favorite, follow, etc. Thanks for reading! PS, would you read something that I wrote about the next generation of demigods, AKA the kids of the seven+their friends? Yes? NO? Should I do it?