*Peeks in* Happy TOA day *drops last chapter*

It's been a blur. An absolute blur. I didn't even look. How could I? I smelt the blood before it hit the ground and I head the sharp intake of breath before I heard her body hit the ground. It was silent for a moment. The sounds of battle around be replaced by ringing sound that sat just inside my ear. I could speak. My mouth hung open as I twisted around to see Will's shocked face as he took in the scene from the edge of the forest. I recognized the look. Shock. Denial. Anger. Acceptance. The same look I had worn when they had told me Bianca had died.

"Will! Don't-" But it was too late. Will reached for his collapsible bow and pulled the string taut as an arrow formed in its proper place as he let it fly in toward the guardian with a cry of anguish.

The arrow struck and dissolved in its skin. The guardian hesitated and looked over to Will. A flash of anger in it's eyes as it turned its attention toward him. I cursed to myself. How could I let this happen?

I shifted my weight onto my opposite foot and took off toward the monster and abandoned my place by the tree.

"Will get down!" I shouted and raised my sword high over my head. Will noticed me at last and ducked just in time for my sword to cut through the thick torso of the guardian spirit. I cut halfway and had to put all of my strength in the handle to sever the spine. I felt the bone give, and my sword tore through the monster, cutting it in half.

It stopped. Claws extended toward Will who had collapsed on the ground in tears. It turned to me in shock, it's black blood running down the blade of my sword before it disappeared into the underworld.

I panted. Breathing hard as I lowered my sword.

"Will. The chain. It's gone." I panted. The chain had disappeared the second I made a nick in the trunk of the tree. Will didn't move. He didn't talk.

"Will-" I muttered, kneeling down beside him.

"Why didn't you protect her?" Will snarled at me. I drew my hand back and looked away. In all honestly, I didn't expect Will's mother to run out into the path of a greek monster. I felt even more disgusted that I didn't know what to say to Will. I swallowed the lump in my throat and sat down beside him.

"I had just gotten her back." Will sobbed. I nodded. I understood. I knew that in this situation, there were no words that could help Will. It was just something he would have to come to terms with. Nothing I said could soothe the pain of the death of somebody you loved.

I got up, and picked up my sword, flicking it downward toward the ground hard to rid it of the black blood that stained the black blade. I approached the now vulnerable tree and with one fell swoop, I cut through the thin trunk of the tree. It didn't even have time to fall before it began to glow and evaporate into golden droplets of water which came together. Condensing and forming to become a long staff with intricate designs and jewels.

"It's beautiful." A voice behind me said. I turned, my sword in hand.

"Aphrodite." I snarled. The woman stood before me. Her appearance shifting like the ocean tide. Black hair, that shifted to brown, that settled on blonde. Green eyes that shifted to blue. Short and muscular to tall and agile.

"You and your soulmate did well. As you can see, I have removed your chain. But no. It is not really removed. It's now inside you. Connecting your souls instead of your physical bodies."

"He lost his mother."

"You demigods have all lost people." Aphrodite said while examining her new staff.

"You had no right." I growled at the goddess. She looked pointedly at me.

"Watch that tongue boy, least you lose it." She warned. I didn't say anything but help my glare.

"Aphrodite…" Will's voice was weak as he walked up to us. His eyes cast downward and his hands clenching and unclenching. The woman, whom now looked like a tall, blonde lifeguard, turned to Will.

"I am sorry for your loss boy." Aphrodite said, her voice surprisingly tender. Will didn't say anything. He just nodded and looked away, gazing at the now bare tree trunk in the middle of the clearing.

"I suppose I should give you boys a lift home." Aphrodite said. Neither of us said anything but we felt the exhaustion finally take hold. Weighing us down and suffocating us. I nodded toward the Goddess.

"I am in your debt boys. Should you ever need anything, rely on love." She said with a smile before waving her new staff in front of us and we both fell into darkness.

"Nico." A voice shouted into the darkness. "Nico!"

"Will?" I groaned shifting and opening my eyes. The voice chuckled.

"Try your sister." The blinding bright light around me softened enough for me to identify Hazel looking down at me, and the soft cloth of the infirmary tent wave in the wind around her.

"Hazel." I chuckled a bit in relief. I was home. With my family. "Where is Will?"

"He woke up hours ago. I'm not sure where he went…" I sighed and flung one arm over my face. "You guys weren't hurt or sick. Just passed out from Aphrodite's wind magic. You can leave if you want." Hazel mentioned. I nodded and thanked her. Hazel had been sitting by my side since Will and I were dropped off on the edge of Camp Half-blood. I needed to find Will. I thanked Hazel once more and climbed out of the infirmary bed, grabbing my jacket and sword that were placed neatly beside me.

I walked for a while, taking in the safety and warmth of Camp Half-Blood. I definitely don't want to go on a quest anytime soon. I would stop the occasional Apollo child.

"Have you seen Will?" Most said no. Some gave me tips like 'I saw him over by the lake', or 'Yeah he was getting food in the pavilion'. I must have wondered around for hours, my heart leaping into my throat with each blonde head that I saw. The sun had begun to dip below the trees and I decided that Will couldn't hide from me forever, and I should probably start heading back to my cabin. I really needed a shower and a night's sleep.

As I walked up to my cabin I noticed a figure sitting on my cabin steps. Tall, lanky, and blonde.

"Will?" I asked hesitantly. The figure looked up at me. Will's eyes were red and puffy and I felt my heart drop.

"Have you been waiting here?" I asked him, flowing my walk down dramatically until I am standing in front of him.

"Yeah." Will admits, looking away. I don't say anything. I know what it's like to lose everybody you love. There is nothing you can say during times like that. No words can soothe the pain. Instead, I reach forward and wrap my hand around his wrist, where the red chord had recently connected us.

Will looked up at me.

"I love you." He said. It's funny how language can be such a powerful thing. We say we love many things. I love mythomagic. I love summer days. I love the rain. But to say the words 'I love you.' to somebody. An entire sentence dedicated to expressing a feeling.

Once you say it, you start an entirely new life.

"I love you too." I admitted. Will didn't smile, or laugh, or kiss me like I thought might happen. Instead, he gripped my shirt and buried his sobbing face into my torso. I wrapped my arms around him gently.

We had been through so much. Will had lost his mother, whom he had just gotten back. But in this process, we had found each other. I held Will tightly that night. I held him so tight, I thought he would break under my fingertips. And we stayed there. Under the stars and deep into the night. And it was going to be okay.

THIS FANFICTION IS DONE