Nico

Are you sure this is the place? Doesn't really look like the stomping grounds for a love goddess.

I Although I'd initially been apprehensive toward the idea of using telepathy to communicate, I had to admit that it was useful in situations where we had to be on high alert.

Trust me, she's definitely been here recently. Besides, she's hung around an old waterpark before. Why not an abandoned carnival?

How recently? Leo raised an eyebrow skeptically, eyeing our surroundings with distaste.

I shot him a glance. Within the last day for sure.

How do you know?

"Gods, Leo, I can sense traces of her everywhere! Open your eyes!" I snapped, unable to hold my silence any longer.

"Careful, Nico. You can't afford to get angry and lose control. I need you with your sanity intact right now."

"Sorry, you're right. For once." I replied, properly chastened.

Leo let out a huff of laughter, his sudden intensity evaporating as quickly as it had come. "Losing your touch? That didn't smart quite as much as it could've."

"My intention wasn't to roast you into the ground. It's called teasing, Valdez."

"My bad. Some days I'm still not used to the fact that we're friends. The way you used to be, all scary and brooding… my memories latch onto that version of you with overwhelming clarity. It also might have a bit to do with the whole demon thing."

I shrugged. "I don't blame you. Some days I barely even recognize myself. I'm not just referring to the demon thing, either."

We made our way over to the ticket booth. A small bell sat upon the desk, and before I could stop him, Leo rang it.

Inside of the booth, the lights came on. A disturbingly realistic animatronic man came to life and grinned at them.

That's my dad's work, I'd bet my bottom dollar on it. Leo told me, seamlessly switching back to speaking telepathically.

"Oh shit. Shit, shit shit." I muttered.

What?

That's Hymenaios. The god of marriage ceremonies.

Oh. That's not good.

"Hymen here, representative of Lord Hymenaios! Thank you for choosing Aphrodite's Marriage Services! Your wedding will begin shortly!"

I cleared my throat. "Short and to the point. Classy. Well, looks like we should be heading off…"

Hymen's smile turned menacing. "You can't back out of a reservation!"

"What reservation? We didn't reserve anything!" Leo argued.

I felt a pinprick and reached up to feel a dart sticking into my neck. Glancing over, I saw that Leo was in a similar position.

"Why'd you have to ring the fuckin' bell, dude?"

Leo said something in response, but by then, everything was spinning, spinning into oblivion.

…

When I woke up, I didn't recognize my surroundings in the slightest. I was on the ground in some sort of temple. It was completely empty aside from an altar, and relatively clean, with a few windows up near the ceiling. As far as I could see, there were no plausible exits. Leo was lying facedown a few feet away from me. I managed to stand on wobbly legs, then gave him a nudge.

"Valdez! Wake up!"

Leo stirred and blinked blearily at me. "Wha?"

"It's daylight out. We've been knocked out for at least… twelve hours?"

"What? No way. We've gotta get out of here." Entirely alert now, he leapt to his feet, stumbling but managing to stay upright.

"I'd shadow travel us out of here, but as we've already seen, they take their reservation policies very seriously. Besides, they've put a damper on our powers."

Leo snapped his fingers in an attempt to summon fire, but his effort was in vain. I could see something ignite behind his eyes, but that was it.

We stared at each other for a moment, unsure of what to do. Then, Leo burst into laughter. "Unless we think of something, we're getting married, di Angelo! Hazel's gonna be my sister-in-law!" He managed hysterically.

"We could file for divorce," I suggested, then began to cackle as well. We'd been in tight situations before, but never one so ludicrous.

Hymen's voice rang out, seeming to come from everywhere at once. "Today is the gamos, the wedding day. You must make offerings at the temple to ensure a fruitful future life."

We made identical faces of disgust.

"We don't even have offerings!" Leo called, to no avail.

I chewed my lip. "Don't you have, like, burger patties or something?"

"Oh! Yeah. I do."

I snorted.

"Hey! When you've got as much stuff as I do, you lose track of what you're carrying."

"Uh huh. After this, we'll have to get transferred to another building. After you drop the patties, be ready for whatever happens. Maybe… we'll have a shot of busting out." I placed my hand on his shoulder and sent a weak pulse of dark energy into his body. Usually, I'd be afraid of corrupting him somehow, but I knew that his power could burn out any negative effects. He shuddered, a choked gasp slipping from his lips, and then made a fist. Flames erupted into existence, and we both smirked.

"Thanks for the boost, man. Aphrodite's Marriage Services won't know what hit it." Leo brandished the burgers, and our eyes met.

Three, two, one. He flung them onto the altar and we stood back to back, sparking with whatever unrestrained strength we had. Unfortunately, it wasn't a lot.

"Stand down, demigods." Hymen boomed.

"Or what?" I spat, and something above us crackled. I looked up and saw some sort of giant taser charging up. "Oh, for fuck's sake."

I wasn't a stranger to pain, but I don't think I'd been electrocuted before, at least not that that degree. I barely even remembered what happened. Just… screaming. I couldn't distinguish my own from Leo's. It hurt. A lot. I'd describe it as agony.

And then, just like that, it was over. I brought my hands up to my face and could feel the wetness of tears I didn't recall shedding. Leo had been crying too, by the looks of it. It wasn't even remotely funny anymore.

"Nico!"

"Will?" Shit, had he Iris messaged me right then? If he'd seen that…

"Oh my Gods, where are you? What's happening? Are you guys okay?" His features were pinched, contorted with worry. So much for trying to hide the severity of the situation from him.

"It's okay. We're… just in a bit of a pickle." I gestured vaguely, regretting the action instantly when I realized that he could see that my hands still trembling.

"Tell me where you are. Right now." There was no room for argument in his voice.

"We don't even know." Leo answered roughly. "It wasn't real electricity, that's for sure. We'd be smoking, not to mention dead. It's like some twisted simulation, sort of a throwback to Ancient Greece. Probably hasn't been checked up on in a long time. Sends the animatronics into their own version of psychosis. I'd bet that jolt used to be part of a security system. Same as the darts."

"Darts?" Will parroted, sounding just as shaken as either of us. "Simulation? What the hell is going on?"

"We're running out of time to talk. Just… please don't come for us. We know what to do. I promise." I tried to mollify him.

"We've got it under control, man." Leo added.

"Gods, I hate you both so much!" Will's voice wavered, and hearing him sound so upset made me feel guilt twisting around in the pit of my stomach. "Don't you dare die."

"Love you too, Sunshine." I forced a smile, and the message fizzled out.

Leo looked at me, chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully. "We don't actually have any idea of what to do, do we?"

"Get married, I guess." I sighed, rubbing my temples and squeezing my eyes shut.

"Sure, fuck it. As far as potential spouses go, you aren't so bad." He joked halfheartedly.

"Gee golly gosh, thanks." I returned dryly.

A door seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and with the barest moment of hesitation, I entered first. Within, there were rows and rows of… suits.

I looked back at Leo, who shrugged. "What color looks better on me? Red, or black?"

Will

"I'm telling you, they need help! They don't know where they are and they can't fight back and—"

"I know, Will. You've been telling me that for the last ten minutes. But… they aren't afraid to ask for help. If they were in mortal peril, they would tell you to come with backup." Annabeth soothed, voice steely but eyes gentle.

I couldn't believe that she wasn't taking me seriously. I wasn't overreacting! "Please, you don't understand! They were being tortured!"

"You said that Leo told you that the electricity isn't real. I'm not saying that they weren't in pain, but their lives weren't endangered. Sending more demigods isn't necessary, and poses the risk of getting more of us captured."

"What if it were Percy out there? Would you care then?" I snapped.

Anger brought a twist to her lips. "Don't you dare imply that I don't care about Nico. You know that he's like family to me." She turned around. "Piper! Get over here!"

Piper approached, quickly noticing the tension sizzling between us. "Hey guys, what's wrong?"

"Nico and Leo are trapped and tortured, and she won't do anything about it!" I told her beseechingly. She took my hands in her own, glancing skyward as she collected her thoughts.

"I don't know what's going on, but I trust Annabeth's judgement. Yours is clouded by your love for him. Please, you need to become familiar with the fact that Nico is strong and capable. Leo's out there too. He's as good as my brother. We're all worried, but… charging in to save them from something that they can deal with… what does that seem like to them? They'll think that we have no faith in them. That we don't trust them."

"I just…" All the fight left me. "I hate seeing him in pain. I could prevent it if I were there."

"Will, believe me, if they need us," her expression grew as stormy as her boyfriend on a bad day, "we'll be there."

"I'm not your enemy, Will." Annabeth seemed sad all of a sudden. "You've changed. Not always for the better. I've seen you defensive, but I've never seen you like this."

She was right. It wasn't me. I was immediately stricken with an overwhelming sense of dread. "I need to go to the infirmary."

"Why? Are you hurt?" Piper looked him up and down worriedly.

"He never would've done it on purpose… but… the demon, the… the sickness… could I be affected by it due to close proximity?"

"It's possible." Annabeth replied carefully, understanding dawning on her face. "That could explain everything. His darkness is like… poison. Radiation. You've been exposed to it for a long time. If you spend some time away from him, it should wear off."

I bit my lip. "I can't just avoid my boyfriend."

"Take it from me. You've gotta affirm your own identity sometimes, without being tethered to a single other person."

"You're right. I should probably have a few of my siblings check me out to make sure I'm alright, anyways."

"Jason! Percy! Get your asses over here." Piper practically screamed across the field.

Mistaking her volume for anger, they sprinted over as quickly as they could.

"You called?" Percy huffed with a wince. "Ouch, forgot to stretch. Good thing I'm not an Olympic runner."

"Can you guys escort Will to the infirmary?"

Jason looked puzzled. "What? Both of us? Why?"

"We think that Nico's powers are affecting me." I explained.

"It's just to make sure that if something happens, he won't be able to hurt himself or anyone else." Annabeth added. "Not that it's likely, but better to be safe than sorry."

"Um… alright. Let's go, dude." Percy still appeared to be far more confused than he should be (but then again, that's how he is half the time anyways), but he fell into step beside me so that I was flanked on either side.

"So, are you, like, being possessed for something?" Jason asked cautiously.

"I hope not. I've just been… more aggressive, quick to anger, obsessive, and stubborn than usual."

"You have seemed a bit off lately, but I chalked it up to you just having a hard time." Percy mused.

"Those seem to be Nico's qualities when he's at his worst." Jason observed, equally thoughtful.

"Seems like they bled right through to me." We stopped outside the door. "Thanks, guys."

"No problem, man. Let us know if you need help with anything." Percy grinned, and the two of them zipped off, heading back to the lava wall.

A/N: Hey look, it me, yaboi, updating again after a million years. I'd say sorry, but I feel like that's a given by now. Have a happy holidays, guys. I'm not abandoning this fic just yet. As always… stay awesome ;)