"The Etymology of Power and Resilience"

A/N: Fanfiction based off of Rick Riordan's magnificent Greek and Roman series. Story is set directly after the events in The Blood of Olympus.

Warnings/Triggers:

Blanket story warning: self-harm depicted touched on throughout story. Specific chapter warnings will be issued in A/N but will include: adult themes, traumatic/violent depictions, self-harm.

With no further ado, let's get started!

Chapter 1: Begin Again

Will's POV:

Will watched as Nico made his way across the green, coming closer to the son of Apollo. Percy looked confused and Annabeth looked like she was giggling. Will brought his right hand up to shield his eyes against the bright sun. Nico was backlit as he walked, everything around him bright in the sunlight, but the son of Hades' face remained in shadow.

"Alright Solace," Nico halted in front of the son of Apollo. "I'm reporting to the infirmary for three days. No more than that." Nico pulled a face that was somewhere between a smile and a grimace.

Will grinned. He could tell the demigod didn't want to go to the infirmary. Will threw an arm around Nico as he stepped up beside him.

"No worries, Death Boy. We'll get you all better in no time. You'll be right as rain in a couple days."

Nico shrugged off Will's hand and muttered, "There's nothing wrong with me. I just need some time." He hunched his shoulders but continued walking with Will. "Why does that time need to be in the infirmary?"

Will looked over as Nico pulled away from his outstretched arm but didn't try to pull the young demigod back. "It's easier to rest in the infirmary. We can control visitors and the noise level as well as-"

"It's not like I can't get that in my cabin. No one comes to visit except Frank coming to see Hazel. It's plenty quiet in there. And, if anyone tries to come in, I can always have my skeletons keep them away." Nico looked sideways at Will, a smirk flitting across his face.

"Well, if you would let me finish what I was saying," Will gave Nico a pointed look and the smirk dropped off Nico's face. "I was going to say that I'm in the infirmary too. You can keep me company." Will smiled broadly. However, his expression dropped when he noticed Nico's smirk had completely faded and had been replaced with a brooding, blank look.

"Hey? What's up? Did I say something wrong?"

A dark look flitted across Nico's face.

"It's nothing. You sure you actually want my company?" Nico scowled at the ground, hands shoved deep in his jacket pockets, kicking small pebbles as they approached the infirmary.

Will stopped and pulled on Nico's arm until he stopped walking as well.

"Please look at me, Nico." Nico kept looking at the ground. Will sighed. The son of Hades was not going to make this easy. "I'm not going to talk if you're not going to look at me." Nico huffed and kicked his foot at the ground but then looked up. His face was dark and Will could not tell if it was from anger or something else. "Hey. I meant it when I said that some people at camp want to get to know you, want to be your friend. I want to be your friend." Will turned and climbed the few steps to the entrance of the infirmary. "But to do that, I need to get to know you more. And to do that, you have to stay in one place long enough for me to get to know you. Okay?"

Will turned at the top of the steps and looked down at Nico who had yet to ascend the first step.

"Unless, you don't want to be friends? I mean, it would be alright if you don't. Not everyone has to be friends, you know. I would just like to be your friend. And for you to be mine."

Nico looked up at Will and gave a faint smile.

"I think I can try that."

Will grinned back at the boy. "Alright then. Let's get you inside. If nothing is too wrong with you, maybe you can help me out with some of the other campers?"

Nico finished climbing the steps and joined Will at the top. "You want the son of Hades, the God of the Dead and King of the Underworld-his son to help in the infirmary. Where people go to get better?" Nico looked over at Will, a look of disbelief on his face. "You sure you don't need to be a patient? There might be something wrong with your head." Nico crossed his arms. "Definitely something wrong with your head."

Will grabbed one of Nico's hands, forcing him to uncross his arms, and pulled him forward while opening the infirmary door but Nico wouldn't budge. "Come on, Nico. I meant what I said. I'm not asking you to heal people. But you could help me with bandages or whatever. Either way, maybe I just want to see your face. Did you already forget about that?" Judging by the look on Nico's face, he had forgotten. Will sighed and tugged on Nico again. "Oh, just come on, Death Boy!"

Nico protested, "That's exactly what I mean! You just proved my point! Death and healing don't exactly go hand in hand!"

Will smiled as he pushed through the open room to a couple of beds in the back. "Death is just another cycle of life. Sometimes it feels like it comes too early, but death is a natural part of living." Will stopped in front of one of the beds. "Now sit." He gave a little shove and Nico plopped onto the bed.

"Alright. Take off your jacket and let's talk." Will pulled a chair closer to the bed and settled himself in it, grabbing a clipboard full of blank forms from a side table.

"Name?"

Nico glowered. "Seriously? You know my name, Solace."

Will looked pointedly at him and Nico sighed.

"Nico di Angelo."

"Middle name?" Nico paused and Will looked up from his board.

"I don't have one. Just Nico. I was named after my grandfather. It's tradition. In some places anyway." Nico began playing with the skull ring on his finger. "Please continue. I want to get this over with."

"Alright. Age?"

"Fourteen."

"Height?"

"Hell if I know."

"Weight?"

"Seriously? Shouldn't you just be measuring all this or something? How the hell am I supposed to know?" Nico frowned and continued twisting his ring around his finger.

"Fair enough." Will set down his clipboard and stood up. "I'll get those after I get your pulse. Hold still." Will slid his hand over Nico's wrist, warm hands in contrast to Nico's freezing skin. Ten seconds passed in silence. Will frowned. Nico's heart rate was slightly elevated. It was still within the acceptable range, but a 92 was close to being tachycardic. "So, Nico. Under a lot of stress?" Will looked at Nico expectantly, noting the dark circles and the shields snapping into place in his eyes.

"Again, seriously? We just battled Gaea and won. It came at a price, or didn't you notice?" Nico glared at Will.

Will brought a hand up to his neck. He knew the demigod was going to be difficult and his own nervousness at talking to the boy just made things worse. "Right. Well, want to talk about it? Have any concerns?"

"Solace. We are not friends. Not yet. And even if we were, my business is my business. Not yours." Nico hopped off the bed and grabbed his jacket. "I think we're done here. I don't really need to be here. I was doing it as a courtesy." He turned and began to stride out of the infirmary. "I don't know what possessed me."

Will darted after him and grabbed his hand.

"Nico! Wait. I'm just trying to help. Can we please go sit back down?" Will looked at Nico imploringly. "I won't pry. And if I need to know something, I'll let you know why I'm asking. You won't have to tell me anything needlessly. You can refuse to answer!" Nico raised his eyebrows and Will knew the demigod was skeptical. "I swear on the River Styx. What I ask you today will not be without reason. Just, please don't go." Nico hesitated and looked down where Will still held his hand. He considered it for a moment but then nodded and allowed Will to pull him back to the bed. He remained standing while Will relinquished Nico's hand and settled back into his seat.

"Alright. So, Nico. The reason I asked about the stress is just because your heart rate was elevated. That's all. Is that normal for you? Or is it atypical?"

Nico shrugged. "I don't know honestly. I know my heart rate slows down quite a bit when I use some of my powers. It helps me focus. And it's saved my life before." Nico looked away and once again crossed his arms in front of him.

Will grabbed his clipboard and a pen to scribble the information down.

"And how has a lowered heart rate helped to save your life before? Like, to calm down in a fight or prepare yourself for battle?" Will's pen hung poised over the paper. Nico whispered something and sank onto the bed.

"I'm sorry, Nico. I couldn't hear you. How did it help?" Will moved over to the bed and sat beside Nico, straining to hear his answer.

"I...gods damn it." Nico ran a shaking hand through his dark hair. "It helped me when I was-when I was being held by the giants." The hand dropped and he rubbed his hand down his face as though exhausted beyond measure. "I had some pomegranate seeds and eating those, well, it lowered my heartbeat and I was able to survive in a jar." Nico looked up at Will whose pen was paralyzed in midair. This was new information to the son of Apollo. "It's called a Death Trance. I'm pretty sure only children of Hades, maybe Pluto, can eat the seeds without too much harm." Nico looked expectantly at Will. "Are you….going to write this down? I'm giving you information about the mysterious children of Hades and you're sitting there like a statue."

Will snapped out of his reverie and pulled the page from the clipboard. Flipping it over and securing it under the metal latch, Will started to scribble haphazardly across the back part of the form that was blank. "You called it a Death Trance? What exactly does it do?" Will didn't take his eyes off the paper as he continued to write rapidly. His pen greedily ate up the blank space on the paper.

"Well, it's kind of like hibernating? Whoever eats the seeds goes into the trance and doesn't need food, or water, or air. One seed is good for one day."

Will stopped. "Wait. You didn't eat or drink anything? Or breathe?" Nico shook his head. "How long did you do this?"

Nico looked down at his hands. "Five or six seeds so, five or six days, I think."

Will dropped his head into one of his hands. He had heard that Nico took risks and often put himself in danger. He had a complete disregard for the rules of camp and seemed to come and go as he pleased, regardless of what anyone thought. Did he have a death wish? Did he wish to join his father so badly? "Have you done this before? Do you do it often?"

"No. I don't try to go into Death Trances. It's not like I have fun doing it or anything." Will looked at Nico hearing the sarcasm and anger in his voice. "Look, it's not like I had any other choice. I was in a sealed jar. No air. So, it's better to not breathe for a while and live, then to breathe as long as I can and then die from lack of air, right?" Nico shook his head and looked away from Will. "It's not like I enjoy being that close to dying even if I'm the son of Hades."

Will took a deep breath. "Alright." He set down his clipboard and studied Nico sitting by him on the bed. Nico sat hunched over, arms wrapped around his torso. "Nico, please look at me." Nico turned his head but didn't look at the healer. His shoulders caved inward and his dark hair hung over his shadowed brown eyes as he stared forward. "Can I ask you a question?"

Nico laughed but it was a hollow sound. "Isn't that what you're already doing, Solace?"

"I mean, it's not entirely pertinent to my current line of questioning. I mean, it could be? But," Will paused and looked searchingly into Nico's guarded and wary eyes. "How did you get in the jar? I-there are tons of rumors going around, but I'd rather hear it from you. What happened to you, Nico?"

The son of Hades gazed at Will for a moment looking torn. Will saw a wave of emotions cascading over Nico's face: fear, anger, terror, anguish, hatred, torment, and an unbearable sadness before he shuttered his emotions and his face closed off. "None of your business, Solace. I just...I couldn't." Nico cut himself off angrily and stood from the bed, grabbing his jacket. He darted toward the door, muttering, "Forget it! I don't need this!"

Before Will could even stand to chase after him, the door to the infirmary banged shut and the Death Boy was gone.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Reviews are always appreciated even if they contain criticism. Thanks!