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Will has never run so fast in his life.
“SOLACE!”
Correction: Now, Will has never sprinted so fast in his life. But, really, what else are you supposed to do when being chased by the maniacal fire spawn of all villainous evil with a chainsaw? Will leaps over a log and ducks under a branch that WACKS the metal monster behind him, but that will never slow it down.
Nico, a few paces ahead of him, is running out of breath. “We can’t keep this up for much longer!” He stumbles over a rock into a roll, sword still secure by his side. “I can shadow travel us—”
“NO WAY!” Will rushes to his side and takes his arm, pulling them both out of the way of falling trees that THUD to the forest floor. “We can make it to the meadow up ahead. I don’t—“
“DI ANGELO! YOU CAN’T GET AWAY THAT EASY—” A voice bellows from the beast behind, chainsaws spinning as sawdust and leaves whirl in the air. They need to move, now.
He takes Nico’s hand and sprints ahead to the clearing. He spots what he’s looking for just up ahead: a deep drop to dirt and rock below. A pocket of the old labyrinth. With the network it was once connected to collapsed, it’s nothing more than a small closet.
Nico spots the entrance. “There?! We’ll be cornered!”
Will feels the heat of the mechanical monster behind them, hears its twisted laugh as the embers scorch the rocks. “MWHAHAHAHA! NOWHERE LEFT TO RUN! HOLD STILL NOW AND FACE YOUR PUNISHMENT! YOU BOTH LOST FAIR AND SQUARE!”
No. Never! And Will is NOT dying before telling Nico he loves him. Mind made up, he squeezes Nico’s hand. “Better cornered behind a wall than roasted alive!” he says, before rushing through the meadow. The opening is narrow but they both squeeze inside one at a time, and not a moment too late.
The ground THUDS again as the metal beast bulldozes through the field. Wild daisies and lavender squish under the gears. Nico reaches for his sword, ready for a fight. Will’s quiver was emptied long ago, so his knife will have to do.
Another SMASH of the ground shakes their little nook. A rock from above lands in front of the opening, cutting off their exit. Trapped. They’re trapped—
This could be it for them, stuck in this dark and dingy pocket with nothing but their wits and racing hearts, and for once, Will’s head and heart are in agreement: “Nico, Nico I—”
“Will, look.” Nico’s sword is pointing through the crack in the wall to the monster who’s just, standing there?
Why isn’t he trying to kill them?
“YES!!” Rockets fire in the sky from the back of the mech, exploding in hearts of pinks and purples. “FINALLY!”
Oh, gods…
A clicking noise echoes as the front shield lowers with after a BEEP, revealing the maniacal villain, Leo, in all his flaming glory, reaching for a megaphone. Tapping it twice, he raises it to his mouth. “Will Solace, and Nico Di Angleo! I, Leo the Great, list your two crimes against The-Seven-Plus-Two.”
“Crimes?” A voice behind the mech asks.
“Leo… the Great? Really? Is that the best you could come up with?” Another says.
Ignoring Percy and Piper behind him, Leo continues, “Will, for your crime of bailing on Game Night last week: I hereby declare you are responsible for bringing ALL snacks and drinks for the next THREE Game Nights!”
With little light from the opening, Will sees Nico’s shoulders relax, and although he’s still gritting his teeth, his hold on his sword has slackened. Nico looks up at him before calling out, “And the other crime?!”
Will shudders when he hears Leo’s laugh and Piper’s worried tone, though he can’t make out what she’s saying. Leo comes back on the megaphone. “Nico, for going against your doctor’s orders and shadow-traveling out of the closet before we got a chance to push Will in last night, you are sentenced to a TRIAL BY FIR—”
Leo’s cut off by the sound of metal striking metal. Scuffling sounds and a yelp from Leo reach the cave. He peaks through the crack to see Percy grappling him for the megaphone and tossing it to Piper.
She taps it twice then lifts it up. “There will be no Trial by Fire!” Leo’s muffled protests are blocked by Percy’s hands. Piper continues. “Your punishment is to sit there until we can get you out. We’ll go get help. Just stay alive until then!”
Stay alive?
Here?
In this tiny box?
With Nico??
Nico.
Will looks away from the crack to the other boy. Though he seems to have calmed down, Nico looks slightly paler than usual, and that’s saying something given how much happier and healthier he’s been lately.
Will can’t speak for him, but the past year and a half of their friendship has been wonderful. Though it took time, Will found himself opening up to Nico, who in turn, eventually did the same. Will likes to think they became friends months ago, and he can live with that. He can live in the comfort of the word, friend, no matter how softly the butterflies float in his stomach with Nico’s every laugh. He can live with the constant pull in his heart that somehow always leads him to his side, so long as he can stay there. If Nico tells him that he spends his nights hanging all of the stars in the sky by hand and his days dancing with the sun, Will would believe him. Those are the facts.
Looking away, Will leans against the wall, listening to the sound of three demigods running through the meadow and back to camp, leaving the two of them alone.