welcome to hell! ☀ nico
「☠」—» Nico had been here… how long now? Two weeks, maybe more…? And in that time, things had literally fallen apart. It had been quiet, at first. Little blips here and there, skirmishes and brawls. A few insane people taking a crack at world domination, and even a mass murder by someone who strongly resembled Nico himself. Now that had been a hassle… A few death threats, and even a chase through the streets. Only shadow traveling away had managed to save him from that one, and he’d had to crash and hide out in his little assigned hut in the Zeta District, a few of the gigantic plants around the small buildings finding themselves withered by morning. But despite these things, life in this city had been… tolerable, to put it kindly. Nico hadn’t found himself in mortal danger yet, and no one seemed to pay much attention to him. Not that he was complaining. He liked it that way.
And then complete and utter chaos had befallen Hive City. Now, a killer virus in Sector 003 was turning people into zombies, people fought viciously in the streets, fires chased each other around the buildings, and all the lights were out except for in Sector 002, where a tax was now in place for entering or leaving. The situation was completely and utterly insane, and a war if Nico had ever seen one. Which he had. Twice. So now, he was doing what every sensible child of Hades would do. Sticking to the shadows, running low through back alleys and manipulating the darkness to cover any fleeing refugees he could find, generally helping people to the safe zone he knew was located in Sector 004. It was all he was willing to do at that moment. Maybe for the entire war.
And then, walking down the street, skulking through the shadows to avoid detection, Nico heard it. A voice, familiar tones laced with warmth and a slight tinge of uncertainty, quickly getting more confident as his face was spied. It caused the demigod to stiffen, dark eyes flying open in a wide, shocked expression. There was no way. No possible way he was here… But… Sunshine locks spilled down onto a tanned face, and that grin was unmistakable. Was he… hallucinating?
” Wi…ll…? ” Nico’s own tone was speckled with disbelief even as the broken word left his mouth, seeming to be knocked into a state of stupor as warmth filled his chest. He was… here? Really here? Involuntarily, the corners of Nico’s lips started to turn upward into an expression of relief and general… happiness. A real smile since the first time he had arrived in the city.
And it was exactly at that moment that Nico heard the howl of a war cry, distant and faint, off to their left. His head snapped in the direction it had come from, all semblance of joy at the sight of Will Solace melting into a grim expression. Right. No matter how much of a relief it was to see a familiar face here, this was still the middle of a war ground. And though the Sector they were located in, Sector 006, was relatively safer than a lot of the other areas of the city, it still posed its own dangers.
” Okay. ” A single word, breathed out in an attempt to get himself under control. ” Will. I’m really glad to see you and all, but— ” He broke off, staring right into those infuriatingly kind eyes. ” This isn’t really the best place for a reunion. Can you run? ” It wasn’t so much of a question as a warning, anxiety showing itself on Nico’s face as the cries got ever-closer. This was definitely not the kind of situation he had wanted to meet the son of Apollo in again, but, well… You take what the Fates hand you, right?
"Yeah, that's me!" he confirms, but as soon as he says it, he almost regrets sounding so cheery. Although Nico had almost looked happy a second or so ago, a not-so-far away sound had practically ruined that way too soon. His smile soon turns into a frown, too, as he looks around frantically, trying to see if there's a source for the noise. Living as a demigod has taught Will that it's never good to consider yourself safe at any point in time, but he hadn't noticed anyone (or anything, at that) dangerous here yet, so he figured maybe it would be okay to relax for a while. Now, of course, he's proven wrong, and the thought depresses him. If only he could catch a break..
Will stuffs his hands into the pockets of his thin jacket (because although he doesn't get cold easily, being a son of the sun god and all, it seems that ever since coming here he's definitely been catching another form of chills a lot quicker) and he doesn't settle down until he's perfectly sure that the cause of the noise isn't here.. yet. Looking back to Nico, he sighs loudly, but then forces himself to smile at least a little bit, the corners of his lips tugging upwards weakly.
"Well," he says with a bit of defeat, laughing softly to calm himself down. "That doesn't sound good, does it?" This isn't exactly the type of reunion that Will wanted either, but here he is, standing in front of the other demigod he'd been attempting to get closer to for these past few weeks, the same one that had gone missing without a word. At least he knows now that he can't be upset about that and he isn't, not really, but he isn't going to let it go, either. He's not exactly the most tactful person ever, especially when he's concerned, so there's no way Will can.
He removes his hands from his pockets to run one through his hair, seemingly pondering something for a moment before nodding. "I can run! I mean, you know, I can't do much else right now, but.. I can do that, at least. Did you know they took things from us somehow? It's weird. Who do these people even think they are? And how does that even work?" And now he's ranting, but it's the only thing he really can do to ignore the fact that, hey, here he is, in a war zone again. Luck just doesn't seem to favor him or any demigod, for that matter, at all.
"Speaking of this place, I totally thought you just ditched me! And there I was, thinking I made progress, only to lose sight of you.. what, a few weeks later? It was stressful, honestly. Next time, find some way to contact me or something! Like, you know, anything would work. You could get a ghost to haunt me if that's what you had to do. I wouldn't even mind!" Okay, maybe he would mind, actually... and, okay again, he had totally tried to send out a few Iris messages himself, only to find that they didn't work at all (probably because the gods had conveniently decided to forget about them or something, but maybe Nico had more luck?) so he's probably being unreasonable, but whatever. People are allowed to be unreasonable in stressful situations, aren't they?
Unfortunately, as much as Will would love to continue going off about meaningless things, he can't deny that those noises are definitely getting closer. He doesn't know who or what they're coming from, but to be honest, he doesn't exactly want to find out either, so he decides it's time to get serious. "Okay, di Angelo," he starts again, looking at the shorter demigod expectantly. "Where are we running?"
