A/N: I'm back with another one-shot for Skywriter5's contest! This time, the prompt was Losing Your _. The blank could be anything; Skywriter did Losing Your First Love as the example. Since I knew most people would use that idea (or something similar), I decided to do something a bit different: Losing Your Sister. See below for the full summary. Sorry if Nico seems OOC. Read, review, and enjoy!
Note: I am currently looking for a beta. They must be able to put up with my busy schedule, willing to really nitpick, and either have some experience beta-ing or writing before. PM me if you're interested.
Disclaimer: I don't (look carefully! It says don't!) own PJO. Good for all the fans who love the books, bad for me.
Summary: I had no idea how I did it. There were so many thoughts racing around my mind, I could barely process what was happening. Two things stuck out of the chaos: one, my sister was dead. Two, I needed to run. Run away from the monster skeletons, run away from the boy who my sister died for, run away from this camp—this life entirely. Nico's POV during TTC. Set when Percy explains how Bianca died.
Rated: K+ for some depressing thoughts and general safety.
Loss
It was six days after Bianca and the others left on the quest, and one day after the solstice. I was desperately awaiting my sister's return. I really missed her, but I was a bit angry with her too for joining the Hunters. She just left me alone, in a random camp, where people fought with lethal swords and worshipped Greek gods. The campers were all really nice, but I also wondered who my Olympian parent was. The others in my cabin said he or she would claim me eventually, but I was a bit doubtful about that. I tried to not let it bug me though.
Other than that, I liked camp. It felt like I was playing a life size game of Mythomagic. Capture the flag was very fun, even if my armor was two or three sizes too big. But, sometimes when I was on my bedroll (the Hermes cabin had more kids in it then there were bunks, so about half of them had to sleep on the floor), I couldn't help but feel like I didn't belong here. I seemed one beat off from everyone else most of the time, and no one at camp seemed to look like me or Bianca. I wasn't great at anything in particular. I sucked at footraces, was weaker than the Ares kids, could barely shoot an arrow, and every time I even went near a plant it seemed to recoil from my presence. The Stolls had told me I might be a son of Hermes, sort of in the middle with everything, but I think they only meant that as a joke.
Also, sometimes I would have these… dreams, if you could call them that. They were more like visions, or nightmares. I would dream about what I thought was the quest: Percy and his pegasus flying over the white van, the five of them traveling to DC, a weird cow-serpent thing swimming in a lake. One night, though, I dreamed that a giant gold foot had stepped on my sister while she was in a junkyard. I woke up in a cold sweat, trying to convince myself it wasn't real.
It was just a dream, I chanted. It was just a dream. A very lifelike dream, yes, but a dream nevertheless.
I was at sword fighting practice when I found out the members of the quest were back. The instructor (one of the sons of Athena—I think his name was Malcolm, but I honestly suck with names) was using me as a practice dummy—er, I mean partner—when one of the Demeter kids ran in from patrol.
"I just saw a Camp Half Blood van pull up at the Big House!" he panted. "I think they're back from the quest!"
I glanced over at my partner. "Can I go see my sister?"
He shrugged. "Class's over soon anyways. Go ahead."
I grinned, dropped my too-heavy sword by the rack, and sprinted to the Big House.
I pounded up the front steps, rubbing my arms for warmth. Even though the camp had magical borders that controlled the weather, the wind was freezing. Snow fell, covering camp in a white blanket. I quickly knocked on the front door, and then barged into the room when I didn't get a response for a few seconds. I'm not sure why I was so impatient; it must have been a mix of ADHD and wanting to see Bianca.
"Hey!" I gasped, a smile on my face. "Where's… where's my sister?" I looked around the room earnestly, hoping to see her. My heart sank as I realized she wasn't there. Chiron, that blonde girl from Westover Hall, (I think her name was Annabelle? Annabeth? Something like that.) Percy, the Stolls, Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and another, beefy looking girl I've never seen before were sitting around a table, obviously discussing something.
It was dead silent after my sudden appearance. Percy was staring at Chiron curiously. A few different scenarios danced through my head. She couldn't be… dead, could she? I had a sinking feeling that was the answer. No, of course not, the more stubborn part of my mind said. Percy promised to protect her. Maybe Bianca went away with the Hunters as soon as the quest was over. Maybe she got hurt and was at the infirmary or something. Maybe—
"Hey, Nico," Percy said as he got up from his chair. "Let's take a walk, okay? We need to talk."
I took the news quietly. The second Percy started explaining, the world seemed to turn gray. All the colors seemed dimmer; the sun seemed colder, as if Apollo was shying away from earth, not wanting to hear more of Percy's story. When he got to the part where Bianca had sacrificed herself, my entire body went numb. So my dream wasn't just a dream; it was a vision of what was happening. She was… gone.
We were standing in the dining pavilion. Snow coated the steps. The cold cut through my coat like knives, making me feel even worse, if that was even possible. My sister was dead. I was alone. In a period of a few weeks, I had lost her twice. Percy kept saying there was a chance she was alive, but I knew she was dead. I felt like crying, but I knew it wouldn't do any good. At the same time, I wanted to strangle Percy. He promised he would protect her. He failed.
"She wanted you to have this," Percy said as he pulled a small statue out of his pocket. I stared at it with distaste. It looked like a Mythomagic figurine of Hades, the only god I didn't have. My sadness converted into anger. Bianca had lost her life because of that stupid game? Words couldn't describe the mix of emotions I was feeling. I quickly made a mental note to burn every single one of my cards when I went back to my cabin.
"You promised you would protect her," I whispered. Tears of both anger and sadness filled my eyes, but I don't think he noticed.
I could tell that hit a nerve with Percy. Honestly, I couldn't have cared less at the time.
"Nico, I tried," he said. "But Bianca gave herself up to save the rest of us. I told her not to. But she—"
"You promised!" I yelled. I glowered at him as I clenched the statue in my fist. I could feel the tears growing in my eyes, threatening to spill over, but I held my ground.
"I shouldn't have trusted you," I said, my voice cracking on the last few words. "You lied to me. My nightmares were right!"
"Wait. What nightmares?"
I threw the useless statue that cost my sister her life on the ground. It made a clattering sound against the icy marble. "I hate you!" I screamed.
"She might be alive," Percy explained frantically. This wasn't the first time he'd said that. "I don't know for sure—"
"She's dead." I closed my eyes, focusing on her. My body trembled with rage. Visions of a ghostly Bianca standing in front of several other spirits appeared in my head. "I should have known it earlier. She's in the Fields of Asphodel, standing before the judges right now, being evaluated. I can feel it."
"What do you mean, you can feel it?" Percy asked with uncertainty.
Before I could respond, a hissing, clattering sound came from behind Percy. My eyes shot open and I gasped. There were four creepy zombie skeletons with see-through flesh and swords walking towards us. Percy pulled out his pen-sword and stood in front of me.
"You're trying to kill me!" I shrieked. "You brought these… these things?"
"No!" Percy responded hysterically. "I mean, yes, the followed me, but no! Nico, run. They can't be destroyed."
"I don't trust you!"
The first skeleton charged at Percy. He knocked the monster's sword away, but then the other three advanced. He sliced one in half, but to my surprise, it began to come together again on the ground. He knocked another one's head off, but the skeleton's body kept fighting. So they really couldn't be destroyed, I think while I back away.
"Run, Nico!" he yelled over his shoulder. "Get help!"
"No!" I pressed my hands over my ears and shut my eyes. This isn't happening. Bianca isn't dead. Monsters aren't attacking us. I told myself desperately.
Percy continued to fight the skeletons, but I suspected he wasn't going to last forever. I was tempted to find a weapon and help, but another part of me wanted to leave him here to die. He didn't save my sister. He was the reason she was dead.
"No!" I shouted at the skeleton warriors. I wanted them to disappear. Anger laced my voice, and I felt a strange surge of power. "Go away!"
The ground started to rumble. Both Percy and the skeletons froze for a second. He rolled out of the way just as a crack appeared in the marble floor of the pavilion. The crack widened, flames rose from the fissure, and the skeletons disappeared into the earth with one last CRUNCH!
It was silent.
Where the skeletons had stood only moments before, a twenty-foot scar replaced them. It wove its way across the ground, marring the once-perfect floor. Ironic, I thought to myself. I suddenly realized I had done that. It had drained me of a ton of energy, but still.
Percy turned to me, awe plastered across his face. "How did you—"
My anger from before returned. "Go away! I hate you! I wish you were dead!"
The ground didn't swallow him up, but I didn't care. I raced down the steps towards the woods, a hodgepodge of thoughts running through my mind. I had no idea how I made the ground do that. There were so many thoughts racing around my mind, I could barely process what was happening. Two things stuck out of the chaos: one, Bianca was dead. Percy had failed me and now I didn't have a sister. Two, I needed to run. Run away from the monster skeletons, run away from the boy who my sister died for, run away from this camp—this life entirely.
I didn't look back. I'd lost so much in the last few weeks; my home, my sister, my feeling of childhood security. Gods know how much I didn't want to loose anything else.
A/N: And there you have it! A bit dark for my liking, but it's done. Make sure you review!