Author's Note: Hi guys! A one-shot of Nico! Inspired by the song "Soldatino"(Nico's Lullaby) Forgive me if it's short ;-;
Nico walked slowly, looking up to the gods. "Anything? You'll grant anything?" He asked, in a low, quiet voice.
Zeus nodded.
Memories of his sister, Bianca flashed through his head. Memories of their old school, meeting Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Thalia, her becoming a huntress of Artemis, and the betrayal he felt when Percy let her die. Even if he didn't, he kind of felt small bits of anger in his chest, even if he already knew that it wasn't Percy's fault. A distant memory, a very distant one came back to him.
The surroundings were unusually dark, the sky filled with dark clouds. Nico stared out the window with his sister, whispering. "The sky is really dark." They heard tiny crackling sounds of distant thunder.
BOOM!
The ground shook, the two siblings simultaneously said "W-Whoa!" They held onto the windowsill for support. Their mother, Maria di Angelo tried to stay calm, saying soothing words to remove their worries.
She walked towards them shakily, slowly, and carefully. She said the comforting words mostly to herself than to them. She had a bad feeling about the strange happening. "Now, keep calm. It'll be gon—"
BOOM!
Bianca screamed as a huge chunk of wood fell between their mother and the two of them. they tried to run towards her by the side but yet another strike of lightning broke the ceiling. Bianca and Nico were frantic, running towards the other side when black smoke appeared and a dark wall covered them.
A huge explosion hit the roof of the hotel, but fortunately, they were unharmed because of the wall. Unfortunately, their mother was not covered. Bianca gasped and ran to her, tears in her eyes. "Mother! Wake up! Please!" She sobbed, shaking her mother's shoulder.
"M-Mother...?" Nico whispered, walking unsteadily and collapsing beside Bianca. They stayed there for a while.
Hades stood behind them, watching. "I am sorry I did not save her." He said as softly as possible. Bianca nodded.
"T-Thank you." She croaked, turning to look at him but he was mysteriously gone.
A soft but broken voice broke through the sobbing. "Bianca.. Nico." Their mother manage to croak. The two of them payed attention as their mother sang.
"tu sei il mio soldatino (you're my little soldier)
la ragione per cui vivo (the reason i live)
non ti scordar di me (don't forget me)
io veglierò su di te (i'm watching over you)."
With that, she breathed her last breath.
Nico shook his head and took a deep breath. "I—I want Bianca and my mother back." He said.
The gods looked at each other with meaningful looks as Nick clenched his hands into fists, looking down. "I'm sorry Nico—" Zeus began.
"I knew it! Forget it. There's nothing else I want." He said and left. Going down the elevator, he stopped at floor twelve. Bianca's age when she died.
"Hey Nico," A female voice behind her said.
"My brave little soldier." Another older female voice said.
Nico was shocked. He faced them and tried to fight tears. "But the gods—"
"Got us back for just a while." Bianca said. "I told you I didn't want resurrection, dummy." She sniffed. It was true they were half-see through.
"Have you forgotten? We'll be watching you. Always. And we are so proud." Maria said, walking to him with her hand held to cup his cheek, but he drew away. She looked at him with a confused face.
"I-I don't need you two. I-I was fine on my o-own." He lied, turning away to hide the tears.
Bianca sighed. "Nico. We know you asked for us. Why are you turning away? A-Aren't you glad to see us?" Her voiced crack, and Nico felt her hurt. He felt horrible but he had to. He didn't want to long for them, didn't want to wish for them to stay.
"I'm not." He firmly said. But tha didn't stop His sister to walk behind him and hug him. He was shaking, fists clenched.
"But we are." She said quietly. Their mother stood by the side, watching her children. She thought of the two, and decided she had to leave.
"Nico, Bianca. I must go. You may stay longer, Bianca. If you wish." She smiled and disappeared, leaving a small amount of light dust.
"Mother!" Nico yelled, and running towards the dust. He closed his eyes and sighed, feeling Bianca's smug grin behind him. "Fine. I did care." Standing up, he faced her, head down.
Her face softened as she walked to Nico holding his face. "You know I missed you. So much." Tears had formed in her eyes, even as a ghost. "Promise you'd be good? I hope Percy's trea—"
"Sis!" He scolded, blushing. "I can take care of myself. And I promise." He said sadly.
"I have to go." She whispered as her feet started to dissolve. "Don't summon me again, please." She smiled half-heartedly and hugged her brother Though he tried not to hug back, he did and he hoped that the moment would freeze, and he could have his sister back. even if his mother wasn't there, he also hoped she was. He wanted to stay in her protective embrace.
He knew that she was gone, his arms fell to his sides.
He just stood there, looking down. He wished they stayed longer. He wished that he thought of all the words he wanted to stay before they left. All he did was say he didn't miss them. Treated them as if he wasn't glad they were there. Most of all, he didn't get a chance to talk to his mother.
"I'll miss you both." He whispered.