Disclaimer: I own nothing, this all belongs to Rick Riordan. Plot idea came from a post on thedemigods Instagram page.

Nico felt the jolt come out of nowhere. It was like his heart had spontaneously broken apart, and suddenly, he couldn't breathe. The pain in his chest felt like it was tearing him apart.

What's happening? He thought wildly, clutching his chest. What the heck is happening to me?

He felt a deep anguish, all of a sudden, like someone had died. He had felt this way before; whenever he saw someone die. It had happened that one time when there was a fire in a building near their old house. He had felt this same way, and saw a body being carried out on a stretcher for a split second before Bianca turned him away and told him to walk faster. Or the other time, the one he didn't like to think about, when he felt the pain and never saw his mother again. And in that instant, he knew. Bianca.

No, he immediately thought. Bianca was on a quest, with a bunch of safe and capable demigods. Much as he hated Zoe for taking Bianca away, he knew that she was strong and would be able to keep his sister safe. Besides, he had made Percy promise to keep her safe.

Percy. He was Nico's hero. The way he had fought that manticore and kept Nico and Bianca from dying. It was just like the people in Mythomagic. He was like one of the characters come to life. Nico was certain that Percy, like Zoe, would never let anyone hurt Bianca.

But the pain in his chest was still there, though receding. And there was a little voice in the back of his head, telling him that it was Bianca. But it couldn't be. Nico shook his head, refusing to believe it. Bianca was his older sister. She took care of him in the casino, and had always protected him from bullies at the school. She was so strong and kind and smart. Nothing could ever happen to Bianca.

But that deep sorrow. He was terrified of a life without Bianca. She had always done the hard stuff, like asking for food and shelter and buying stuff and taking care of him. He couldn't imagine what life without Bianca would be. Sure, sometimes she would yell at him and they would annoy each other, but Bianca was like the parents he'd never had and barely remembered seeing. She was the one who kept both of them alive and together. Bianca was the only one that Nico truly loved and trusted. She was his whole world.

When Percy comes back, I'll ask him, Nico thought. It was probably nothing, anyways. Bianca would come back, like she always did. She had to.

So Nico waited for the group to come back. It was hard, because he wasn't sure if he was dreading their arrival or excited for it. He was locked in constant battle with himself, trying to decide if Bianca would be alive or not. The pain and anguish was hard to imagine away, and he grew more agitated every day. And yet, he held onto that sliver of hope that Percy would come back with Bianca. He didn't really care about the others much anyway. They had taken his sister away.

He began having terrible nightmares. Out of a dark pit, a voice issued out, whispering to him. Your sister is dead. It's Percy's fault. He didn't protect her. You cannot trust him.

Then one day, he heard that they were back. He knocked on the parlor, where they were supposed to be. He couldn't wait to see Bianca. He had missed her so much, and he wanted to prove the voice in the pit wrong.

Then he saw Percy's face, and heard the silence that answered the question that plagued his dreams.

Percy was talking, but Nico couldn't hear him. Something about her sacrifice, and how she'd saved them all and the whole quest. He didn't care. He didn't want Bianca to be a hero. He just wanted her to be his sister. He wanted her to hold him, like she did whenever he had nightmares, and for her to whisper to him that it was going to be okay. He didn't care about the Mythomagic figurine Percy brought back. Nico would've traded his entire collection that he had spent years building up for his sister.

It was just like the pit had said. He couldn't trust Percy. Despite the heartbroken look on his face, he couldn't trust him. Percy had promised to protect her, promised that she was going to be okay. But he had broken that promise. He didn't really care about Bianca. Nico could feel it now, Bianca being evaluated. Now that he knew the truth, he accepted this strange power fully. When he saw those skeletons, he wanted them to just go away. He was so angry and heartbroken. At Percy, for breaking his promise and taking away his hope. At Bianca, for leaving him behind. At the whole world, for continuing on when his sister was gone. At the gods, for taking Bianca away. In an instant, his life had changed.

It had been just the two of them against the world. Now Bianca was gone, and he was all alone. He didn't know if he'd ever feel okay again.