I opened my eyes and blinked in confusion. What just happened? The memories came flooding in like a great tsunami. The war with Gaea replayed over and over, each and every detail etched vividly into the back of my mind. The blood red sky, the jagged terrain, the thousands of empty eyes staring into nothingness, the giants and the devastation they caused. The feeling of hopelessness, the oblivion of war, Gaea's poison green eyes glinting as she reached out to take me too, and the deaths—so much death, all of the wildflowers in the field.
Tell me son of Hades, how does it feel to be the last survivor of your kind?
Gaea's words resonated in my mind, like a broken tape recorder of despair.
Someone started shaking me. "Nico? Nico, are you alright? Nico!"
I snapped out of the echoes of war, the voice pulling me back into reality. And what I saw shocked me to my very core. In front of me stood Bianca di Angelo, living, breathing, and very much alive. I studied her face, trying to fathom how she could possibly be standing right in front of me. "Bianca?" I whispered unsurely.
I searched for every possible sign that the girl in front of me could be an imposter. She wore the same floppy green hat, and had the same long, dark hair cascading over her pretty features—like black silk. Her dark eyes, blacker than obsidian stared at me in concern—Bianca's eyes. My father's eyes. She even has the same olive complexion, and she scrunched her freckled nose the same way too.
How is this possible? I thought. Bianca died. She went for rebirth.
"Are you alright, Nico? You look like you've seen a ghost," she said as she fretted over me in worry.
Maybe I am seeing a ghost.
I tried to respond, but the words were caught in my throat. I could only nod, which isn't very convincing in itself. I recalled what the ancient voice told me before I blacked out, before I started seeing my dead sister alive.
She said I've been given a second chance. For what? The answer dawned on me: To prevent Gaea from winning the Giant war. To save the world. Her instructions were to prevent the deaths of the Seven and to warn the Gods of their undoing. Undoing? Their ignorance and the price they will have to pay for it. Unite the Greeks and Romans, reveal yourself only to those you trust? Then it hit me.
Whoever this person is, they've somehow managed to send me back in time, and they were giving me advice on how to prevent the end of the world as we know it. Which means I am no longer 14 years old. Hazel isn't alive yet and Bianca hasn't died.
No one knows who my father is.
"You sure you're okay? You look really pale. Are you feeling sick? I knew this was a bad idea to come to the dance," Bianca grumbled. Dance? Uh oh.
I looked around me, surveying my surroundings. Red and black balloons were strewn in a very familiar looking gymnasium, streamers draping from the ceiling in a lazy fashion. Awful music played from a nearby speaker as girls dressed in spaghetti straps with faces caked in makeup bombarded their poor victims in lipstick and giggles. The boys stood awkwardly to the side, hands in their pockets, not really sure what to do besides avoiding the girls in those painful looking heels. With the way the females were staring at them, I probably would've done the same thing.
My hands subconsciously shuffled a small deck of cards, my fingers moving with a life of their own. I glanced down and my heart skipped a beat. My Mythomagic cards! The same deck I threw into the fire all those years ago, or more accurately will soon throw into the fire, were now residing in perfect condition in my hand. I didn't realize how much I've missed them until I articulated each card, my stupid brain memorizing each attack power by heart.
Today is the day. Today is the day my cousins and their friends save Bianca and I from the crazy psychotic manticore who goes by the alias Doctor Thorne.
Today is the day we learn we're demigods.
And it's also the same day Bianca conveniently decided to join the Hunters of Artemis. A lot of good that did for her.
A thought occurred to me: I know everything that's about to happen leading up to the Giant War. What would happen if I started to change it, saving lives of people who shouldn't have died along the way? The mysterious voice said that I need to prevent the deaths of the Seven, but she never said anything about preventing the deaths of other people.
People like my sister.
I glanced up at Bianca. Her dark eyes darted every which way, as if she too sensed something was off. She deserves to live. I don't care what the rules of time travel are. I will not stand around hoping that my promise won't be broken, that he will save her, only to be let down all over again. If I want to save her life, I'm going to have to pull a Percy to do it and hitch a ride on their quest, even if it's against the rules. I couldn't help but smirk.
I never liked following the rules anyway.
Everyone's fate is in my hands now, if I'm going to prevent deaths and save lives, I'm going to have to play it smart. Meaning I can't afford to make any mistakes, any slip ups. I have to plan this all out accordingly, make a list of my priorities and sort out the rest.
It's Camp Jupiter all over again. I grimaced involuntarily.
I hate lying, I hate being dishonest, and I hate watching people suffer in pain, knowing I could do something about it. I refuse to interfere with people's lives like that. Not again. I'll do what I have to, but I will avoid that method at all costs, like the plague.
Just because I can fool everyone doesn't mean I like to do it.
Speaking of which, Percy and friends should be here right about now. I skimmed the crowd discreetly, a mask of boredom on my face. I can't afford to draw attention to myself, especially when all of our lives are on the line. I spotted the crew dancing and blending in. Percy awkwardly placed a hand on Annabeth's waist, blushing like there's no tomorrow. I stifled a laugh, those two are perfect for each other. Thalia danced with Grover to a slow song on the other side of the gym, taking lead confidently as she spun the Satyr at all the perfect moments of the song. Knowing Thals, she probably chose Grover as her dance partner so the two love birds could have a nice dance together.
My mind drifted to the question of how I should act. Should I play dumb and ask stupid questions when I finally "meet" Percy, or should I act like myself and risk some weird looks for it? On one hand, playing dumb does seem like the logical option, especially for underestimation purposes and making sure Bianca doesn't get nosy. However, knowing Percy and his on par observation skills, he would probably be the first to notice any and all slips, and he would grow suspicious if he could see right through my acting skills.
On the other hand, acting like myself would allow me to focus on more important priorities, like how I'm going to save my sister from her untimely death. The Hunters of Artemis and any demigod wouldn't get suspicious—but Bianca would. She would wonder why I suddenly dropped the happy-go-lucky attitude and she would surely start to worry. This could work in my advantage to lull her away from becoming a Hunter of Artemis and quite possibly solve my problem right off the bat—or it wouldn't and it would just end of creating even more issues. Also, the attitude of 14 year old Nico vs 10 year old Nico is drastically depressing, especially after watching all of my friends die is still fresh in my mind. The demigods might get suspicious as to why a 10 year old is acting all depressed anyway.
So, the most logical way to act is to start as a happy-go-lucky kid and slowly descend to the depressed, morbid teenager that I'm used to being. I could use the excuse of realizing that being a half blood isn't as cool as I thought it would be, and that I might grow increasingly morbid under the stress of having to survive the incredibly demanding life of a demigod. If I were to go this route, I would have to be cautious on how fast I mature so I don't draw attention to myself and make it look fake.
I made the executive decision to go with the 3rd option. It's simply the most practical and safest way to go about it, depending on if I play my cards right. I could even start on using the excuse of "a giant bloodthirsty manticore is trying to kill me" as a way to descend to a level of that of a 14 year old's maturity, or better yet—my 14 year old maturity.
Before I even had time to blink, a hand snatched Bianca and I by the scruffs of our collars, dragging us to the door leading to the lockers.
A/N
Thank you so much the8horcrux for the advice on author's notes! This totally works better than reviewing my own story! Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know that this is going to be a slow burn story. More likely than not, there are going to be chapters that don't have a lot of action in them. The content in these chapters will display Nico's development in growth of ideals and hopes throughout the story. I want to thank all of you for reading my story! This really means a lot to me! ️
