Chapter 8: I Spill Secrets At the Misery Log

I found a frozen log in an empty clearing to sit on, curling in for warmth and allowing myself to be swallowed by my thoughts. I pulled my jacket closer as tears pooled up in my eyes. Though I refuse to release them. I refuse to cry. I refuse to give in to the pain. I want to be angry. I want to scream. I want to be upset with Bianca. But I just can't. Deep down, I'm envious of her. She found an escape, a loophole in life—quite literally. She won't have to feel the pressures of being a child of Hades, just as I have. She won't have to feel the insanity creeping up on her, just as I feel it. And hopefully, she won't have to ever know who her father really is, just as I found out.

Bianca is a lot of things, and she can add blissfully unaware to the list. My sister may have just caused a series of unfortunate events, but I'll be the one to end it before it takes its toll. It's just like yanking the roots of weeds out of the ground, just as Persephone, my lovely stepmother taught me—much to my annoyance. I sighed and stared vacantly into the starry, inky black sky.

I felt a pair of eyes watching me and I opened up my senses to locate the source. The shadows licked at my feet. A few feet away from me, I could sense a presence in the shade that seemed out of place, though concealed well. I glared at the general spot of the intruder. "Step out of the shadows. I know you're there."

Annabeth Chase suddenly appeared and stepped forward, her New York Yankees cap clutched in her hand. "How did you know I was there?" she asked curiously.

I frowned. "You mean how did I know you were stalking me? I think you should consider distancing yourself next time. Makes it harder to sense your presence."

She nodded, as if she was actually considering my advice. Without asking, she plopped herself down right next to me on what I have now dubbed "the misery log."

After a long moment, she spoke. "Thank you."

"For what?" I asked dumbly.

"For saving my life back there. You didn't have to do that, you know. But you did. I'm surprised you aimed as accurately as you did, especially with a sword. And facing Thorn like that? I've seen a lot of brave things in my demigod years, but what you just did? That might be one of the bravest," she turned to me and smiled softly, a rare sight on the daughter of Athena's normally stern face. "You want to know why?"

"Why?"

"I saw the look in your eyes as you threw Percy's sword. I didn't see any fear, any hesitation. Only determination. And for a 10 year old like you, facing a monster, let alone a manticore can be a truly terrifying experience. You remind me a lot of Percy and Thalia, actually. Only they would pull a crazy stunt like that," she frowned. "Now that I think about it, you remind me a lot of children of the Big Three in general…" she trailed off, lost in a sea of her thoughts.

You remind me a lot of Percy and Thalia, actually.

How would Percy and Thalia have handled the situation? How would they have reacted if they had an older sister who craved immortality more than appreciated her own family? Would they blow up too? Probably. This is Perce and Thals, the two most impulsive people I know. These two are the same people who almost created a disaster after a not-so-friendly game of capture the flag with our greatest rivals, the hunters of Artemis. These are the same people who blew up Mt. St. Helens and can literally shock you to death. Then again, I recently erupted a mountain in a crowd of blood-thirsty monsters, so I really don't have any room to talk.

They wouldn't give up. I knew that for sure. Even if they were drowning in all of this misery.

That's the purpose of being a child of the Big Three, I realized. We concoct hope out of hopelessness, design order out of chaos. We're the backbone of the army, the glue that holds everyone together when they begin to fall apart. We're the leaders, the children who inspire others to keep going, to keep trying, to keep aiming. Somehow, we always hit the target, even under the most dire of circumstances. We are the light that guides others to the brightest light of all at the end of the tunnel. Even when we break down, we're still fighting. I won't let fate stand in my way.

If I can't beat the game, I'll rewrite the rules.

So what will I do next? What can I do next? I need advice, I realized. And who better to get advice from then the wisest daughter of Athena herself?

"Hey Annabeth? If someone you love is about to die, and you have the power to prevent it, how would you go about doing it?"

She furrowed her eyebrows in contemplation. "In what context?"

I pursued my lips, debating whether or not I should say it. After a couple of seconds, my curiosity gave out. "Time travel."

Her face contorted in surprise, then suspicion. Her stormy grey eyes studied me carefully. "Why do you want to know?"

Can I trust her? Can I tell her my secret? Of course I can! This is Annabeth freaking Chase, daughter of Athena, heroine of Olympus! If I can trust anyone here, it's her. Annabeth always has a plan, just like her mom. If anyone knows what to do, it's her.

"I'm from the future!" I blurted out. Well, that's one way to break the news. Annabeth stared at me for a solid minute, her face a void of emotion. Her stormy eyes seemed to sift through my brain. Or am I just imagining that? I almost shivered, and not because of the cold. Almost.

"I believe you," she finally said. I breathed a sigh of relief I didn't know I was holding back.

"You… you believe me?"

"I can tell your serious about this. Explain," she ordered. "And don't leave anything out."

My mouth moved for me as I recounted, well, everything. I told her about the original encounter with Dr. Thorn, the journey to Mt. Orthys, and how she disappeared with the manticore off the face of the earth. I described the Labyrinth; the seemingly endless tunnels with danger and deception at every turn, and the new clear-sighted Oracle of Delphi. I illustrated the second Titan War; the battle against Luke Castellan and Kronos' forces of both monsters and rogue demigods, and exactly how the hero's soul was reaped. I reiterated the entirety of the Giant War and the events leading up to it; the Seven answering the call, and how the world failed to fall. I even told her about the Roman camp, though I carefully avoided spilling where the location is. She nodded, absorbing every word, every detail, every truth that left my lips. I felt the weight of a thousand souls, a thousand wildflowers departing from my aching shoulders. By the time I finished recounting the adventures, my voice felt raw and hoarse.

"So it's true then? You really are from the future. A time traveler," she said in disbelief. "But how? Who sent you back in time? And how… How did the Seven fail?"

I was silent for a long moment, attempting to organize the jumbled mess of my thoughts. I studied the freshly fallen snow, the intricate detail put into each and every snowflake—one of winter's many masterpieces. I gazed at the icicles dangling from each thin branch, the iridescent crystals sparkling in the silver moonlight. The clearing looked so peaceful, so pure, so innocent.

Why can't I be innocent too? Why can't I go back to being the same carefree boy I used to be: unblemished, unmarred, unscathered? I used to be blissful, ignorantly blissful of the troubles I would soon face; the troubles I'm born to face. The sad truth: I can't remember the last time laughed. The last time I smiled.

Fighting, whether for my life or for the lives of others, is all I've ever known. And it's all I will ever know, because that's the life of demigod, summed up into one sad, sad purpose: We are born to fight the wars the Gods won't fight themselves.

Trouble will follow me, misery will shadow me, bloodshed will surround me, but guilt? I won't let guilt overwhelm me. I'll find a way to save as many as I can. I'll figure something out.

I always do.

"It's my fault the Seven couldn't defeat Gaea," I confessed. My voice cracked a little. "If I transported the Athena Parthenos to camp faster, the Greeks and Romans would have forgiven and forgotten—instead they murdered each other. The leftovers were brutally slain by Mother Earth and her Giants. I wasn't fast enough. I tried to close the Doors of Death on my own, but the monsters overcame me in… in Tartarus. The Seven took a side quest to rescue me. Not because they wanted to, but because they had to. Twins snuff out the Angel's breath, who holds the key to endless death.

"I'm the Angel. At the time, only I knew the location of the Doors of Death. To defeat Gaea, we had to take out her army first. With the doors open, it made it impossible for the monsters to stay dead for a reasonable amount of time. They just kept coming back. With every monster we killed, two more took its place. You and Percy eventually closed the doors after you were practically dragged down by Arachne into the pit. You barely made it out with your lives, let alone your sanity. I'm not sure who sent me back in time."

"How old were you?" She asked quietly.

"Fourteen," I said hesitantly. "My younger sister, Hazel, one of the Seven, was only thirteen."

I glanced up, only to find a troubled look on the daughter of Athena's face. "We can't let history repeat itself. We need to come up with a plan to change the outcome of the future," a familiar glint returned in her eyes, a strategic glint. "Changing the outcome of the future all at once would be too risky. If something goes wrong, all of the dominoes will collapse. We need to make subtle changes, create ripples that will reshape the timeline. Are you familiar with the butterfly effect?"

"Yeah, it's the theory that a minuscule alteration can create the most drastic differences in a timeline," I answered. "Are you saying that's the best course of action? I'm not so sure, especially because I'm relying on my prior knowledge here. If we modify the timeline, there's a good chance I won't know what comes next, and we'll be reshaping the future blindly. That's a huge risk to take," I argued.

"The butterfly effect is merely a theory based off of even more theory of the space and time continuum. Think of it this way: If you're changing the future blindly, it won't be similar enough to the future you just came from where Gaea won, and therefore proves a more likely chance that we'll win the war. If anything, it's the most logical way to go about it." Annabeth fired back.

"I see where you're basing your logic, but it's all theory that we don't entirely understand. What if the space and time continuum doesn't work that way? I think the best way to go about this situation is altering one detail at a time," I reasoned. Then it came to me. "We need to check off each detail we alter—we need a list."

Annabeth smiled in approval. "That might actually work. If we change things along the way, like preventing your sister's death, we can modify the future anyway we need to by playing it by ear."

"We don't need to know everything," I realized. "All we need is the desired framework of the future that will allow the demigods to win the war! We can think of what need for the framework on the list and change and check-off things and events as we go!"

"It might just work," Admiration shined in her eyes. "I'll help you make the list and execute the plan. We need to tell Percy about this, and I suggest you tell Chiron about this too. When the time is right, we need to warn the Gods. What did the woman say exactly when she brought you to the past?"

I attempted to sift through my murky mind, but the echoes of war and death still haunted me, following me like a shadow. It hurt to think about it, yet I still pressed on. I closed my eyes in concentration, focusing on nothing but the brief conversation I had with the mysterious voice.

Nico di Angelo, you have been gifted a second chance. Prevent the deaths of the Seven and warn the Gods of their undoing before it is too late. You must unite the Greeks and Romans, or all will be lost. Only reveal yourself to those you trust. Farewell, son of Hades.

I summarized what the mysterious woman said. "Who do you think she is?"

"Honestly? I have no clue. You said she has an ancient voice, right? That could mean any number of Goddesses, or even Primordials if you really thinking about it. Regardless," Annabeth laid a hand on my shoulder. "Everything that happened isn't your fault. You gave your best effort with what you had to work with, and from what I can tell, you did a lot more good than you realize. You have another chance to save everyone, Nico. I want you to know that your not alone. Percy and I, we'll support you, guide you, and stand by you every step of the way. We'll find a way to save as many as we can. We'll unite the Greeks and the Romans, even if they hate us and we hate them back. We'll find a way. Your heart of gold will save a lot of lives. We'll save Bianca too."

I grimaced. After that fight I just had with Bianca, I'm not too keen on mentioning her right now, let alone thinking about her. "Nico, you're going to have to talk to her at some point. Cut her some slack and work it out with her. You both said some hurtful things that I'm positive you didn't mean. You're brother and sister and you have a strong sibling bond that shouldn't be severed."

"Bianca made her choice and I made mine. I'm not talking to her. I'll try my best to save her, but I'm not talking to her," I repeated.

It's my life, Nico. I can live it however I want to.

My sister's words stung way more than I'd like to admit. I could see the truth flashing in her eyes: She wants to be apart of a new family. A family where she doesn't have to take care of any annoying little brothers, or be the responsible one. She can just be herself for as long as she lives—which will hopefully be longer than last time.

But with my luck, that's pretty far-fetched.

"We should get going, it's almost sunrise. We can think of the list when we get back to camp," she said as we reluctantly left the misery log. "And Nico?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for confiding in me. We'll figure this out, I promise."

I promise.

Ever since Percy broke his promise of protecting Bianca, I've had a bad track record with the fragile vows. Minos, my father, and even I broke my own promise that I would close the Doors of Death no matter what it took. Promises are glass mirrors waiting to be shattered, and once they break—they show nothing but a distorted image of what you used to be.

Complete. Whole.

Since then I've learned to never trust a promise, or anyone for that matter. Very few have been able to scratch farther than the surface when it comes to me. They haven't got a clue of the secrets I bear, the horrors I've seen. I'm a mystery, an enigma, a conundrum—and I'd like to keep it that way. But it seems Annabeth Chase truly scratched farther than the surface. She managed to dig a hole into the very caverns of my mind, and she'll only get deeper. Many have tried, and few have succeeded. Jason, Hazel, and maybe even Reyna being the exception. Maybe, just maybe, I might be able to open up this time, and whisper the secrets I possess to those I truly trust.

Only time will tell, I thought.

I trekked through the frosted woods with the daughter of Wisdom back to Artemis' camp.

Back to the storm.

A/N

Hey guys! I decided to update a little quicker than usual today. Think of it as a thanksgiving treat! I'd like to give special thanks to the8horcrux for all of the lovely reviews! Thank you so much! They really are the motivation that has allowed me to put my heart and soul into these chapters. (Even though it sounds super cheesy it's true!) I would also like to thank Everyshadedsilver for favoriting me! That means more to me than you know! I would like to thank everyone who has been reading my story! Before I started this story, I used to read a lot of fanfiction. (Super addicting stuff.) I found myself gravitating towards the time travel stories in the Percy Jackson Fandom. Some of them were really good, others not so much. Though almost all of them haven't been finished! I don't want to follow in their footsteps on that! I intend to finish this story, and create sequels as well. Maybe four or five books, we'll see. I already have the ending idea down, as well as some good ideas for the sequels I'll make. Anyway, just wanted to share that with you guys. Thank you everyone for following my story! I'm really happy that people have found enjoyment in my writing!

-Echo