Chapter 16: the Act of Forgiving

It took quite a while for us to find Zoe and her crew in the horde of cars. It wasn't until well after sunrise that we spotted the familiar camp van on the highway to Washington DC. Of course, with my incredibly low body temperature, I was shivering the entire way.

"Here," Percy took off one of his many layers, "Take my coat. You look like you need it more than I do."

"Thanks," I replied gratefully. As smoothly as one could on a flying pegasus, I slipped on the jacket.

"Why do you think Zoe had that dream about the museum?" Annabeth asked. Her blond curls flew around her face like sun rays in the wind.

"I have a hunch, though I'm not 100% sure," I replied.

"Good or bad?" Percy chimed in.

"... Bad. Really bad."

"How so?" The Daughter of Athena inquired.

"When Percy broke the news to me about… about Bianca's death, skeleton warriors were following him. Not the kinds of skeletons I created. No, these were created by someone else. They felt almost artificial, like there was no body to begin with," I recalled the painful memory when Percy officially told me about my sister's passing. I winced a little just thinking about it, "I have an inkling feeling that we're going to find out who created these warriors. Somewhere along the line, it will be revealed."

"Can you control them? Or at least fight them?" The Savior of Olympus questioned.

"I can definitely fight them, though I'm not sure how much energy it will take out of me, especially now that I'm 10 years old again. As for controlling them? No clue."

"Well whatever the case, we need to prepare. Nico, can you tell us any and all details about the quest? Maybe if we know the original events beforehand, we can find out exactly what we need to change," Annabeth proposed.

"I don't know much besides the fact that Atlas is the General, Artemis is being held in Mt. Othrys, Zoe is the one that will be perished by her father's hand, and Bianca died in the junkyard of the Gods. I'm sorry I can't be much help. The only reason I know this is from dreams and passing comments I've heard at camp," I looked up and met Percy's gaze, "Everybody knows what you've fought for, but nobody knows what you actually faced. You and Annabeth didn't exactly mention it around camp often, if at all."

"Nico, how do you know exactly how Bianca died? I mean I know it's a touchy subject—" I interrupted Percy.

I held up my hand in the universal stop motion, "It's fine, you're curious," I took a deep breath, "I had a dream about her death. I heard the ringing too. At first, I didn't want to believe it. I convinced myself that it was all just a dream, and my older sister was safe and sound. But something in the back of my mind kept nagging me. I knew deep down, I was kidding myself. And when you finally came back from your quest, with no Bianca or Zoe in sight, I immediately knew something was seriously off. You and I, we went to take a walk. When we were at the edge of the dinner pavilion, that's when you broke the news. I—I hated you for a while, or at least, I tried to.

"The skeleton warriors arrived at that moment, and when they were about to attack you, I just couldn't bring myself to let them hurt you. I screamed at them to go away, and the next thing I know they're being dragged down by skeleton arms into the deepest, darkest parts of the Underworld. That's when we both figured out my parentage. I ran away into the forest. I was scared of my powers and I was scared of myself," I confessed quietly, "I… I went down a dark path. I befriended a ghost who was using me for his own selfish reasons and I was angry. So, so angry at everything and everyone. It took me a while to realize I was angry at myself, not the world."

"Nico, I'm sor—" I interrupted the Son of Posiedon once again.

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault, Percy. It never was," I met his eyes once again, and I saw regret in the sea-green shade. It made me sick to know I caused it, "It wasn't your fault, it wasn't Artemis' fault, it wasn't Zoe's fault, it wasn't the Gods' fault, it wasn't even my father's fault. It was mine. If only I let go of my fatal flaw sooner, if only I stopped holding a grudge, Bianca would have never felt the need to pick up that Hades figurine for me. She wouldn't have needed to perform an act of forgiveness—something I was incapable of. Something I'm still incapable of. And now, I'm leading my sister down that same road, all because I couldn't forgive her."

I thought of the conversation my sister and I had. Her words were a warning about our fatal flaw. About our inheritance, and how it can destroy us.

You must listen to me. Holding a grudge is dangerous for a child of Hades. It is our fatal flaw. You have to forgive. You have to promise me this.

I forgave all too late. I couldn't bring myself to forgive when it really mattered. My mistake cost me the life of my sister. I can't let that happen. Not again. I have to forgive if I'm going to save my sister. I have to swallow my flaw—my anger, if I'm going to do it.

"Nico, listen to me. What happened to Bianca was not your fault. It was her choice to join the Hunt. It was her choice to leave you. It was her choice to grab that figurine. You couldn't have possibly known she would grab that figurine for you," Annabeth said.

"Yeah. But I knew that if I didn't forgive her soon, I would never get the chance to do it again. I—I still held a grudge anyway. I gave in to my flaw. But this time, it wasn't fatal to me—it was fatal to her. I won't let it happen again. I'll forgive her, I'll apologize, I'll do whatever it takes to save her. I want her stick around, Hunter or not. I want her to meet Hazel, our little sister. They never got a chance to meet. I resurrected Hazel just as Bianca went for Rebirth. Bianca and Hazel both deserve a chance to live and I'm going to give it to them," I vowed, "Whatever it takes."

Percy and Annabeth shared a look. They must have realized there's no arguing, not when I'm like this. Again, who's stubbornness did I get? My mother or my father's?

Annabeth sighed in defeat, "There's no way I can change your mind?"

"Nope."

"Then I guess I'm just gonna have to stick by your decision then, huh? You are a stubborn one. At this point you can probably call it extreme loyalty. Just like Seaweed Brain over here," she pointed.

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with loyalty. There are much worse fatal flaws to have," Percy pointed out.

"Of course you would say that. You would die for practically anyone, and I'm starting to believe Neeks would too," she nudged me.

"At least I don't have Hubris as my flaw!" I exclaimed as I raised my hands in surrender.

"Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Again, there are much worse flaws to have."

"Sure thing, Wise Girl."

"Whatever, Seaweed Brain."

I giggled at their banter. Wait what? I did not just giggle. Ugh, stupid 10 year old brain. Percy and Annabeth grinned at me, and I found myself grinning back. Was it my 10 year old brain? It's the only logical explanation for such an unprecedented laugh—or just a laugh in general. Then again, maybe not.

No, it couldn't be. I shook my head, the grin still on my face. It was just too much craziness for one day.

Percy's smile vanished from his face, "Guys, we're here."

And apparently, so are Zoe and friends.