Hello and MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!! Today we have a very sad and totally not merry story. Enjoy!

Written by Fae

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything!

Christmas Countdown: Today is December 24 which means TOMORROW IS CHRISTMAS!!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!

It's his first Christmas without her.

She had died only a few weeks ago.

It wasn't right, she was still so young.

She had so many years ahead of her.

And it's all his fault.

The small boy sits alone in the snow. He's always hated the cold, but now he resonated with it. The cold was him. In only jeans and an aviator's jacket, the sub degree temperature was painful enough to make the pain go away. He sat in the cold stuff, listening to the howling of monsters. He had run off, after being told the news. After discovering his powers. Only a small boy, was he. 10 at the most. He hated him. That tall, daring, handsome, absolutely traitorous devil spawn.

"You promised you would protect her."

"Nico, I tried. But Bianca gave herself up to save the rest of us. I told her not to. But she-"

"You promised! I shouldn't have trusted you. You lied to me. My nightmares were right!"

The small boy shuddered in the snow, the horrible, painful flashbacks wracking his body with cold sweats. The memory of the nightmares, all those terrifying signs, if he had only realized what they were in time.

"We can't let anyone know. I don't think anyone realizes that Nico is a-"

"A son of Hades. Percy, do you have any idea how serious this is? Even Hades broke the oath! This is horrible!"

Nico had heard the three friends talking in the woods that day. He had been spying on them, unconsciously slipping into the shadows. Now he sat in the snow, letting the cold soak him through. He wanted to scream, but he already knew that monsters lurked in the woods, ready to devour him.

This wasn't how Christmas ought to be. Nico had celebrated Christmas before. Pine trees, colorful lights, sugar cookies, stockings, Santa Claus, presents. But not this year. Instead of pine trees, he got towers of Olympian junk. Instead of colorful lights, he got shining tears slipping out of his eyes. Instead of sugar cookies, he got manticore missiles. Instead of stockings, he got Hunter attire. Instead of Santa Claus he got him. And instead of presents, he got a stupid-probably cursed-Hades figurine. No, this was not how Christmas ought to be.

His mind wasn't safe anymore. Back in Italy, when the going got tough, he would daydream, letting his mind take him to far away imaginative places. Now, his mind was full of fear. He couldn't stay up there one minute. If he did, the trauma kicked in. The horrors of his mother's death. The scares of living as orphans. The confusion of barely knowing his past. The unbearable pain of losing the last valuable thing of his.

His sister.

Bianca.

The most beautiful, most caring, most kind, most motherly mother figure he ever had. She would comfort him when he cried, keeping her own tears back, staying strong for him. Keeping him alive when she could have easily pushed him away when they were orphaned. She never once left his side.

That is, until he entered their life.

He brought the Hunters. He allowed the Hunters to take her away. He brought her on the quest. He promised to protect her. He let her die. He broke his promise.

All because of him. Percy Jackson.

The small boy sat in the snow and cried. Silent sobs escaped his lips. Hot tears rushed down his face. He couldn't hold it in anymore. His grief, his sorrow, his pain. He let it flow out of him in the form of salty water.

His heart was broken. Slowly over the years, it had been cracked, fractured, chipped. But the last, hardest, most fatal blow. His sister's death. Hearts are represented with the color red. Not for this small boy. His was black. Black as can be. It was harsh and cold and emotionless. A soft boy, no longer. He was Nico. Son of Hades.

His soul. Once light, airy, childlike, free. Souls have colors. His was once bright yellow, happy and joyful. Now, with the death of Bianca, it had no color. It was not black, for black was for the depressed and suicidal. It was not gray, for gray was for the unfeeling and heartless. It was definitely not white, for white was for the pure and innocent. Nico was now none of these. He was just... there. He was transparent, unseen, uncared for. He liked it like that. With a colorless soul, you can do things you would've never done. As Nico was starting to plan. He was Nico. Son of Hades.

His grief was short lived. It was Christmas. The other emotions got pushed down. No room for them. Grudges arose. Anger boiled. The need for revenge grew. The small boy stood. No longer small, was he. He was Nico. Son of Hades.