As Bianca's eyes drifted open, a small groan escaped her. She slowly rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Her eyes felt irritated from crying, and her throat was dry. Bianca could not get over the fact that Nico was dead. She kept expecting to see him walk into her room at any moment, with a Happy Meal for both of them.
Why had she pushed him away so much? Why didn't she spend more time with him? Bianca just wanted to be her own person. She didn't want to be known as Nico's older sister, but this wasn't how she wanted to become her own person. Why did her brother had to die?
The Olympians weren't even searching for Mnemosyne. They were more concerned about the Titan's breaking out of Tartarus for a second time. Why were the Titans put back in Tartarus in the first place? There should have been more steps taken to assure that the Titans were properly locked away, or there should have been harsher consequences.
Bianca reached out for her stuffed animal, a small thing that her mother had given her. When she didn't feel it, she slowly looked around. Bianca stared at the empty walls of the room, and she tensed. Where was she? Bianca quickly sat up and looked down at herself.
Bianca was wearing the same outfit as when she had gone to bed. She had fallen asleep crying in Kore's arms. Her step mother had been checking up on her a few times a day, even though they weren't that close. The door at the far side of the room opened, and Bianca tensed. A man stepped into the room.
The breath left Bianca, and all she could do was stare at her father. Pluto watched her with kind eyes. He walked towards Bianca and slowly sat on the bed. Bianca just stared. The last memory she had of her father was him being hauled away in handcuffs. Bianca had not spoken to her father since that day.
Over the last ten years, Bianca wasn't sure how she felt about her father. She was just a young kid when he left, but she knew enough to understand that her father had done very evil things. Bianca looked down. The topic of her father was something that she also did her best to avoid, but there was no avoiding this.
As Bianca looked at her father now, all she could see was Nico. Tears filled her eyes, and Pluto slowly held out a hand. Bianca practically threw herself into her father's arms and cried miserably. Pluto hugged her tightly, as if he was afraid of letting her go and losing her as well.
"I miss him so much," Bianca cried. She buried her face in Pluto's shoulder. "It's all my fault. He saved my life."
"It is not your fault," Pluto whispered. He held her close and just rubbed her back. Despite the fact that they had not seen each other in a decade, Bianca felt comforted. She always heard the terrible things about her father, but she also heard about his loyalty. He loved his friends and children with all of his heart and would do anything for them.
"Mnemosyne set the trap, and you were led into it," Pluto whispered. He continued to rub Bianca's back. "She is paying for her crimes."
"The Olympians found her?" Bianca asked. Pluto didn't reply. Bianca blinked a few times and looked down. She slowly looked around the room again. Then, she looked back at her father. He wasn't wearing any handcuffs, but she heard that he always wore them in the prison. "Did the Olympians let you see me?"
"No," Pluto replied. Bianca pulled away and looked up at her father. She did her best to wipe her eyes and stop crying. "When the Titans escaped from Tartarus, I was let out as well. I was given another opportunity to fix my mistakes, and I will not let my second chance go to waste."
"Father, you have to turn yourself in," Bianca said. She pulled away from her father and quickly backed away. "I don't want them to hurt you."
"Bianca, I love you, but I have to do this," Pluto said. He closed his eyes. "When we first defeated the Titans, we had the choice of what we wanted to do with them. The majority agreed to spare them and put them into prison, despite the crimes they committed. They terrorized this place for a year. No one was spared from the horrors, and we just locked the monsters away."
"We did not know it at the time, but we created a trend," Pluto continued. He shook his head. "We showed mercy to villains. As more people discovered their powers, they turned to crime because there was no consequences. We showed everyone that we will tolerate monsters, and how many people have suffered for it?"
"You wanted to kill twelve people," Bianca said. Pluto looked at her nodded. "How can you justify that?"
"What if we had killed the Titans?" Pluto asked. He looked Bianca directly in the eyes. "Nico would be alive. Praetor would not have been shot in the head. Those who worked at city hall that were killed in the attack by the Titans would be alive. How many people died over all of these years, because the Olympians showed mercy to scum?"
Bianca remained silent and looked down. She couldn't imagine killing anyone. Pluto took a deep breath and grabbed her shoulder once again. He pulled her into a gently hug and spoke, "I will do what I must, Bianca."
"What if I disagree with you?" Bianca asked. She tried to pull away and expected for him to hold onto her. Instead he let her go. "What are you going to do if I tell you no?"
"Keep you here and safe from harm," Pluto answered. "If you are not comfortable with helping me, I will not force you too. The only thing that matters to me is making sure you are safe."
"What is your plan?" Bianca asked. Pluto remained silent and looked away. "Father."
"I will do what I have to do, Bianca. If I tell you and you disagree, it will only eat away at you," Pluto said.
"How can I agree to something that I don't even know about?" Bianca asked. Pluto looked down and nodded. "That isn't fair."
"It's not," Pluto agreed. He sighed and looked back at Bianca. Pluto looked her directly in the eyes. "I am going to kill the Olympians and Titans. Their children, your friends, will be sparred. I will not harm those that are innocent."
"I can't agree to killing anyone," Bianca said. Pluto nodded in understanding. He stood and started to walk out of the room. "Father. You said Mnemosyne is paying for her mistakes. What are you doing to her?"
"Bad things," Pluto answered. He opened the door of the room. Bianca stood. Pluto looked back at her, and after a few moments, he stood to the side. Bianca slowly walked out of the room, and the two of them started to walk.
As they walked in silence, Bianca looked at her surroundings. They were in a hallway that had a few doors lining each side. Some of the door were barely hanging onto the hinges, and a glance past those doors showed the same room that she had been in. Bianca turned a corner and stepped through a door.
Bianca stared at the large room she was in. Cells lined one side of the wall, and opposite that, there was chairs bolted to the ground. Those old chairs were covered in something that was a dark red: blood. Bianca spoke, "What did you do?"
"This place belonged to Mars," Pluto explained. He placed a gently, comforting hand to Bianca's back. "He hasn't been here in a few years, but this is where he took the criminals that he did not have enough evidence to convict. Mars would a confession from them, or they would perish."
"Why would Mars do that?" Bianca asked. As they walked past the cells. Bianca saw a woman sitting in the one of them. She stopped walking and stared. The woman was sitting at the far corner of the cell and had a hood over her head. She didn't look up.
"Her name is Rhea," Pluto said. Upon hearing her name, Rhea looked up at them. "She is the most innocent of the Titans, but she is still one of them. Her loyalty to her husband binds her to his guilt."
"How does her loyalty make her guilty?" Bianca asked. She turned towards her father. "Did she ever try to kill anyone?"
"Not that I know of," Pluto admitted. He studied Rhea. "I do not plan to harm her, yet. She is a valuable tool to me."
Pluto started to walk again. Bianca only made it a few cells forward, and when she saw the person inside, her heart dropped. She stopped walking and stared at person inside. Thalia was laying on her side. Her hands were cuffed together, and she looked like she was asleep.
"What did you do to Thalia?" Bianca demanded. She turned towards her father once again. Bianca would not allow her friends to be hurt.
"I did nothing to her, and I do not plan on doing anything. Any injuries are from her earlier fight," Pluto explained. He studied the cell. "I just want her father."
Bianca just stared at Thalia. She couldn't believe that this was happening. Pluto started to walk again, but Bianca didn't follow. She heard the jingling of keys, and Pluto opened a cell. Bianca slowly looked at him.
"Your sister is waiting for you," Pluto said, and he backed away. After a few moments, a woman stepped out of the cell. Her dark eyes focused on Pluto. Golden handcuffs were around her wrist as well. "Are you hurt, Hylla?"
"You said my sister is waiting for me. Where is she?" Hylla demanded. Pluto turned his head and started to walk. Hylla glanced back at Bianca and studied her for a few moments. Then, she turned and followed Pluto. Bianca stared at Hylla. She had met Hylla a few times before, and she also knew that Hylla had lost her sister.
But, Pluto just said that Hylla's sister was waiting for her. Bianca hurried after her father. They made it out of the cell area and into another hallway. Pluto stopped at one of the door and turned towards Hylla. He held up a key.
After a few moments, Hylla lifted her hands, and Pluto took off the handcuffs. He glanced to the door next to him, and Hylla slowly pushed the door open. She rushed into the room. Bianca slowly stepped inside.
Hylla had someone else pulled into a tight hug. Bianca stopped walking and stared at Reyna. Other than the bruises on her face, she looked just like the last time Bianca had seen her. It had been seven months ago, when Reyna had stopped by their house to work on a project with Nico. Reyna was dead though. How was she here?
"How is she alive?" Bianca whispered. She watched Hylla gently grab Reyna's face and examine her bruises. Hylla kissed Reyna's forehead and pulled her into another hug. "I heard she was shot in the head."
"She was," Pluto confirmed. "Kronos shot her in the head and then saved her life. I do not know the full details yet, as the girl needs some rest. I do know that the bullet messed with her memory and may have torn it away. Mnemosyne gave it back, after twisting it to fit the narrative of the Titans."
"Why would they do that?" Bianca asked. She stared at the two sisters. What if Mnemosyne had been trying to do that with Nico? As Bianca thought about it, she felt sick to her stomach. She couldn't even begin to imagine how it would feel for her own family to turn against her.
"They are monsters," Pluto replied. He looked at Bianca. "This world has suffered under their darkness for too long. I am going to handle them, and I want my daughter by my side. If you do not want to fight with me, I will keep you where you are safe."
"As a prisoner?" Bianca asked. She crossed her arms and looked around. There was no way she could hurt any of the Olympians or her friends, but the Titans were a much different story. They were the reason that Nico was dead. They were monsters and villains, and they needed to pay for their crimes.
"If that is what keeps you safe," Pluto replied. He closed his eyes. "All I ever wanted to do was keep my family safe, and I have failed more than once. I will not lose you too. We are the last of our family."
"What about Hazel? She's your daughter," Bianca said.
"Hazel knows my name and nothing more about it me. Her mother and I had a night of passion, fueled by grief. I never did learn that I had another daughter, until her mother passed and I was presented with a letter telling me that Hazel needed a place to live," Pluto explained. "I will keep her safe though, but it was impossible to get to her and bring her here."
"I will work with you," Bianca finally decided. Pluto opened his eyes and looked at Bianca. "I don't want to hurt the Olympians, but the Titans are the reason that my brother died. They deserve to suffer. Just tell me what I need to do."