A/N: Hello There. Now, I know you more than likely hate me. It's been a over year and I haven't updated. I left with a cliffhanger and I didn't fix it. I am sorry. But News! I am now graduated high school and going to college in the fall :) I am working full time this summer, but I will give you this last chapter and an epilogue to follow. I love all you readers and you all make me so happy. I, again, am truly sorry for my lack of updates. my life has been so crazy, I can't even begin to tell you. if this sucks, I am so sorry. You all deserve the world and I can't give that to you all. But I love you and hope this ending is OK. Please enjoy Chapter 16! R and R! :)
Chapter 16
~Nico's P.O.V.~
Nico's nearly black eyes looked down at his shoes as he and his father sat in silence. The air around them was not tense, but laced with a soft sadness the two men sat in for at least half an hour. They didn't say any words. The men were so alike in form, tall and slim, yet their faces held two different stories. The older man's face gripped to lines of sadness and stress. Running a company and being a single father caused a paler complexion to his form, and the man stood with the most proper posture. The younger man's face had dark circles under his eyes and smooth skin that didn't hold a single wrinkle. His hair was shorter than the older man's but his posture matched his father's. They were father and son.
Nico glances his eyes over at his father. When Bianca and Nico's mother died, Hades lost a part of him that he used to communicate with his children. Hades would struggle with saying the right thing and finding time to spend with his kids. When Bianca died, Hades lost most touch with Nico as a person. The two lived in the same house, Nico only sleeping there maybe once a week and spending the rest of the time at the Revolution's sight, and they held the same last name. But other than that, the two never spoke. They showed up at events together to hold the family image and they were civil to one another. But there was no emotion between the father and son.
Nico runs a hand in his hair before speaking softly,
"I understand." He says simply.
His voice is sharp but soft simultaneously. That's how he worked. Nico always got his point out but made sure to add a humane tone to it.
"It's fine. I get why you di-" Nico tried to continue.
"I'm sorry."
The words echoed in Nico skull and stole his breath. An apology. He hadn't heard an apology from Hades since his dad accidentally broke Bianca's hand-made mug from the third grade. An apology was rare in their household and Nico wasn't expecting it. The two words were humbling and almost weak. Hades was never weak, so Nico didn't take the gesture as a sign of weakness, but the humbling factor stuck with him. His father was showing a humility that Nico never saw, and it made the young boy worried.
When Nico heard his father had come with the other dads and Athena to the war zone, he would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised. He was convinced that someone was lying to him until his eyes matched up to Hades' and the two were standing right in front of one another. He was really there. In the flesh and all. Nico had no time to stutter a response or make a noise before Hades offered to take him on a walk. Hades wanted a moment alone with Nico. The two left the warehouse and walked to their vacation home which wasn't too far from the London base. The silence started when they left the warehouse, and it stuck with them as they matched a similar walking pace. Their footsteps echoed off the old bricks of the house and the pair turned into the back garden hidden along the wall of the estate. They called it Bianca's garden. When she was alive, Bianca'd always play in it whenever the family visited London. She was the one who spent the most time in it.
Yellow and pink roses green amongst green brushes and the smell their made moved into Nico's nose. He wasn't a huge fan of nature, but the smell of flowers were much better than the hospital smell he got lodged into his brain after helped fix Thalia. The smell reminded him of Bianca.
They moved to the railing overlooking the small pond placed in the courtyard in the center of the garden and stood together. That's where the apology came. The peace of the moment only added to the seriousness of the apology. The gentle ripples over the water reflected the light and the smell lingered over everything. It was just a moment for the two of them.
"I'm sorry that things have played out how they did." Hades says, his eyes looking straight out, "I know I am to blame… but-"
"Dad. Stop." Nico cautioned softly.
They weren't ones for sentiments and they weren't men to show their thoughts. The Di Angelo men were proud and strong, but they did have their moments of breaking.
"I remember when Maria would bring you two here. You and your sister. Here when we had the house before the upgrades and things." Hades speaks.
His eyes flick to Nico for a moment before returning back to the pond.
"She would… take your hands and lead you two to the water. You'd… splash your feet in and move all around as she watched you. I was starting to build the business at the time and I missed the opportunity to be with you both. I missed a lot of opportunities. That I know."
Nico mind slipped back to his early childhood that was fuzzy and scarce. Play dates with mom… but no dad. Moments of just moving around and hanging out as kids, but Hades was never there. Nico use to hold it against Hades. He use to blame him and think he was the worst father a person could have. But then Nico grew up. Death and fighting and pain taught Nico a lesson he never expected. He could see why his father shut down. Why Hades gave up. That unbearable pain of loss was too much for Hades to handle himself, but he had no one to reach out to.
Hades was alone.
Nico couldn't reach out to his dad when he was younger, and by the time Nico realized that's what Hades needed, Nico was too far into the Revolution to change. He wasn't able to give his father that connection because he couldn't bring himself to do it. Bianca was the one who had the comfort and the help. Not Nico. He was the one bruised and hurt from a battle while she'd be the one talking everyone into holding hands before the fight even happened. He wasn't the one to fix people.
"But Nico..." Hades broke the teenager's train of thought, they two similar pairs of eyes meeting each other, "I do know something else."
The pause hung between them in a gentle peace as Nico waited. A softness fell into Hades eyes as the man looked seriously at his son.
"They would be proud of you… and everything you've done." Hades proclaims in a kind tone.
His face was completely serious and his words carried more weight than anything anyone else could say to Nico. Hades believed… believed that Bianca and Maria would be proud of Nico. Nico took down his father's company, fought against the Ronos forces, and might possibly take down everything that help Hades become rich. Yet… Hades still believed that Nico made them proud.
Nico looks at his father and he can't speak. His eyes stung as he swallowed and his heart pounded. He felt something he missed. Something he'd only gotten from the women in his family. An overwhelming sense of happiness. A pure happiness that made his breath falter and his heart swell. It was a foreign feeling to the boy and he struggled a bit with fully comprehending the sensation of sheer happiness.
The smallest smile stretches over Nico's lips as he looks back over the pond. This was what he was looking for. He didn't fight for glory or to just destroy the company. He fought for peace. Both external and internal. He wanted that relieving peace that flooded the body head to toe.
And he found it.
The two stood in a comfortable silence as the seconds ticked on. Words didn't have to be said between the two men as they felt the peace move back and forth between their forms. Nico swallowed back the overwhelming senses of peace and happiness as the sun danced over Bianca's garden, looking more beautiful than Nico could ever remember.
~Percy's P.O.V.~
Do your best, Percy, that's all I ask. Think with your heart, and do what's right.
The stone skipped four times over the smooth water before falling into the cool surface with a soft splunk. Percy's eyes followed the rock from his hand over the surface until it disappeared to join the others. He liked skipping stones. It reminded him of their family trips to the beach where his mom would help him build sand castles and talk to little crabs scuttling across the sand. Percy loved those trips. He hoped to someday go back there where the waves were smooth and everything went right. Where you could relax and not have a schedule. Where you could laze the day away and be completely happy about it. Where his family was happy.
Another stone skimmed along the path of Percy's previous stone, Poseidon's stone skipping six times. The man smiled softly as the two continued skipping rocks, their moment to speak easing in and out of their action of skipping stones.
"I know mom's death was hard Dad," Percy commented while he flicked his wrist expertly, "I loved her too and so did Tyson. We all loved her and to have her go like that… it was hard.
"But you know that how you treated us… well more me than Tyson… that wasn't what she wanted. She wanted us to be a family and to stay close like we were when she was here." Percy proposed as he gently turned a flat rock over and over in his fingers.
It was hard for Percy to be truly open with his dad, but Percy could feel that it was the right time to do some. If he wasn't honest with this father now, the time would never come for the two to connect and fix what had broken.
"I know Perce… I know." Poseidon admitted, continuing to skip as he spoke, "I let it get to my head. I let her death take me over and shove me into my work. I should have been there more and I know that. But I'll get better. You do know that right?"
Percy could feel his father's eyes baring into him as he pondered the question. Was Poseidon able to change? Percy didn't really see why not, but Percy had also seen Poseidon call his own son useless until Percy joined something that Poseidon approved. Percy had seen the good and bad in his father and he knew the effects from both.
A moment beat by before Percy spoke gently.
"She said something to me right before she died." Percy said, hand throwing the rock before he grew still, eyes scanning the water as Poseidon focused on him.
"She told me to do my best and think with my heart. She wanted me to do what was right."
A small smile kept onto Poseidon's lips as he nods, mimicking his son's stance and glancing over the water. The two had found a small cove near the base to speak, the stones around the cove just too nice to not skip. They had been together and talking on and off for about an hour. Percy found it was easier to talk to his dad when it wasn't just all rushed at once.
"Sally was not only smart and beautiful but she had a good heart too," Poseidon offered gently, voice sentimental. "I loved your mom with my whole heart and I still do. I grew selfish when she died and continued to give her memory everything my heart had as I ignored the consequence of taking my love from you boys. I didn't think of how it would hurt you and I am sorry. I don't want to make this a soap opera Perce but I do want things better. I'll spend less time in the office and I wont push my lifestyle on you. If you want to be in the business, alright. If you want to go into Marine Biology or be a teacher, alright. Hell, if you want to be homeless and spend your life on the streets playing music for people passing by, alright, but on the last one I'll ask you to at least come home for one good meal a week."
Percy smiled gently at his dad's joke, his sea-green eyes meeting Poseidon's.
"And son, I do want to thank you."
A frown of confusion spread on Percy's face as he looked at his father.
"What for dad?" Percy wondered.
"For helping me see what I had become. If you hadn't joined this group and fought against what we were doing in the company, I don't think that I would have ever changed my ways. I would've died a sad old man who lost contact with his sons and lost the love of his family." Poseidon insisted.
Percy felt his father's words enter him and sink in. That was the last thing Percy wanted to happen. He wanted to have his dad at his graduations and see his kids. Percy wanted his dad to be the best grandpa in the world and tell all these stories about the most wonderful woman in the world named Sally. Percy wanted his dad in his life and he didn't want to lose him to business and money. The Revolution gave the two a chance to reconnect and be in one another's lives again. Percy couldn't ask for a better result from all the planning and fighting.
Percy nodded gently at his dad and clapped him on the shoulder. Percy gave Poseidon his lopsided grin before picking up another stone.
"Don't worry dad, I'm happy to have you back in my life, and I won't let you out of it so easily this time." Percy teased, skipping the rock a solid seven times with a smooth spelunk at the end.
Poseidon chuckled deeply at his boy and nodded.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Poseidon agreed, that once brilliant sparkle to his eye he lost at Sally's death slowly coming back and filling his whole face this time.
Sally's words echoed in Percy's head and brought a smile to his face. The words weren't a haunting memory of his mom. They were confirmation that he did do the right thing and he fixed the divide that was shoving their family apart. Percy's heart still held a place for his mom and it always would. Now that place was beaming with happiness instead of grief for what use to be. He did his best, and he knew his mom was proud of them, where ever she was.
~Annabeth's P.O.V.~
Annabeth didn't know what to do, and it was incredibly frustrating.
Everyone was cheering and ecstatic that the fighting was over. They finally did it. They won. The heads of the company announced the breakup and ultimate termination of the monarchy. Annabeth should be over the moon. She should be kissing Percy and opening champagne with her friends. But something was still crawling under Annabeth's skin that she just couldn't stop.
That something had to do with the man with identically blonde hair standing across from her.
When Annabeth saw Athena there, actually there in front of her, she was brought to tears of pure joy. Annabeth hugged Athena tight and cried, the fearless leader finally allowing herself rest and emotions. It had been a long fight, but she had made it through. She had done it.
However, when she saw Frederick, her heart stopping beating and she swore she died right then and there. He was the ghost of an unwanted past that Annabeth had no desire to see. Why was he there? He cared now? Or was he just drug by Athena and the other fathers to come along for the ride and fake an apology? Annabeth didn't have an answer, and she didn't have a good thought in her body about the situation. Why would he even be there?
Athena trapped Annabeth into being alone with Frederick by making a comment on checking in on Thalia once Athena heard the punk girl was hurt, and Annabeth stood with her father in a painfully awkward silence. She didn't ask for this. She didn't want to have a heart to heart with the man. Or.. did she?
The blonde chewed on her lip as her eyes flicked from the ground to her father and then to every other possible location besides her dad's eyes. This was a lovely way to start out a celebration.
"I'm guessing I'm sorry wouldn't cut it. The past between us isn't the most simple situation." Frederick finally mutters.
Annabeth's eyes stare at the ground. Her brain flickers and begins to jump into her painful past.
His words were an extreme understatement.
Annabeth sat in the middle of the couch as her eyes flicked over an architect book. The book was her most recent birthday present from her mom.
The front door slammed and the sound of dragging feet echoed down the hall. Annabeth and her father were still living in their old house they had before the divorce and before Frederick's rich upgrade, memories of Athena and Annabeth screaming from the walls and torturing the young girl. She was only eleven after all. The tile floors clicked with the footsteps of her father and his briefcase hit the kitchen island with a thud.
Her heart beat gently in her chest as she waited, breath shallow and movements minimal. She was tall enough now that her head peaked out from behind the couch, and she half hoped/half dreaded Frederick Chase seeing her sitting in the living room. Interactions with her dad were getting worse and worse since the divorce, and Annabeth prayed that he was too tired to notice her reading there.
The small jingle of his phone pulled Annabeth's eyes up from the book.
"Hi… long day at the office… no… yeah… Sue I know… I can try. I can't be around her. She's growing to be more and more like her mom every day and it's just… yeah… no… I think I can get a last minute babysitter… Leave her alone? But she-... yeah… ok… Ok see you soon."
Frederick clicked his phone closed and rummaged through his bag. He scribbled a half hearted lie of an excuse about needing to go late into the office and ripped the paper from his note pad. He placed it on the counter before turning and leaving just moments after he got home, Annabeth hearing the shutting of his car door and the start of his engine.
It was the third night that he had done that. Luckily, the neighbors saw him leave the second night and had Annabeth over for dinner at their house so she wouldn't have to have spaghettios for dinner three nights in a row, but the fact still remained. Frederick Chase was home three nights of a common week if Annabeth was lucky. He'd been doing that for a year now.
He hadn't even taken a moment to find out if she was home or not.
Annabeth watched the small drops of water hit the page with the picture of the George Washington Bridge she was reading about. She tried to breathe against the lump in her throat and her hands betrayed her as they shook the slightest bit. It was so hard…
Her eyes flicked to her cell phone her dad mindlessly bought her as a way to communicate between her parents. She could call her mom… but she didn't want to hear a rant about how irresponsible her father was and how he changed from the man he use to be. She could call Thalia but Thalia's dad would make her get off the phone long before their conversation would be over. She could try to reach out to the neighbors, but that wouldn't do any good except make them more inclined to call child services. Annabeth didn't want to be taken away, she just wanted her dad to be home.
The young blonde gently closed the book as she set it on the coffee table. She pulled her legs out from their criss-crossed position and headed to the kitchen.
She had dinner for one to make.
Annabeth swallowed hard as the memory stung. She had an entire memory bank full of days like that. He left her alone for years of her childhood before he brought Sue into the house, followed by the twins. And then it was just abuse. Verbal hits from Sue and the occasional hit to the back of Annabeth's head, the abuse was nothing police worthy but nothing to help a mentally stable mind either. Annabeth would go to sleep at night in a completely empty house as she knew her father was with another woman who wasn't her mom.
Now he wanted to say that he was sorry for everything. One word to try and fix years of pain.
Some part of her wanted to scream and curse at him. Annabeth wanted to turn her back on him and tell him to go back to his real family and leave her alone. That's all he wanted for years even though he held full custody. But… she also wanted to forgive him. She wanted to take her dad back and be the family they were before the divorce.
But she knew things couldn't get that good.
When Annabeth was finally able to speak back, her voice came out in a smooth, quiet tone that was very controlled.
"I tried for so many years to connect to you and you pushed me away." She confides, her voice quiet, "I wanted so badly to be your daughter but I just eventually… had to give up."
Her eyes met his as she spoke, Frederick unable to hold his daughter's stare.
"You put a second wife and two sons above me. You put a company above me. You put personal goals and money above me and I watched you do it every step of the way. The Revolution was my last resort and it worked… but did it really? I know it may have fixed things between my friends and their parents… but did it change you?" She continued.
Shame filled Frederick's face as he took intense interest in his feet, he deathly quiet. She was right. Annabeth spoke the dark truth that hung around the Chases. She was pushed off the stage and out of her father's spotlight. He rejected her and brushed her off. All because of his business and his pain from losing his first wife in a divorce that his own actions caused.
Annabeth took his silence as a motive to continue, her words holding weight of finality.
"Mom's going to move back closer to the city for job purposes, and I'm going to live with her. When I go to college, I'm going to go home to her for breaks and holidays. This isn't final… but it's going to be this way for a few years." She watched Frederick as she waited for complaints.
He gave her none.
"I want to fix this." Annabeth admits, her voice thick with emotions, "But it'll take time. Dad I want to be family again… but we aren't in a movie. We can't snap our fingers, cry it all out, and go back to being best buds. We need time apart and we need to fix this over a span of time. If we push this, it's fragile enough it'll break. I don't want it to break. Does that sound fair?"
She sounded like the grown up because she was a grown up. Annabeth had been tossed into maturity at a young age where she fell and had to pull herself up by her own bootstraps. She silenced her own demons and shoved them far enough back into her head she forget what they looked like. She knew how to cooperate and how to make deals. That's how it would have to be with her dad at first. Deals and offers that would eventually lead to healing and being family again. Finally being family again.
Frederick nodded gently and rubbed his neck, not looking at Annabeth since his first words of apology.
"Yes Annabeth. I think that's fair." He echoed back, voice formal despite the tones of sadness lacing his words.
Annabeth's grey eyes traced over the tired lines of her father's face. A twinge of sadness hit her as well, and her next words pulled themselves out from her injured heart.
"But Dad. I do forgive you." She urged barely above a whisper.
Frederick looked up at Annabeth as their eyes connected. Hope filled Frederick's face though he struggled to remain calm. He knew their relationship wasn't all better yet, but it was on a good path.
"Thank you." He concluded.
Annabeth nodded once as she gently turned, knowing that their conversation was over.
Nothing else had to be said.
Annabeth walked on a moment before a voice spoke next to her, a pair of footsteps accompanying her on her way back to the heart of the base.
"I have an extremely smart daughter." Athena pointed out, her grey eyes gently shifting to Annabeth.
Annabeth allowed a tired smile move onto her lips as she nodded gently.
"I'm doing the best I can mom." Annabeth admitted, "I still have a lot to learn, but I'm doing what I can."
"That's all one can ask for my dear," Athena comforted.
The older women gently stopped Annabeth. The two turned to face one another as Athena touched Annabeth's face softly.
"You have been so brave and so strong. You been a leader to these kids and you got what you needed through action, not just complaining. I honest can't be any prouder of you than I am right now. You are such an amazing young women and I am happy to call you my daughter."
Athena's words brought tears to Annabeth's eyes as the blonde quickly hugged onto her mom. Athena held Annabeth to her as she pet the back of her hair. That's all Annabeth wanted. She wanted someone to see how hard she worked and really understand how much it took her to do all of this. It had taken time and blood and sweat from Annabeth on top of so many losses of friends. Annabeth gave her all for the Revolution, and she was relieved to know the person who was closest to her was proud of her for it.
Annabeth pulled back from her mom and gave her a watery smile.
"Thanks mom," Annabeth said back, laughing a small bit, "I don't think I've been happier to be apart of something than I am of this. It's over... but the memory of the revolution won't be."
Athena nodded and put an arm around Annabeth's shoulder as the two continued their walk.
"You're right, the memories will always stay, but that's the good part. All the struggles and hurt will turn to things you realize you needed to get to the end. And it is the end." Athena comforted back.
Annabeth was no longer officially Captain Chase, but some part of her would always be the Captain behind the Revolution. Their Revolution. Their Revolution that broke a dangerous monarchy and brought families back together. Their Revolution that shed blood and took sleep, but ended in a formal surrender and peace among all people involved.
Their Revolution that changed their lives for the better.
A/N: And there you have it :) Chapter 16! So sorry if it's terrible, but I kinda like it. Please let me know what you think and don't hate me! My life… boy do you NOT want to know about my life. I love you all and I have loved this story from the bottom of my heart. I still have an Epilogue to do, and no I didn't forget Silena and Charlie. Don't you worry children, they're not just done. You all are wonderful and make my life. Thank you for all your support and help. I can never thank you enough.