Famiglia Per Sempre

The Beginning

      It had been a few weeks for the di Angelos. The younger two of the three were blissfully unaware of their situation. All they knew was that a lawyer brought them to a casino hotel with more games than they could possibly imagine. Nico got into Mythomagic almost religiously, which Percy found ironically funny. And Bianca went off with him most of the time to supervise as they tried out all the activities the Lotus Casino had to offer.

But Percy knew he would have a lot to handle when they got out. He could not waste his time relaxing. So he continued to train in secret with the bident Hades had gifted him two years prior on his twelfth.

It was a solid black fountain pen that turned into a Stygian iron, two-pronged bident resembling a snake. The color was almost pitch black, imperceptible in the dark save for the faint purple glow all Stygian iron weapons gave off. For this reason, Percy named his bident Skotádi, Darkness.

Because three powerful children of Hades attract a lot of monsters, Percy had lots of hands-on experience before the hotel. He learned of his powers over time but was sure more would present themselves as he grew stronger.

So far, he knew he could sense and manipulate fears. Unfortunately, it only worked with those who had mortal souls, so it was ineffective against monsters. He wondered how far his control over souls extended. Could he locate souls? Could he summon them? Could he control them? The thought of doing so scared Percy, so as a young, teenage boy, he did not think of those possibilities for long.

Instead, he practiced his second power, the shadows. He could manipulate them to his favor—hide in them, cover things in them, silence anything in them, travel through them, increase their intensity. Exuding a lot of control over shadows drained him, but if he let the shadows wash over him naturally, it regenerated a bit of his energy. A false sense of strength also accompanied the use of his powers. Really, it was the adrenaline that fueled him and allowed him to push past his limits, but he always enjoyed the feeling, the rush it gave him.

      Percy made no friends with the people stuck there during his stay. He found out a few days in that they were trapped and wanted to help them escape, but that would draw attention to his family. His family always came first. So he never interacted with the people he saw in there. Well, besides that one time... but why dwell on the past?

One day, Alecto came back to take them out. Nico and Bianca were confused as to why they had to go to school, but Percy was worried for what was to come and what they would inevitably face as demigods of the Big Three. Children of Hades were never popular in the Greek world, but would that have increased after the war? After the oath, even if it did not apply to their birth? Percy recognized the possible challenges, yet was still determined to keep the promise he made his father. He would bring respect to the House of Hades. They would no longer scorn his father. Those of the underworld would no longer be outcasts of society, godly or otherwise.

Technology rapidly progressed in the casino as it did with the outside world. Nico and Bianca thought nothing of it because they had no past memories to compare it to. Percy, on the other hand, was constantly amazed. He attempted to keep track of it all but eventually deemed that a hopeless cause. It was a good thing demigods rarely used technology in the first place or he would have been screwed in the 21st century. Plus, the boarding school they were placed in was old-fashioned with blackboards and paper handouts.

That was another thing. Have you ever gotten the date wrong and jotted down 2013 instead of 2014 or something? Well, imagine accidentally writing 1942 on your paper and having to explain that.

Besides the adjustment period, the children of Hades adapted well to the new times; although, two of them had no recollection of anything different. Winter break came along and with that a school dance. No uniforms, no major adult supervision, no learning involved. It seemed like the night would be nice, relaxing, carefree.