The Mighty Fall | Percy Jackson Headcanon Thing

Chapter IV

"Hey, Nico?" Hazel said gently, knocking softly on her brother's door.

"Leave me alone."

"Nico?" she asked again.

"Go away."

"I'm coming in there, Nico," she said as she opened the door quietly.

"Go away," Nico repeated from where he was sitting on the bed, his head in his hands and his dark hair in his face. You couldn't see it from where Hazel was standing, but he also had tears streaming down his face that he couldn't stop.

"Nico-"

"Hazel, please," Nico said desperately. "Just- Just leave me alone!" His voice broke.

Hazel felt like her heart was breaking, seeing Nico like this. She walked over and sat next to him on the bed and put an arm around him. He was shaking now, not trying to hide the fact that he was sobbing.

He threw his arms around Hazel and cried, her holding him. Before she knew it, Hazel was having to hold back tears of her own as she stroked his hair, whispering stupid things like "shh," and "it'll be okay". She had never noticed it before, but his hair was actually a dark brown, not black.

If she hadn't even noticed things about his appearance, who knew how many secrets he was hiding that she would never discover?

Nico tried to get a grip on himself, and managed to stop crying so much, but couldn't stop shaking.

It's like I broke, like I'm just finally letting it all out... Funny. The broken boy broke, Nico thought to himself bitterly.

~

Annabeth has been falling for forever, and now the landscape was finally changing. The air was getting dimmer and reeked of sulfur. The rushing of the wind past her ears seemed to increase in speed. The area she had been falling down was opening into a blood red chasm with a dull gray River below. It matched her eyes perfectly.

So, Annabeth thought uninterestedly, playing with a piece of orange string she had pulled off her sleeve, her blonde hair in her face, I guess this is where I'll end up dying. It's funny, I always knew that I would end up dying young, but some part of me still hoped it would be different...

So I guess I should pray or something during these last moments? Nah, no time? Crap, I have some money on me somewhere, don't I?

She smiled weakly. Stay strong, Percy. Don't forget me, okay?

"Percy, I love you..." Annabeth whispered before closing her eyes.

When she hit the ground, there was a split second of agony like she had never felt before. All that stuff about Death being warm and inviting... It was absolute bull. Death was painful to the point where you couldn't stand it, Death was a thousand white-hot knives being pressed to your skin at once, Death was being submerged in acid, Death was having your heart ripped out of your chest and shown to you as you slowly bled out. But mostly, Death was drowning. Death was feeling as though your chest would explode while your brain is simultaneously so heavy and muddled that it's dragging you down even more. There's nothing you can do about the drowning once you're that far gone. You maybe just have the strength to reach out your hand in a desperate attempt to escape. She couldn't even do that. So she let the waves wash over her, and sank into the unknown.

Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, was dead.

~

Nico suddenly froze up in Hazel's arms.

"Nico? Did..." She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence.

Nico nodded slowly. "Yeah. Annabeth is dead for real now." He stayed stock still like that for a few moments before whimpering and then falling apart again.

"Why does this have to happen, Hazel?" he said between sobs. "Why do people have to die? It's so damn stupid! Why? Why why why why why??"

And now Hazel was crying again, too. A few tears at first, and then almost as hard as Nico was. Now he was holding her, too.

And so the children of Hades sat there clinging to each other and weeping over their friend.

_______________________

I couldn't think of a good way to end this, so I cut it off here xD. But this short little chapter managed to give me quite a bit of feels because like POOR NICO BBY. But peace out for now, I'm supposed to be getting some sleep because I'm starting school tomorrow (;-;). So, see ya later!

~Octavia 🌺