Blood of Olympus FanFic {completed}

27: NICO (BONUS CHAPTER)

CH 27-NICO

 

Nico grabbed what was left of the Diet Coke a d splashed it on the already damp forest floor.

"Spirit of Bianca di Angelo!" he said for what felt like the millionth time. "Show yourself!"

The leaves rustled. Nico felt a tug in his gut. Not the feeling he got when he looked at Percy, but a tug of anticipation. Hardly daring to breath, he waited. He hoped Bianca would hurry up, because Reyna would surely be calling him soon.

"Hello, Brother," a distant voice said.

In the space of a second, Nico had turned around trying to locate the voice. "Bianca!" he demanded. "Show yourself!"

"What a way to talk to your sister," Bianca chided, her accent blending into her ghostly voice. "You are growing up, Nico."

"I'm fourteen," Nico answered. "And you were that age when you..."

"Died," she finished.

"But... I thought you chose rebirth. How did you come through?"

"If you didn't think I'd come through, why bother trying?" she said, not really answering his question.

"I - I always hoped you could find me again, even after rebirth," Nico admitted.

Bianca smiled. "And there is your answer."

Nico tried to take her hand, but he kept forgetting she was just there in spirit, so his hand passed through.

"Actually, I'm not here in spirit, but in memory," she said, as if she were reading his mind.

"I don't care what you're here in, I just need your help."

"Need? Or want?"

"Want, need, I don't know, maybe both!" he said impatiently. "Come on Bianca, I don't have a lot of time, and neither do you."

Bianca sighed. "Very well. What do you need?" she asked, emphasizing on the "need".

Nico couldn't stop himself before crying out, "I can't do it," he said, his voice cracking. "I can't do it!"

"Can't do what?" Bianca asked casually.

Before he knew it, Nico was spilling out the whole story. "Shadow-travel. We've come halfway across the Atlantic, but I don't know if I can get us to Camp Half-Blood in time for August 1st. I'm exhausted, Bianca. But the others don't know it. If I keep shadow-traveling this frequently, I'm gonna pass out on the job. I told Percy I could do it, but I lied. I hate lying to him, but as usual, he was right."

Nico didn't mean to include Percy in this, but somehow he always managed to come up.

Bianca watched him with sad eyes. She didn't know about his secret.Only Jason did, and Nico meant to keep it that way.

"Nico," she began, "you can't take this out on Percy."

"I'm not," he snapped almost automatically.

She held up her hands in defense. "Okay, okay. I suggest you tell your friends about your problem. Maybe they can send over some help from Camp."

As Nico was about to reply, Reyna shouted from far off, "Nico, we need your help!"

Bianca looked partially relieved. "It was nice talking to you again, Brother. I'm sure you'll make the right decision, no matter what." She tried brushing his cheek, but all he felt was a warm breeze brush against his face. 

"You too, Sis," he said, faltering a bit on the "Sis". He'd gotten so use to calling Hazel that it just felt awkward using it for Bianca.

Bianca smiled one last time as she faded away. Then she was gone.