Death's Reason

Chapter 7

AN: ~Anything within these marks through the rest of the story is spoken in Italian~

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Nico spied on the Hunters just as he had before, his eyes on Bianca and her worried eyes. Could he really let her march off to her death? She was so scared... Let them die, the prophecy had said. The Fates had warned him yet again to never make that mistake again. Bianca di Angelo was destined to die at twelve years old, she always had been. And it had to happen if this world was ever going to be saved.

He could feel Percy around him, invisible through some means. Annabeth's hat? He couldn't remember for sure, but it seemed like the son of Poseidon was also spying on the girls that night.
When they left, Nico turned to follow them but got stopped by Percy's voice, and deja-vu hit an all-time new record with him.

"Wait," Percy said.

Nico turned around to see he had taken the cap off. Play dumb. "Where did you come from?"

"I've been here the whole time," he said. "Invisible."

Nico nodded in acceptance.

"How'd you know Zoe and your sister were here?" Percy asked.

Nico sighed. "I don't sleep well. I was out walking, I heard voices. I wanted to make sure Bi's okay with all of this. She's nervous."

"And now you're thinking about following them on the quest?" Percy guessed.

Nico tried not to roll his eyes. No, he wasn't, but he needed Percy to go in his place. "What, and you aren't?"

"If they find you, they'll send you back," Percy said. "Bianca's the only one that knows you. And..."

"I'm not likable," Nico finished. "I know. I don't trust anyone, they pick up on that, they don't trust me back. I get it. But she's my sister."

"Nico..."

"You're planning to go, aren't you?" he asked.

Percy sighed. "Yeah. I have to find Annabeth. I have to help, even if they don't want me to."

He had always been a soldier. Nico would always respect him. He always fought until he couldn't, and he'd always fight some more.

"I won't tell anyone you went," Nico offered. "But you have to promise to keep my sister safe."

She's going to die, Percy. She's going to die in that desert and you're always going to blame yourself, but this is what needs to happen. I need to run off, Minos needs to find me, these things have to happen. I'm sorry.

"I...that's a big thing to promise, Nico, on a trip like this. Besides, she's got Zoe, Grover, and Thalia-"

"Promise," he insisted.

"I'll do my best," Percy relented. "I promise that."

Nico nodded in acceptance. "Then get going. Good luck, seriously."

Percy looked like he was thinking. "Tell Chiron..."

"I'll make something up," Nico said. "I'm good at stuff like that. I've got your back."

Percy put the cap back on and ran off, leaving Nico alone in the cold air. That last vision of his sister, that would be the last time he ever saw her. She was gone. She was never coming back.
He expected it to hurt worse, as he stood in the shower that night. He expected the pain to come like his past life. But it didn't. Maybe he was too used to it. Maybe he had already accepted it.