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“Crazy-idea time,” Percy muttered, glancing to Bianca from under the broken chariot. They were in Hephaestus’ junkyard and Talos, the first prototype, had been awoken due to Bianca wanting to take a metal statue back to Nico to finish his collection.
Percy had been mad at first, but seeing as how she started crying just because she wanted Nico to be happy had softened him a bit.
“You have to promise to keep Bianca safe for me, okay?”
Bianca looked around anxiously then at him. “Anything.”
“There’s a maintenance hatch underneath his foot. I’m going to go in.” Percy explained.
Bianca looked startled. “You’ll get crushed!”
“I- that’s a really big promise to make.”
“Promise it! Please.”
“If you guys distract it and I time it right, I won’t,” Percy set his jaw and prepared to move, but Bianca grabbed his arm and pulled him back, a look of stormy determination in her eyes.
“No, I’ll go. It’s my fault it’s after us, so it’s my responsibility.” It was now Percy’s turn to protest.
“Are you crazy? You’re still new at this! You’ll die!”
Bianca ignored him and picked up the metal Hades statue and slid it in his pocket, grabbing his hands gently right after.
“O-okay fine, I’ll try my best.”
“Give that statue to Nico if anything happens.” She took a deep breath and moved Percy’s hands to be over his mouth, a seal of sorts. Percy stopped, watching her with a baited breath. What was this called again? Annabeth probably knows.
“Tell him I’m sorry. However, you can never tell him about how I go. I-...I can’t hurt him more than I’m about to. Promise me you’ll never tell him?”
An eye for an eye. Nemesis would be proud.
Percy stared at her with wide eyes, but she stared expectantly. A look of sadness filled his eyes, but he nodded nonetheless. A breeze passed by. Bianca’s eyes glowed a soft brown and Percy’s a light turquoise.
Bianca smiled, and pressed her fingers to the back of his hands. A promise had been broken, but a new promise sealed in its place. She lowered her hands and so did Percy.
Who would dare to know the extent of such a promise?
He was too stunned to speak.
Or maybe it was taking effect.
“Thank you, keep Nico safe for me Percy,” she looked as though she wanted to say more but turned and with that, she took off.
He noticed Thalia staring at him strangely, electric blue eyes glowing softly as well, but it was momentary as Talos swiped his sword in her direction and she lept away.
Physical contact is key, but any witnesses will be held up to the promise. Whether they want to or not. It is only law.
Percy’s shock sped away, promise forgotten as he yelled after her. “Bianca, no!”
He was about to chase her, but upon hearing her command to get Talos to raise his foot, he frowned, resigned.
He slashed at the metal toe and ended up punted into a fridge. Not the best way to go out, but it could be better.
He vaguely heard Thalia scream and go after Grover, who had a pile of metal avalanche on him and just when he thought Talos would strike once more, it froze.
Percy grinned and yelled, “Go Bianca!” ignoring the creeping dread on his spine.
Zoe looked horrified. “She is inside?”
It was a matter of running then as the metal giant flail about, slashing electrical lines and letting it roll over it’s metal body like crashing waves.
Safe on the highway, it fell apart piece by piece. It went off in the other direction and a panic-stricken Zoe chased after it, only to stop when a resounding CLANG echoed through the junkyard.
A beat of silence.
“Bianca!” Percy and Zoe were the first to move.
They searched the entire night, screaming her name and crawling through the disassembled pieces for hours, unaware of the golden dust that had floated away moments after Talos fall.
Hades would be sure to make sure his child comes to him, one way or another.
Morning came and Zoe was the first to fall, tears streaming her face as Thalia angrily stabbed her spear into the metal eye.
If anyone noticed the wet tears on her cheeks, they didn’t say.
Percy tried to sound encouraging as he offered to keep looking, seeing as it was light out now, but something settled within him told him it was pointless.
Nemesis was, in fact, proud. Never had she seen such a trade in centuries and she was immortal!
Grover looked down miserably. “The prophecy went exactly as it was supposed to, Percy.”
Percy turned to glare at him, but the immense sadness that radiated from his friend, both physically and through the empathy link stopped him. “What do you mean?”
Grover looked up tearfully. “The prophecy, one shall be lost in the land without rain.”
And just like that, the seal was forever strengthened and Bianca di Angelo was gone.
“Where’s my sister?” Nico asked, anxiety evident in his face.
Percy stiffened and looked to Chiron, who turned to Nico and tried to reason with him. “We can talk about this in-“
“No! I wanna know!” Nico glared, something uncharacteristic for the 10 year old.
The metal statue seemed to burn against Percy’s skin, a catalyst of the promise.
Promise. Promise. Never speak a word of how I go. It’ll hurt him more. Promise. Promise me.
“Nico, let’s speak outside, alright?” Percy stood up and Nico stepped aside, letting Percy pass before following the older to the top of Half-Blood Hill.
“Where’s my sister.” Nico demanded as soon as Percy stopped. He frowned when Percy pulled out the mini statue and held it out for the younger. Nico took it gingerly, almost dropping it as though it had been cursed and he wasn’t allowed to touch it yet.
And maybe it had. Just not in the way he would expect.
“Bianca wanted you to have it. She said she was sorry.” Percy answered quietly, waiting for Nico’s reaction.
“I knew it. That dream…” Nico whispered.
Percy blinked. “What dream?”
Nico glared at Percy again and threw the statue at him, anger just beneath the surface. “You promised to keep her safe! How could you!”
“I couldn’t- she wouldn’t let me! She-“ and Percy’s hands flew to his mouth. The grief came back tenfold and tears pooled in the corners of his eyes. Why does it have to hurt so much? He nearly doubled over, wanting to weep as Zoe did, but he forced himself not to.
“What? She what? What happened?” Nico asked, confused, sad, anger, and ultimately lost. Bianca couldn’t just be gone! Percy promised...but...Percy looked about ready to turn his own blade on himself from what seemed to be guilt. Or was is sadness? Nico couldn’t be sure.
“Keep your word, Percy. Never tell him. That was your promise to her. Break it, and you’ll suffer dearly,” A voice whispered in Percy’s ear.
Percy shook his head violently, stepping back and curling in on himself slightly. “I c-can’t...I don’t…please don’t make me relive it again,” Percy whispered. He looked so hurt and in pain, but Nico wanted answers. Now.
“What. Happened.” Nico growled and stepped closer to the son of the Sea, who stumbled back into something.
The sound of rattling bones made Percy jump and spin around, only to narrowly dodge the blade that was coming towards him.
Nico, in a panic, felt a tug in his gut, a painful one mind you, and a fissure opened, allowing the skeletons to fall in. As if reacting, the fissure sealed up and Percy stared at him with wide eyes. “What...”
Quick on his feet, Nico feigned anger and turned, running off into the dark woods. What the hell had happened in that quest?
Nico punched a rock, ignoring the pain that flared in his knuckles as he finally allowed himself to cry for his sister. A sister who hadn’t even wanted to be around him any longer than she had to.
He had always known he was annoying, but now it had gotten her killed.
He was starting to regret leaving that statue behind now. It was supposedly dedicated for him.
A sick part of Nico was glad that Bianca had gotten herself killed for his sake. She could’ve stayed and let Percy go, but…there came the guilt.
His promise was ambitious, but he assumed Percy could do it because what hadn’t the boy done at this point? How come he could save stupid Annabeth but not his own sister? It only served to fuel his anger.
He wanted to get back at Percy. Make him pay, but for what exactly? Percy couldn’t even tell him how is own sister went! It must’ve been horrific if it got the great Percy Jackson down to tears.
Had he promised something to her? Bianca had always told him any type of sealed promise was a dangerous one. The memory was vague, but the intention was clear.
“Why do you think people hold Pinky Promises higher than regular promises?” Bianca asked and when Nico shrugged, she smiled. “A regular promise is just something spoken, it’s known but can be broken if weak enough. There’s no actual bond to it. A pinky promise, or any promise that involves contact, such as this,” Bianca had grabbed Nico’s hands and placed them over his mouth. “is like a seal, the glue to a promise. If broken, it’ll always be permanently scarred, no matter how hard you try to fix it.” Nico nodded then, not quite understanding it yet.
He hadn’t understood then, but now he did. Stupid as it was, he was almost certain that some type of magic had to be at play. The Mist, if that’s what it was called, hid the magic part of it from mortals, but it was still important as ever.
Was that what had happened?
“Your sister was quite well versed in my realm,” a feminine voice spoke.
Nico looked around. “Who’s there?”
A female stepped out of the shadows, her hair cascading down to her waist. She wore a black chiton, adorned with golden chains on her shoulders and neck. She smiled cruelly at the young son of Hades.
“An oath in my name has always been known in the Greek World. Those who delve deeper know that there is more than one way to make an oath, or a “promise” if you will.”
“Who are you?” Nico asked, stepping back.
Her gaze darkened. “Why, I am Lady Styx, goddess, or Titaness if you prefer, of the River Styx. Those who swear and break oath upon my name suffer greatly. What is it you seek to know?”
“W-what..? I don’t wanna know anything.” Nico swallowed and considered running. Though this was a whole goddess, so maybe not the best course of action.
“Oh but you do. The oath between that Jackson boy and Miss di Angelo, yes?” She grinned when Nico stiffened. Now she had him hooked.
He was desperate, he knew but he couldn’t help but get his hopes up. “You know what it is?”
“Of course I do. It was made it my name after all. Not verbally spoken, but still there nonetheless. Your sister educated you on sealed promises, did she not?” At his nod, and looked towards the night sky. The stars looked exceptional tonight, though the new constellation made her curious, but now was not the time.
“What about regular promises though?” Maybe, just maybe, Percy will get what he deserves then.
“Bah! Most are worthless. Those broken things pertain nothing to me.” She hissed, and striaghtened up.
“I cannot tell you what promise was made. It is against my word as an oath keeper, as it defeats the purpose of my role. However, perhaps through a trade, you may be able to obtain the truth.”
Nico’s gaze hardened. “What do I need to do?”
“Ah ah ah, revenge is not my specialty, she shall be here soon enough. Be wise young Di Angelo, hard times lay ahead of you and while I enjoy the hatred you cast off, it is unwise to make of it irrationally. I do not want to have to deal with you or I will make your punishment a cruel one.” She smiled at the thought and vanished.
Nico leaned back against the rock, craddling his fist close to his chest. She shall be here soon enough?
“Well well well, I’ve always loved dealing with these cases,” a feminine voice spoke, though it was different this time, colder. “I’ve heard you want to make a trade?”
Nico nodded.
Nemesis grinned, unknown malice in her eyes hidden behind her glasses. Mortals were always the most irrational when they were grieving.
“I can tell you what you want to know, but there’s a price.” She held up an origami fortune teller.
“I don’t care, I wanna know what happened to Bianca. If Percy won’t tell me, then that’s his fault.”
Nemesis raised an eyebrow and scoffed. “Make your choice. Yes or no. It’s an eye for an eye.”
Nico frowned. Did he want to know that bad? Yes. The cost, however…
“Yes. I want to know.”
“You must also swear you shall never tell a soul of this interaction to anyone.”
“I, Nico di Angelo, swear on the River Styx to never speak this conversation to anyone.” He didn’t know why, but something told him that his wording would be his saving grace.
Nemesis smirked and her eyes flared. Nico gasped in pain and clutched his head as unknown memories swarmed in. Talos, Bianca rushing in as Percy yelled out to her, it falling apart, the gold dust, the search and mournful acceptance.
“Good doing trade with you, death spawn. You’ll find out soon enough why things are better left unknown.” Before Nico could question her, she was gone in a flash of light, the fortune teller lay harmlessly on the ground.
Nico cried openly then. Shakily, he reached out and picked up the folded piece of paper.
He instinctively knew how many times he had to shift the paper, 6 then 7, spelling “Broken Promise”. With a shaky breath, he pulled up the flap.
“Oath of Silence scatched and marred,
Son of Sea to be forever scarred.”
Play one more time.
Nico paled and quickly did the procedure again, pulling up the flap to reveal the rest of the verse.
“Seal now broken that was protected and built,
Now will leave him forever in guilt.”
Nico dropped the fortune teller and scrambled up, running. Nemesis’ cruel laughter rang out in his head and ears.
“Jackson was sworn to secrecy due to your promise, now that you have broken it for him, he shall suffer the consequences. An eye for an eye little di Angelo. Are you happy?”
What had he done?