Chapter Text
[Year: 3050]
—————
Death was a hard idea for a nine-year-old to comprehend. The concept of such a thing seemed so far away. How could death ever reach something given life not too long ago?
Yet, here Nico was, running for his life with his older sister, Bianca. The Titans were nearing with every step; the sound of gunshots firing through the air.
They weren’t going to make it. That was the realization Bianca had after she tripped over a loose rock in the crumbling soil.
The Titans were too skilled in capturing and killing; and being the children of Hades gave the Titans a thrill. The anticipation of waiting to observe Hades’ devastation when he realized his wife and children had been killed, excited them.
‘This is what happens when council members of Olympus fight back.’ That was the message they wanted to convey.
“It’s not fair, though.” Bianca thought. Her father isn’t even a council member; more of an alliance. He had kept to himself until Titans started to attack.
But unfair or not, Bianca was going to end up in a grave. At twelve years old, she had already given up on her life. The sound of Titans yelling already confirmed her death. But she refused to believe it confirmed the fate of her brother’s.
She stood up, and gave Nico a figurine and skull ring she had taken from their house before it was destroyed.
“Keep this safe for me, okay?” She whispered as she took off her aviator jacket and wrapped it around him. It was too loose around his small frame, but it would keep him warm. “I need you to run like you’ve never had before, and don’t look back.”
Confusion spreads across her little brother’s face. He didn’t understand the concept of sacrifice yet. He was still so young.
“But what about you?” He asked. Bianca smiled a sad, defeated smile.
“I’ll be buying you time.”
“You’re not going to fight them, are you?” Nico’s eyes grew wide with horror.
“I’m going to try.” Her lips quivered slightly. She couldn’t cry in front of Nico. She had to be brave for his sake.
“I’m going to see you again, right?” Nico whispered. His voice already sounded broken with grief, as if he knew what was going to happen. He just couldn’t understand it. Bianca was still young, how could she die?
“Maybe,” Bianca murmured, “maybe.”
Nico nodded his head, and clutched the items Bianca had given him.
“I’ll keep these safe until I see you again.” Bianca smiles and hugged Nico for the last time.
“Thank you, Nico. Now run! Run and don’t ever look back!” Bianca shouted as she bolted towards the Titans, a pocket knife in one of her hands.
Nico did as he was told, and sprinted towards the woods. The sound of screams and gunshots rang through the air, but Nico didn’t look back.
He didn’t look back as he heard the Titans cry out from being stabbed and kicked; he didn’t look back when he heard the courageous shouts of his sister; he didn’t look back as he heard the sound of bullets lodging into flesh.
He only looked back once when he heard the cry of his sister, now lying absolutely still on the ground. Smoke and bodies all around her. Nico felt like screaming at the gruesome sight. He wanted to run back and save her from the Titan slamming his bloodied bat into her body.
But it was too late. He was already hiding in the woods, too far away to do anything. Nico felt utterly useless. His body and mind felt hollow.
This couldn’t be real. This had to be a nightmare. Surely his sister and mother were still alive. How could things possibly have gotten this bad?
Unfortunately, all of this was real. Nico’s family was gone.
His father wasn’t going to return home after hearing his family was murdered. He’ll stay overseas with his other daughter from another wife, and remarry once again. He’ll change his name and forget this ever happened, leaving Nico abandoned in this horrible country since he’s supposed to be dead. Leaving him all alone to fend for himself.
It turns out, death wasn’t that hard of a concept for a nine-year-old to grasp. Once it happened in front of Nico, it was quite hard for him to deny what death looked like. It’s not some beautiful, or peaceful celebration of a life well done. It’s a brutal, unexpected surprise no one wanted to ever happen.
Nico’s mother had told him that brave people were always rewarded for their courage. Yet, the only reward Bianca di Angelo received was a cold and painful death.
[Year: 3057]
————— P.O.V: Nico
Shrieks ring through the street. Vendors start to roll their carts into alleyways, and citizens rush into buildings.
Titans storm down the streets, grabbing at fleeing citizens who immediately hand over whatever valuables they have on hand.
“Those greedy bastards.” I mutter under my breath. The brick building I’m leaning against scratches against my clothes. I pray it won’t snag anything. The semi-smart thing to do is hide in an alley, or go inside a building.
At least for most people.
What I need to do is sneak away from this area, but anybody going anywhere but the alleys or buildings will make the Titans suspicious.
Unfortunately, if I were to go with everyone else into the alleyway, some Titan may find me out as a demigod. Then they’ll kill me; like every other demigod they find.
Sure, chances are slim of getting found out; but hiding isn’t even safe anymore. Rumors of Titans flooding the buildings and alleys with toxic gases have been floating around recently.
Not a situation I want to be caught up in.
A sigh escapes my mouth.
No need stressing over things I can barely control.
I pull an apple out of my pocket. A quick grab from some cranky, old couple’s farmer market. I’m about to take a bite out of it, when the brick beside my face suddenly explodes.
I gasps, and stumble back, clutching the apple to my chest. Chunks of brick rain down on me, tearing up my skin and clothes. No fucking way those assholes heard me insult them.
I look up, and see one of the Titans reloading her gun. She struts over, and points a long, jagged knife at me. Or, at least I think it’s a knife. As she points the weapon at me, small compartments near the top of the handle pop out, exposing more sharp knives. And from the way her thumb is placed at the bottom of the knife handle, there’s probably a trigger to shoot the smaller knives out of their compartment.
If only I had advanced techno-weapons like that.
“Hand over the apple, and you can flee. Okay?” The smart thing to do in this situation is listen. No point risking my life over a slightly bruised apple, right? But of course this apple was supposed to be my first meal of the day. Handing it over after I stole it fair and square is bullshit.
The Titan knows I haven’t eaten anything today. After all, an apple means nothing to her. She probably stole plenty from that cranky couple down the road.
The girl starts to become impatient, and reaches her hand out to snatch my apple. Panicking, I grab her arm, and twists it until I hear a snap. The girl screams in pain, and fall backwards, giving me the chance to run away. I sprint down a crowded alleyway, shoving past citizens and carts. The other Titans start to chase after me. They won’t let me get away with this act of defiance.
Screams echo everywhere as smoke starts to drift down the narrow passage. They’re trying to push me out with smoke. Turns out the rumors are mostly true; unless toxic gas is going to be a second phase for them. I wrap my mask around my face to block out the smoke, and hopefully hide from Titans.
No such luck. My escape’s blocked from a metal fence. If I were to climb over it, Titans would shoot me down with a doubt. Even if I did manage to escape in time, the Titans will use their fancy tracker drones to hunt me down.
‘No, there’s still hope. The smoke and citizens will block them and their drones’ view.’ I then remember Titans have masks to see through the smoke, and they don’t care about harming innocent people.
I scan my surroundings frantically, eyes narrowed against the smoke. I refuse to die over an apple, and a broken wrist. Then I spot it. The side of a dumpster pushed up against the wall of a building that forms a shadow.
I shove citizens to the side and dive right into the shadow. My thoughts automatically go to anything like an abandoned warehouse. Always a great place to lay low, and hide. But then I notice a marking on the side of the dumpster. I don’t have time to observe more since the darkness engulfs me; leaving my last thought to be that weird symbol.
My poor body crashes into something unstable and hard. Small, jagged pieces dig into my skin. I roll off what I now realize is a table, and onto the floor; which is even less comfortable than the table.
I cry out in pain when I land on my arm. Is this payback for breaking that Titan’s wrist?
Everything’s blurry for a minute, but when I do regain my senses, I hear whispers, and worried murmurs. A group of teenagers my age, or a little older surround me. They’re all wearing orange shirts with the same logo I saw on the dumpster; a Pegasus surrounded by a circle.
I try to stand up, but wince in pain, and collapse back on the ground when pressure is applied on my arm.
“Everyone move. The medic’s here.” Someone says. A teen boy with golden hair shoves through the small circle, and crouches beside me. He’s wearing a type of virtual glasses that I identify as an old model. Medical data basically no one can understand dance across the glasses screen, as this boy examines me. He pulls out a syringe, and flicks it a few times.
“What are you…” I trails off, and closes my eyes. Exhaustion seeps through me.
“Shh, just rest for now. Doctor’s order.” The medic whispers, gently patting my head.
Rest. Woah. Haven’t done such a thing in a long time. But…it sounds like a nice thing to do. Maybe I’ll take the medic up on that offer. I sigh, and let sleep claim me.
————— P.O.V: Will
“What are we going to do with him?” Percy asks. He stares at the boy lying on my operating table. I had removed his jacket and shirt, so the figurines embedded into his skin could be easier to remove. The figures are alarmingly deep in his skin, due to his, uh, falling out the ceiling incident. An interesting place to suddenly appear from, but I’m not one to judge poorly planned surprise attacks.
I casually shrug.
“He just suddenly appeared out of nowhere. There isn’t even a hole in our ceiling or anything. It doesn’t make sense how he suddenly fell.” Percy continues. He pokes the boy in the ribs, as if to see if he were still alive. Usually, I would advise at doing such a thing to a patient, but since it’s Percy (aka basically the unofficial leader of Camp Half-Blood), I’m willing to let this slide.
“Maybe he’s also a demigod?” I suggest, though that doesn’t really answer how he fell out of a ceiling. Besides, it’s rare to find a demigod out on the streets, so chances of this random boy being one are slim.
Demigods are children of the council members; also known as gods and goddesses. The council members have special abilities that only they possess; but bits of their power can be transferred down to their children. Like how I inherited my father’s—Apollo’s—healing powers.
“You think? He’s kind of…small. A Titan would’ve easily killed him by now if they sensed anything.” Percy says.
I understand what Percy’s trying to say. The boy has taut muscles, but it’s obvious that they’re still underdeveloped due to lack of food and nutrients. His skin is a bit discolored, and bruises and scratches cover his body.
One would call it a miracle that he survived out on the streets as long as he did.
“Who would his parent be if he is a demigod?” Percy wonders aloud. “His traits don’t look familiar with anyone in our crew.”
I shrug again, and places my hands gently on the boy’s broken arm. I whisper a hymn, and feel his fractured bone knit back together.
“Ask him when he wakes up in a few hours.” I say. “I’m sure he’s friendly enough to answer your questions!”
—————
The boy is not friendly.
The minute I step into his room for a quick check in, a scalpel goes flying right at my head. Lucky for me, I quickly grab it. But, it cuts my hand. I gasp (a bit dramatically), and drop it on the ground.
I look up just in time to see another medical instrument get thrown me. I stumble to the side, and raise my hands to surrender.
“Wait! Stop, please! I’m not going to hurt you.” I slowly look up at my tormentor.
The boy is currently holding a roll of gauze in his hands, his dark eyes wild and alert. His feathery, black hair is unkempt, and hangs in his face. He’s breathing hard, the bandages wrapped around his chest shifting with his lungs. He’s still exhausted from the sleeping draught Will gave him.
And quite attractive. Especially hot with the bandages. Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing if this mysterious fellow were to kill me with my own supplies.
‘No! Snap out of it, Will. Not every guy who breathes heavily, and are wrapped up in bandages are hot.’
“Um, can you put down my gauze; I only have a small amount left.” I say, walking over to the patient cautiously. Tragically, “letting the mystery man strangle me with a roll of gauze because I thought he was hot”, isn’t exactly the type of quote I want written on my tombstone.
“Where am I?” The boy asks. He doesn’t drop the gauze, much to my dismay. Usually, I’m okay dealing with confused patients who question/threaten me, but I went through hell for that roll of gauze.
“Drop the gauze, and I’ll try to explain what I know to you.” I demand, narrowing my eyes in a hopefully stern way. I extend my hand out, waiting for the patient to give me the gauze.
He hesitates for a second, before finally giving up the precious supply. I smile with relief, and quickly store away the gauze in a nearby cabinet. Can’t let any other semi-crazy patients steal it.
“So where am I?” The boy asks.
“Can we at least introduce ourselves? I’m Will Solace, son of Apollo.”
“I’m…Nico di Angelo.” The boy says hesitantly.
“Huh, that name sounds familiar. What connections do you have?” I ask.
“That’s not your business until you tell me where I am.” Nico retorts. He flinches away from me when I try to touch his torso.
“Sorry, you’re right. Uh, hold still for me so I can check your wounds.” I order, unwrapping some of the bandages.
“So, I’m not sure how you got here; you kinda just fell out the ceiling. Unfortunately, you landed on our planning table, messed up everything, and wounded yourself.” I explain. “No one’s sure how you fell through the ceiling without leaving a hole in our roof, or something; so prepare yourself to be questioned later.”
“But, where am I?” Nico asks. He winces as I remove the bandages from his chest.
“I don’t think I’m allowed to tell you that.” I smile apologetically.
“But you said—
“I said I’ll explain what I can.” I interrupt. “I wish I could tell you more, but that’s up to Percy to decide.”
Nico frowns. “Who’s Percy?”
“I think that would be me.” Percy walks into the room, twirling a ballpoint pen around his fingers. “Glad to see you’re awake now. I’m Percy Jackson; nice to meet you.”
Nico stays quiet, still wary of everything going on.
“Heard you say your name’s Nico. Will’s right; that does sound familiar. So, tell us who you are, and I’ll tell you who we are. Does that sound like a fair trade?” Percy offers.
Nico hesitates, before nodding his head. There’s not much he can do in this situation besides playing along to whatever we want from him. I feel bad for putting him in this situation, and I’m sure Percy does too. But, answers are needed to suppress the unease spreading around.
“From what I know, I’m the last surviving son of Hades. My father, like the rest of the council, traveled overseas to avoid the Titans. He never came back for me, since he probably thinks I’m dead like my sister. I didn’t fall through your ceiling, but shadow-traveled through it. It was an accident, I swear on Styx. I was only trying to run away from Titans.” Nico explains.
Percy’s sea-green eyes widen. “Dude,” he breathes, “you’re supposed to be dead. We thought all children of Hades were gone after the Titans announced they destroyed the House of Hades.”
“Only my mother died in the house. They, uh, hunted down my sister.” Nico murmurs.
“Oh. I’m so sorry about that. Many demigods went through similar situations after the Titans took over.” Percy says, patting Nico’s shoulder in what he hopes is a comforting way.
“So, you’re a demigod too?” Nico asks, while I brush Percy’s hand away, so I can wrap new bandages around Nico.
Percy nods. “Yup, a child of Poseidon.”
“Woah, never thought three children of the Big Three would all be under the same roof.” I gasp, staring in awe at the two of them.
Nico frowns. “I thought your father’s Apollo.”
I nod my head. “I’m not talking about myself. Percy, you need to introduce him to Jason.”
“No, stop. Forget about whoever the fuck Jason is. I still don’t know where I am, and last time I checked, you guys owe me an explanation.” Nico says, glaring at us.
“Right, forgot about that.” Percy clears his throat. “When the Titans took over, the Council fled after being overthrown. Many tried to bring their children, but few made it overseas, since Titans kept on hunting them down. There were other cases of gods and goddesses traveling overseas for a solution, but never returning once they heard about their families being slaughtered.” Percy glances over at Nico, his eyes full of sympathy.
“That left surviving demigods to either be killed, or to hide. That’s how Camp Half-Blood was made. Our leaders, Chiron, and Dionysus—the only god who stayed over here—found me, and many other demigods to create this secret organization. Everyone here is fighting for one goal: reclaim what the Titans had stolen.” Percy goes quiet, looking at Nico expectantly.
“Woah. Do you have that speech memorized?” I ask.
Percy shrugs, “More or less.”
“Are you trying to get me to join your cult?” Nico suddenly asks. I can’t help but snicker at that.
“Wha—cult?! That’s what you got from all of this?”
“Relax Jackson; I’m joking. Though, it does sound like you’re recruiting me.”
Percy scratches the back of his neck sheepishly. “I kind of am, actually. An ability like shadow-traveling is really useful right now. Besides, I’m worried Titans will catch you if we let you go back from wherever you came from.”
“How will shadow-travel be useful to Camp Half-Blood?” Nico asks.
Percy grins, “I think it’s time you meet Jason.”
————— P.O.V: Nico
We found Jason lounging in the forge, chatting with another demigod. Not a place I would consider comfortable, but everyone has their own taste. The forge is very cool, though. Random wires cover the floor, and hang from the ceiling; a safety hazard, but a very awesome one.
Percy kicks an unfinished weapon—an electric powered sword that had sparks flying out of the handle—out of his path, and swings an arm around Jason’s shoulders.
“Hey dude, sorry to interrupt you and Leo’s conversation, but I think you might wanna meet the Ceiling Guy.” Percy says.
Ceiling Guy?! Is that actually the nickname people at Camp Half-Blood knows me by? If so, my social status is now in the negatives.
“He’s finally awake?” Jason gasps. He has short, blonde hair, light skin, a scar on his upper lip, and wears virtual glasses like Will. Nico suspects that these ones were for sight, not for data and whatnot. This model of glasses Jason has is also evidently newer than Will’s.
“Yeah, uh, I’m right here.” I say dryly; half-heartedly waving at him. “I’m Nico, son of Hades.”
That shocks Jason. “Woah, actually? I thought Hazel was the only one left.”
Both Percy and I frown.
“Hazel?” We both ask at the same time.
“Yeah. She’s technically the daughter of Pluto, but that’s just Hades new name. Did I not mention her before?”
“You’ve mentioned her, just not her fucking parentage!” Percy groans.
“Well my bad for not mentioning every single fucking detail!” Jason retorts. The two starts arguing, leaving me to drown in my thoughts.
I have a sister! She may not be Bianca, or have the same mother as me, but she’s still family.
Family.
I miss having one. I’m so sick of being lonely, and scared. I’ll have to ask Jason more about Hazel later.
“Hey, you okay?” A warm hand nudges my shoulder. Will’s gazing down at me, his eyes filled with concern. I kind of forgot that he came along.
“Um, yeah. Sorry, I was just zoning out.” I mumble, shoving the other boy’s hand away.
Will nods skeptically. “I’m going to head back to the infirmary. Do you want to come with me, or stay with these two idiots?”
I chuckle a little. The offer is tempting. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to hang out with Will. He’s kind, patient, and handsome. Really handsome. Not that I’ll tell him that.
“I think I have to stay, unfortunately.” It is unfortunate. I don’t really want to stay around a bunch of bickering idiots.
At some point, the boy Percy called Leo joined in on the bickering. I suspect he just enjoys the chaos, but I’m not too sure.
“Oh, okay! Come back when you can so I can check up on your wounds, okay?” Will says. He waves at me, and jogs back to the infirmary. He trips over a loose wire in the way out the forge. I may have laughed at that.
Jason, Percy, and Leo finally stops bickering. The small group heads to the Big House; the room where the demigod leaders of each Council member discuss and plan.
Much to my disgust, the room is the same exact place where I fell out of the ceiling.
Fun memories.
The figurines are back on the table, placed on different parts of a holographic map.
I only recognize Will; none of the other campers looks familiar. But, they’re all staring at me. The Ceiling Guy.
“Alright everyone. Chiron and Mr. D still hasn’t returned yet, so we’ll have to continue without them. Meet our new recruit: Nico di Angelo, son of Hades.” Percy waves a hand over at me. My heart can’t help but swell.
New recruit? Does that mean Camp Half-Blood views me as one of them now? Sure, my nickname will be Ceiling Guy, but that’s something I can change later on.
I smile slightly. It feels nice to be part of something again. Even if it’s just a bunch of abandoned demigods.
I nod at Percy to continue. He grins.
“So, here’s the plan.”