<>------<>Nero<>------<>

Midnight was not in a position to answer further questions that he didn’t know the answers to.

With heavy hearts and sinking thoughts, the rest of us quickly changed and slipped into bed, wishing that we would not dream as Midnight did.

Whoever said wishes do come true, I would really love to punch them in the face.

Nightmares came at me with the intensity of a tornado. Flashes of my old life invaded my sleep. Visions of days when I was happy at Camp Half-Blood with my friends. I saw the quests I’d been on, games of Capture the Flag, face after smiling face or everyone I once knew and had eventually turned on me, choosing to believe the gods over their friends; over me.

Stop it! I pleaded. Please! Make it stop!

But they didn’t. Visions pounded against my mind, killing me from the inside out, taunting me with the memories of my past. It wasn’t the first time these nightmares had haunted me, and I knew beyond all doubt it wouldn’t be the last.

People called to me; old friends, my mother and step-father, all my family. They mocked me, screamed at me, their eyes locked on mine, filled with anger and hate.

You let me die, my mother screamed. You killed me.

You left and I had no idea what happened, Rachel cried. I died never knowing what happened to you.

You betrayed us, Annabeth shouted. You betrayed me.

We thought you were our friend, Midnight, Aeras, Arrow and Destiny all yelled, looking like their old selves.

Stop! I tried to mentally shut out the images and the taunting increases, voices mashed together like an angry mob of my old friends. I pressed my hands to the sides of my head and tried to focus my energy. Stop! Go away!

But even that felt weak, like the nightmare was sapping away my strength. I had to get out.

NO!

I pulled myself from the dream and woke up in the WG, the even sounds of my siblings breaths the only thing keeping grounded and away from insanity. The dream was too much.

And it wasn’t new either. That particular dream was reoccurring, especially in the past year or so. I’d had it frequently when I first left earth, for at least a century. Father couldn’t figure out what was wrong, and he’d come increasingly concerned. I’d soon learnt to hide the nightmares from both Father and the others.

I sat up slowly, careful not to wake my siblings. The remainder of the Sorrows would be here in a matter of hours, and we still had no plan. We didn’t know who held this cure, who the mystery enemy was, and had no ideas for a possible invasion. We were in a great position.

Slipping into my boots, and tying my cloak, I headed out for a breath of fresh air and possibly a quick flight. We you have wings, you tend to want to use them.

The night was extraordinarily chilly without a puff of wind. The trees were still and no animals growled in the forest. Ever creature at camp seemed to know of the potential danger.

A flicker of movement within the still forest caught my attention with a snap. The sound of leaves crunching underfoot was loud and clear compared to the silent night. Without a second thought, I took flight and followed, my wings noiseless.

As I followed the person with my intensified hearing, tracking their movements, I realized that there wasn’t just one. Listening closely, I picked out four pairs of running feet, and four breaths coming in short pants. They weren’t going fast, but it’s hard to keep up when you’re flying with a large set of wings in a tight space clustered with trees.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they stopped. I tracked the sound of their breathing, which wasn’t hard given their laboured breaths. In took less than five more minutes to find them.

I hovered above the scene with mixed emotions of shock, anger and awe.

Below was a graveyard. Only five graves were confined with the rickety iron fence, each with a ten foot, grey stone statue at the head. Four figures moved between the gravestones, hoodies drawn up over their heads and their hands stuffed deep into their pockets. I watched, hovering in the cold, still air, as they touched each statue carefully with only their right hands, their heads bowed as a mark of respect for the deceased.

Growing more curious by the second, I flew a little lower and landed in the branches of a maple tree. I perched precariously and my eyes grew wide beneath my hood as I stared at a statue of myself.

It was me as I was before I left earth. My hair was wild and messy, not much different from now, and a carefree smile was etched onto my face, like I was going for a day at the beach.

Behind the statue of me was four other statues, now easily recognizable as Midnight, Aeras, Arrow and Destiny, all looking as they did ten thousand years ago.

My hand jerked to my hood on instinct, and I felt a sudden strange urge to fly away and never return. Seeing myself that was hurt too much, the way I was in my nightmares. I hugged my cloak tighter, not as a guard against the chilly night air, but as a guard against the feelings that fought inside me, tearing me in two.

I felt dizzy, like I’d just come off a crazy rollercoaster. Memories intruded on my mind and I felt cold, even without the atmosphere. I sat down in the tree and a twig snapped.

Four heads jerked up and gazed upon where I sat. Even with my black cloak, I would’ve clearly stood out, my crystal blue wings and silver armour acting like a beacon.

‘Who’s there?’ a voice called out shakily. I didn’t recognize it.

I jumped down from the maple tree, falling lightly to the ground as my wings cushioned the impact. The four in the graveyard stepped warily forward, as if they wanted to come closer, but were afraid of what they would find.

‘Nero?’ I recognized the voice this time. How often had I reflected on that voice, wondering what I ever could have done differently.

‘Yes, Miss Calypso,’ I replied quietly.

‘Why were you following us?’ a voice that could only have belonged to Piper asked.

I was overcome with a sudden urge to tell her everything. I tried to fight against the charmspeak, but my will seemed depleted.

‘I was curious,’ I admitted. ‘Curious as to who was sneaking out in the dead of night and heading into the forest.’

The four hung their heads sadly.

‘May you be as courteous as to show me your faces?’ I inquired politely.

Four sets of sad smiles were revealed as one by one they pulled down their hoods and unzipped their jackets; Calypso, Piper, Leo and Frank.

‘We should be asking you the same,’ Frank said. ‘Why will you not show your face?’

‘Dangerous,’ I muttered. ‘Much too dangerous.’

‘What’s dangerous about it?’ Calypso asked confusedly.

I sighed, ‘Everything and nothing. Truth be told, I am simply too afraid to show the world what I’ve become. I used to be so much less, yet also so much more. I used to be human.’

‘And you’re not now?’ Leo frowned.

‘Not in a manner of speaking,’ I said. ‘I’m far from being human. Do your regular humans have wings and supernatural powers.’

‘Well, no,’ Piper acknowledged. ‘Demigods have powers, and we’re half human.’

‘I was half human,’ the words left my mouth before my brain processed them, and I was left kicking myself mentally.

‘You were a demigod?’ Leo asked slowly, shock registering in his eyes as the others jaws dropped pretty much all the way down to Hades.

‘Kind of,’ I confessed. ‘Maybe once, a long time ago. But definitely not anymore. When Father found me, I became an Archangel.’

‘A pretty impressive Archangel,’ Frank noted in awe.

I resisted the ridiculous impulse to smile and instead simply said, ‘Thanks.’

I thought for a moment, ‘Why are you guys here? Who’s graves have you come to see?’

They sighed simultaneously, identical looks of hurt, frustration and sadness on each of their faces.

‘Some old friends,’ Leo said quietly. ‘They died, but we never really knew why.’

‘The gods told us they betrayed Olympus,’ Frank agreed. ‘And we believed them. But we came to realize that they’d never do that. They were too loyal, too trustworthy.’

‘So we build this memorial in secret,’ Piper finished. ‘We come here on the last Friday of every month.’

I hesitated. They thought I was dead. ‘Must be hard.’

They nodded.

The five of us were silent for a moment. My wings were pressed against my back, curling over my shoulders and blocking out the cold wind. The silence was worse than if the woods had been echoing with monstrous growls. I had a bad feeling something wasn’t right.

Frank’s head suddenly tipped to the side like he was listening. I mimicked him and concentrated, instantly noting a heavy gait. Frank looked at me, and in that second, I knew he knew I knew (confused yet?).

‘We have to leave,’ Frank said bluntly. ‘Now.’

‘Coming from that way,’ I pointed away from the graveyard, in the opposite direction from the central area of camp. ‘A monster just crossed the borders.’

‘How did it do that?’ Piper exclaimed worriedly.

‘It doesn’t matter right now,’ I shook my head and rose into the air. ‘We just have to get out of here.’

They asked no more questions, just followed me as I flew above the treetops, skimming the leaves with my boots. I could see the four running below, their shadows dark and low against the bright, white moonlight. I could hear the monster getting closer. They weren’t going to make it.

I flew quickly out in front and dropped to the ground in the middle of a bare clearing dotted with frangipanis, unsheathing my deckrassword in one fluent motion. I stopped the demigods and indicated they do the same.

‘Stand our ground here,’ I commanded. ‘We’ll never outrun it.’

‘What exactly is “it?”’ Calypso mumbled as she drew a celestial bronze sword from a scabbard by her side.

‘That’s an excellent question,’ I said. ‘To which I do not have an excellent answer.’

‘Perfect,’ Leo grumbled, pulling a hammer out of his tool belt and lighting it on fire, casting dancing shadows across the clearing.

Frank stood back and notched an arrow in his bow, aiming back the way we’d come. Piper drew a dagger that I recognized as Katoptris, having not a changed a bit. I wondered if it still gave her visions.

We waited with bated breath for the creature to emerge from the cover of trees, whatever it may be. It was close enough that you could hear its footsteps without straining at all. A few more seconds and I could fight again, a real monster. It would be a welcome change.

A roar echoed through the forest as a huge laistrygonian giant burst into the clearing, splintering half a dozen trees. It was the biggest I’d ever seen-at least fifteen feet-with bright red skin and covered in tattoos like More Bones for Bone Masher. It disturbed me to say the least.

It fixed its beady eyes on my hovering form and the four gathered just below me, all with our weapons at the ready; two swords, a dagger, a hammer and a bow.

To Leo, Calypso and Piper who had never faced a laistrygonian, their faces were tight with fear and pale with apprehension. Frank barely looked any better, thought at least he’d been up against them before.

The laistrygonian growled and raised a smoking canon ball.

‘Don’t let him throw it!’ I yelled, and we charged.

Frank knocked arrows as quick as I’d ever seen and launched volley after volley at the giant, alas it only seemed to irritate him. Piper darted forward as quick as a mouse and stab the laistrygonian in the foot while Leo shot a burst of fire that set his loincloth alight. I really hoped it didn’t burn off before we’d finished him off.

The giant dropped the canon ball in surprise and swiped a huge red hand at Piper who shrieked and rolled out of the way.

I dove straight for the giants head, driving my sword into his left eye. As the giant bellowed in anger and agony, I flew a circle around him and stabbed him in the gut.

The monster didn’t crumble quickly. Indeed it barely crumbled at all. Piper scurried between the giants legs, seemingly gaging on the smell of his loincloth. Her knife did little damage, as did her charmspeak when she called out, trying to get the laistrygonian to do the chicken dance.

Leo had similar trouble getting nowhere with his hammer which he smashed against the giants ugly toes. Calypso-with a little less fighting experience-lunged wherever she could, stabbing at the monster’s legs. Frank eventually ran out of arrows and his skin rippled and transformed into fur as he shape shifted into a bear, throwing himself at the laistrygonian with claws extended.

The sudden weight knocked the giant off balance and I took that as a chance. I called upon the water in the atmosphere and froze the monster to the ground, his feet and one hand locked in ice. He couldn’t pull his hand out, my concentration held him there, but my will was slipping.

‘Get him now,’ I yelled through gritted teeth, ‘while he’s down!’

Leo summoned a fresh, white hot burst of flames which he hurled straight at the giants face, Piper drove Katoptris right up to the hilt in the back of his knee, and Frank swiped his massive claws at his stomach until the monster finally dissipated, half melting and half crumbling to monster ash.

Frank, Calypso, Leo and Piper leant over on their knees, breathing hard. I dropped to the ground and sat on my hind legs, my head in my hands, utterly exhausted.

‘So that’s what “it” was,’ Leo tried to joke. ‘Good to know.’

Leo could have his joke. Those four could talk about it. All I wanted was some sleep, but I was afraid of the price of doing so.

‘We better get out of here,’ Piper reminded us. ‘We’re too close to the memorial. We can’t let them find it.’

The others got up instantly and we started our long journey back to the centre of camp. I walked, being too tired to fly.

‘When you say “them,”’ I asked Piper, guessing though wanting to be certain, ‘who do you mean?’

‘Annabeth and Reyna,’ she replied immediately. ‘They’re the leaders of camp, and their not bad leaders. But they believe that our five friends deserved what they got. They believed the gods.’

‘Do they still?’ I said softly, dreading the answer I expected.

Piper lowered her head and took a while to respond, ‘Yes.’

I thought about that. They were my friends once. Yet they still believed the word of gods who had lied to them previously, over the word of the ones they’d known for years. But Frank, Leo and Piper seemed changed, and Calypso wasn’t even there at the time. I was supposed to hate them, yet all I felt was pain and regret.

‘How did the monster get inside camp’s borders?’ Frank called back, shaking me from my reminiscences.

I shook my head, ‘I don’t know. We’ll have to check the protections tomorrow.’

‘Thalia’s tree,’ Leo said, then winced. ‘She’s one of the ones back at the graveyard.’

‘I’ve heard stories,’ I admitted. Best be prepared in case of a slip up.

‘You have?’ Calypso asked in astonishment.

‘I have,’ I confirmed. ‘I believe I know the five of which you speak. We know of them on Aurae.’

‘Can you tell me there names?’ Piper asked suspiciously.

‘Thalia, Nico, Hazel, Jason and-’ I cringed and hoped they would overlook it, ‘-and Percy.’

The four nodded, tears shinning in their eyes, Frank, Leo and Piper more so then Calypso but all equally upset.

‘They were so brave,’ Piper whispered. ‘Oh, why did we ever do what we did to them?’

‘And now they’re gone,’ Leo agreed. ‘Thanks to the gods.’

In the distance, the sky rumbled, quieter than any other day given the gods were still sick and our civilisation was fading. The night was cloudier now than it had been a few hours ago.

A part of me wanted to throw off my disguise and remove all sorrow from my old friends. But another part-a much bigger part-knew that that person really was gone. Percy Jackson really was dead, and he wasn’t coming back. Arrow and Destiny may have said otherwise, but there is no coming back from utter betrayal. I was as loyal as you could get, yet they still believed I could forsake Olympus.

‘Nero!’ Piper snapped her fingers under my nose and I jumped, my hand instinctively jumping to my hood once again.

‘What happened?’ I blinked.

‘Nothing,’ Leo frowned. ‘We just said goodnight.’

‘Oh,’ I breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Goodnight.’

They smiled as they headed off in various directions, throwing a light, ‘Night, Nero,’ over their shoulders. It was such a casual gesture, I almost perceived it to be normal. But my mind was telling me that I didn’t belong here.

I stood for a moment, wings spread, bathing in the cold night air. Not for any reason but to remind me I was still alive. My mind may be slowly going crazy, and my body may be exhausted, but I was still alive. Nightmares and monsters could torment me as much as they wished, but I was still alive.

I walked back to the ship alone, passing the training arena along the way. As I walked past, I could swear I heard a sharp ping of metal on metal hit with barely any force. I glanced back while the arena was still in view, and got the barest glimpse of black hair and a silver knife.

~*~

I HATE WRITER'S BLOCK! Two weeks I've had it, and I still can't get rid of it. Despite that, I think this chapter is alright. I hope you really enjoyed it. I hope I'm irritating you with how little I have Nero chapters XD There aren't going to be too many chapters from his point of view, but there is a lot of focus on him. This chapter's dedication goes to ... *drum roll* ... Think_inspiration! Yay! Keep the comments coming, my lovely M&M's! Thanks for reading, you're awesome, and please remember to vote, comment and follow!
~TripleM