Nostalgia: Heroes of Olympus

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Aye I got around to changing Delilah's chapter name to "Arlene" (her birth name lets go)

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I gasped as the forest began to bathe in flames. I instinctively grabbed Leo's hand, seeing as he was closest to me. His eyes were wide and his face was pale. His home is burning. Again. I thought. "It's okay," I whispered. Percy growled and began running- probably to be near water. He was going to try and snuff out the flames. I took a deep breath and turned to the others. "New plan. Leo, try to tame the fire. I'm sure Percy is getting water to help snuff them out. Malcolm, try and do the same as Percy. Although, getting the flag would be nice. I'll do that while I think of something else." 

I grabbed the flag and darted towards the forest, and the tears that welled up in my eyes took over my vision. Small details were becoming clear, the crickets in the grass, the fire, the small bits of water bouncing off the leaves, the embers from the raging fire. Who did this, I whispered to myself. I closed my eyes as I ran, a tear slipping down my cheek. I heard a small whoosh indicating the flag in my hands had indeed just changed, signaling our team won the game.

"ARLENE!" I stopped, waiting for my sister to catch up. I dropped the flag as the familiar conch horn sounded. "LEAVE ME ALONE," I yelled at her. Her grey eyes glinted. "I thought you'd want me to tell you-" "I don't," I whispered. Then I sucked in the tears and plastered a happy smile- my usual smile, on my face. "Spoilers," I said. My smile turned into a smirk. "Just put out the fire, okay? A-And watch over Leo for me. I don't think he's doing so good." Before she could protest, I turned and let my feet take over. Annabeth sighed, and ran back. I could hear her feet getting fainter. 

I collapsed on the Bunker floor, my hair wet from dashing through the waterfall. The leather-bound books gleamed on the shelves, and the pile of leather journals laid around the floor. I trembled, not wanting to know what the people were shouting about outside. I could hear them shouting, scooping water from the stream, and running. They were doing all they could. 

A distant ringing was what took me out of it. My vision trembled with red and orange, and I sobbed- a loud, scared sob. I was afraid. Camp Half-Blood may be my only home I actually liked. My stomach did knots and I shook even more as heart-wrenching sobs escaped my mouth. There was too much. Too much. First a quest, and now my only safe place isn't safe? What'll happen to the forest? Will anyone get hurt? I sucked in a breath and continued, my elbows buckles. I was on my hands and knees. "PLEASE," I shouted. I curled up into a ball. "PERFAVORE FERMATI! SMETILLA! PER FAVORE!" I shouted. Tears glittered on the floor. (Please stop! Stop it! Please!) I continued to scream, until most of my words and thoughts were lost. As my pleads turned back into sobs, I looked up at the ceiling, a clear dome looking up at the stars. The black and starry night was disrupted by small embers hitting the glass. "Per favore," I whispered, "Non riesco a gestire questa catastrofe." It didn't even dawn to me that someone was listening until they spoke, "Andrà bene. Io non ti conosco bene, ma posso promettere che." I looked up to see a familiar pale face and black hair. "Nico," I whispered. 

"I didn't know you could speak italian so well." "Native." He slowly nodded. "We... We should find out... What..." "Atlas." "What?" "Atlas." "That's not who-" "Nico di Angelo, I know damn well who it is. I know it's not him." He sighed. He offered a hand. "You've been crying for hours," he said. "No I haven't." "It's early morning." My eyes widened. "What..." "C'mon," he said, giving a small smile. He was trying. I stood up and walked out of the bunker, and my eyes widened at the sight before me.

Burnt down trees and debris littered the "Forest" floor. Dryads cried, still patting out the fires in their hair. The usual green grass was a sickly brown/black color. My lip trembled. "Hey, It's okay... Although..." "What." "Melody's girlfriend got injured." I gasped. How did Zoey manage to hurt herself? "What about Leo," I said quietly, my eyes looking at the ground. "He's in the bunker. He's not having a party." I sighed and Nico grabbed my arm. My vision suddenly went dark, and I felt like I was weightless. The arm let go and Nico cried out, "WHAT THE HELL!" I felt as if my body was dissipating, and then I started to dream.

"Nico? What are you doing in here?" Leo asked a very pale looking Nico- a paniced expression on his face. "I WAS HOLDING DELILAH'S ARM A-AND THEN SHE JUST... I LOST HER! I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE SHE IS!" he exclaimed. Leo's already tired looking face suddenly froze with shock. The smile he was giving him disappeared. "Again? No, not again please tell me this is a prank I-" his eyes welled up in tears. I tried to call out, but my vocal cords didn't vibrate at all. Please, I whispered. Don't leave him alone, he didn't do anything.... please.... Si prega di non lasciare questo povero bambino. Si prega di non rompere lo ancora di più. Per favore. Per favore.