Beating Hearts

Blue vs. Gold

It was like Bruce was in a horror movie. They had left the camp borders and set up a campfire in the woods. Towering trees cast blurred shadows, noticeably drawn towards Nico. The flickering fire projected eerie silhouettes of monsters and demons, even a few lost souls seemed to appear. Their tortured screams and predatorial baying were simulated by the howling wind whistling through the leaves and winding it's way to Bruce's ears, sending chills down his spine. 

It didn't help that the reason they'd chosen this spot to talk was that there was a large risk of monsters attacking them in the woods, which was why they wouldn't be seen by any campers who still patrolled the campgrounds, nor would they be affected by curfew. According to Percy, he was also one of the main targets for monsters, because his scent was extremely strong. 'Like buttery bread,' Bruce recalled him saying, before gazing back up at the stars sadly. 

Bruce was shaken from his pondering when Percy cleared his throat. "I'm just going to go over some of the weirdest and most important stuff, alright? 'Cause, and you're aware of this too, Nico, my life is pretty complicated." He took a deep, meditative breath. "Some of the first run-ins I had with monsters were when I was little. I remember one day in kindergarten, I was walking in from the playground, and I complained to the teachers about this guy, he was wearing weird clothes and was super tall. The teachers were able to shoo him off, but they still didn't believe me when I told them the weirdest thing about him: he had one eye. That's because the Mist clouded their vision. Warped memories'll come into play later. 

"Anyways, when I was 12 years old, I went to this school called Yancy Academy. My best friend, Grover, turned out to be a satyr, and Chiron, who was posing as a teacher at the time, helped me survive the year. I mean that literally. Mrs. Dodds, a Fury, or a Kindly One, whichever you prefer, attacked me and accused me of stealing something, and not fessing up to it. Chiron threw me a sword, Anaklusmos, and I was able to kill her, but I was freaking out. Soon enough, my mom and Grover had driven me to Camp Half-Blood, and I found out my friend was half goat. My first stepfather, Smelly Gabe," he spat out the name like poison, "- lightning struck his car, and the Minotaur was waiting outside for us in the woods. My mom disappeared and I thought that Beef Brains had killed her, Grover was rolling on the ground calling for food, and I had to defeat it.

"After that, I figured out what I was, Wi...A-Annabeth showed me the ropes, I got claimed and Luke taught me sword-fighting. Skip ahead a few quests and boom, Luke's a traitor, Thalia's tree was poisoned and healed, fought Lightning McHunter, and Kronos was rising. Charles Beckendorf, along with several others had died, and then the Titan War happened. Luke had given his body over to Kronos, but was able to fight for control and held him off long enough to...scatter Kronos' remains by...destroying his body. Months later, I'm in a Roman camp, and their leader, Jason, was here, neither of us with our memories. We go on separate quests to prove our worths to the camps, then meet up before Leo starts blowing up New Rome. I also know Hazel, Frank, and Piper, Annabeth is there, and everyone rushes off to save the world and stop a war...Nico is trapped in a jar after going through hell, and me and Annabeth fall down." Percy's voice cracked, and his eyes flashed with unspoken madness and indescribable pain. 

"We won the Giant War a few months back, and fulfilled the prophecy of the Seven, but a lot of people died in the process. I'm not going into details, even though I know Nico wants me to, but," he glared at the boy in question, 

"You'll just have to do it yourself, okay? I've done my part; tell them more about Luke and Beckendorf and Silena and-" he cut himself off, hesitant for the first time in his grief-stricken rant, aside from explaining how Luke defeated Kronos and when he first mentioned that 'Annabeth' girl. "Everyone. Even the Hunter...Hunters who died." Percy directed the last chunk of his speech towards Nico, who nodded and watched as he walked back to camp, glaring at the ground.