Obviously, your first instinct when Percy came back to camp was to search for Bianca. Nico had been far more excited than you, wanting to hear about the adventure of it all and make sure she was safe.

And then, your heart was torn out.

Bianca wasn't here. Bianca didn't come back. Bianca was never coming back.

Percy said he told her not to. That she sacrificed herself to ensure no one else was killed.

But that was somehow less of a shock than what immediately followed.

Not only did skeletons seem to spawn from thin air, but your baby brother opened the ground into the Underworld.

That was besides the point right now, though. Nico ran to the woods, sobbing his poor heart out, and obviously, you followed.

Being the eldest di Angelo had always come with some semblance of responsibility. Bianca and Nico didn't shoulder quite as much need to be mature or a support system. That never bothered you, not even now, as you shoved your own grief to the side when Nico finally collapsed.

The young boy was hyperventilating, his fingers digging into the roots of his hair, trying to ground himself in some way.