Hi there Bianca again with a new story! This time it's a one-shot mainly focused on your favorite son of Hades, Nico! I'm not entirely sure about the background of Nico because I currently don't have any Percy Jackson books with me so I couldn't double-check. Anyways, I wrote this for The Prompts latest challenge. Special thanks to my beta Cassie's Neighbor for introducing me to The Prompts in the first place.

Disclaimer: I only own the plot and not the characters

If you'll mention my sister Bianca, the first thing will that pop up in my head is spaghetti.

Way before we were sent to the Lotus Casino, Bianca and I snuck into an Italian restaurant to spend the night. Since we were hungry and Bianca assumed that being part Italian meant we were good cooks, she headed to the kitchen to try to cook some spaghetti. It was a disaster. I kept teasing her as she fumbled over the cooking utensils and I snickered when she scooped up some of the sauce she planned on tasting. Instead, she bent her spoon back and flicked the sauce in my face. We ended up having a full-fledged Italian food fight. The next day, we were about a mile away from the restaurant when we heard the chef yell in surprise at the little mess we left.

I'll always remember that because it shows how hard Bianca tried to take care of me, how she tried to make me laugh and have a good time even though we were penniless, homeless orphans who were always on the move. Even though other campers tried taking care of me after she left me to join the Hunters, it just wasn't the same. Especially after she died.

After the Olympian War, I still stay with Dad. Most of the time, he sends me to do some errands that always take me almost the whole day to complete. I guess it's to keep me away from Persephone so that I won't be able to annoy her and end up as a daisy or a daffodil.
I wake up to the touch of ice-cold bones on my shoulders. When I open my eyes, it turns out to be a skeleton soldier waking me up.

"Your father wants to see you now," the skeleton says in the usual raspy voice of the undead.

"Alright, I'm on my way."

As I enter the bronze and black throne room, I study my dad quietly. Usually, he'd be standing straight and tall before his throne and state my task for the day. Today, he's sitting on his throne instead, resting his chin on his hand and looking away from me, looking tired and drained. I have to clear my throat a couple of times before he lifts his face up and looks at me.

"Oh. Good morning, Nico."

"Good morning, Father. So, what do I have to do today?"

"I want you to go to Arizona."

"Arizona?"

"Gilla Claw, Arizona to be exact. I need you to... fetch something for me," he says, hesitation in his tone, as if he's holding something back. But I don't question him.

"You'll have to shadow-travel there. I want you to go alone," he continues. "Look for a junkyard. Go inside it and don't take anything except for what I need you to bring."

"What exactly am I looking for?"

"You'll know when you get there," he says mysteriously, his tone firm and dismissive which indicated that he won't elaborate further. "Now go."

I bow my head in respect and leave the throne room, the green flames burning low in their torches and chilling the room. I huddle deeper into my black hoodie and quicken my footsteps.
I return to my room and head to the small fireplace. The low green flames cast off an eerie glow throughout the room and the temperature seems to drop ominously. I exhale slowly as I thought of Gilla Claw, Arizona and I step into the fire.

Instead of burning into a demigod shish kabob, I feel a warm, churning sensation throughout my body, as if I'm spinning around in circles. My vision is filled with green flames and distorted images of places all around the world.

Through all the confusion, a small image of a desert appears in front of me and I feel myself drop face down on hot, grainy sand. Spitting out some sand, I flip myself over so that I'm lying on my back instead. I remember that after my first attempt of shadow-traveling, I threw up for a good two minutes. Now, I simply have a small headache and drainage of energy. Sighing wearily, I manage to stand up and take in my surroundings. On the north, south, and east, there is nothing but sand. But on the west are the outskirts of a huge junkyard pile which seems like four stories of junk.

I cautiously begin to walk inside the junkyard, slightly gaping at the "junk". There are some rusty scraps of metal, but the rest are mostly riches instead of junk. Jewelry, treasures, weapons, and other costly riches are stacked in several different piles. I spot a silver crescent moon hairpin. When I pick it up, it transforms into a silver bow like the ones the Hunters use. Thinking about the Hunters makes me feel uneasy, and I place the bow down.

As I'm walking through the junkyard, I stumble over something. I look back to find that I tripped over a bunch of wires. Suddenly, a chilly breeze brushes through my hair and the burning heat of the desert suddenly turns into an eerie chill.

"Nico," a soft, female voice whispers in my ear.

I spin around, suddenly startled because that voice sounds so much like Bianca. Looking back, I start to follow the trail of wires.

At the end, I find a tall structure with a door that says POWER. Looking at the metal structure again, it turns out to be the shape of a foot. I remember Percy briefly talking about Bianca's death and I recall him mentioning something about Talos, the giant robot of Hephaestus. I start walking and end up breaking into a slow run. When I reach the door, I pushed the door gingerly, afraid of what I might find. Will I find Bianca here, bloodied and scarred? Or find out that mice or bugs or monsters have already eaten her body?

I shake my head, telling myself to stop thinking like the ten-year old I was before I found out I'm a demigod. I'm thirteen now, and I know better than to get too excited or else I might get disappointed. Taking in a deep breath, I step inside. The control room is mainly filled with wires twisted and crisscrossing all over the place. I'm about to turn around and give up when something silver catches my eye. I walk towards it and try to untangle all the wires. When I finally uncover it, the silver item turns out to be a Hunter's bow. I begin vigorously untangling the wires, struggling to find Bianca since I'm now certain she's what Father wants me to find.

After for what feels like hours, I finally feel something soft, and it turns out to be what looks like Bianca's hair. After untangling more wires, I almost cry as I uncover her body. Her entire body is severely scarred, her olive skin are dark with burns. A few small chips of metal are driven into her body and small rivers of blood are slowly trickling down. Her eyes are closed and a small smile is on her face, as if she was thinking happy thoughts before she took her last breath. She looks so small and fragile and I remember that I'm older than her now. I choke back a sob as I wonder if she was thinking about me as she died.

It's so heartbreaking to see a loved one dead. I want to cry and scream and curse the Fates for letting this happen. Memories wash over me like a crushing ocean wave trying to drown me. I remember the two of us sleeping by a small campfire in an alley, running away from monsters in Washington D.C, arriving at the Lotus Casino. Then, I remember that when Bianca went to join the Hunters at their camp, it was the first time she ever left my side. I bury my face into her hair as if this simple act will stop the memories from coming back. I begin to feel so lonely and lost like how I felt when I ran away from camp. A few tears manage to fall down from my eyes and drip down her face.

"Nico," the same voice whispers again.

I look up and wipe my eyes.

"W-who's there?" I stutter.

I feel a cold breeze behind my back and I turn around. I gasp in surprise when I see Bianca's soul floating in front of me. She's still wearing her green cap and Hunter's clothes from before. She smiles gently at me.

"It took you awhile to find me, Nico," she says.

"I-I'm sorry," I stutter again as if I'm the same ten-year old I was before she died.

"Don't be," she says sympathetically. "You did what you could. I've watched you all the time and I'm so proud of you."

"But it hasn't been the same," I confess, my eyes watering again. "I... I miss you."

She smiles sadly and she reaches her hand out to me. Even though she is just a ghost, I feel a cold wind blow across my cheek as if she's stroking it.

"I miss you too, Nico, but you've got to try to live on without me," she says sadly. "Don't let memories of me prevent you from moving on with your life. Make new memories with others."

"It's hard. You know that. You know I've always been bad around other people."

"I know, but you already have people looking out for you. Percy, Annabeth, even Thalia wants you to be safe. You should go back to camp one day."

I bow my head as I think about it more. It's true that those three are looking out for me. Maybe I should listen to her. I feel like I'm being lectured by my mother and I realize that Bianca looks and sounds a lot like her.

"Alright, I'll think about it," I say to her, picking up her body. "Well, I've got to bring your body to the Underworld now. You deserve a proper funeral."

"Wait," she calls before I step out of the control room.

"Yeah?"

"Even though I said don't let memories of me stop you, try not to forget about me, alright?" she asks, smiling. Surprisingly, I smile back. It's as if she's back here, alive.

"I won't." I promise. "I'll always remember you."