Isabella, Tartarus survivor

Sorry, Sally, I didn't mean to wake you up!

Chapter 21

I landed with a thump on a bed covered in soft white sheets. Unfortunately, the bed was occupied. And I landed on one of the occupants. His eyes flew open, and he let out a scream, pushing me onto the floor. The woman in the bed was also sat up at this point. She'd grabbed a can of something, I didn't know what. The label said pepper spray, but I had no idea what it did. It must have been some form of self-defence though, as she aimed it at me threateningly.

"Who the hell are you?" Said the man.

"Are you one of Percy's friends?" The woman asked. I looked up at the word Percy. Had to be a coincidence.

"Sono cosí- I'm so sorry!" I stumbled over my words, holding my hands up in a gesture of surrender. I went to stand, but as I did, Percy suddenly appeared in the room. But it looked like a blurry verson of him, like a moving picture.

"Mom, are you there?" He asked. The woman approached the weird Percy and nodded. "Right," Percy began, "So has she arrived yet?"

"She's one of yours?" The woman asked.

"Yeah," Percy replied, "Her name's Isabella. She jumped overboard the ship, but Piper managed to use charmspeak so that as she shadowtravelled she arrived at yours. Sorry." He grimaced.

"A little warning would have been nice." The man grumbled.

"Yeah, sorry Paul." Percy said. Then, the boy, the liar who called himself Nico, came into view.

"Hey Sally," he began.

"Nico." She nodded a greeting at him. Why was everyone calling him Nico? Was he like, Nico the third of something?

"Basically, she's my sister. My twin sister." The boy stated.

"You have a twin?" the woman, I guess her name was Sally, asked, incredulously.

"Yeah, it's a long story." He did the neck scratch thing again, and my heart ached.

"Right." The guy, who I think was called Paul, said.

"Um, I know it's rude, but do you mind if I shadowtravel to your place real quick and come get her?" The boy asked.

"Sure." Sally replied, rubbing her forehead.

"Thanks." The boy said, and the image disappeared. Sally walked over and flicked a switch. The light turned on.

"So..." she began, "You're Nico's sister?" I paused for about ten seconds, looking into her eyes, searching to see if she was lying.

"He's... he's really Nico?" Sally looked taken aback.

"Of course he is!" She replied.

"But... but Nico's dead. He has to be." I cursed myself as I began to cry. Sally tutted under her breath, a motherly action that made me want my mother desperately. She went to wrap her arms around me, but I flinched away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She said in a low, comforting voice. "I promise you that I'm not going to hurt you." I looked at her through tear filled eyes.

"Nico's... dead." I said again, more firmly this time.

"No, no he isn't." Sally said, keeping her voice calm and comforting. "This is going to be a lot to get your head around but... basically, there's this hotel called the Lotus Casino-"

"That's still around?" I asked.

"You've heard about it?" Sally seemed surprised.

"It's meant to be one of the coolest places in the United States of America." I said, hiccupping as my crying slowed.

"Well, basically, it's run by these creatures- monsters, I guess you could call them. They give people Lotus Flowers to keep them there. It makes them forget what they're doing there. And while they're in there, they don't age. Nico's dad, and I guess your dad, sent him and Bianca there. They only got out a couple of years ago. I wonder why he didn't put you in there with them."

"Bianca's dead." I said. "I was keeping tabs on them... you know, checking their life forces to make sure they were still here."

"I don't know." said Sally. "That's part of what makes you so special. It's a gift. You can do it because you're the child of a god, a Greek god." I moved my head forward, in a gesture that said what the heck are you on about?! "I guess your dad is Hades, the god of the underworld." My head was swirling with all this information, but somehow it felt... right. Like, I knew she was telling the truth.

"I felt Bianca die." I murmured, the tears coming back. "I stopped checking on Nico after that. I didn't- I couldn't feel him die, I couldn't do that." Sally tutted again, and moved in for a hug, and this time, I let her. It was the first hug I'd had in gods knows how long. I sobbed quietly into her shoulder, leaving wet patches on the sleeve of her top. Sally rocked me gently, stroking my hair, something my mother used to do. For the first time in over 71 years, I felt... safe.

We stayed there for a couple of minutes, Sally stroking my hair, and me sobbing gently, when I heard thud of impact. I turned my head and saw... Nico. It really was Nico. I stood up and took a step forward.

"Isabella, sono davvero io." A sob escaped my throat, and I threw myself at him.

"Nico, I'm so sorry I didn't believe you!" I mumbled, my face buried in his shoulder. He hugged me tightly, but I hugged him tighter. In the back of my mind, I was worried I was hurting him, but in that moment, I didn't care. I hadn't seen my brother in over seven decades, I'd be damned if I couldn't hug him as tightly as I wanted.

"I should have found you." He said. His voice sounded thick. I stepped back laughing, and wiping the tears from my eyes.

"Come on now, non possiamo piangere entrambi!" (A/N~ "We can't both cry!" in Italian.) I said, taking a deep breath.

"Issy I... I'm so sorry. I didn't know, I swear. Dad, he... he told me, I don't really understand it, but he wiped you from my memory. After this... this war is over, I'll get him to explain. Words can't begin to describe how angry I am with him." Tears were falling from his eyes now. I wiped them away.

"It's okay Neeks. It's not your fault." I hugged him again, then stepped back.

"Sorry for ruining your shirt Sally." I addressed Percy's mother. She smiled. She looked like she was going to cry as well. Gods, this room was an emotional wreck. Paul looked close to tears as well.

"You didn't, sweetheart." She said. "So don't you even worry about it." I shot her a small smile.

"Issy, we need to get back to the Argo II." Nico said. I turned to him and nodded.

"Ok." I said. This time, Nico addressed Sally and Paul.

"Thank you, Mrs. Jackson, Mr. Blofis. For looking after her. Sorry for the disturbance."

"It isn't a problem, Nico." Paul replied.

"Good luck on the quest." Sally said. "Kick mother nature's ass." Nico smiled at that.

"Thank you. We will." he said. Then, he took my hand. "Do you know how to shadowtravel, Issy? Like, on command, without being afraid" He asked me.

"I can try." I told him.

"Alright, picture where you woke up on the Argo II. That's where we're going to go." I nodded and closed my eyes. I felt the tug in my gut as I used the power. I slipped into the shadows, and was gone.

A/N~ And here's the emotional stuff lads! Phew, two chapters in one night, I'm sure feeling productive! Thanks for reading, please review if you can, and as always, all rights go to Rick Riordan, except from Isabella, she's mine. K cool, see you! Alaya out.