Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The screams of the damned echoed across the Fields of Punishment. Its sky was a hellish red, lit by the fires that forever seared the unliving flesh of the Fields' inhabitants. The air was choked by smoke and a stench not analogous to anything in the living world. Monsters of all kinds roamed freely, able to take out their violent impulses on any mortal soul they encountered.

All in all, pretty typical ambience for the worst place in my father's realm. You wouldn't have know that anything was wrong, if you were not close enough to see the hole in the wall surrounding the Fields.

The security ghoul escorting me to the wall, whose name was Jessica according to her name tag, looked nervous as we approached. I couldn't blame her; the remains of her fellow ghouls were smeared across the scene, their loose limbs and heads among the shattered stonework littering the ground.

"When you told me there was an escape, I had assumed you were talking about a couple souls who had slipped past their guards. How did this happen on your watch?" I asked her.

Escapes from the Fields of Punishment were not as uncommon as you might think. With nothing to look forward to but an eternity of torment, every prisoner eventually gets desperate enough to try running away. Usually, the security ghouls and the hellhounds caught the escapee and brought the asshole back to his regularly scheduled karmic punishment.

However, an escape of this scale was unusual. The guards were duty bound to report this, but none of them wanted to take the blame for it. Thus, they needed to reported it to someone who, though technically a part of the Underworld hierarchy, could deal with the issue before word got to Hades.

And so, they came to me for help. Nico di Angelo. Son of Hades. Ghost King. Chthonic errand boy.

"It was a single being, my lord," Jessica the ghoul answered. "A man armed with a shield which he used to bash down the wall."

"A demigod then," I frowned. There were more than a few languishing in the Fields, and they unfortunately kept the strengths they inherited from their godly parents after death.

"How did he get the shield? Have your guards been letting weapons get into the prisoner's hands?"

Jessica scowled.

"This was not our fault! This man was not one of our charges!" she snapped.

"What do you mean? This wasn't a prisoner?"

"There are no souls missing from the Fields of Punishment; I checked the records myself," she insisted, with a hint of pride in her scratchy, deathly voice. "This being is no resident of the Fields. He is an outsider. We are not to blame for this!"

"But if he's an outsider, he must have broke into the Fields without your guards noticing. And then he demolished your guards on the way out," I criticized.

"Well... yes..." the ghoul stammered.

"But if he could get into the Fields of Punishment unseen, why be this obvious leaving it?" I wondered aloud. "And why break into the Fields in the first place? The only things here are the prisoners..."

Actually, that was not entirely true. The Fields were built on the lowest tier of the Underworld, right at the edge of Tartarus; the abyss where slain monsters went and the prison that held beings far worse than any of the souls in the Fields of Punishment. Though, few beings would dare approach the entrance of Tartarus for fear of falling into its depths.

It was not likely that anyone would break into the Fields just to get a peek at Tartarus. But maybe this guy had never broken into the Fields in the first place. Maybe he had climbed out of the pit.

It wasn't impossible. I had escaped Tartarus myself once. Sure, it had not been easy, and I'll never ever ever ever fully recover from my time there, but I had done it. So who's to say that this mystery shield man had not done it as well. And if he clawed his way out of Tartarus, getting through the Field of Punishment's security would be nothing to him.

I spared a glance at Jessica. She was watching me nervously, waiting for my judgment. I may not have total authority in the Underworld, but being the son of Hades still gave me a lot of sway.

"I'll take care of it," I told her. She relaxed a fraction, no doubt glad that she would not be taking the fall for this.

"How will you find him?" she asked. "He could be anywhere in the Underworld by now."

I looked out to the rocky badlands that surrounded the Fields, picking out the bodies and viscera that made a trail away from the wall.

"Looks like he left some breadcrumbs," I said dryly. "Leave it to me."

Now, pursuing a possible resident of Tartarus by following his trail of dismembered monsters is not something that I can recommend. It's what my boyfriend, Will, would call a 'health hazard', or a 'dangerous situation', or a 'really stupid idea dear gods why are you doing this Nico'.

However, I was in the Underworld. This was my home territory. I was the best candidate for confronting this being.

Aside from my father. Or one of the cthonic gods under his command. Or maybe Cerberus or a Fury.

The point is; I had no choice, I was the best available candidate, and there was no reason to tell Will about this.

I followed the dissolving monster corpses to Asphodel. The harsh, barren landscape of the Fields of Punishment were replaced by an unending, flat landscape of soft grey grass. The shades of those who were not heroic enough to earn Elysium or evil enough to be damned to the Field of Punishment clustered close together. Their empty eyes followed me, sensing my divine heritage. I ignored their whispered comments and strode through their translucent bodies like they were a thick fog.

Stepping past a puddle of shadow that used to be a hellhound, I scanned the grey grassland for the next breadcrumb. What I spotted wasn't a corpse, but it was not far from one.

There was something moving in the grass. Getting closer to it, I saw a withered, clawed hands pulling a torso of pulverized mass slowly across Asphodel.

"Mmmmmrrrrr."

When I caught up to the slow moving monster, I found a half dead Fury dragging herself through what had to be pure spite. Her legs and body below the ribs had turned to sludge and her wings were a mangled mess. When she heard my approach she stopped and flipped herself over to face me.

The three Furies were my father's favourite monsters for their effectiveness and their zeal. Because of this favouritism, or maybe because of their Primordial origin, they reconstituted far faster than any other monster. This get-out-of-Tartarus-free card let them be relentless in their pursuit of oathbreakers, murderers, and the enemies of Hades.

This Fury (I was pretty sure she was Tisiphone, though it was hard to distinguish between the sisters) could not have been slain more than a few hours ago. Her upper body had regenerated to the point where her arms and torso were solid again, though it would take some time for the lower half to catch up. Her face was still a tad sludgy, but she was able to twist it into a determined grimace and push herself up on her elbows to face me.

"Fury, report" I ordered as coolly as I could. I learned a long time ago that, despite their epithet, the Kindly Ones would spit on any kindness that you extended to them. The only way to earn their respect is to act as cold and ruthless as they were.

The Fury's face twisted in concentration as she forced words out of her half melted mouth.

"Mmmmuurder. Murderer!"

I waited, assuming that this was a melodramatic beginning to an even more melodramatic retelling of what happened to her. Instead, the Fury and I stared silently at each other. She seemed just as confused as I was.

"Murder..." she said, scratching at her neck irritably.

"Right..." I said. "And the murderer was...?"

"Mmmmmmurrrrrrrdererrrrrr," the Fury growled.

I had never seen a Fury behave like this. She looked lucid, and her mouth and larynx were completely healed, but it seemed like she was incapable of saying what she wanted to. She grasped at her throat with her clawed hands, trying to choke out any other word, to no avail.

"MmmMMMmmm. MdrrrrRRr. Urderrrr."

Whatever this was, it was now firmly above my paygrade. Too many times I've gotten in over my head by running into danger without fully understanding what I was getting into. King Minos, the Doors of Death, the Venezuelan Cheez Whiz factory; all situations where I needed to be saved from my rash decisions. This time, I was going to tell someone about this, hopefully learn what caused the Fury to malfunction, and then continue my hunt. I needed to be more cautious, because now I knew that there are people who would miss me.

Besides, Will would be mad if I returned to Camp Halfblood with my vocabulary reduced to 'murder'. I already have enough trouble communicating in our relationship, and I doubt that would make things easier.

"I am taking you to my father," I told the Fury.

I crouched down next to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. She did not bite my fingers off, which I was grateful for, but at the same time was another sign that something was horribly wrong with her. I called on the shadows, and they leapt eagerly around me and the Fury. My body went cold, light and gravity vanished, and the darkness spirited us across the Underworld to my father's palace.

I achieved an audience with my father after waiting in the lobby for about an hour. That is astonishingly quick considering the mountains of work that running the Underworld dumps on his plate, but Hades has learned that when I request an audience, it's urgent.

When I was finally accepted into the throne room the rest of the Fury's body had regenerated, so we were both saved the indignity of me dragging her inside. We both walked through the Stygian Iron doors and past the black marble columns to the throne of Hades.

I was surprised to see that my father was not the only one waiting for us. Persephone, my step mother, sat on a throne to his right, dressed in black and pomegranate red with a flower crown fitted atop her head. Flanking them were the other two Furies, Megaera and Alecto, hunched and glowering like the world's worst gargoyles.

My father watched us approach with an air of impatience. Tisiphone fell prostrate before him. I settled for a quick bow.

"Why have you requested this meeting, boy?" my father asked, his voice echoing through the cavernous room. "I am no spirit to be summoned at your leisure; you are well aware of how busy I am."

I managed to keep my eyes from rolling through his bluster. Instead I nudged the Fury with my boot.

"Go ahead. Tell him what's wrong."

The Fury gave me a dirty look, but she obeyed. She looked up at my father, cleared her throat, and spoke.

"Murder. Murder murder murder. Mmmmmrrrrr."

The confused looks that the gods and Furies gave Tisiphone honestly made getting roped into this mess completely worth it. It only lasted a moment though, and my father turned his glare to me.

"That's all she can say right now," I clarified. "She had been slain in Asphodel. I believe that whatever attacked her placed a curse on her."

My father leaned forward on his throne and examined the Fury. His inky black eyes glittered with curiosity, which told me that I was correct to bring her here. Anything that catches my father's attention has to be dangerous.

"It is no curse," my father announced. "I can see no magic cast upon her. What manner of creature attacked her?"

Unfortunately, it looked like I needed to snitch about the prison break. Sorry Jessica.

"I did not see it myself," I said. "But the Fields of Punishment were breached by a person who was not on the prisoner registry. I believe that he came from Tartarus, though I'm not certain."

"Murderer! Murder!" Tisiphone shouted, pointing at me and nodding in confirmation.

"Tartarus..." Persephone said softly.

I looked to her, surprised. The queen of the Underworld looked worried, like she was on the verge of an uncomfortable revelation that she desperately hoped was not true.

"Tisiphone, I command you to answer! Who was it that attacked you?" my father demanded. The weight of his authority seemed to shift gravity itself, as though he could physically pull the answers out of his servant.

The Fury grimaced. With every ounce of will in her hateful little old lady body, she forced out a single word.

"ZZzzzZZzzzaaagreus!"

My father's eyes widened. Persephone paled. Even the other Furies looked shocked. It seemed like everyone but I knew that name.

It felt faintly familiar to me. It could have belonged to any of the hundreds of Greek gods and monsters that I or one of my friends encountered in the past. Adding the fact that most of those entities also had Roman names, it was impossible for me to pinpoint what exactly a Zagreus might be.

I waited for my father to elaborate, but he had gone still as a statue. His face was utterly unreadable. Persephone was just as closed off; staring into space like she was reliving a traumatic memory.

"Father?" I prompted.

"Alert all of the guards," Hades told the three Furies, as though I had not spoken. "Shut down the realm completely until you hunt him down!"

"Mmmrrrrrr," Tisiphone acknowledged with a bow. She extended her wings to their full, intimidating span, and launched herself into the air. In a blur she was gone, her sisters right on her tail.

"What is Zagreus, father?" I asked again.

Hades whirled on me. His expression was cold, but there was a wild light to his otherwise inky black eyes. He was panicked.

"You will not speak that name again, boy," he commanded. "It is far too dangerous. You will forget all you have seen and return to the surface, now!"

"Father, please-" I began, but with a gesture, Hades silenced me. I spoke, but the sounds that escaped my lips were muted, as though I was speaking through six feet of earth.

My father turned to Persephone.

"Ensure he returns to Camp Halfblood. I must go muster my brothers," he spat out the last word like it was poison. "We need to find the root of this problem before it can grow beyond our control."

With that, the shadows grew and smothered the throne room. After a second of pitch black darkness, the light returned and my father was gone.

Persephone looked down at me impassively. I met her gaze defiantly.

"I can help," I pleaded. My words were no longer muted, but I wasn't sure how much that would help me now. It had been a while since she last turned me into a flower, but the queen still held a grudge against me for my father's infidelity. "Just tell me what's going on and I can help!"

Something flickered in her expression. She looked away from me before I could see what it meant.

"My husband swore on the River Styx not to speak of Zagreus to mortals," she said. "As have I."

I stifled a frustrated scream. Sometimes it felt like every god I've ever known had sworn to Styx that they would never ever tell Nico di Angelo anything helpful.

"But I do not think that Hades and his brothers will solve this," Persephone continued quietly.

That surprised me. Persephone was never subtle about her disdain for the Big Three, but she rarely spoke against their rulings.

"I won't force you to go home," she said. "Do as you please. Perhaps you can find a better way. A kinder way."

"You're letting me go?" I asked, still half-convinced that this was a ploy that would give her an excuse to turn me into a daffodil.

She sighed. "You are an effective agent of the Underworld, Nico di Angelo, and I think that this situation may need a mortal's touch. If you intend to help then I suggest you return to Asphodel now, before your father's guards force you to go back to the surface."

She looked so sad, so resigned, that I could not find it in me to interrogate her for more answers. I gave her a nod and shadow travelled out of the palace.

The trail of monster corpses had completely dissolved by the time I returned, but I had other ways to track down this Zagreus. The Fields of Asphodel were chock full of shades with nothing better to than gossip with a curious son of Hades about any odd goings on that they have seen. Many had witnessed Zagreus' confrontations with the hellhounds and security ghouls, though they had been sure to stay at a safe distance, and they were happy to tell me which direction he had went.

I tried to piece together clues about Zagreus' identity, but the shades' accounts were too contradictory. Most told me that he was a god, but some swore that his blood was red, like a mortal. They said that he wielded a shield, or a sword, or a bow. Some shades said that he created projectiles made of blood, others that he caused bursts of biting cold, and a few claimed that he wielded lightning like Zeus himself.

Surely some of the accounts had to be exaggerated, but they still gave the impression that Zagreus was this strange, inconsistent being. Something that changed every time it fought. The only consistent thing about him was that he was dangerous and attacked everything he encountered.

"...Nico di Angelo..."

A voice echoed across the grey Asphodelian fields like a cold wind, stirring up the listless souls around me. I saw the expressions of the shades around me; their normally blank faces were twisted in fear. One by one, they fled from me, their forms fading into the grey horizon.

The fear that the voice inspired in the shades was infectious. Worse, I recognized who it belonged to. I drew my sword.

She appeared before me without any flair or heraldry. I blinked, and she was standing right in front of me, sudden as a nightmare. She wore a shining and, quite frankly, gaudy, sleeveless gold dress with a shimmering, translucent shawl. The skin on her right side was chalk white, while her left side was withered and blackened like a mummy. Mist leaked from her empty black eyes, which were narrowed and regarding me with cool disdain.
Melinoe. Goddess of ghosts and nightmares. Daughter of Hades and Persephone. My half-sister.

I lowered my head respectfully, but I kept my sword drawn and ready. I hadn't seen her since the Second Titan War, when she had sided with Kronos against our father. She, like most of the minor gods, had been pardoned by the Olympians. Though, given that the last time we met she had tormented my friends using visions of their loved ones, I wasn't inclined to be as forgiving.

"Princess," I said with as much disdain I could muster. "Truly an honour that you left your little cave just to speak with me. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"My brother's escape from the depths of Tartarus."

I frowned. "...Okay. I did that a few years ago, so if you're here to congratulate me, you're a little late..."

"Not you, brat" Melinoe snapped. "My eldest brother. Zagreus."

My eyes widened. Too late, it clicked where I had heard the name before; on a Mythomagic forum.

Okay, yeah, I know how that sounds, but Mythomagic's lore was surprisingly accurate to the gods and monsters the cards were based on. What I didn't know from firsthand experience with monsters, I learned through Mythomagic. Knowing the lore had saved my life more than once.

It's a fun game. Shut up.

Regardless, the forum had been discussing a leaked list of card concepts that were never added to the game. One such card, intended to be a part of the 'Beyond Death' expansion, was Zagreus; Heir to the Underworld.

I had assumed that the card was cancelled because Zagreus was not a real god. Mythomagic had made up or embellished gods and monsters in the past (don't tell anyone, but I was super disappointed when I found out that the Necro Skeleton Hydra wasn't real). Besides, if there was a real Heir to the Underworld, then I would have, should have, known about him.

"Why was he locked up in Tartaus?" I demanded.

Melinoe frowned, though it strangely didn't feel like it was directed at me. She looked resentful, almost sad. Vulnerability softened her face in a way that made her look eerily similar to Hazel. If Hazel had been half bleached and half jerky-ed. But it was gone in an instant, and her expression iced over again.

"I swore on the River Styx that I would not speak of him," because of course she had. "However, I know that our Father will undoubtedly try to fix this problem by ignoring it, as he and the Olympians attempted to ignore the rise of Gaia before this. This is foolish. We can only resolve this situation with direct confrontation."

"You're going to fight him with me?" I asked hesitantly. On one hand, I'd die happy if I never saw Melinoe again. But on the other, if Zagreus was a serious enough threat to be compared to Gaia's reawakening, having a goddess providing backup wouldn't be the worse thing in the world.

"I will not fight Zagreus," Melinoe refuted. "I cannot. Neither can you. And as amusing as it would be to send you to your doom, I have other plans for you. If you wish to end this, you must first seek out knowledge."

I glared at her. "Knowledge from where? Is there anyone who hasn't swore a damn oath not to talk about this guy?"

"Yes. There is one. Though he will be loath to speak of Zagreus, he will assist us if you explain-"

Suddenly, the goddess collapsed to her knees. I jumped back, sword raised and ready to summon shades to defend me, but no attack came from Melinoe. She shuttered, her form flickering and morphing. It looked exactly like how the gods had shifted between their Greek and Roman aspects back when Camp Half-blood and Camp Jupiter had been on the brink of war.

One instant, she looked like an elaborate Batman villain cosplay, and the next she was a normal young woman in a short orange tunic. Mostly normal. Normal, except for the translucent, green skeleton arm, the burning, orange feet, and the blackened sclera of her left eye.

"Um... What?" I said, intelligently.

"He's here!" Melinoe gasped. She stared down at her body with a look of naked terror. "I must leave before he can affect my mind! Flee, brat! Return to the world of the living before he cuts you down!"
"Wait!" I shouted as the goddess began to flicker again. "Who do I need to talk to? Where do I get answers?"

Melinoe vanished in blink. All she left behind was one, last, ominous whisper.

"...Seek out the Twelfth Olympian..."

I shivered, feeling horribly alone. There was not a shade in sight, and that ironically made the fields seem more haunted. To spun in a round, trying to catch a glimpse of Zagreus before he got close, but I only saw the empty grey horizon.

My grip tightened on the hilt of my sword. I could shadow travel out of the Underworld, but it would take a lot of energy. And furthermore, I couldn't run now, not without actually seeing the person I had been tracking all this time.

I could practically hear Will badgering me about taking unnecessary risks. I'd have to apologize to him when I returned home. Because I would return home. I had to.

There was a rustle in the grass behind me, and I whirled around, weapon poised to strike.

I saw a man walking towards me, a spear casually balanced against his shoulder. His gate was relaxed and his expression seemed friendly, but something about it made me feel like he could leap into action in an instant. It reminded me of Percy in an odd way; they both had a casual confidence that spoke to a frightening level of power and martial skill.

He was dressed in a red and black toga with red trousers underneath, his only armour a shoulder plate carved in the likeness of three dog heads. A laurel wreath was perched on his head, the red and gold leaves fluttering around his jet black hair. I noticed the features that he shared with Melinoe's second form; glowing, red-hot feet that singed ashen footprints into the earth and a black eye with a blood red iris.

"Hello there," he said amicably. His voice was a warm contrast to Melinoe's. Low, friendly, with a slight English accent.

"...Hi," I said back, my blade still poised to skewer him through the chest. He did not seem to mind.

"Sorry to bother you, but I've gotten a bit turned around," the man said, rubbing the back of his neck ruefully. "Could you point me towards Elysium? Its been a while since I've been there, you see, and I seemed to have forgotten the way."

I frowned. The Underworld wasn't hard to navigate, especially for the cthonic gods and their demigods. I cautiously let my stance relax; maybe he wasn't my target after all.

"Are you Zagreus?"

The man brightened. "Yes! You've heard of me? I didn't think anyone would know me! I've been away for a long time."

I was at a loss. Sure, I had encountered plenty of gods and monsters who acted like they were silly and harmless, but I really was expecting this one to have a bit more gravitas based on how Melinoe and Hades himself seemed to fear him.

"Sorry, didn't mean to be rude, what's your name?" Zagreus asked.

"Nico di Angelo," I answered hesitantly. "Son of Hades."

His expression soured. "Ah. So the old man's found time to do something other than paperwork. Funny, I didn't think that father could leave the Underworld long enough to sire a mortal child."

"What do you mean? Hades can leave the Underworld whenever he wants."

Zagreus waved a hand dismissively. "Anyway, could you spare a moment and give your big brother some directions? I need to keep moving."

"Why do you want to go to Elysium?"

"I'm trying to get to the surface! Though, I'll need to fight my way through Elysium first. Not looking forward to that," Zagreus laughed.

"You don't need..." I began, but caught myself. If escaping the Underworld was his goal, it was probably a bad thing. No need to tell him that he didn't need to go through Elysium to find the exit. I scrambled to cover for my slip up.

"You don't need to fight people," I said weakly. "Have you tried talking things out?"

Zagreus rolled his eyes, which was fair; that sounded pretty pathetic to me too.

"Listen, mate, I'd love to talk things out with every hostile shade and monster I meet, but it's not that simple. Father's servants will stop at nothing to keep me from reaching my mother."

"Your mother? Persephone? But it's January. Your mother isn't on the surface, she's down here!"

"No she isn't," Zagreus said blithely.

"Yes she is! I spoke with her like a couple hours ago! If you follow me to the palace I can bring you to her!" I said impatiently. If this was all some giant misunderstanding, I was going to throttle everyone on the immortal side of my family.

Zagreus's eyes narrowed. He lifted the spear from his shoulder and planted it threateningly in the ground. It's dual blades gleamed with a sickly, greenish tint, unlike any metal I had seen in the Underworld or above it.
"I see what you're doing. You're working for father aren't you? You're trying to trick me into going back to the House!"

"No!" I protested. It was becoming clear that Zagreus wasn't exactly in touch with reality. I had to try my best to stop this from escalating before I could figure out what his damage was. "I swear on the River Styx, Persephone is in the Underworld!"

My oath didn't even phase Zagreus. He hefted his spear and started walking away from me.

"Listen mate, I'm not going to fall for it. You can go back to father and tell him that I'll only be going back to the House the painful way."

Before I could respond, he suddenly stopped and looked upwards. A fond smile spread across his face.

"Speak of the devil!" he said, almost wistfully.

A blood-curling shriek heralded the arrival of a Fury. She swooped down from out of the darkness, brandishing a whip of molten metal, followed by a dozen giant bats with piercing red eyes and wicked, sickle-like claws. Zagreus barely managed to duck and roll under their opening strike. He leapt to his feet again, spear at the ready, as the bat squadron circled overhead like the world's most bloodthirsty flock of vultures.

Megaera landed between me and Zagreus. She looked pissed. Like, angry is the default expression for all three Furies, but she was literally foaming at the mouth as she stared down the god who had hurt her sister.

"Go back to the depths, scum," the Fury hissed.

"Don't be like that, Meg," Zagreus said. He still had that weird smile, even as he readied a spear strike at the Fury. "I know that we haven't talked in a while, but we can work things out!"

The Fury bared her fangs in a horrific snarl. "I am not here to listen to you talk! I am here to make you scream!"

"Well, I wouldn't be opposed to that either," Zagreus said with a sly grin. "Though, perhaps in a more private setting?"

The Fury recoiled, confusion writ across her leathery face. I wasn't any less baffled. Everybody has their own preferences and I try not to yuck other people's yum, but elderly bat-wolf-monster lady is an acquired taste to say the least. Still, I took the opportunity to try and cut into this confrontation.

"Melinoe told me that we can't defeat him directly! In the name of Lord Hades, stand down!"

The Fury whirled on me. "Lord Hades commanded you to stay out of this, godling! Obey him, and return to the surface!"

"Aw, so you do want some private time," Zagreus cooed. It was hard to tell if he was sincere or not.

"Stop that!" Megaera screamed at him. "Stop talking like we are a... thing! We are not a thing! We have never been a thing!"

The bats took her yells as a command to attack. They swooped down at him; swiping with their talons and spitting globules of fire until the space around the god looked like a hellish storm.

Zagreus was untouched. An instant before any strike could land, he vanished in a flash of blood red light and reappeared several feet away from the point that the bats had attacked. He levelled his spear at the swooping monsters who had rushed downward too eagerly and too quickly to pull out of their dive, and attacked. The spear head darted to and fro lightning quick, and each strike reduced a bat to dust.

The Fury roared and leaped at Zagreus like a wild animal. Her whip cracked against his back, drawing golden ichor.

Zagreus grunted in pain, but vanished again before the Fury's second strike landed. He reappeared nearby, now facing both the rampaging Fury and the recuperated bat swarm.

Now, at this point I probably should have left things to the Fury. We had lost the chance to talk Zagreus down, so I should have done the smart thing and left to fight another day. I had been told that I would not be able to defeat Zagreus in a fight.

Unfortunately, I was never good at doing what I was told.

I raised my sword and called upon the wretches of the Underworld. The Fields of Asphodel erupted with a tide of rising bone. The bone knit together into the skeletons of all kinds. Humans armed with tarnished copies of the weapons they bore in life. Undead hounds bared their teeth in silent snarls, following at their masters' boney heels. The skeletons of boars, bears, lions and other beasts stalked around Zagreus and the Fury until their battle was surrounded by my conjured army.

Zagreus had dispatched the last bat in the time it took me to bring my servants to bare. He danced around the Fury's strikes, but he took a moment to look impressed by my army (which I absolutely did not find satisfying, because I did not care about the opinions of delusional gods).

I commanded the skeletons to charge. The Fury and Zagreus disappeared under a wave of bone.

My legs nearly buckled under the wave of exhaustion that hit me. Summoning and controlling such a large group of skeletons would have been taxing even if I had not exerted myself with several shadow travels today. Still, I had more than enough strength left to keep control over this army for however long it took to overwhelm my brother.

In fact, it felt like it was getting easier to control the army. Like, much easier. Like the number of skeletons that I was animating was decreasing rapidly.

I felt the projectile coming seconds before the it burst through the crowd of bone. I leaped aside just quickly enough to avoid getting impaled by a razor sharp crimson crystal the size of a baseball.

Through the gap that the crystal had made in my army I saw a whirlwind of violence. Zagreus moved with inhuman speed, each of his spear strikes felling a skeleton while their weapons were unable to touch him. Blood, red blood, erupted from his skin and coalesced into another one of those crystals. This one was flung into one of the Fury's shoulders, whose ferocity had not let up in the slightest in spite of the wounds she now bore. Zagreus spun his spear around himself, and a burst of intense heat shattered skeletons in a wide arc around him and sent the Fury flying away from him. She was flung out of the fray and crashed into the ground behind me.

I summoned more skeletons to defend me, but I was running on fumes. I could only call a half dozen undead centurions to form a shield wall between us and the battle. I hoped that they would be sufficient to block errant blood crystals.

The Fury was back on her feet within moments, but she seemed dazed. She shook her head as though trying to wake herself up.

"Why do you have to make this so damn difficult, Zag?" Megaera hissed. I stared at her in shock. Her voice had changed. It was steadier, less of an inhuman snarl, and much more youthful.

Her form twitched and shifted, not as drastically as Melinoe had, but just as quick. In a millisecond, one of her wings vanished. She stood taller and less hunched. Our eyes met, and I saw that hers had lost their hellish glow.
Her far too human eyes widened, focused on something behind me. Too late, I turned back to face Zagreus to see him dashing towards me. I raised my blade, but there was another red flash and he was suddenly right in front of me, past my skeleton guards. The dual heads of his spear darted forward, headed swiftly, inevitable, for my throat.

The world felt as though it were playing in slow motion. I couldn't block the blow; the distance between my rising blade and the oncoming spear may as well be miles for all the time I had. The few skeletons that had not been crushed were too far to help.

There was nothing I could do but run.

I used the adrenaline flushing through me to call on the shadows. They consumed me, all of the heat was sucked out of my body in an instant. I felt the tips of Zagreus' spear pressed against my throat, just barely breaking the skin before I was whisked away.

I tumbled through a vortex of darkness for what felt like both an instant and an eternity. The shadows pulled me away from Asphodel and flung me back up to the mortal world.

Gravity returned and dropped me unceremoniously, painfully, onto the ground. I groaned, sprawled out on the floorboards of a cabin. The cold had seeped down to my bones, and I could feel my mind start to fade. The edges of my vision blurred, but I could still make out several shocked faces looking down at me.

I couldn't help but focus on one particular face. Beautiful, kind, and framed by golden hair. Staring at me with equal measures of concern and exasperation.

"Hi, honey," I said woozily to Will. "I'm home."

And then everything went black.

Chapter Text

I awoke to a gentle warmth of a heavy blanket covering me. From how little I could move, whoever had put it on me had tried to wrap me up like a burrito.

I opened my eyes, and winced at the sunlight shining into my face. I groaned and wriggled deeper into the blanket so I could pull it over my eyes. In the shade of my little cave my vision was able to adjust to the distressingly bright room. Once I felt like my retinas were prepared, I peered out of the blankets to get my bearings.

I was laid out on a cot in the Apollo cabin, which was not an unfamiliar situation for me. Half of my visits too camp involved going to the Apollo medics for help with injuries I sustain on my travels. The place was empty, which explained why it was not full of the sounds of music, poetry, and gossip. From the sunlight streaming through the windows, I guessed that it was around midday, so the campers were probably busy with training, chores, or games.

There was a small end table set up next to the cot with a glass of golden liquid placed on it. The icy cold beverage glistened with condensation, and I was suddenly aware of how thirsty and drained I felt. I reached out of my blanket shelter and snatched up the drink, careful not to let it tumble from my weakened grip.

I was surprised by the flavour when I took a sip.

"Not nectar?" I muttered.

"Apple juice," a familiar, heavenly voice answered me. "Your blood sugar is low from abusing your shadow travel again. You don't need a magical god drink to fix that."

I looked and saw Will leaning against the open cabin door. He had been growing his hair out, and with his head framed by the sun it was like molten gold. I would say that he looked like a god, but, quite frankly, that would be doing him a disservice.

Will approached and knelt by the bed. He looked tired, running the Apollo cabin was a full time job, but his expression softened as he looked down at me.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "It was an emergency."

"It usually is," he replied readily. "Tell me about it?"

Gods, I did not deserve him.

I took a long sip of juice and sighed. "I don't know how much I can explain. I don't even know the whole story."

He looked at me suspiciously. "You better not be saying that to 'keep me safe from Underworld business', Nico."

"I'm serious," I insisted, though it was admittedly difficult to be serious while sipping appy juice through a straw.

"Okay, then tell me what you do know. You don't get to just teleport here, interrupt game night, crash here, and leave without letting me help you!"

As much as I did not want to get him mixed up in this, I knew that there was no way Will would let me face this alone. He's a worrier like that.

"Well to start, I have a secret brother," I began.

"Another secret child of the Big Three?" Will said incredulously. "Wow. Did any of them take that vow seriously?"

"Not a demigod," I clarified. "He's Hades and Persephone's son. Fully divine, as far as I can tell. Doesn't seem to be on good terms with either of them. He's been tearing through my father's realm like he wants to cut a new path to the surface."

Will frowned. "Why haven't you heard of him? Is he a new, or something?"

"Apparently he's been locked away in Tartarus. Don't know why. Nobody's been giving me any answers, as usual."

Will paled. "Gods, Hades locked his own son up with the titans and giants? What did he do? What is he?"

I shrugged. "God of weapons, maybe? He keeps changing what he's fighting with, and he's certainly quick to use them."

I finished my drink as I thought more about my encounter with him. Subtly was not a common divine trait, so it was usually pretty easy to figure out a god's domain. Unfortunately, my encounter with Zagreus was too short for me to get a good read of him. Even my memory of his cancelled Mythomagic card was not giving me any clues.

"Or maybe... god of blood or something? Sometimes he bled ichor, but other times it was red like a mortal. He used the red blood as projectiles."

"...Was his name Zagreus?"

I nodded absentmindedly, then froze when what he said actually sunk in. I glanced up at Will and saw that he looked just as confused as I felt.

"How on earth did you know?"

"Hades," he replied.

"What?" I shouted. My father had told Will about my secret brother, but refused to tell me? "When? Why?"

"Not your dad," Will backtracked. "Hades, the video game. I thought you would have heard about it."

"Video game???"

"Yes." A small smirk appeared on his face. "They're all the rage with the kids theses days, grandpa. They're like electronic board games. Or stick ball, but on the computer. Is that boomer enough for you?"

"I'm not a boomer," I muttered. Which was true. I was born before the baby boomers, those little punks.

Will laughed. "Okay, boomer."

I gave him a glare that would have sent any other camper running, but only made him laugh harder.

"Are you going to explain, or are you going to keep cracking jokes?" I asked.

"Sorry," he said, chuckling. "You're too easy to tease, babe."

"Will, please! What is this game?"

He finally got his laughter under control.

"It came out a few years ago. It's a rogue-like with a mythological theme."

"Okay," I said, resisting the urge to ask what a 'rogue-like' was, lest I get more jabs about my age. "But what's it about?"

"It's about a son of Hades named Zagreus who tries to escape the Underworld over and over. He gets a bunch of different weapons as you progress, plus some other abilities," Will said. "I honestly thought that you had heard of it already. It has a lot of the gods in it, so I know that a lot of Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter checked it out just to see our parents in the game."

"...and this is popular outside of demigod circles?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Very."

I buried my face in my hands and groaned. "So I just fought a video game character? What is my life?"

Will placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Nico... don't act like this is the weirdest thing that's happened to you. This isn't even in the top five."

He was not wrong, unfortunately. I sighed and pushed myself upright. Will rushed to help me, but I waved him off. I still felt a little dizzy, but I needed to get moving or I'd go insane.

This whole situation had somehow become even more confusing. Luckily, I had another lead.

"I need to go to the Big House," I told Will.

"Why?" he asked, even as he pulled me to my feet.

I took a few unsure steps towards the door. Will hovered beside me, clearly waiting to catch me if I fainted. It was cute, but unnecessary. Sure, I was still a little lightheaded, but I've dealt with worse. I marched towards the door with my head held high.

"I need to have a chat with the Twelfth Olympian."

Camp Half-blood has changed a lot over the years, but the Big House has remained the same since I was a kid. No additions had been made to it when the rest of the camp had been remodelled after the Titan War, and its wood and paint were untouched by the camp's perpetually perfect weather. The building's design made it look like it could have been built in the 80s, 90s or 00s. It was almost as timeless as its inhabitants.

Chiron and Mr. D were seated at the table in the rec room when Will and I arrived. They were playing some sort of card game with a group of satyrs. Chiron was in his wheelchair so he would not be able to look down at the other players' hands. Mr. D had his sandaled feet propped up on the table. His casual demeanor was at odds with the way the satyrs at the table flinched every time he placed a card.

Chiron smiled when he saw us enter.

"Will. Nico. It is good to see you both. Care to join us for a hand?"

"No, sir," I said. Even if there were not pressing matters, Will had told me too many stories about camp counsellors being cleaned out in 'friendly' games with Chiron. The old centaur had centuries of experience with practically every card game ever made, and he showed no mercy.

"I need to speak with Lord Dionysus."

Mr. D continued to pick through his hand of cards without even looking at me.

"I have a very busy schedule today, di Angelo," he said dismissively. "You can schedule an appointment with my secretary. I believe he's out on the lake right now. Why don't you go down to the docks and jump in?"

"It's about Zagreus," I insisted.

Mr. D's attitude did not seem to change, yet it felt as though the temperature of the room had plunged. Chiron was also impassive, though the way that his eyes snapped from the cards to me made me suspect that he too recognized the name. The satyrs did not seem to be as familiar, but they definitely noticed the shift in their god's mood. They glanced between him and I like they were expecting one of us to pull out a weapon. One of them nervously ate a card.

Mr. D sighed and tossed his hand onto the table.

"Get out. Forget you heard that."

The satyrs obediently dropped their cards and left the room like it was on fire. Chiron stayed behind, and Mr. D made no move to dismiss him. He tented his fingers and looked at me with concern, though I could not tell if he was worried for me, or if he was worried about the trouble I was no doubt bringing.

Once the last satyr had closed the door behind him, Dionysus took his feet off of the table and turned in his seat to look at me. His face was impassive, but there was a faint, deep purple light flickering in the depths of his bloodshot eyes. My throat felt tight, like invisible vines were slowly constricting around it.

"If you ever say that name again in front of anyone, I will turn you into a dolphin. Got it?"

Will stepped between me and Dionysus.

"Don't threaten him, he's here to help!" He crossed his arms and glared down at the seated god. "Why are you acting so secretive about that name? You know that at least half of the campers know it, right?"

Mr. D blinked, and the ugly purple light left his eyes. He looked up at Will with genuine shock written on his face.

"What?"

Chiron gently cleared his throat.

"I think, Mr. D, that things will be made more clear if we let Mr. Di Angelo and Mr. Solstice say what they came here to say without threatening them with a cetaceous fate."

Dionysus glared at him, then at Will, then at me, and then back to Chiron. Finally, he slumped back in his chair. He waved a hand lazily through the air, and the light around it twisted and warped until a can of Diet Coke appeared out of nowhere. Mr. D cracked it open and looked to me.

"Well?" he prompted.

I took a deep breath, and gave them an abridged version of the Tartarus breakout, the state I found Tisiphone in, Melinoe's warning, and my encounter with Zagreus. I made a point not to look at Will while I recounted some of my riskier actions, but I could feel his glare boring a hole into my skull. Chiron's did not visibly react to anything that I said, but Mr. D's already ruddy face got redder and redder as the story progressed.

"...And when I got back here, I learned from Will that Zagreus is the star of some video game." I concluded.

Chiron and Mr. D shared a glance. I waited for them to voice their confusion and disbelief about that last part, but neither seemed surprised. If anything, Dionysus looked a little less tense when he heard it.

"That would make sense," Chiron said, nodding to himself.

"How does that make sense?" Will and I both exclaimed.

"At least we know how he came back," Dionysus muttered, ignoring us. "But how are we going to erase this game before he escapes?"

"Okay, stop," Will interrupted. "Time out. You both sound like you know what's going. Now it's your turn to explain things."

"I don't need to explain anything, Solstice," Dionysus snapped. "You two can go back to your cabins now."

"Nico is involved in this matter already, Chiron admonished him. "And now Will is too."

"The fact that they know anything about this is just another nuisance we need to deal with. Telling them anything more will make things worse."

"They are both extremely capable," Chiron insisted. "And we are far past the point where ignorance will help us. Have the gods not learned from keeping their Greek and Roman children separate?"

Mr. D seethed, but he did not refute Chiron. I took the opportunity to cut in before he could keep arguing.

" Melinoe said that Lord Dionysus could tell me about Zagreus," I said, looking to Chiron. "She did not mention you. How do you know about this?"

"The gods paid me little mind in the early decades of their rule," Chiron said. "I was there to witness Zagreus' rise and fall, but when Lord Zeus gathered the gods to swear an oath not to speak of it, I was not among those called."

So, Zagreus had risen before. Like Kronos, like Gaia, like the giants, like all of the restless souls that had escaped through the Doors of Death, like the hundreds of monsters would never stop coming back no matter how many times they were slain. It seemed like the past had an endless supply of immortal problems for demigods had to deal with.

But like every other immortal that we had faced, he had fallen before. And from my experience, the immortals had a hard time learning from their mistakes. If you know how they were stopped once, you could stop them again.

"I am on a mission on behalf of Queen Persphone and Lady Melinoe," I said to Dionysus. "If you let me, I swear that Zagreus will not escape the Underworld before you can... 'erase the game'. I only need to know who I am dealing with."

Mr D glared at me like a sullen child. I could almost see him weighing the pros and cons of turning me into a dolphin and forgetting this conversation. Eventually, he just sighed and gestured to Chiron. The old teacher nodded, took a deep breath, and turned to Will and I.

"You told us how your divine sister changed before your eyes," Chiron began. "And the Fury as well. It was similar to when the gods shift between their Greek and Roman appearances, correct?"

"Yes," I confirmed. "But I was not the same. I've seen the Furies in their Roman form, and Megaera did not look like a Dirae."

"Correct. But it was the same mechanism that splits the gods into Greek and Roman that Zagreus uses to transform others."

I frowned. "What are you saying? That the gods have a third identity? Something other than Greek or Roman?"

"Not quite," Chiron said. "You see Nico, the gods have always been malleable. The changes between how they appeared to Greece and Rome are the most drastic, but it was not the first nor the last. Even when their worship was contained to the Greek peninsula, the different cultures there had conflicting beliefs about the gods and that had an effect on them. When the gods visited Sparta, for example, they became far more warlike then when they appeared to the Athenians or Thebans. The gods have been, and still are in many ways, changed by the beliefs that mortals have of them."

"It's damned annoying," Dionysus muttered into his Diet Coke can. He paused mid sip and glanced at Will and I. "You're both over sixteen now, yes?"

"Yeah," Will said.

"Yes," I said testily. I wasn't THAT baby-faced.

"In that case, 'fucking annoying' was what I meant to say," Dionysus said with feeling.

"Mr. D...." Chiron sighed.

"What? We agreed that I could curse in front of the older campers! Get off my ass, horse!"

"I know this topic is uncomfortable for you, Mr D, but please stop trying to change the subject," Chiron asked patiently.

Mr. D stared at him like he had force-fed him a lemon. He crushed the Coke can and tossed it over his shoulder. A new, full can immediately materialized in his hand and he cracked it open like it had offended him.

Chiron took this as permission to continue. He sighed and turned back to Will and I, looking every bit the tired teacher that he was.

"I think that I see what you are saying," I told him. "The gods change to meet the expectations of mortals, thus Zagreus resembling his depiction in this video game."

"But that doesn't make sense," Will interjected. "If the gods fit whatever the average mortal thought of them, then we would have noticed them changing whenever a new piece of media about them gets popular. If that were true, Zeus would look like Tristan McLean right now."

"The changes that a god undertakes only occurs when there is a significant and long lasting shift in the mortals understanding of them, and often takes generations to occur," Chiron explained. "Modern media has and will continue to shape them, but not in any way that you will notice. At least, for all but one exception...

"Zagreus was your father and Lady Persephone's first child, and Hades gave him domain over Elysium and the Isles of the Blessed. He had final say over the souls that entered those realms and ensured that their stories survived and were honoured by the living. He controlled which of the honoured dead could drink from the River Lethe and be reincarnated. He was a god of legends, a god of rebirth.

"Now, how do you think that mortals of the time reacted to this new god who could give them eternal paradise on a whim? The god who would ensure that their legends continued to be told after they passed? The god could give them a new life as a prince or as a pauper?"

He paused and I realized that he was not posing a rhetorical question and was actually expecting an answer.

"I guess they'd try sucking up to him?" Will answered.

Chiron nodded. "Indeed. 'The highest of all the gods', they called him. And the more who did, the more true that claim became. He changed far quicker than any other god. And when he changed, so did the rest of the world. Not only did he become as powerful as the mortals said he was, he was retroactively always that powerful. Soon, he rivalled his father and uncles in strength."

I let out an annoyed huff. "But why? What makes Zagreus so different?"

"None know for certain," Chiron shrugged. "A guess? Legends are what shape the gods. The God of Legends even more so. All of the gods reinvent themselves over time; the God of Rebirth is does so more quickly."

I narrowed my eyes.

"So that's why Zagreus was put in Tartarus? Because the Big Three felt threatened by his popularity?" I asked. I must have been doing a poor job at hiding my disdain, because Mr. D shot me a threatening glare and both Will and Chiron looked nervously upwards as though they were going to see Zeus' angry face scowling down at us through the ceiling.

"No," Chiron said, he was sure that no one was going to throw a lightning bolt at us for my insolence. "Though it was decreed that because of his abilities, Zagreus would be allowed no worshippers in the living world. His temples were torn down, his name was erased from public knowledge, and he was confined to Elysium. Once he was forgotten by the mortals, his power dwindled."

"But that wasn't the end of him, was it?" I asked.

"That is not my story to tell," he said, looking pointedly at Mr. D.

The camp director rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm not going to sit here and recount some of the worst moments in my life to a couple of children."

"Lord Dionysus," I pleaded. "I swore that if you-"

"Shut up," he snapped. He waved his hand and a white ceramic mug decorated with painted purple grape vines appeared in front of me.

"Drink," he ordered.

I peered into the cup suspiciously. It was clear, but I could see faint purple particulates floating around in it.

"What is it?"

"Tea," Dionysus said. "Drink it if you want answers."

"Nico..." Will warned, but I was already picking up the mug. I downed the contents before he could talk me out of it.

If it was tea, it was the weakest that I've ever had. It tasted like water. I placed the empty mug back down on the table.

"Okay," I said. "Now will you tell me..."

The rec room was melting. The walls, the table, Chiron, Mr. D, and Will all flowed and warped like globs of paint running down a canvas.

"Oh," was all I could say before I too melted away.

I was in a beautiful, sun-dappled glade. Cypress trees provided shade over a crumbling ruin of a temple, its roof long collapsed in on itself and littered across an interior overgrown with grasses and bright wild flowers. The walls had once been decorated with elaborate paintings, but scorch marks covered up whatever they had depicted.

There was another person in the temple. They looked like they could be in their early twenties, maybe younger. They were dressed in simple robes and had a circlet of twisted vines perched on top of their mess of black curls. Skin darkened by the sun, laugh lines at their eyes and dimples; they looked like they would be the life of any party if they had not been so tired.

The person stumbled over the uneven stones until they found one large enough to sit on. They slumped down with a sigh and rested their face in their hands.

"Long day, traveller?" a voice echoed through the ruins.

The person and I both looked and saw that another had appeared in the temple. He was a tall, lean-muscled man, bare except for a loincloth. Deep red flowers grew among his long black hair, and he sported a pair of horns that curled back from his forehead like crescent moons. His face was almost an exact copy of my father's. Only his eyes were different; bright and full of life instead of inky black.

The traveller took a moment to look over the newcomer, then smiled; wide, bright and infectious. They stood up and bowed low towards him.

"A long night," they clarified. "One full of revelries and a long walk home. I apologize for invading your ruin, good spirit. I will vacate as soon as the world stops spinning."

It was then that I realized who the traveller was. He was younger, his skin less ruddy, and his eyes less blood shot, but there was no mistaking his voice. This was Dionysus. Though, he looked closer to his own demigod children than he did to Mr. D; healthily plump rather than bloated by beer, and, strangest of all, bright and cheerful.

I nearly missed the horned man's reply; "Oh, I am well aware of your late night escapade. Though, I may not have heard the most objective retelling of them. Menoeceus had a rather negative opinion, considering how the poor man passed."

Dionysus' smile faded.

"Ah, yes," he mumbled. "Well, I did warn him not to flirt with my maenads while they're doing their thing. The girls can get a little intense."

He eyed the horned man apprehensively. "Are you some sort of Underworld spirit sent to haunt me about his death? Because it wasn't really my fault and Menoeceus was an ass anyways, so I hardly think that this is worth your effort."

The horned man grinned.

"I am Zagreus," he said. "And I am here because I was intrigued to hear about your little cult. I think that we could help each other."

"We don't like to use the C-Word," Dionysus said, grimacing. "We're just a group of like-minded individuals looking to spread to good word of inebriation to the unfortunate, sober civilizations of the wine-dark sea."

Zagreus' smile faltered. He looked confused.

"What is 'wine'?" he asked.

"Old, poisonous grape juice," Dionysus answered. "It's sort of the backbone of my not-cult."

"Oh! That's potion that you gave Menoeceus," Zagreus realized. His smile returned, though there was a predatory edge to it now. "It's impressive, I'll give you that. You and your followers have done well, considering the rulers of just about every city that you passed through has tried to shut you down. But parties and 'wine' aren't going to get you what you want.

"I think both have gotten me pretty far," Dionysus said.

"It's gotten you a cult-"

"Not a cult."

"-any demigod with half a brain can do that. If your goal is to get into Elysium, then by all means continue as you are. But I think that you're aiming a little higher than that."

Dionysus shrugged. "So what if I am? I'm the son of Zeus. I've brought something new into the world and the mortals love it. Slaves and peasants join me in droves wherever I go. Don't I deserve godhood?"

"More than some of the Olympians do," Zagreus agreed. "But having your followers call you a god isn't going to make it so. You don't have enough divine blood in you to make it to godhood without help."

"Your help, I'm guessing," Dionysus said. He looked at Zagreus skeptically. "Why? What do you get out of this?"

"Thanks to our family, I can't have my own followers or temples anymore. But I could get worshippers second-hand through you. All I need you to do is claim to be me, and I can make sure that we both reap the rewards."

Dionysus thought it over for about a second before he grinned wildly at Zagreus.

"Oh what the Hades, I'm still drunk enough for this. I'm in!"

The scene before me abruptly changed. It was night, and there was nothing but grassland and rocky hills around for miles. I was seeing Dionysus addressing a crowd of heavily intoxicated mortals, nymphs, and satyrs in front of a roaring bonfire.

"Nah, I'm serious guys. Hera kicked me out of Olympus cause y'know how she gets about Zeus' kids."

"Whoooaaah," someone in the group called.

"When I lived there, my name was Zagreus. I changed it to Dionysus so I could go undercover among mortals."

"I knew it..." a woman with extremely dilated pupils stage whispered to the transfixed nymph beside her.

"Which one..." a satyr slurred. "Which one should we call you?"

Dionysus shrugged and poured a bit more wine in the satyr's drinking horn.

"Either works. Why not both? Cause Zagreus and Dionysus are totally the same guy!"

The world shifted again. Dionysus was leading a procession of his followers through a small city of rough stone buildings and packed dirt streets. His robes were deep red, and a leopard pelt was draped across his shoulders like a cape. His followers were freely handing out wine to the city's star-struck citizens.

"Hail Dionysus! Hail the great Zagreus!" The crowds cheered.

Another change. Dionysus was sitting alone by a stream. He peered down at his reflection and prodded at the pair of curving horns that were beginning to sprout from his forehead.
"Are these going to be a permanent thing?" he worried aloud.

He laughed, but it was no longer Dionysus' voice that left his lips.

"I think that they suit us! Horns are very fashionable." Zagreus' voice was cheerily even though Dionysus's face continued to frown.

"We're going to visit my family in Thebes soon. I don't want to freak them out too much," Dionysus complained.

"Your family, many of who doubt that you are Zeus' demigod son, let alone a god," Zagreus replied. "Personally, I think that the horns would be a good way to sway them. Even your cousin Pentheus won't be able to dismiss these. But if you feel self conscious you could always hide them with the Mist..."

It was dark. I could see shadowy human shapes running through a forest in the night. One shape was in the lead, and the rest followed, whooping and howling like animals.

The person in the lead stumbled and crashed into the ground. In an instant, the others were upon him. I could hear his screams join the joyful revelry of his attackers.

Dionysus watched with me, horns on full display and a deep purple glow emanating from his eyes. His expression was undecipherable.

"Love isn't enough to make a god," Zagreus said through his mouth. "We need to be feared too, or we will be haunted by fools like Pentheus forever."

Dionysus did not respond. I wasn't sure if he could anymore.

I was nearly blinded when the dark woods changed into the shining throne room of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zagreus in Dionysus' body stood before an assembly of gods; the Olympians seated on their thrones, and my father standing beside Zeus' platinum seat, wreathed in shadow in spite of his brother's luminescence.

The gods looked strange to me in classical dress instead of the modern outfits that I was used to seeing them in, but each was still recognizable. Ares' eyes burned dully beneath a hoplite helmet rather than hiding behind his usual sunglasses. Instead of his finely tailored suit, Zeus was draped in thundercloud grey robes with a platinum laurel wreath on his head. Hestia's face was hidden by a veil, but there was no mistaking the gentle warmth that radiated from her.

My father's appearance was the closest to the dark robes that he always wears but the expression on his face bore an expression that I had never seen on him before. He was nervous. Apprehensive.
"Father," Zagreus said through Dionysus' mouth. "I have returned to take my place on Mount Olympus."

"You're place is in Elysium. You have been neglecting your duties for some time," Hades said, though his voice lacked the coldness that I was more accustomed to.

Zagreus laughed.

"I was not speaking to you, Lord Hades," he said. "Have you not heard? I am Dionysus Zagreus, son of Zeus, heir to Olympus! Spitefully banished from this mountain by a jealous Hera and forced to walk among the mortals for nineteen years!"

He smiled at my father, though it did not reach Dionysus' eyes.

"At least, that is what the mortals are saying," he conceded. "I suppose you don't hear much gossip down your palace, Uncle Hades."

Hades flinched, and all of the gods around Zagreus flickered like flame in the wind. It lasted for only half a second and then they returned to normal, but several winced like they were suffering from particularly painful migraines. My father looked particularly effected. He took a step back, letting his brother address Zagreus.

"Son," Zeus said through gritted teeth. "We agreed that Hermes would be the last to have a throne here. For the stability of the world, there will be no more than twelve Olympians."

"That's quite alright, father," Zagreus said. "I am not here for the thirteenth throne. I am here for yours."

Zeus scowled got darker still. Thunder rumbled throughout the sky. He raised his hand and a celestial bronze staff appeared in a flash of lightning.

"Watch yourself, boy," Zeus warned. "No amount of popularity will stop the Master Bolt."

Zagreus raised his hands in a peaceful gesture. "I am not going to fight you, father. Why would I, when you are going to give me the throne willingly?"

I could see Zeus' eye twich dangerously, but the king of the gods did not raise his bolt, or even refute Zagreus' words. Zagreus smirked and continued, addressing all of the assembled gods.

"My cult is spreading the word now: the lost heir has returned to Olympus! Zeus is overjoyed to see his son return, and, in his infinite wisdom, he will abdicate his rule instead of repeating the mistakes of Kronos and Ouranos. The mortals are ready for a new age and new gods."

"Enough theatrics," Hera interrupted. She looked more annoyed than frightened by Zagreus' announcement. "You have gotten our attention, Zagreus, now tell us what you actually want."

"Perhaps we can undo some of the restrictions that were laid upon him," Hades suggested. He was doubled over and leaning against Zeus' throne for stability, but he fought to speak through whatever weakness was effecting him. "Give him control over the River Lethe once more and, in exchange, he can tell his followers to stand down."

"No! It's too late for that!" Zagreus yelled. His smug posturing changed to rage frighteningly quickly. "You weren't so eager to talk before! You stripped me of my temples and my authority, all because you feared for your throne! So this time, I'm taking it all! The Sky, the Underworld, the Sea! Conquest, craft, art, healing, prophecy, nature, hunting, sex, and love! I will take everything, and I will leave you all with nothing!"

Silence rang throughout the throne room. Athena cleared her throat.

"Brother, did your followers not think it strange that you appeared fully mortal up until this year?" she asked.

Zagreus glared at her. "They are a gaggle of drunks. Thinking is not their top priority. What are you trying to say, sister?"

Athena shrugged. Her face was unreadable beneath her helmet, but there was a gleam in her grey eyes reminded me of when Anabeth was trying not to look smug about knowing something that no one else did.

"Your maenads and satyrs may not question it, but the mortals that they tell your tale to do. There are holes in your little story."

"I've showed enough of my power to make them believe it. Who cares if it's there are plot holes?" Zagreus dismissed. "Dionysus' cult is spreading it even now. Once enough mortals believe in me, you will too."

"Your cult spreads word quickly," Athena said. "But none can compete with Hermes."

Only now, I noticed that there was only eleven Olympians in the room, and none of them wore Hermes' winged sandals and cap. Zagreus looked around for him, looking uncertain for the first time since coming into the throne room."

"The theory that Hermes spreads," Athena continued. "Is that Queen Hera not only banished Zagreus from Olympus; she tore him asunder and thrust him into Tartarus."

Hera stood up from her throne by Zeus' side.

"However, his heart remained. Athena presented it to Zeus, who implanted it in his thigh. After months incubating there, Zagreus was reborn as Dionysus; more mortal than god."

Hera approached Zagreus, prim and proper as ever. He backed away from her hesitantly.

"At least, that is what the mortals are saying," Athena concluded with the smallest of smiles.

Zagreus turned and ran from Hera. Though Hera continued to walk, Zagreus did not appear to be getting any further from her. In a few quick steps, Hera was upon him. The queen of the gods seized him and lifted him bodily over her head. Then, with flare that would make a professional wrestler jealous, she slammed him down against the cold marble floor.

There was a flash of light, and all the Olympians flickered again. When they were solid again, Dionysus was still and silent. His horns had vanished. He looked like nothing more than thoroughly ordinary, unconscious mortal. Whatever hold Zagreus had over him and the gods had vanished.

"Well, that was invigorating," Hera said happily. She raised a foot over Dionysus' neck. "And now for Seleme's little lush."

"Hera!" Zeus warned.

The queen and king conducted a silent argument consisting of glowers that only centuries of being unhappily married can produce. It ended when Hera let out a frustrated sigh and backed away from Dionysus' body.

Zeus turned to Hades. My father was staring at the spot where Zagreus was yeeted into Tartarus. There was no surprise or outrage in his expression, just the resigned sadness of someone who had known of Athena's plan, and had desperately hoped to avoid it.

"We must be sure that he does not return," Zeus said. "We were lucky this time. If he ever escapes, he could undo the entire world."

My father nodded slowly. "I agree. I will ensure that he does not stir from the pit."

"What about him?" Hera asked, gesturing towards Dionysus like he was roadkill. "We can't just send him back to the mortals. Look at him!"

The Olympians stared at him. To me, he did not look any different, but apparently the gods could perceive something about him that I could not.

"The spark of divinity within him remains. It appears that Zagreus did not leave him unchanged," Athena said. "With his swath of followers, he could very easily become a god in his own right. And a powerful one at that."
"Then throw him into Tartarus too!" Hera insisted. "This mess is all his fault anyways."

"He was just a tool being used by Zagreus," Hephestus grumbled. He glared at his mother. "Though I suppose this would not be the first time you threw an innocent off this mountain."

"We should welcome him as one of the Olympians. Better to gain an ally than let loose a potentially powerful enemy," Athena said.

"We agreed to twelve thrones! Are you going to give up your seat, wise one?" Ares challenged.

"My family."

The voice was warm and gentle, but it somehow carried over the bickering and grabbed the Olympians' attention. Hestia rose from her throne and addressed the room.

"I am willing to make this sacrifice."

The world melted away and faded to black.

I woke up on a cot in the Apollo cabin again. It felt like my brain was pounding against my skull and my mouth was dryer than a desert. For a moment, I was worried that the whole conversation at the Big House had been a dream and I would be forced to do social interaction a second time today. My fears were put to rest when I saw Will rushing over to me, armed with a cold cloth and a med kit.

"Oh thank the gods," he said. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine," I rasped. I pushed myself up into a sitting position, and was surprised to find that I had not lied; I did not feel dizzy or sick. Even the headache was fading rapidly.

"What was in that tea?" I muttered.

"Mr. D insisted that it was all 'natural ingredients. I couldn't get him to admit anything more than that," Will said distastefully. He looked at me with concern. "You were in a trance for like an hour. Did you... get what you were looking for?"

I nodded slowly. "I think so. I think I have an idea of what to do now."

"You know how to defeat Zagreus?"

I hesitated. After hearing Chiron's tale and seeing Dionysus' origin firsthand, I was not sure if I wanted to fight Zagreus. Yes, I had seen him do some messed up stuff while possessing Mr. D, but nothing worse than any other god. His abilities made him an existential threat to other gods, but did that mean he deserved to be kept in Tartarus forever?

But I could not just let him escape the Underworld. Who knows how much more vengeful he might be feeling after a millennia in Tartarus? If he emerged from the Underworld, then both Camp Halfblood and Camp Jupiter could be in his sights. If I did nothing and let the gods handle the consequences of their actions, then my friends and every other demigod could be collateral damage.

At the very least, I should confront my brother. Maybe he could be reasoned with now that I know who he really was. And if he was not willing to talk...

"That depends," I said. "How much do you know about that video game?"

"I mean, I can look it up," Will said, shrugging. "I'm going to be honest, I've only played the game once. Most of my experience with it comes from the week that the Hermes cabin spent harassing the Ares cabin with the art of their dad."

"Well that's not-" I stopped and gave Will a look. "How is that harassment? Is Ares really ugly in the game, or something?"

Will laughed. "Worse. He's hot. All of the gods in the game look hot, but the Ares kids are the easiest to tease about it. The Hermes kids printed off pictures of him, wrote 'dilf' on them, and then hid them all over the Ares cabin."

I chuckled, despite everything. Will looked unreasonably pleased about drawing that out of me, so I reigned myself in and returned to resting bitch face.

"We need to beat Zagreus at his own game," I said. "Literally. The only way we can stop him is if we twist the rules and story of his game against him. I need you to learn as much as you can about it so we can make a plan."

"What about you?" Will asked.

No plan that we came up with would change the fact that Zagreus was an incredible combatant in his current form. He had cut through monsters, skeletons, and Furies with a skill that I had seen in few others. If there was any chance that we would need to fight him again, we would need people who could match him.

I stood up and shook away the last of the last of the grogginess.

"I'm going back to the Big House to use the phone. I'm going to call in some extra muscle."

Chapter Text

"So, long story short, you need someone to sword fight a god for you."

"You can see why we came to you."

"Yeah, but you do have other people you could call, right?"

"Sure. But none who fit the requirements as well as you do."

"But if I said something like 'I have a class at 8:30 tomorrow morning,' or 'I need to have this assignment done by Tuesday,' you have someone else who could cover for me."

"This is important. We are talking about an ancient god with a grudge against Olympus rising from the Underworld."

"I was listening, Nico, but I am retired. And it sound like this is an Our Dads' Problem anyways. You never said that your brother has a problem with humans or demigods, so why not let our parents clean up their own mess for once?"

"You know damn well that mortals always suffer when the gods feud."

"...Yeah."

"So?"

"Can't you ask someone else? Why not Jason? He's about as good a fighter as I am."

"I already asked Jason. He has strep."

"Wait, you asked Jason before me? Seriously, Nico? We've known each other for years!"

"He's the best swordsman I know. Also, he kind of looks the part."

"Hold on, what do you mean 'the best swordsman you know'? You know what, don't answer that! Come pick me up in twenty, and I'll show you the best godsdamned swordsman you've ever godsdamn seen!"

"...Wow, that was a real turn around. Are you sure about this?"

"Of course I'm sure. Of course I'll do it, Nico. You knew I would do it. I just need to complain about it before I do so it feels like I have some agency in my life!"

"That's fair, I guess. If it helps, I promise that this won't turn into a months long quest. Just the one fight and you'll be back to you're blissful retirement."

"..."

"..."

"You didn't really call Jason first, did you?"

"I'll pick you up tonight."

We chose to wait until nightfall to before heading back to the Underworld. Well, Will chose; I wanted to go as soon as possible since we did not know how close Zagreus was to escaping, but Will insisted that we wait for the night to strengthen my shadow travel. I knew that if I passed out in front of him three times in one day he would never let me out of his sight again, so I wisely acquiesced to his suggestion.

Besides, the extra time gave us the opportunity to touch up our knowledge of Hades (the game, not my father), so that when we were ready to depart for the gates of Hades (the place, not my father), I felt a little more ready for whatever my brother might throw at us.

Shadow travelling straight into the land of the dead was rough, even bolstered by the night. I brought us to the Erebus caverns near the shores of the River Styx, and I immediately doubled over with waves of nausea. Will rushed to support me before I could tumble into the Styx's polluted certainly-not-water, nearly knocking in his luggage in the process. Not that I would not have been able to stand up by myself, of course, but I leaned against him anyways. To make him feel better. Definitely.

I glanced up at Percy. Retirement seemed to agree with him; he looked more rested than he had in the entire time I've known him. The tension that he used to always hold tight in his shoulders was gone. He was dressed in comfy sweatpants, and, if I had not talked him out of it, he would be wearing crocs instead of proper shoes.

Still, in spite of the newfound contentment, it was clear that he had not lost his edge. His eyes flitted over the cavern for threats that could emerge from the shadows. He carried a heavy bronze shield like it was nothing, and he had strapped a cuirass over his t-shirt. Riptide was not yet drawn, but he flitted with it in pen form like he was eagerly waiting for a reason to do so.

"This place brings back memories," he said. "Like the time Cerberus almost ate me and my friends. Or the time I nearly got my soul fried in the river. Or the time your dad tried to kill me with a skeleton army. Good times."

Despite his casual tone, I couldn't help but wince. Two of those three situations had been directly my fault, and they were not the only times I had dragged Percy into life-threatening situations. Though he's straight up told me that he has forgiven me, and he was clearly over it enough to joke about it, I still could not help feeling guilty about everything he's been through because of me.

And now I was doing it again. At least I gave him a choice this time, I guess.

Will noticed my discomfort and did his best to cover it up by joking back to Percy; "Is there any place in or below the United States that you haven't had 'good times'."

"Fair enough," Percy conceded.

I drew away from Will and cleared my throat. "Alright. If he's bound to the path he takes in the game, Zagreus will have to fight through Elysium, pass through Cerberus' gate, and then follow this trail to the Styx. If we sweep the path down to meet him, we can confirm that he hasn't passed Cerberus and set up our ambush just outside Elysium. Clear?"

"Sure," Percy shrugged. "Just lead the way, Nico."

We had not taken more that a couple steps through the caverns when a high-pitched cackle echoed from the shadows above us. Percy and I drew our swords and Will raised his luggage like he was ready to use it as a club. A tall, leath shape fell in front of us with unnatural grace. It was a woman with pale grey skin dressed in red. She bared her fangs at us and snapped her whip threateningly.

"Turn back, halfbloods. The living should not trespass here," she hissed.

At first, I was taken completely off guard, but then I noticed a large, shadowy shape on her back. A single, pitch black bat's wing that beat at the air restlessly. I had seen a similar wing on the Fury's back after Zagreus' presence had started changing her.

" Megaera?" I tried.

"Alecto," she spat.

It appeared that all three of the sisters had a run-in with Zagreus. Alecto looked far more physically changed than Megaera when I last saw her. And I suspected from the out of character, unhinged smile on her face that she might have been more mentally effected than Tisiphone had been. The Fury's eyes glided over me and instead focused on Percy.

"Redblood," the Fury hissed at him. "Come for a rematch, have you?"

"Rematch? Have we met...?" Percy blinked and his confused expression melted into horror. "Oh my gods, Mrs. Dodds?"

"Alecto!" the Fury screamed.

"Right..." Percy nodded. His eyes frantically darted up and down her form like he was trying to make it make sense. "You seem... different. Is this is your usual look? Because if it is, teaching really didn't agree with you."

"You look far too alive for my taste, godling." Alecto grinned wider and snapped her whip at him. "But I can fix that."

"That's enough." I stepped in between them and stared down the Fury. Or rather, stared up the Fury. Gods, she was tall now.

"Alecto, report. Where is Zagreus?"

"I don't take orders from you!" she sneered. She took a step closer and bared down at me. "Your father commanded you to stay out of this!"

"No, he commanded me to return to the surface, which I have done. He did not forbid me from returning or from facing Zagreus. In fact, the queen has given me permission to help however I see fit."

It was all technically true, if you only cared about the letter of my father's commands. But that's the thing about Furies; no matter how bloodthirsty they act, they are, at their core, lawful creatures. If I was not technically breaking any of my father's rules, or if I technically had the blessing of Persephone, then I was in the clear.

Of course, that was assuming that the changes Zagreus had done to her did not extend to that part of her nature. I did not know how much sway my bluff would have over this new version of the Furies.

Apparently, it had just enough sway, because Alecto hissed like a frustrated cat and backed away from me.

"Zagreus has reached Cerberus' post," she snarled. "I intended to lie in wait here and ambush him after the dog wears him down."

This was bad. My plan had relied on encountering Zagreus in Elysium. It was possible that it could be performed somewhere else, but I had not wanted to take chances. Sure, Zagreus may be weaker if we ran into him while he was trying to break through the gates, but I was not sure how much wearing him down would be successful. If things had to come to blows again, I wanted to be able to use Zagreus' lore against him.

It appeared as though we needed our backup plan, just in case. I produced a letter in a purple envelope from my jacket pocket. I had written it hoping that I could summon a shade or a hellhound to deliver it for me, but a Fury would work just as well.

"Forget that," I told Alecto. "Bring this to my father's palace."

She groaned dramatically, like at kid being told to clean her room. "What?!? And miss out on the bloodshed? In your dreams, halfblood!"

"Take it! Afterwards, you can gather your sisters and come back to help us fight," I said, mostly to mollify her. I was sure that by the time she did that I will have talked down Zagreus, the plan will have succeeded, or we would be dead.

"Grraaah! Fine!" She snatched the letter from my hand, gave us all the stink eye, and then launched herself back up into the darkness. I felt a familiar surge chilling power as she shadow travelled deeper into the Underworld.

"Looks like she can fly with just the one wing," Will commented. "I was wondering about that the whole time. Thought she was going to face-plant if she tried."

"Maybe the other wing is invisible," Percy guessed.

"I don't think we should get hung up on little details like physics," I muttered, distracted. The plan might still work, even at Cerberus' gate. But there was something I needed to try first.

"Let me go on ahead," I said. "I want to see if I can talk to Zagreus."

"Nico, talking to him didn't work out so well last time." Will warned. He had his arms crossed tightly, which I knew he did when he was worried and trying not to fidget. "You should at least have us in the room with you in case he attacks."

"No. I need to talk to him alone. Now that I know who he is and why he was imprisoned, I might be able to break through to him."

"Or he might attack you while your guard is down."

Percy put a hand on Will's shoulder to reassure him. "If Nico thinks that this is worth a shot, we should trust him."

"I do trust him," Will insisted. "The violent video game god from Tartarus is the one I don't trust."

"We can be right outside of the cavern. Close enough that if Nico's brother gets jumpy, we'll be right there to get between them," Percy suggested.

He shot me a look warning that I would be better off agreeing to this compromise. I sighed and nodded.

"Fine. Just get yourselves ready without making too much noise."

I pushed on ahead along the banks of the River Styx, Will and Percy following closely behind. We kept ourselves pressed close to the cavern walls, careful of unstable ground that might send us tumbling into the river. After minutes of scraping our backs against the stone and carefully weaving around stalagmites, the path widened and we found ourselves at the enormous, yawning, dark maw that marked the entrance to Cerberus' cave and the Underworld's gate.

A trio of whines echoed through the cavern and my heart seized. I rushed ahead, leaving my friends behind, cursing myself for not considering that Zagreus might hurt Cerberus. He might be a terrifying guard dog, but at the end of the day he was just a good boy doing his job. Brother or not, if Zagreus attacked the dog there would be no peace talks; I would drag him down to Tartarus myself.

I found the gate to the Underworld in tatters. Pieces of the security ghouls were strewn about the cave. The magical detectors that had lined the gate were smashed to pieces. The newly arrived souls were either cowering in the shadows, or else trying their best to slip into the Underworld past the two creatures in the centre of the room.

Cerberus lay on the ground, heads competing with each other to nuzzle or lick Zagreus. He did his best to equally distribute pets to three insistent dog heads the size of small cars. His weapon, a sword instead of the spear that he used against me, was left carelessly on the ground nearby.

Zagreus was hard to look at, and not just because he was covered with ghoul viscera and Cerberus slobber. Staring too long at him made his appearance go all fuzzy. If you tried to focus on different parts of him, his form seemed to shift. In some perspectives, I saw the heterochromic, fire-footed, warrior from our last encounter, and the next instant he was the horned man from Dionysus' first memory. He was like a magic eye picture personified.

He had not noticed me entering, he was too busy cooing over Cerberus.

"It's okay, boy, it's okay! I missed you too. And you. And you. Has father not been visiting to play ball with you? I bet he just has one of the ghouls do it for you, is that right? That workaholic never remembered to spend time with you."

Cerberus whined and his left-most head nuzzled into Zagreus hard enough to bowl him over. Zagreus fell flat on his back, but he just laughed at Cerberus' eagerness. He pushed himself back to his feet, but in the process, he saw me standing at the edge of the cavern. His laughter stopped abruptly, and his form settled on his video game appearance.

"Hello, mate," he said. "I was wondering if we would cross paths again."

His sword leapt up from the ground and flew into his hand. He started approaching me, but paused when Cerberus gave a low growl. The guard dog's heads were looking between Zagreus and I anxiously.

"Are you really going to fight me in front of the boy?" I asked.

"Only if you try to stop me from leaving," he replied, but I did not miss the way his eyes darted to Cerberus uncertainly.

I raised my hands away from the sword on my belt. "I just want to talk. I want to know what you really want."

"I've told you already; I'm looking for my mother, and I want to meet my family on Olympus."

"No. That's what your character's goal in the game. I know who you really are, and I need to know what you want."

"Sorry, I'm not sure what you're on about," Zagreus said. He looked genuinely confused, and for a moment I was worried that his newest story had washed away his pre-Tartarus memories. I kept pushing regardless, desperate to get through to him.

"I saw how you used Dionysus to get revenge on Olympus, how you made his followers believe in a legend that benefited you," I told him. "You're not some mindless automaton acting out a story; you know what you're doing, and you actively try to change the story to suit you. So, tell me what you really want, brother."

Zagreus winced, and he shifted for a moment into the horned version of Dionysus. He grimaced and with a few seconds of effort forced himself to change back. He looked at me with wide eyes, but then his face twisted into a sullen glower. Not ideal, but at least it was something new.

"I am sorry about Dionysus." He said, reluctantly. His voice was the same, but the words were clumsy and awkward. It was like he had been reading from a script that had abruptly ended, and now he was being forced to improvise. "But I think we're more than square now, considering he has been living it up on Olympus for the past few millennium while I've been trapped in Tartarus."

"That... wasn't a fair punishment," I admitted. "You hurt people, but no one deserves to go to that place."

He looked at me like he was seeing me for the first time. "You've been there?"

I nodded. He let out a short, bitter laugh.

"You're sturdier than you look then. I was not conscious for most of my stay there, but I saw more than enough to know how horrible that place is."

"You weren't conscious?"

"I was constantly on the boarder between existence and nonexistence. That's how few mortals knew about me. Even when I was awake, I was less than a ghost. On the bright side, it meant that very few of Tartarus' other residents could attack me, but it got so lonely that I began to wish that they could. I would have gladly fought monsters and titans and giants over and over again for all eternity rather than feel the crushing numbness that came with being alone for millennia!"

"If that's true, then why are you wreaking our father's realm?" I asked. "The gods did not even notice you were back until I stumbled on the destruction you left behind. If you want to avoid being sent back to Tartarus, you could have found a place to lay low."

"Do you think I had that choice, demigod? If not for this game that the mortals made, I wouldn't be able to remember my own name; I have to follow the story they made if I want to do anything at all before father and the rest find a way to erase my name from the world again. I'm working with what I've got!"

He scowled. "Of course, what I've got isn't much to speak of. The game gave me a legend of my own, but it s stilled tied too close to father and the Olympians. Sure, I can interact with the Furies, the shades, and the monsters that are down here, but the gods are too frightened of being changed to touch me. Even my own sister fled!"

He was really worked up now, pacing back and forth, leaving sooty footprints on the cavern floor. Cerberus sensed his irritation and shrunk back until he faded back into the darkness.

"And where does that leave me? Alone again!" he said, gesticulating angrily with his sword. "My mind is full of memories that I know don't fit this world! I'm searching for a mother who I know won't be waiting for me, I can't help but search for boons from gods who I know wouldn't so much as spit at me, and even father won't risk interacting with me even to fight me! I'm stuck in a different story from everyone else!

"The only way to get anyone to acknowledge my existence, to stop myself from fading away again, is to follow my legend until they are forced to face me and I can make them a part of my story. The mortals made me strong and skilled, so I'm going to use that to wreak the Underworld and then do the same to Olympus!"

"If you make it to the surface you'll just be sent back to Tartarus," I warned.

"And if I go back to Tartarus, I will just break free again," he shot back. He smiled grimly. "I can keep doing this forever, and I know that I have some time out of the Underworld before I am sent back. How many escapes do you think it will take until my family has to face me? What sort of things will I have to destroy to make them show up?"

"You don't have to do this," I insisted. "If all you want is to be with our family, then calm down and I can convince them to-"

"You won't convince them of anything! None of them want to get close to me." He shrugged. "And it's only a matter of time before they banish me again. I might as well deserve it."

He stopped pacing and readied his blade. His expression shifted back under the mask of geniality, and his voice returned to his smoother, scripted demeanor.

"Now, are you going to stand aside, or will I need to go through you?"

"I think that means the peace talks have broken down," Will's voice echoed through the cave.

I looked back and saw him approaching with Percy following a step behind him. He lugged along the electric guitar and the amp that he had unpacked and placed them next to me. Zagreus watched, bemused.

"Sorry, don't mean to be rude," Zagreus laughed. "Is this one of Daedalus' contraptions? I can't work out how it is supposed to stop me."

"Don't worry about it," Will said without looking up from tuning the guitar. "Worry about him."

Percy stepped forward, a ridiculous fake grin plastered on his face. With a flourish, he raised his sword and pointed it dramatically at Zagreus.

"Ho there!" he shouted. "I, Theseus, will send you back to the depths, hellspawn!"

I lied when I told Percy that Jason had been my first choice to fight Zagreus. Sure, they were roughly equals when it came to sword fighting and sheer power, but fighting skill was only half of what we needed. We also wanted a person who resembled one of the game's bosses. Jason might have looked a little closer to Theseus, but he is such a straight-laced guy that I wasn't sure if he could pull off the character's buffoonish personality. Percy, on the other hand, had no equal when it came to buffoonery.

"You're not Theseus," Zagreus said bluntly. He had not even bothered to raise his sword even in the face of Percy theatrically brandishing his own.

"Of course, I'm Theseus," Percy scoffed. "Who else could I be? Some other son of Posidon that defeated the Minotaur, Procrustes the Stretcher, Sinis, and his giant turtle? Don't be ridiculous, hellspawn!"

Zagreus frowned. "Theseus is the champion of Elysium, mate. Don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not exactly in Elysium anymore. I don't need to fight you if I've already passed Cerberus."

"Are thou sure?" Percy challenged. "Then why, pray tell, is there boss music playing?"

"I don't hear music-"

Will started strumming a fast, aggressive tune on the guitar. The amp, blessed by Apollo, blasted the music through the caverns despite not being plugged into anything. I noticed a few of the lingering shades bobbing up and down to the tune.
Zagreus stood stalk still. One of his eyes, the red and black one, started twitching. He raised his sword slowly and unsteadily, like an invisible force was making him to take up a combat stance.

"Blood and darkness," he muttered angrily.

"Have at thee!" Percy cried and leapt forwards. Riptide clashed against Zagreus' red-orange blade and the boss fight began.

I had only seen Percy fight someone who could match his skill with a sword a few times, and most of them had been sparring matches with Jason. The speed and precision that he displayed was astounding. It was amazing to not only see Zagreus keep up with his rapid series of strikes, feints, and pivots, but actually challenge him back.

Their exchange only lasted a few seconds before Zagreus darted back. He watched Percy more warily now, circling him quickly, looking for weaknesses in his guard. Percy stayed light on his feet, turning to keep his shield in between himself and Zagreus.

"Had enough, hellspawn?" Percy mocked. He was breathing hard from exertion, but the man was doing his damnedest to stay in character.

Zagreus vanished in a flash of red, reappeared behind Percy, and thrust his sword at Percy's undefended back. If I had not warned him of this move ahead of time, and if Percy's reflexes had been any slower, he would have been turned into a kebab. Instead, he leapt forward the second he saw Zagreus vanish, tucked, and rolled towards the spot Zagreus had disappeared. The glowing orange sword passed harmlessly above him.

When Zagreus saw his attack miss, he teleported again, this time appearing right beside Percy as he was coming out of his roll. He brought his sword down, but Percy had managed to bring his shield back into place and deflect the attack.

"A dirty trick! Have you no honour?" Percy exclaimed, leaping back up to his feet. He used the momentum to bring his shield crashing into Zagreus' face, sending the god reeling back from him.

"Stop talking like that!" Zagreus sputtered.

"Whatever do you mean! Dost my vernacular offend? Art thou mad, blackguard?"

"You are starting to get on my nerves, king," Zagreus said, wiping golden blood from his nose. His eyes widened when he realized what he had called Percy.

I allowed myself a small smile. The plan was working.

I had noticed that though Zagreus had cut through the waves of minions that I had thrown at him with seemingly little effort, but Megaera had given him some challenge. Will and I theorized that the more Percy acted like one of Zagreus' 'boss' opponents, the more he would have to treat him like one, and the more trouble he would have fighting against him.

Will caught my eye and grinned. He took a break from the 'mood music' as he had called it, to shoot me a thumbs up, but when Zagreus charged Percy again he quickly wen back to playing. We wanted to do all we could to keep Zagreus following the script that we had laid out.

Still, even with the advantage we were giving Percy, Zagreus' teleportation was formidable in a fight like this. He had to wait a few seconds between uses, but there was only so many ways that Percy could avoid such an unpredictable attack. Eventually, his would react too slowly or Zagreus would get lucky and a blow would land.

I was thinking up ways that I could interfere without ruining our plan, when things began working a little too well.

A guttural bellow was the only warning any of us had before a hulking, seven-foot-tall bull man charged out of the darkness. There was no telltale cold flash from shadow travelling, no footfalls sounded from Cerberus' gate, the Minotaur simply appeared in the cavern and slammed its horned head into Zagreus. The unsuspecting god was flung across the cavern like a rag-doll, and the Minotaur let out a challenging scream that sounded halfway between human and cow.

"Uh..." Percy was staring at the Minotaur, frozen in shock.

It rounded on him. One hand reached back and unhooked the massive axe from the straps on its back. The weapon was almost as tall as Percy himself and its heavy bronze blade shaped like an omega.

Percy took a cautious step back, but the Minotaur did not swing its weapon at him. Instead, it raised its other hand and extended a fist towards him.

The surprise wore off and I realized what was happening. In the same way that we had used Zagreus' power against him to force him to treat Percy like Theseus, our little show had somehow used that power to pull the Minotaur here from Tartarus. Zagreus' influence was making the Minotaur team up with Percy, but that could change if he broke character. If the Minotaur stopped seeing him as the Champion of Elysium, and recognized him as Percy I-Killed-The-Minotaur-Twice Jackson, this fight would get a lot more dangerous for all of us.

Thankfully, Will seemed to come to the exact same realization as I had.

"Look, it's Asterius the Minotaur!" he shouted to Percy. "Theseus' most notorious foe who, in death, has become his best friend and partner in battle!

It took Percy a moment to realize what Will was trying to say to him. I could practically see the gears in his head spinning as he looked between us and the giant bull man. Then he plastered on that fake smile again and addressed the Minotaur.

"Yes!" he shouted awkwardly. "It's my... best buddy! Shall we beat this guy up together?"

The Minotaur let out a snort of affirmation, but kept its fist raised at Percy. He looked at it cautiously, like he was expecting it to suddenly reach out and grab him. It was only when the Minotaur shook its fist insistently at him that I understood what it wanted.

"Percy!" I called to him. He looked at me and I mimed knocking my fists together.

"Oh!"

Percy turned back to the Minotaur and gave it a fist bump. It let out an appreciative moo and readied its axe.

"Are you done?" Zagreus called out. He had recovered from the Minotaur's blow and had apparently been watching the whole exchange. His sword was nowhere to be seen, and in its place a pair of oversized, metallic gauntlets had appeared on his hands. They were several times the size of Zagreus's actual hands, but somehow he was able to flexed the fingers and clenched them into fists.

"Because I have places to be, and I'd rather not waste more time here."

Will got back to playing the music. Percy and the Minotaur braced themselves as Zagreus leapt forward with unnatural speed. He brought the heavy gauntlets down on the Minotaur, just barely deflected by the monster's axe. Percy darted forward and slashed with Riptide, but Zagreus swatted the attack aside and then teleported away.

Percy and the Minotaur stood back to back like they had fought alongside each other for years. They took turns, one of them trading blows with Zagreus' gauntlets, until he disappeared in a flash of red and the other would step in to stop the god from attacking their partner's blind spot. I could see Zagreus' frustration mounting with every time he failed to break through their defence.

"Give up, hellspawn," Percy called. "A wretch such as you cannot comprehend our perfect bonds of brotherhood, much less overcome them!"

Instead of responding, Zagreus thrust his hand out and launched one of his red blood projectiles. It exploded into a tornado of blades a few feet in front of Percy. Even with his shield, Percy would have been cut to ribbons if the Minotaur had not pushed him aside and taken the brunt of the blow. The blades slashed against its armour and tore into the unprotected flesh of its arms and head. After a moment, the blades vanished, leaving the Minotaur slumped over and bleeding profusely.

"Asterius!" Percy cried. I was shocked by the genuine grief I heard in his voice. I saw the fury in his eyes as he looked from the wounded Mintotaur and back to Zagreus. He raised his blade into the sky.

"Gods of Olympus! Lend me your aid!"

I felt a deep pull from deep inside my chest. I fell to my knees as, without meaning to, I cracked open the stone floor and raised a wave of grasping skeletal hands. The power flowed out of me, but I could neither control or stop it. I made the hands lunge at Zagreus to pin him in place, but the god dodged and flashed across the room, forcing me to summon more and more.

Will dropped his guitar and was at my side in an instant. I was under too much strain from summoning so many undead to speak to him, but I saw him piece together what was happening.

"Percy! You have to stop, you're hurting Nico!" He yelled.

Unfortunately, Percy did not look like he was in any state to listen. He chased after Zagreus like he was the only other person in the room, heedless of the undead arms littering the stone. He had a smile on his face again, but now it looked far more real and bloodthirsty.

"I will put an end to you and your underhanded fighting style, filth," he shouted after the retreating Zagreus. "No misbegotten daemon is worthy of facing so righteous a blade as mine!"

Spots appeared in my vision, and I knew I had to end this before I passed out. Closing my eyes, I reached out with my mind to try and seize control over my powers. I could sense what was drawing in my energy; my power flowed towards Zagreus like he emanated gravitational force. The god was not in control over how my power was being used against him, but his strange, reality warping effect was what was pulling it from me.

Instead of trying to resist, I focused on the pull that was Zagreus' presence. I tracked his movements across the battlefield, all the while marshalling what little control I had into one of the skeletal hands. I held on as tight as I could, waiting, waiting for Zagreus to approach it.

There!

I made the arm spring from the stone and wrapped its bony joints around Zagreus' ankle just as he took a step. The God of Legends tripped and fell to the ground, and in an instant Percy was upon him. Riptide slashed, and Zagreus' head went flying away from his body.

I gasped as I felt my control return to me. I let the hands wither away and sank back into Will's embrace.

Percy's shout felt like needles in my temples. "Victory for the Champions of Elysium!"

I opened my eyes again and watched him approach the wounded Minotaur. He extended a hand and helped it back to its feet.

"Well fought as always, Asterius! That foul wretch will think twice before he crawls out of his pit to challenge us again!"

The Minotaur snorted in assent.

"Percy, what's wrong with you!" Will shouted angrily. "Didn't you see what was happening to Nico?"

Percy turned towards us with a vacant smile. His eyes were glassy, as though he was looking through us instead of at us.

"That battle was dedicated to you, our adoring fans!" he said, bowing theatrically.

I frowned. Percy must be suffering some mental side effects from fighting Zagreus. I had not expected him to effect demigods at all, let alone to this extent. Zagreus' hold over us should have dissipated the moment he died, just like it had in my vision of Mount Olympus. Yet, his influence over Percy and the Minotaur seemed just as strong.

"I'm not done yet!"

My eyes widened when I saw Zagreus' body stand back up again. A trail of crimson blood snaked out from the stump, snatched up his head from the ground, brought it back into place on his neck in less than a second. The fully restored Zagreus glared murderously at us before taking aim with a new weapon that had appeared in his grip; a fucking gun.

Will pushed me flat against the ground just as Zagreus let loose a torrent of bullets. I felt them tear through the air where we were a millisecond before.

Zagreus reloaded and spun to face Percy and the Minotaur. The gunshots thundered and flashes of fire burst out of the barrel at them. Percy had crouched behind his shield, but the Minotaur was too big of a target for Zagreus to miss. The monster crumbled into dust and returned to Tartarus.

"No! You villain!" Percy gasped.

A rocket flew from the gun and struck the ground in front of him. It exploded in a shock wave that sent Percy rolling painfully across the cavern. He came to a halt a few meters away, and was still.

Silence rang in my ears. Zagreus stood over us, breathing heavily, eyes wide and waiting for us to move. The gun was steady in his hands, and I doubted that Will or I could get up before he filled us full of bullets. After a few moments, Zagreus relaxed, let the gun fall, and laughed.

"Better luck next time, king," he said to Percy's unmoving body. He glanced at me and Will, and for a moment I saw the Zagreus behind the persona again. He looked hesitant, like he wanted to say something, but then he turned away and strode towards the exit.

Will shifted next to me, but I grabbed his arm to keep him from rising.

"He's getting away," he insisted.

"Our part's over now," I said. I could sense something stirring deep beneath the earth. "The backup plan is on the way."

Zagreus felt it a few moments after I did. He froze at the edge of the cavern and tilted his head, like he was listening for a distant sound. The two of us felt a powerful presence moving up from the depths of the Underworld at impossible speeds, aimed directly towards us.

Zagreus turned back towards me, his eyes narrowed. "Called father, have you? You know what? Good. It's about time the old man stopped sending underlings to do his dirty work."

I stood up and looked my brother in the eye. "This is your last chance. We can still talk things out."

"Do you think that I'm scared of him?" Zagreus scoffed. "Let him come. Let him look me in the eye and see what he allowed the Olympians to do to his son."

He readied the gun and scanned the room, waiting for the god to arrive. Suddenly, the shadows grew to eclipse everything in the room. After a moment of pure darkness, they retreated, and a god stood in the centre of the cavern. But it was not Hades.

Persephone was towering in her queenly regalia; a ghostly white dress and a golden crown shaped like woven leaves and flowers atop her dark hair. Zagreus stared at her, mouth agape, the gun shaking in his hand.

"Mother?"

He stumbled as though overcome by a sudden wave of exhaustion. The gun fell from his hands, and he reached out to grab the cave's wall for support. I saw red streaks start rolling down his face and his arms. It looked like he was sweating blood.

"No! This isn't fair!" He shouted, staring at his bloodied hands. "I haven't even escaped yet! Why am I being sent back now?"

"You restart once you meet Persephone," I told him. "Will told me that's how the game works, so I decided to test if that was true in real life."

"That's bullshit!" Zagreus shouted. He glared daggers at Persephone. "Why are you even here?"

Persephone stared at him like she was seeing a ghost (though I suppose that she's seen too many of those to look as haunted as she did in this moment). She opened her mouth to reply, but hesitated, unable to find the right words. She took a shaky breath, and simply said; "It is good to see you."

"I can't believe I found you. I have so many questions-" Zagreus shook his head violently. "No! I didn't mean that! Father and the rest locked me up, and you stood by and did nothing! I never even knew you existed. Why did you leave me? I'm not leaving until I get some answers!"

Zagreus' voice was getting more erratic even as it grew weaker. Persephone looked taken aback by the way he was rapidly going in and out of game dialog. She glanced nervously at me, and I was frightened that Zagreus would pass before Persephone could reach out to him. The hope that her presence could send Zagreus back to Tartarus had only been half the reason why I had Alecto summon her. Putting him back in the pit would not stop him from continuing his rampage, but a reunion with his mother might just do that.

"Meet him at his level. Let his influence transform you," I urged her.

She hesitated for a moment, but then grew resolute. She closed her eyes, and her form started to blur and change. She shrunk down to match Zagreus' height, her hair brightened to a honey blond, and her dress transformed into a plane green and white chiton. When she opened her eyes I noticed that they were the same bright green as Zagreus' right.

"Zagreus... You live! Oh, the cruel Fates! My son!" Persephone cried.

She rushed forward and embraced him. Zagreus looked too surprised and too weak to do anything other than hang limply against her. He looked at her wide eyed, clutching him tightly even as she became soaked in blood.

"M...mother?"

"I begged the Fates that you'd return to me. I am so sorry that I left you, my dear son!"

Zagreus sighed and sank into the embrace. "I wish I could stay longer."

"Stay with me, please!," she cried.

"No... I can... come back. Father, he... Maybe he'll just let me come back."

"I..." Persephone hesitated. "Perhaps he will. Perhaps."

And with that, my brother Zagreus melted into a puddle of blood.

Persephone rose, both her son's blood and her new appearance slipping off of her as she did. She looked down at me, back in the form more familiar to me, with an unreadable expression on her face.

"I felt him return to the pit," she said. "This was the plan that you spoke of in your letter?"

I nodded. "He will escape again soon. Tartarus cannot contain him while he is like this."

Persephone looked relieved by that. She sighed and looked across the room where Percy lay.

"Your friend is alive but injured. You should tend to him," she said.

"I got him!" Will called, producing a small medical kit from his guitar case. He jogged across the cavern to where Percy was beginning to stir.

I went to go join him, but the Queen placed a gentle, but firm, hand on my shoulder to stop me. I could not help but tense up, memories of my time spent as a dandelion coming to mind, but I forced myself to relax.

"My husband and his brothers are discussing how to best erase Zagreus' name from the mortal world," she told me. "I hoped that perhaps you have found another path."

Before I could respond, Cerberus' enormous silhouette emerged from the darkness and approached us. The hellhound flopped to the ground before us, causing a miniature earthquake that nearly knocked me off my feet. Two of Cerberus' heads nosed at the Queen and I, seeking pets. The third sniffed at the puddle formerly known as Zagreus and whined.

"I learned a bit about the legend your son is following right now," I said as I scratched Cerberus' giant snoot. "It doesn't seem like it's a threat to the Big Three like how the story he crafted with Dionysus was. Maybe that would be enough to convince them that he doesn't need to be destroyed."

Persephone absentmindedly patted Cerberus and shook her head. "Kings are paranoid. They fear that my son will try to twist his legend into a way to dethrone them, as he did before. Truthfully, after millennia in Tartarus, I could not blame him if he did."

"He doesn't want the thrones. I don't think he ever wanted them, he was just acting out of spite the last time. He just wants to exist."

"Perhaps the kings can be convinced of that. I will go to them and request an audience to beg on my son's behalf."

"Do you think they'll give you that?" I asked.

"I am the Queen of the Underworld. They will heed my request," Persephone answered. "I would like you there to convince your father and uncles that Zagreus does not pose a threat."

"...Are you sure? You know he nearly killed me twice, right? Am I really the brilliant character witness that you want to bring before the Big Three?"

"I believe, Nico di Angelo, that one who has experienced the pit might be hesitant to allow another to be damned there," she said, pointedly.

I frowned. She wasn't wrong, but I really would have preferred if they could solve this without me. On the other hand, I had already done so much meddling to resolve this, why not see it through to the end?

"Fine," I said. "Are we going now?"

"Of course not, it will take some time for me to arrange this meeting. Also, you are filthy."

She waved her hand and a circle of violet flowers sprouted from the cracks that my power had created during the fight. Mist swirled about in the centre of the circle, glowing with a gentle light.

"Go home, rest, and make yourself presentable," Persephone commanded. "This portal will bring you to the son of Poseidon's home. Rest there until I send for you."

I was going to bring up how it was kind of rude to drop in on Percy's mom unannounced, but I felt like I had already filled my 'backtalk to gods' quota for the day. Besides, I knew that Sally Jackson would jump at the chance to see that I had a real, actual, meal for once.

I bowed respectfully at Persephone, gave Cerberus a parting pat, and then left to join Will and Percy. The moment I turned, I sensed the deep cold of shadow travel. I looked back over my shoulder, and, sure enough, Persephone had vanished.

Will already had Percy sitting up, and was applying salve over the minor burns he had earned from my brother's rocket launcher. Thankfully, Percy seemed to have finally broken out of the 'Theseus persona', though he still seemed a little out of it. He was staring silently at the floor and running his fingers through the dirt.

"The Queen left us a way back to the surface," I announced. "It should take us directly to Sally's place."

"Great! Glad we don't have to walk," Will said as he packed away his medical kit.

"I mean, I could have shadow travelled-"

Will shot me a severe look and I, wisely, did not finish that sentence. I was far too drained to pretend that I could have taken all three of us out of the Underworld after that fight.

Will's expression softened and his gaze drifted over to my brother's blood puddle. "So that was it? We won?"

I shrugged uncertainly. "We stopped this escape attempt. It's up to the gods if this happens again."

Will did not reply, but his face plainly expressed how little that comforted him.

"Persephone said that she would ensure that I'll be there when they decide how to deal with things," I assured him. "She and I agree that there are better alternatives to forcing Zagreus back into Tartarus again."

Will still looked concerned, but he nodded. "Do you want me there in that meeting with you?"

My heart absolutely did not flutter at how protective he was being.

"I will be alright. You've done so much already, I couldn't ask you for more. Let's just get out of here. Is Percy good to walk?"

I glanced at him and saw that he was still staring at the ground. I noticed that it was not dirt that he was sifting his hand through, but dust. Specifically, the dust that the Minotaur left behind when Zagreus had shot it to pieces.

"Percy." I said, shaking his shoulder gently.

"S-sorry!" Percy started. He dropped the monster dust and glanced nervously between Will and I.

"It's just... Did either of you think that Asterius- I mean, the Minotaur, was... kinda hot?"

That... was not a series of words that I had ever expected to hear, even from Percy. He looked mortified and frantically tried to backpedal.

"I mean, like, hotter than he was the last time I fought him! Not hot, just more aesthetically pleasing! Like with Mrs. Dodds- I mean- the Fury! Did you guys not notice?"

"I've never seen the Minotaur in person before," I said slowly. "But he looked kinda like your standard man bull thing."

"I guess he's a little hot," Will, a kinder man than I, admitted. "But beefcakes are not really my thing, you know? It's totally okay if it's yours though!"

Percy looked more defeated than I had ever seen him before. There was a small part of me that was amused by seeing someone who has always been so secure in his identity have this minor crisis of sexuality, but I figured that I owed him some sort of reassurance. I was the one who dragged him into this mess, after all.

"Maybe it's some sort of after effects of Zagreus' influence?" I suggested. "Will said that the Theseus and Asterius are close with each other in the game. This will probably wear off."

"Yeah. Yeah, okay." Percy stood up stiffly, groaning in pain. "Take me home, please. If I see another hot monster that tried to kill me when I was twelve, my brain will melt."

"Isn't Medusa due to come back soon?" Will said mischievously. "There's a gorgon character in the game..."

"I'm leaving." Percy walked quickly through the ring of flowers and vanished in the mist.

Will laughed to himself, and it was too infectious for me not to join him. He flashed me a smile, and for a few moments I stop stressing about how to convince my father and the other gods. I let myself enjoy our little victory.

I took Will's hand and we walked through the mist back to the mortal world together.

Chapter Text

I really hoped that when Persephone told me to 'make myself presentable', she meant 'take a shower' and not 'meeting with the Big Three will be a black-tie event'. Surely, she meant the former, she's seen how I dress, but the spirit that she sent to the Jackson-Blofis' apartment made me nervous that it was the later.

Persephone's portal had dropped us into Sally's place a few hours ago, perfectly aligned so that my shins smacked directly into the coffee table, naturally. Percy's mom, sister, and step-dad were out, so the three of us helped ourselves to the shower and some food.

Percy passed out on the couch almost immediately, and I would have done the same if I had not felt so grimy from the layer of cave dirt sticking to my sweat. I took the first shower, and had just traded with Will when I heard a knock at the door. My hair was still damp and I was halfway through a bowl of cereal, but I got up anyways to answer.

I sensed the phantom's presence before I opened the door. It was not unusual for the occasional ghost to be loitering in the living world, especially in older buildings, but this one felt too strong to be anything but a messenger from the underworld. I opened the door and saw what looked like an older gentleman dressed in an immaculate full Victorian suit, complete with gloves, top hat, and a golden pocket watch.

"Master di Angelo," he said, giving me a small bow. "The gods call for you. Shall we be on our way?"

"Uh, yeah. Give me a minute."

I went back into the apartment, running my hands through my hair and hoping that it didn't look too messy. The t-shirt I was wearing had a couple of splotches down the front of it from when I had gotten too enthusiastic with the cereal. It was barely noticeable on the black fabric, but I was feeling a little self-conscious so I took the time to cover it up by putting it on backwards. Hopefully, it would not be noticeable under my jacket.

I could hear Will singing to himself in the shower, and Percy had not stirred. Instead of disturbing either of them, I found a bit of paper, some tape, and a pen, and I scribbled out a quick note.

'Went to the B3 meeting. Don't worry, I'll be okay. See you at camp.'

I taped it to Percy's forehead, and then retrieved my jacket. I went back to the door and endured the humiliation of having the phantom watch me try to hastily shove my boots on. His expression was impassive as I hopped on one foot, but I could sense the judgment radiating off of him.

Once I finished and had shrugged into my jacket, I shot him an awkward thumbs up. He gave me a curt nod, and then reach out to touch my shoulder. The instant his icy, insubstantial fingers phased through me, the building's cheap electric lights flickered out. I let the phantom pull me through the darkness, and together we fell into the void.

I was surprised that this meeting was being held in the Underworld instead of Mount Olympus. As far as I knew, Zeus and Poseidon never came down to my father's palace. The brothers were not exactly in the habit of paying each other social visits, and whenever something important forced them to interact, Olympus was typically their meeting place.

The only reason that I could think of why it was not being held on the mountain was discretion. The host of minor gods and spirits that lived on Olympus would certainly take note of a meeting between the three strongest Olympians. Perhaps my father and uncles did not want news of Zagreus' return to cause a stir.

When the towering, black, iron doors of my father's hall opened, I immediately felt a prickle down my spine from the presence of so much power gathered in the same place. My father sat on his throne, flanked by his brothers, seated on two guest chairs that resembled their thrones on Olympus but carved from onyx (because my father sticks to his aesthetic even more strictly than I do). Poseidon seemed fine with this unusual seating arrangement, but Zeus looked miffed. Though he did not show it, I knew that, despite everything, my father was enjoying with having the central seat for once.

Of course, the Big Three were not the only ones in attendance. Persephone stood before them; a petitioner in her own home, but standing tall and with an aura of authority none the less. I noticed the Furies stationed at the door as I walked deeper into the hall. All three of them were still stuck in their video game forms; tall, lithe, one-winged women dressed in spiky armour and tight, colour coded outfits. Honestly, these forms made them so much easier to tell apart, and I secretly hoped that they would keep them.

Aside from them, there were two others present that I had not been expecting; Melinoe and Dionysus. Like the Furies, Melinoe was still in her video game form. She stood at her mother's right side, her mismatched eyes following me as came to a stop by her left. Mr. D was loitering next to a black marble column, looking like he was barely paying attention, and drinking from a glass of something that certainly was less alcoholic than he would have preferred.

"Father," I said, kneeling before the assembly of gods. "My lords. My ladies."

"Such a show of deference, boy," my father said acidly. "Where was this act when you disobeyed my order to leave the Underworld? To forget your encounter in Asphodel and not speak of it to anyone?"

I was taken aback by the admonishment, but then I realized that it was mostly theatre for his brothers' sake. A show of strength to assure them that his authority over the Underworld remained strong, despite his sons' disobedience.

I hunted for an excuse for my actions that would still allow father to save face, but Persephone beat me to it.

"It was on my command that he stayed," she said. "I believed that since a demigod would be less vulnerable to our son's abilities, Nico was the natural choice to confront him.

It felt weird having her stick her neck out for me given how tense our relationship normally is. Even so, I was grateful when the glares of the Big Three moved to her instead of me.

"Daughter," Zeus said, his disapproval as ominous as thunder. "It was agreed that we would not speak of Zagreus to mortals or demigods. We swore an oath."

"There was no agreement! I recited an oath written by you Olympians. I was given no say in it, just as I was given no say in the fate of my own son," Persephone snapped. "And besides, I told him nothing about Zagreus. I simply gave him permission to keep investigating."

"And yet the boy knows enough about Zagreus for you to bring him to this meet. Where did he learn this, if you did not break your oath?" Zeus accused.

Mr. D coughed. The gods' ire turned to him.

"You, Dionysus?" Poseidon demanded. "Surely you of all the gods know the risks in telling anyone about this!"

He shrugged. "I was going to turn him into a dolphin and be done with this, but I guess my punishment has made me go soft."

"Your punishment is too lenient if you would endanger us all without even consulting your fellow Olympians." Zeus threatened.

"It worked out, didn't it? He's back in Tartarus. Neil did well."

"Nico," I muttered.

"Him too!"

"It remains to be seen if this has 'worked out' So long as Zagreus is known, there is a chance he may escape the pit once more," my father objected.

"Our son," Persephone emphasized, making steely eye contact with him. Surprisingly, Hades flinched, ever so slightly. "Will return. And that is not the disaster that you three seem to think it is."

She gestured to me, and I started, realizing that she wanted me handle the bulk of the explanation. I stood up, cleared my throat, and addressed the assembled gods with as little nervousness as I could muster. Maybe I should have asked Will to come with me; I could handle monsters and the undead on my own just fine, but his presence would have made public speaking a lot easier.

"The form that Zagreus has taken will let him escape from Tartarus no matter how many times he is sent back there. The story he is following is about his unending attempts to break out of the Underworld."

"Convenient for him that such a story would rise to prominence," Zeus interrupted. He turned to my father. "Someone must have created it to facilitate his return. You sent some of your servants to investigate the source of the legend. Did they discover who was spreading this?"

"A company called Supergiant Games," Hades answered.

"'Super Giant'?" Zeus narrowed his eyes. His grip tightened on the master bolt.

"They don't work for the Gigantes," Hades clarified.

"Damn. That would have made this a lot simpler." Zeus grumbled.

"Who do they work for then?" Poseidon questioned. "One of the minor gods? A monster? A demigod?"

"No one. As far as I could tell, the entire company is made up of mortals." Hades said. "If their story was crafted to let him escape Tartarus, whoever was behind it has covered their tracks well. However, I think it is just as likely that this was just a poor coincidence."

I was taken off guard by the assumption that Zagreus' escape was orchestrated by someone else. When I thought about it, it was suspicious that the first prominent piece of media about Zagreus for who-knows-how-long was about him breaking out of his prison. But who did Zeus think was responsible? I had not been given the impression that Zagreus had a lot of allies waiting for him to break free.

Although, perhaps the goal had not been to free Zagreus for his own sake, but for the chaos that it would cause on Olympus. There was no shortage of beings who were eager for the gods to fall, and some might be reckless enough to release the reality-warping prince of the Underworld to do it.

I pushed those thoughts aside. I would have time to build a conspiracy theory later; the gods had already moved on to discussing how best to destroy Zagreus' story.

"You can't solve every problem with a smiting," Poseidon was saying to Zeus.

"You are one to talk, brother," Zeus jabbed back.

"Can't you have one of your children deal with this? Surely Hephaestus could... do something technological to the company's... servers?" Hades said, struggling.

"You don't have to do any of that," I interrupted. "Zagreus does not want to fight you."

The gods turned to me once more.

"Boy, do not speak of what you do not understand," my father said.

"I understand enough," I shot back. I looked each of them in the eye and gathered my courage. "Last time, he tried to depose you out of revenge, not because he actually wanted to rule the cosmos. You three think that that he will try again, but, as justifiably angry as he is, I think he wants to live more than he wants to hurt you."

Zeus and Poseidon did not look convinced, but I saw something flicker in the abyss of my father's night-black eyes. A flash of surprise, and something else that I could not quite read. Something vulnerable.

He concealed it with a scowl. "So he says. He has caused much damage for someone who claims that he does not want to fight."

"He has no choice, father."

I was startled by the unfamiliar voice coming from Melinoe. She sounded more human; still airy and ethereal but less of the harsh coldness that used to haunt her every word. She had the same accent as Zagreus did in his video game form.

"My brother must fight to escape the Underworld over and over," she explained. "That his myth now; a cycle of struggle, death, and rebirth. But that is not all he is. I can feel, I know, that there is a kindness written into him now that coexists with the violence."

The goddess' words seemed to carry more weight than mine by the way that the gods fell silent. Poseidon and Zeus looked uncertain for the first time in this meeting, and that vulnerable look that was so out of place on my father's face was back. For a moment, I thought that Melinoe might have made some headway in convincing them, but then my father spoke up again.

"Why are you in that form, daughter? The Furies have no choice, but you are strong enough to return to yourself."

Melinoe looked away from him, a faint flush on her pallid cheeks.

"I maintained this form so that I could better explain my brother's condition. I have a stronger connection to him and his current form like this," she said. "And... it provides a sense of... wholeness that normally alludes me."

"I hope you are not thinking of keeping it, niece," Zeus admonished. He gestured towards the Furies standing guard by the doors. "We cannot let Zagreus' influence spread further than it already has."

Megara, Alecto, and Tisiphone bristled under the god's attention, but did not refute him. Melinoe looked as though she was going to protest, but Persephone placed a warning hand on her shoulder and stepped between her daughter and the rest of the gods.

"We are not proposing that we let Zagreus change us to fit his legend, lord father," she said firmly. "The opposite, in fact. We have been presented with an opportunity to let Zagreus change into something less threatening to the stability of the cosmos."

Zeus' frown looked more intrigued than angry now. He gestured for Persephone to continue. The goddess drew herself up and addressed the small assembly of gods.

"The mortals no longer know my son as the God of Legends or the God of Rebirth, or even as the God of Elysium. The mortals' game gives him different, less potent divine domains. Is this correct, Nico?"

"Yes." I thought back to the afternoon Will and I had created our plan, searching through the numerous facts he had shared about the game in a bid to find what could be turned against Zagreus. "Uhh, blood. Life, I think."

"Life and rebirth are quite similar domains," Zeus objected.

"Which is how he was able to regain so much power from the game," Persephone agreed. "But it is still different enough that if we encourage this legend instead of quash it, it could change who he is and what he is capable of. He would be reborn as a new god."

I realized what she was trying to pitch. If the game version of Zagreus was made more widely known, then just like the fusion with Dionysus, it might change his very nature. Zagreus might even lose the abilities that made the Big Three so frightened of him.

"From what Nico and Melinoe, he would be reborn as a god who's sole purpose is to repeatedly ransack the Underworld," Poseidon pointed out.

"For a time," Persephone conceded. "But if knowledge of my son is allowed to spread and diversify, if his legend grows beyond this game that gave him new life, he will be able to have an existance outside of escaping the Underworld."

I frowned. Letting Zagreus run amok would be a hard sell, especially for my father. Managing the ocean of souls in the Underworld was stressful when everything was running smoothly. I could not imagine how much more difficult it would be intentionally letting a god wreak infrastructure and attack guards over and over, even if Zagreus one day was able to stop.

"We can afford it."

For a moment I thought that I had hallucinated my father's voice, but every god in attendance was staring at him with the same surprise that I felt.

My father cleared his throat and continued with a much more guarded tone. "By that, I mean he will not be forced to make these violent escape attempts forever. The Underworld is more than capable of weathering them until Zagreus is no longer bound so closely to this game."

Zeus and Poseidon shared a look. Poseidon shrugged.

"It's his realm. It's his son," he said mildly.

Zeus let out a sigh and turned to my father; "If it is as you say, brother, then let it be done."

"Excuse me!"

My heart plummeted. Mr. D had approached the Big Three's dais, looking indignant.

"Should I not get a say in this? I was Zagreus' headmate, so I'd say that I have the most insight into his thought process."

"That was millennia ago!" I protested.

"I'm also the one here who was most harmed by Zagreus' bullshit."

"He literally tried to kill me!" I said.

Hades raised his hand, cutting us both off. His lips were pressed together in a thin line, and I could tell he really wanted to tell Mr. D to go eat a coke can. However, his sense of fair play won out, and he gestured for Dionysus to continue.

"Well? What say you?"

Dionysus took a long swig of his fruit juice. He looked over the assembly of gods, with his usual bored affect. His gaze settled on me. I tensed, a hundred excuses for Zagreus at the tip of my tongue.

"Go for it. I don't really care."

I violently stamped down the urge to strangle him, which was made easier by how everyone else in the room looked like they were struggling with the same urge.

"Enlightening contribution as always, Dionysus," Zeus said, deadpan. He looked between Hades and Persephone. "Your son will be given another chance. If he proves that he is willing to put aside his grudge, he will be allowed to be reborn as a new god."

Persephone bowed her head respectfully. Her face was hidden from the Big Three, but I could see the relief in her eyes. She had not quite gotten her son back yet, she wouldn't until Zagreus chose to go along with this plan and became a new god, but she was one step closer.

"Who's going to deliver the news to little Hades?" Poseidon asked.

I sighed. This looked like a job for Nico the Cthonic Errand Boy. And here I thought I would be able to go back to camp after this.

"I can deliver a message, but Zagreus is not going to listen unless without proof that you don't want to banish him again," I told them.

"What kind of proof?" my father asked.

What kind indeed. It had to be something that showed Zagreus that the gods were willing to reach out to him, but having one or more of the Olympians meet him in person would not be a good idea for such a delicate situation. I would have to bring a token of some kind; one that showed considerable investment from the gods, and preferably something that matched an item in the game.

Once again, Will's research session provided the answer.

"I have an idea. I'll need help from the three of you; father, Lord Zeus, Lord Posiedon. And a quick trip to the surface."

The next time I returned to the Fields of Punishment I came prepared with my stygian iron sword and a brown paper bag. I would only need to use one, and I was really hoping that it would be the bag.

The wall surrounding the fields had been rebuilt astonishingly quickly and with a supernatural attention to detail. There was no difference between the new stonework and the rest of the wall, and every piece of debris, both stone and ghoul parts, had been scoured from the ground. It was impossible for me to tell where exactly Zagreus had broken through it. It was the kind of quality you could get when you had every mason who has ever died on retainer.

Jessica the security ghoul led me through the gates and deep into the Fields, past the countless wicked souls imprisoned in their equivalent of gen pop, past the 'special punishments' such as Sisyphus and Tantalus, and deep into the barren wasteland that sat at the edges of Tartarus.

Jessica stopped and pointed towards a crater a few feet away from us. It was filled with a blood-red liquid that bubbled and frothed. (Was it boiling blood? Evil water? Ketchup? Who knows?) Two security ghouls stood at the edges of the pool on opposite sides from each other, guns clutched tight in their boney hands.

"There it is," Jessica said. "It appeared four hours ago. Nothing has emerged from it since then."

I nodded. "Thank you. You may all leave."

Jessica followed that order with gusto, forgoing any parting shows of respect to speed-walk back towards the prison walls as fast as her dignity would allow The other security ghouls followed suit, eager to get as far away from the crater as possible before they ended up like their coworkers who had gotten in the way of Zagreus' first escape attempt.

I waited until they were out of sight before I started trudging up the side of the crater. At the top, I took a seat on the edge and placed the bag on my left and my sword to my right. There I waited, snacking on french fries with my legs dangling only a few centimetres above the red stuff (I decided that it was ketchup, for the sake of my appetite).

It is hard to keep track of time in the Underworld, even for a demigod child of Hades, but I guessed that I waited there for just under an hour before ripples began to appear on the surface of the pool. I pulled my legs up and forced myself to keep my hands away from my sword.

Zagreus emerged from the ketchup like a model getting out of a pool. He whipped his hair back, creating an spray of droplets arcing through the air. He wiped the ketchup from his face and ran his hand back through his hair with an expression that I'm pretty sure the Aphrodite campers would have called a smolder.

It became more of a scowl when he noticed me sitting at the edge of the crater.

"Hey." I nodded to him and gestured to the bag. "Hungry?"

"What are you doing here?" Zageus demanded.

"Eating. Offering you a truce." I removed a foil-wrapped packet from the bag and waved it at him. "And a gyro. And french fries, though those are kind of cold now."

He stayed in the centre of the pool, arms crossed and eyes searching the blasted hellscape around us suspiciously.

"There's no one else here. It's just you and me," I assured him.

He still looked wary, but he slowly made his way towards my side of the crater. This was the first time that I had seen Zagreus without any weapons on-hand, but I still got the feeling that he was confident that he could handle any kind of trap I might have laid for him.

"Alright, what's the play this time, mate?" He asked. "Are you going to try to convince me to stop and wait for father and the rest to lock me away again? Or are you going to call my mother again?"

"Do you like who you are right now?"

Zagreus looked surprised and a little confused. "What?"

"This iteration of yourself. The way you behave while embodying the game's version of you. Do you enjoy it?"

Maybe it was only because the question had taken him off guard, but paused to think about the question instead of dismissing it.

"I don't hate it." he said slowly, like he was working it out in real time. "I feel more laid back than before. I'm strong, but strength isn't everything to me. And I feel more connected to my family and others..."

He shook his head. "But that doesn't mean anything. I can't be anything but this right now; that's certainly why I feel the way I do."

"Your sister seems to like form you gave her." I commented. "She's fully able to transform back, but she had not last time I saw her, and something tells me that she won't be the next time I see her either."

He stared at me, eyes narrowed like he was trying to see if I was lying to him. I tried to act as casually as possible, searching through the bag for loose fries while he took his time to process.

"Why are you asking me this?" he finally asked.

I took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "The gods are willing to leave you like this. To let this version of yourself become more well known so that you can exist outside of Tartarus. I wanted to make sure that you would be okay with that."

He laughed. "Nice try, mate. There's no way that father or any of the Olympians would allow that after what I pulled last time."

I nodded, and, as casually as I could, I reached into the bag and pulled out the only items within that I hadn't gotten from a mall food court.

They were three orbs, each the size of a softball and glowing faintly with their own distinct hue. I could not be sure of what they were made of, but they felt cool and smooth like glass in my hands. The light that emanated from them came from the sigils that floated in their centres; a golden lightning bolt, a sea-green trident, and my father's helm outlined in deep indigo.

Zagreus's eyes widened. "Are those...?"

"Divine favours given physical form? Yeah." I confirmed.

"How could you have possibly gotten those from our family?"

"They gave them to me so I could deliver them to you," I said. "Think of it as a peace offering."

Zagreus moved closer, his eyes glued to the favours. He reached out, but I pulled them out of reach before he could touch them.

"Hold it! You only get to chose one!"

Zagreus pouted, but I just shrugged.

"It's your rules, not mine," I reminded him.

"Fine then."

He hesitated for a moment, his hand hovering over each orb like he was worried that they might bite. Slowly, he brought his hand down over our father's favour. The moment that his fingers brushed against the shining, smooth surface, all three favours, and Zagreus himself, vanished.

I jumped to my feet. Where did he go? Was that supposed to happen? Did I break him??

Something tapped me on the shoulder, and I spun around with my sword halfway out of its sheath. There was nothing behind me but empty air.

The empty air laughed at me. I scowled and resheathed me sword.

"Very funny."

Zagreus faded back into sight with a wide smile across his face.

"Apologies, mate," he said, looking far from apologetic. He laughed again, a manic mix of joy and disbelief. "That really was father! I haven't felt his presence since... I can't even remember! Why would he just give out power to me like that? Even with that brief flash of his presence, I could have affected him if I tried."

"But you didn't," I noted.

"But I could have. And surely he knows that! Why would he take the risk?"

"...I think he feels bad about what happened," I ventured.

"Feelings? Surely he hasn't changed that much since I've been gone," he said with a touch too much bitterness for it to completely be a joke.

I had too many issues with our father to try untangling Zagreus' too, and I was never the best at comforting others.

"The only thing I can say in father's defence is that he was more involved with me and my sister than most gods are with their kids. And that is faint praise," I said. "I don't blame you for not believing it, but you really are getting a chance to live."

Zagreus' energy dimmed. He looked at me suspiciously. "And what do I need to do to earn it?"

"Can you do anything other than make another escape attempt?"

"Well... no."

"Then all you need to do is not cause any extra damage when you get to the surface," I said. "Show that you don't want vengeance on Olympus, and the gods will let knowledge of you spread again until you don't have to adhere to video game logic anymore. Then you will be free to do whatever I want."

"Whatever I want," he repeated. "I'm not quite sure what that is."

I groaned. It had been a long couple of days, and I was running out of patience for godly melodrama.

"Well you'll have eternity to figure that out, won't you? Now are you going to sit here, or are you going to actually use the boon that father gave you?"

The challenge in my voice seemed to spark some life back into Zagreus. I watched as he raised his hand and in a blinding flash of light, a bow appeared in his hand. It was weird, like every other weapon I had seen Zagreus wield; made of purple wood with a bowstring that looked more spectral than string. Zagreus' grip on it tightened as he searched the blasted landscape with determination in his eyes.

He looked back to me, hesitance creeping back into his expression.

"Would you like to come with me?" He asked.

The expression on my face was probably scathing, because he scrambled to explain himself.

"Look, Nico, mate, you've done a lot for me, even though you did not have to, and even after I tried to kill you that one time. I want to apologize, and since I don't have any ambrosia on me currently, a guided tour out of the Underworld is all I can think to offer. Obviously, you are quite familiar with the place already, but I could show you some of people and monsters I've met. Have you ever talked to Eurydice? Or fought the hydra skeleton?"

I opened my mouth to tell him that I would prefer to shadow travel home and sleep, but I paused.

"A Necro Skeleton Hydra?"

He smiled. "Yes, I suppose you could call it that. Personally, I call it Lernie."

I chewed my lip as I thought it over. On one hand; going home meant a soft bed and a long nap. But on the other hand, my favourite Mythomagic monster had been made flesh (or bone I guess) and I had the chance to see it.
This couldn't be any more reckless than anything else I've done in the past few days. Surely, Will would understand if I was a little late getting back.

"Fine," I relented. "But I'm only tagging along until we find the hydra."

Zagreus' smile widened. It looked so unlike any expression I had seen on his horned form, his fusion with Dionysus, or Hades. It looked like something new.

I let my brother take the lead, letting him be guided by whatever sense pulled him towards the surface. Hopefully, it would be one of the many times he did so.