For Anthony. Happy birthday! I really hope you enjoy!
Notes: Sisyphus is the former king of Ephyra, which is in Greece. He angered Hades who send him to the Fields of Punishment, where he was forced to roll a large boulder up a hill and watch it roll back down every day.
Vasili means "royal, kingly" in Greek.
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Nico knows he's not supposed to do this. While it was never directly told to him - and how could it if he's never met his father - he knows that he's not supposed to be in the Fields of Punishment. It's a place that no child of Hades should be.
But he's desperate. He's tried too many times to summon Bianca's soul, only to fail each time, and he has to find her. He has to talk to her one last time. And he's been searching the Underworld since the ghost of a King honed his shadow travelling.
He didn't bother checking the Isle of the Blessed for Bianca couldn't have died three times already. He would've know if she did. He would've known. He starts in Elysium. Her soul wasn't there, like he hoped, like she deserved for being Hades daughter. It wasn't in the Fields of Asphodel, either. Nico hoped that if not in Elysium, than maybe the Fields of Asphodel where the souls were indifferent to his father. But he was disappointed.
Upon searching the Vale of Mourning, he found his mother's soul. It didn't really surprise him, though. Most people in the Vale of Mourning had loved a God or Goddess that never fully loved them back. His mother had warned him against searching for Bianca, warned him that his father would not lenient if Nico was caught. He couldn't help himself. His mother's eyes held sorrow when he told her that.
The Fields of Punishment is his last place before he discreetly checks his father's residence. The moment he appears out of the shadows, he knows why children of Hades should never be here. It sends chills up his spine just standing there. He can hear the cries and the screams and the pain.
He takes a breath and tells himself that this is for Bianca. That's all the motivation he needs. The cursed yells out for him, begs him to stop, to help them, but Nico shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans and continues on. As he goes, he can't help but mentally list off who is there and their punishment.
Nico is sweating in his aviator jacket as he searches, the heat leaving him thirsty and tired, but he won't give in that easily. He's near the end of his search when he comes across a hill. There's really nothing spectacular about this hill; it's not very large nor is it very rounded. But then, Nico remembers the cursed soul - Sisyphus. Cursed to roll a large boulder up the hill every day, only to repeat it again the next.
He's about to turn away when he notices a mop of golden hair in front of the boulder. Nico frowns. Sisyphus was dark haired.
The boulder reaches the top and the person takes a seat, panting harshly. He looks nothing like the painting of the first King of Ancient Corinth. He is wiping sweat from his forehead.
"You're not Sisyphus," Nico states.
The boy freezes. The boulder rolls down the hill causing the boy to groan. But he doesn't chase it. He chooses to, instead, lay down on the top of the hill, his arm thrown over his eyes, blocking out the intense light. "Who are you?"
Nico raises his eyebrows. "I could ask you the same, because you're clearly not the one who is supposed to be eternally punished."
It causes the other boy to peak out from under his arm, bright blue eyes staring at Nico. He sighs. "I got tricked," he offers as an explanation.
He shadow travels to the top of the hill to sit beside him. And watches as the boy sits up quickly, sputtering. "You're a half-blood."
"Nico," he says. He leaves out his last name, knowing that his father would hear him if he spoke it and would know he's here. He doesn't want that.
The boy gives him a smile. "I'm Will Solace, son of Apollo. Who's your godly parent?"
Nico shakes his head. "I can't say. But what I can do is help you get out eternal damnation."
He had thought Will's eyes were bright to begin with, but when he says this, they shine. "You could do that?" Will can't keep the excitement from leaking in his voice. And then the smile slips from Will's face and the light dims in his eyes. "Why would you do that? You don't even know me. I could deserve this."
"You don't deserve this," Nico replies. "I would've have came up here if you did."
His eye widen. "You're the son of -"
Nico quickly covers Will's mouth with his hand. "Don't say his name. I'm not even supposed to be here." He only removes his hand when Will nods his agreement. "Now it might take me a few days, but I'm pretty sure I can free you."
"Don't you need a soul to take my spot?"
"I have someone in mind," he replies offhandedly. "Finding him might be the difficult part."
"You're going to try to locate Sisyphus, aren't you?" Will asks.
Nico shrugs. "He's the one that was given this curse. He should be the one doing it."
"Good luck and be careful. He's a trickster," Will warns.
Nico shadow travels back to surface, a plan forming in his mind.
Nico divides his time between looking in his father's palace for Bianca's soul, looking for Sisyphus and spending time with Will. He takes his time searching his father's palace because he knows the his father has many traps that will alarm him of unwelcome visitors. And he doesn't want that.
Looking for Sisyphus isn't particularly difficult. There are many leads on him, but nothing seems to be solid. All Nico can tell is that the man has been all over the world, leaving a trail of bodies and lovers in his wake. The moment he gets too close, Sisyphus is gone. It's like grabbing smoke, always slipping right through his fingers.
Spending time with Will, though, makes Nico feel comfortable. With Will, Nico forgets the whole in his chest that Bianca's death left. He forgets about Percy's broken promise. He forgets how he doesn't feel at home in the one place that he should - Camp Half-blood. He can feel the tightness in his chest lifting the more time he spends with him.
Maybe it's a good thing, he thinks as he eats dinner with the blond boy.
"How did you manage to take Sisyphus' place, anyways?" Nico asks one day, his mouth full of a turkey and cheese sandwich.
A blush crosses Will's cheeks. "I had just learned about my heritage. As you know, once you realize you're a Half-blood, your scent becomes stronger. The Satyr sent to protect me, he was new, inexperienced and so was I. We were overtaken by monsters."
"You died?" When Will nods, Nico resists the urge to close his eyes. Of course he would be drawn to someone who is already dead. "You would've ended up in the Fields of Asphodel, at the very least, if not Elysium."
Will laughs, high and true like bells. "I ended up in the Fields," he assures the other boy. "But I kept hearing the screams and the crying."
"That's the downside of being a Half-blood in the Fields," Nico explains. "You can hear the sounds of the other planes."
"I followed the sounds and came here. When I did," Will hesitates, "well, you know the rest."
Four visits after Will's confession, Nico slumps down as soon as he appears. There are dark circles under his eyes and his skin has a blue-ish tint to it. He curls into himself, his shoulders shaking.
Will pretends to be preparing the sandwiches that Nico always brings with him, giving Nico privacy. It takes a while, but Nico finally moves. And when he does, Will watches him closely.
"My mother was right," is all Nico says.
"Mother's usually are."
They don't talk much after that. Nico wallows in his sorrows and Will hums. It's oddly calming.
"Last time," Will starts out tentatively.
Nico grimaces. "A while ago, my sister went on a quest. She…" He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath in. "She didn't make it. She was all that I had left. I've tried to summon her, to get closure, but I've failed every time. I can summon everyone and everything else but her."
Will raises his eyebrow. "That's what you were doing when we first met."
"The place and the Fields of Punishment were the last two places to look," Nico explains.
Understanding is etched on Will's face. "You finished your search last time."
Nico pulls his legs to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. He lays his head on them, staring at Will. "Yeah. Mother was right; my quest to find her soul would be fruitless."
"Maybe it's too soon for you to have interaction with your sister?" Will offers.
Unable to help himself, Nico laughs. "That's exactly what my mother said."
He finds Sisyphus in Greece of all places. By the looks of the place, it seems that the old King had been there for quite some time, making a home in the streets of his old city.
He doesn't look too surprised when Nico walks up to him. "Sisyphus," Nico greets.
"No one has referred to me as Sisyphus in nearly eighty years," he replies, offhandedly. "It's Vasili now."
Nico resists the urge to laugh. "Fitting," he murmurs.
"What can I do for you, Half-blood?" His leg is resting over the arm of his chair, with his hand above his head, as he waits for Nico's response.
He doesn't waste any words. Instead, he shadow travels behind Sisyphus, and grabs his wrist in an iron grip. Sisyphus is pulling away from Nico, shouting and struggling. But he focuses on shadow travelling. In one motion, Nico leaves Sisyphus holding the weight of the boulder and grabs Will's hand to drag him away.
"I got away from this decades ago!" Sisyphus cries out.
Nico hasn't let go of Will hand. "You tricked your way out of your punishment once, but I can assure you that you won't again." With his remaining energy, Nico summons chains that cuff themselves around Sisyphus' wrists. They leave just enough room that Sisyphus can make his way up and down the hill but gives no more slack.
He slumps against Will, clearly drained. "You overexerted yourself," Will got on to. Nico can barely hear him over the sound of Sisyphus screaming.
"I'm fine," he murmurs. "Just tired. Give me a moment and I'll take us to the Fields of Asphodel."
Will sits down at the foot of the hill, letting Nico rest against him, with the heat of the Fields of Punishment burning both of them. He sings softly in Ancient Greek, but Nico is too tired to make out the words. And then, Nico feels energy surge through him. When he looks at Will, the other boy just shrugs. "I told you, my father is Apollo."
"I thought you never went to Camp Half-blood."
"Something's are just instinctive," Will explains.
The Fields of Asphodel isn't as pleasant as Nico had originally expected. Sure, he didn't expect it to be as beautiful as Elysium with it's colorful flowers and waterfalls. But the half-dead flowers and lifeless trees are two steps below what he is expecting.
Leaving Will here feels wrong. He knows, logically, that Will belongs here; that he was judged and deemed ordinary or indifferent. But some part of him wants to take Will to Elysium, with it's rainbow flowers and shimmering waterfalls, to allow him the chance to for rebirth. Because after enduring nearly eighty years of punishment, Will deserved something good.
He knows the balance of the Underworld, though. Knows that even as the son of Hades, he cannot bend the rules for one soul.
He doesn't have to meet Will's eyes to know that he understands. "I hope that you do get your closure one day," Will murmurs.
Until Will reminds him, he's all but forgotten the reason he's been in the Underworld so often. He's all but forgotten the knot in his chest. He just nods. "I hope that you reach Elysium."
The next time that he tries to summon Bianca, she appears in front of him. And her only response as to why she didn't appear before is, "I couldn't appear when the pain was still so raw. Only when it dulled enough for you not to do anything foolish could I be here."
And strangely, he's okay with that.