ANNABETH
The long hallway that Zagreus had chosen had some major bad vibes, though was quite pretty—gnarled roots bent down from the ceiling, peeling parts of the wall away in their attempt to reach water. Worn inscriptions imbedded in the remaining brickwork. Though the light was dim, she could catch glimpses of rodents scurrying between roots and bricks.
"Just to forewarn you both, Styx has lots of nasty poison traps and big spinning buzzsaws and the like" Zagreus stated as they approached a triangular stone gate.
The gate slid open, and she was so shocked to see streams of sunlight passing through cracks in the ceiling. They really were just that close to the surface.
For as much as she'd like to have just drank in the daylight for the moment, she watched three little urn looking things notice their appearance. Distantly, erupting from the ground rose a strange giant green snake crystal, that began to glow purple.
Zagreus zoomed off to face the giant serpentine crystal, whilst she and Percy attacked the urns—upon closer inspection that they had beady little red eyes that glowered at her as she went to swipe her spear at one. Percy attacked the other, whilst the third bounced away, shimmying its weight side to side. It moved surprisingly fast not only for its size, but also its lack of apparent limbs or motors.
She could see the lid of the monster urn open, and a pink light shoot out, arcing high in the air towards her. Annabeth knew that that probably didn't mean anything good, so she leapt out of the way towards the door. As the pink object fell onto the ground, it exploded, causing loose rocks to fall from the ceiling.
Annabeth launched Varatha at the bomb-throwing monster urn and it turned to ash, letting out some sort of annoyed gurgling cry.
"Yikes" Percy said as he slashed clean through another urn, and it produced a similar sound.
Zagreus reduced the giant green crystal (which had started shooting lasers, because of course it did) into a million tiny shards.
"Oh—so, something to take note of for the next few rooms" Zagreus began, walking towards some sort of root-fashioned basin—or perhaps some sort of plant had completely enmeshed itself over a hard substrate.
Upon further inspection, she realized it was a Mandragora plant, shaped like a little person, was lounging in the pool of water—which glowed a soft greenish blue.
"It will heal any poison from the satyrs—or vermin, so try to locate your nearest pool when we enter a room" he explained, patting it twice. "Just poison though, nothing else."
"This would have been nice earlier" Annabeth sighed, touching her arm. If nothing else, it'd drifted from unimaginably blinding pain to a sort of dull throb.
Zagreus frowned at her, "What happened?" he asked, eyebrows knitting together with a grimace twisting his mouth.
"Uh, well, we tripped and fell into Nyx's swamp, and there was a drakon there, who was not happy to see us" she explained, gesturing with her arm a little. "It could have ended much worse, but then uh—Thanatos showed up."
He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Oh—yes, I thought I'd maybe just imagined it, but it looks like Mort sneaked off—although, it seems that Batty has disappeared too. Ah, well, suppose it's only fair" he said, then shrugged.
Annabeth nodded like she understood and the three journeyed down the next hall.
Styx was a little different from the other chambers—each individual room was much smaller, and each encounter seemed shorter. Perhaps making up for these facts was the danger presented—she'd already thought the shades of Elysium were quite challenging, but the giant poisonous rats were a whole other level.
"Wait, those are satyrs" Percy exclaimed as he ducked his head away from a flying poison dart.
The satyrs of Styx were quite unlike most others—a far cry away from Grover and company—they were blue-skinned and shaggy, with long white beards and eyes full of fire. Otherwise unclothed save the strange rat-like headgear, Annabeth tried not to think about it too much as she sliced through one.
This was, of course, not her first encounter with the less friendly sort of satyrs that existed in the world, but it didn't exactly make it less, hm, off-putting as it crumbled into dust and blood. Although, seeing as one dart sailed through the air and pierced the Prince, drawing out a stream of blood and curses, she put aside the weirdness of it.
As soon as the satyrs—and a giant rat, that'd busted out of the ground—were dispatched, the Prince immediately zoomed off to one of the pools and drank from it.
Annabeth side-stepped the still hissing, festering pool of acid left behind by the rat.
"Prince, if I might—?" she started.
Zagreus made a humming sound while he finished drinking from the pool.
"—You mentioned before about Lord Hades waiting for you at the surface" she said, eyeing the Prince carefully, "what did you mean by that?"
"Oh, that was literal. He will be there once we get to the top" he said, not quite casually but like he'd already steeled himself for such a thing.
Annabeth gritted her teeth somewhat absent-mindedly.
"The cloak should shield you for long enough, plus he'll be too busy dealing with me" he explained further, stopping to turn to her and Percy before the next doorway.
"Even though he's not quite, uh, all there?" Percy said.
Zagreus's mouth sort of twitched before he forced it to be more certain, "Yes. Just don't delay. For now, focus on the rats."
PERCY
Focus on the rats. Bah. It was kind of hard not to when they were erupting out of the ground and swarming forth, nipping at his heels as he ran like hell. They were about as twice as big as some of the New York City rats he'd seen and had just as much fervor when a meal was in front of them. He just wished there was a slice of pizza or something to present instead of his own skin.
He leapt, nearly face-planting directly into a wall. Managing to spin and face the oncoming hoard. Just then, an electric ball bounced and dispatched most of them.
"Don't stop moving!" the Prince shouted while sprinting past, followed by a dozen or so vermin.
"Right" he managed to say, taking off a little unsteadily as his knees quaked.
He managed to get a few of his own strikes off, but swinging Riptide was starting to feel more and more like swinging a cement brick than a sword. The rush of adrenaline over, and over, and over again was just serving to turn him into a shaking mess.
Annabeth didn't look much better, which upset him more. There was something bitter tasting about being so close to the surface—feeling the dappled sunlight on his skin whilst he ran for his life from a giant vermin that crawled out of the ground, shaking acrid smelling poison off its fur.
The encounter came to a close with a spear throw from the Prince. He collected his prize—a pomegranate. The Prince took a nonchalant bite right out of it.
"You… eat the skin?" Percy managed to say, a little breathless.
"You're not supposed to? Bah, it's like onions all over again."
He and Annabeth exchanged looks. He'd thought it before, but Zagreus seemed very, er… strange.
They approached something that looked like manhole cover, except it was glowing red and had Hades's symbol on it. The Prince stepped in gingerly, followed shortly thereafter by he and Annabeth. After a short ride down a dark tunnel, they plopped right out back at the entrance. Cerberus stood guard at the door, one head's menacing green eyes looking down its snout at Percy, whilst the other two had their attention drawn elsewhere.
Percy averted his gaze and scurried back to Annabeth's side.
"Don't mind Cerberus, he's just waiting for his snack. He can be a little impatient sometimes" Zagreus said.
"So… you bribe him to get out" Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow whilst she shifted her weight onto Percy's shoulder.
The Prince shrugged, "more or less."
Percy pondered what object could be so desirable as to distract Cerberus long enough to let the Prince slip out.
"How long have you been doing this for?" Annabeth asked as they walked back towards the chamber doors.
Zagreus hummed for a while, glancing between each emblem above the doors—gold obols, a lightning bolt, a white blade of wheat, a red sword, among a handful of others (a few of which had a conspicuous skull underneath, as if to indicate danger, which seemed a tad funny given everything about this place was dangerous.) He mused for a while, before seeming to realize he'd been asked a question.
"Oh, right, well, I don't know" Zagreus gave a non-committal hand-gesture, sort of waving it off, "I mean, I know it's been a significant amount of time, since, well, shades look quite different over… decades? Centuries? However much time has passed. The gate, and the little of the surface I've seen, that manages to stay the same."
How little of the surface he'd seen… It made a tad more sense, now, that he had not seen Zagreus at the battle of Manhattan, if his hunch was right and the Prince could not actually leave the Underworld, or maybe could only linger at its threshold. Was he really rebuked, every time, by Hades? Seemed like a bit much even for Hades, but also, well, not really. It would explain why he had never heard of such a god.
Soon, however, it was time to put those thoughts aside and head off, down another dim hallway to face yet another round of terrible little bomb-lobbing urns, giant snake crystals, and hoards of vermin. He steeled himself, as best he could, but was swiftly reminded he was running terribly low on bluster. Even having Annabeth to give him a reassuring look every so often was starting to not quite revivify him. He was still cold, with a sort of warm haze behind the eyes—the same feeling he got when he was about to pass out from the heat as a kid. Except it was relatively cool in Styx.
He looked up, peering to where the sun might be above, trying to grasp onto that thread of light, if not just for a moment. Just a little farther.
The first stone door rumbled opened, and in they went.
ZAGREUS
Ah, rats.
Now wasn't a great time for bad jokes, but was there ever? The Prince mused on this while dodging out of the way of a giant vermin's outstretched jaws. He'd hoped by avoiding the extra deadly rooms, he'd have avoided the most dangerous foes, but Fate had a way of ripping the rug out from under him. Usually, this would just be an inconvenience. He'd wake up in the Styx, march out, get chided by his father, chit-chat with his friends and family, then start all over again.
But, of course, at that moment he didn't think he'd ever forgive himself of failing at a moment like this. It'd also be a tad embarrassing, given he'd just explained he'd been doing this for a while.
Annabeth, whilst running on her own, stepped accidentally on a pressure plate—and down came a giant blade, nearly bisecting Percy had he not stopped on his heels after hearing the chains unfurl.
Percy made an indignant sound and Annabeth shouted some half-slurred rebuttal, before they began scurrying around again.
Naturally, when it couldn't get worse, as soon as the last of the giant vermin was dispatched with the launch of Varatha, down came a handful of Satyrs and a few Bothers, for good effect. He felt his heart sink.
Calling on Lady Demeter, he could at least have them slow down a little—previously he'd been reluctant to call on her after he watched Percy and Annabeth turn pale and cold, but he also couldn't afford to have the Satyr's shooting their poison darts at the two. He wasn't sure if they'd last long enough to get to a basin.
It seemed to work well enough. The demigods stayed away from the swirling blue vortex. Annabeth could dispatch things from afar whilst Percy stayed at her back to make sure none of the little vermin came up from behind. They made a good team—staying close together with great familiarity, like this was a tactic they'd used well enough before.
Sprinting forward, he sliced through a Satyr and jumped away from an incoming bomb before feeling something headbutt him from behind, launching him a good distance away. He wouldn't say his rise back onto his feet was exactly graceful, but there was no time to lose as he flung himself out of the way of a blow dart, and right into the blade of a guillotine that'd just fallen. He probably left the outline of his face on the side of it.
It would have been pretty funny if his head wasn't spinning, and he wasn't having trouble comprehending everything going on around him. It was a little hard to assess where to dodge off to when it looked like a giant rat was going to tackle him again or a dart was flying towards his face.
Purely on instinct he kicked what he was pretty sure was a satyr and rolled out of the way, shaking his head in the hopes of forcing some blood back to it. Mainly out of instinct, he tossed his cast and watched it blitz across his foes.
"Annabeth!" he heard Percy's voice cut through the air like a knife.
His blood went cold and he managed to focus long enough to watch Annabeth only just-so avoid the oncoming advance of an armored satyr. She'd taken a knee, although she managed to swing up the blunt end of Varatha and get the satyr good in the chin, it was just about ready to blow a dart at her when a smear of blood on the floor (possibly his, possible one of the vermin, who knew, really), congealed into a sharpened point and stabbed right through the Satyr, who struggled for a second, then died.
Peering past the satyr he saw Percy with his hand outstretched, clenched into a fist. There was an expression on his face that was hard to describe—a darkness behind the eyes, a piercing focus, grim determination he'd bear witness to a handful of times before.
Annabeth got back on her feet with what looked like monumental effort, and Zagreus dispatched the last of the vermin.
He let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck, and looked towards the doorway out and its sinister red glow. "Maybe you two should hang back for the next one? I'm starting to worry the satyr sack is behind one of the deadlier-doors"
Receiving no reply, he turned around to see Percy had outright collapsed and Annabeth had hobbled herself over to him, trying to urge him to wake. Whatever power he'd use to rouse blood to his command had taken its toll—Zagreus had a half-formed thought that it might be his doing (if his sphere, was, after all, around blood as Achilles had long ago proposed.)
Zagreus rushed over. Getting closer informed him that Percy wasn't dead, which was good, but he was definitely not in any shape to keep fighting.
"Miss Chase, why don't you sit by Cerberus for the time being? He'll be okay, he's, just, er, out cold" He said quietly.
Annabeth let out a heavy sigh. It seemed she was just barely keeping her head above water herself. "I… okay."
"I'll be quick, don't worry" he said, trying to imbue some amount of reassurance in his voice, although it fell awfully flat (much like Percy, who laid face down on the cool dusty floor.)
She nodded, and while he didn't like to presume, he had grown to notice the tone and gesture of an unwilling acceptance. Rolling over, as it might be put.
Down the satyr tunnel they went once more, this time with Percy in his arms to be laid gently down against a pillar. Annabeth just about collapsed next to him, labored breathing evening out after a little bit once she could close her eyes. Maybe being nearer to the surface helped, the fresh air seeping out from underneath the doorway was cool and clean. Hopefully.
And then he dashed off, to the first door he saw, hoping despite knowing better, that fate would be in his favor—not for his sake, this time.
ANNABETH
After a cat nap, she awoke, still feeling the stinging pain from when her ankle decided to buckle in the middle of a fight, and she went down like a house of cards. She'd been so angry when it happened, just miserably pissed off. Of all the times. Getting herself into trouble, putting someone else in harm's way to save her. Again.
She let out a gruff sound. Shut it, brain, not helpful. She could beat herself up until the end of time and it'd do no good. And she knew it, but that didn't stop those same thoughts from rolling back in, until she looked to her side and saw Percy fast asleep.
That managed to take over her worries, for a time.
Annabeth shifted her weight, leaning so they were closer together (although hesitated when she heard the soft, ghostly breathing of Charon, who was only a stone's throw away). She put the thought of the boatman out of her mind for the time being, to look at her boyfriend. He looked almost peaceful, were it not for the memory of his baleful expression seconds before spearing a satyr right through with a spike of its brethren's blood.
It made sense, of course. Water anywhere and everywhere, more or less responded to his call, and well, blood was mostly water. But that in and of itself was not what troubled her, it was the look in his eyes.
Gods, this place, bringing out the worst of them. But she didn't think that was really true, either. As it were, perhaps, maybe it was more like being put through the grinder, helpless and half-dead, had the effect of wearing away the better parts of hers and his nature. Almost mainly from spite did she resolve to not let it consume either of them, though, recalling the brief explanation Zagreus supplied of the crystalline foes they faced. What a horrible thing to let happen to yourself. And how easy, it must have been too, to just let go.
She let out a sigh and managed to stand. For a moment, her head swam, and felt far and disconnected from her body, but after staying on her feet it managed to all even out. There wasn't exactly anywhere far to go (especially since she was avoiding getting close to Charon, who she was pretty sure had been staring at them the whole time) but she could at least look at the pretty architecture. It was of course macabre and dark, but once one looked past the skeletal features, you could really begin to see the detail and beauty. Rich blues contrasting against gold filigree and white bone details.
Maybe it'd give her some ideas. She'd have to commit it to memory, and see what came up later—if, well, everything turned out well and everyone didn't die.
When she came back, Percy had roused, rubbing his eyes, and groaning. "Ugh, my head. I think the next time I see an ibuprofen I'll cry."
Annabeth managed a laugh, but as soon as she sat beside him, she was reminded of earlier, and the humor soured. Percy seemed to sense this, sort of grimacing. "I'm sorry, I… didn't realize what came over me."
She pressed her lips into a line, eyebrows furrowing, then said, "It's fine, just don't let it happen again."
He pursed him lips and nodded. Convincing himself of the certainty, maybe, since after a few moments he nodded again with more vigor.
"So, where's Zagreus…?" Percy asked, looking around like Zagreus would emerge from behind a pillar, somehow (or pop out of the ceiling, which was a possibility).
"Off trying to clear the last rooms, I haven't seen in him in a bit, but it's hard to tell how much time has passed since he dropped us off" she mused, leaning back.
Percy hummed, sounding almost a little uncertain.
"Are you worried?" she asked, tilting her head towards him.
"Well, yes, I suppose. I guess I'm more just worried we've been left a little in the dark. What if, you know, it's a trick?" he said, sort of knitting his fingers together, tapping his thumbs to one another.
Annabeth thought for a moment, closing her eyes. "I don't think it's a trick, although I wish we knew more. But, at this point, I don't think we've got much a choice in the matter."
She opened her eyes to glance Percy's way, seeing his eyebrows furrow in thought for a while. "Want to tell me what you're thinking?" she said.
He looked pensive for a moment. "I guess… no matter what happens, I just hope we're not too late."
Annabeth nodded.
"I also hope that this cloak works again, it was pretty neat the first time" he said, putting the neatly folded cloth back in his lap.
She hadn't gotten the chance to touch it the first time, so she took a corner of the cloth and found it to be almost impossibly silky smooth—Not a fiber out of place, despite every it must have gone through. Amazing, really. It was hard to not be impressed with godly artifacts, even ones from frightening Night-Godesses.
It was just then that they heard the Prince drop in from the ceiling a little ways away. In hand was a large animal skin bag, which… struggled? Jiggled? Actually, ew, no, jiggled was a gross way to describe it. But so was the bag, as at a few of the seams it looked some mystery substance was threatening to leak out.
"One satyr sack for you, boy."
Cerberus plodded forward, panting, tail wagging with excitement. As delicately as a giant three headed beast could, it plucked the bag out of the prince's hands and went on its way, disappearing into the gloom.
"Alright you two, how are you feeling? Do you need more time to rest?" Zagreus asked, wiping his hand on his pants, and running forward.
It was kind of hard to feel like some dastardly trick was up Zagreus's sleeve when he seemed so concerned. Despite betrayals in the past.
"Good, ready to be out of here—but can we go over the plan first?" she asked, pushing herself onto her feet with a little help from Varatha, then lent a hand to Percy right after.
Zagreus nodded, resting his chin between his thumb and pointer finger. "Yes. Put on the shawl, creep around the back whilst I fight my father. Get to Persephone's garden. I believe Nyx was going to send a message to your friends, and they can come collect you."
"Yes but what about after…?" Percy asked, making a little rolling motion with his hands.
"Yes, the Doors of Death... Well, you all will have to keep the monsters on your side occupied, I'll take care of it from my side. I'll find some way to contact you when the time comes" he explained further.
But it was a little vague, still. Seeing Zagreus struggle against the shades of the underworld did little to boost her confidence he could fight a whole hoard of monsters. That did actually bring a question to her mind—when she'd watch what she believed to be Zagreus dying, temporarily, in the stadium, why hadn't he just comeback in his true form and vaporized everyone? Was it just bad praxis?
"Prince, no offense, but you're pretty beat up as is. Are you sure you'll make it that far…?" she said, carefully.
Zagreus blinked at her. "Well dying has never really been that big of a deal for me, honestly"
Monsters might reform, as did the Titans and Giants, but…?
The prince shook his head. "Anyways, don't worry too much about that. You've all got much bigger problems to worry about. Plus, I can't imagine staying here much longer will be good for you."
Annabeth wanted to say more (even opened her mouth to do so) but stopped herself. It was true—the moments of rest already seemed to have shrunken away, and thus began a renewed set of whole body aches.
They began walking towards the door. Her heart began to beat furiously, stomach twisting itself into knots. The prince put his hand on the door, turned only to wait as Percy unfurled the shawl and pulled it over their shoulders. Just then, the air sort of bent around them, and they must have faded. Zagreus looked between them for a moment, like he might say something, but then turned around and pushed hard on the door. With a lurching rumble, it struggled to give way. A blast of cold air rushed in from the outside. It was blindingly bright at first, it hurt to see—until her eyes adjusted, and she saw it—snow. A thick blanket laid over the scenery, the cool crisp air shocking her ash-filled lungs. But she stopped herself from coughing, as she could see a tall dark figure a few dozen feet away. Bearing a blood red cloak, and the unmistakable helm of darkness, was for sure Lord Hades.
Zagreus walked forward, almost casually.
"Hello father, sorry it took so long, hope you won't mind the delay" he chirped. There was an air of defiance, it seemed, for his pleasant tone.
She and Percy began slowly advancing to the side. Percy pointed through the gloom to a set of stone pillars, leading off to what must have been the mountain path Zagreus had described.
The God of the Underworld let out a grumbled sigh.
"I learned recently that two mortals were making a mess of things in my realm. Did you happen to have anything to do with this?" Hades said, then turned.
He looked stunningly different than their previous encounter, far more like an ancient Underworld god. Built like a brick house, with sallow grey skin and two ruby red eyes piercing out of darkness. Adorned with jewels and skulls, he made a menacing figure. It was a little hard to believe that Zagreus could be his son, less so because of appearance…
She stopped dead in her tracks. Percy, thankfully, followed her lead, and they stood as still as stone as drifts of fog-like snow swirled around them.
"No, of course not" Zagreus huffed.
Hades's eyes narrowed.
"Let's get this over with then, Father" Zagreus said, readying Stygius, the faintest hint of uncertainty in his stance.
It looked almost like Hades flickered—another man taking his place, too briefly for her to be able to make anything out. He shook his head and re-assumed his (presumably) normal form. With a dramatic flair, he burned off the red cloak and rising from a burning pit came forth a giant two-pointed spear.
Zagreus charged forth, and thus did the battle begin. He appeared to concentrate his efforts around staying closer to the icey-blue waters of the pond and a little outcropping of stone that broke through the snow, as far away as possible from the exit.
Thanks Prince, she thought, as she and Percy began to carefully shuffle forth once more, hoping with all her heart that the magic of the cloak didn't run out and they'd be able to make it.
PERCY
Percy was fairly certain he hadn't stopped holding his breath since they stepped out of Styx and back onto the surface. As he watched Hades take wide spin after spin after his son, disappearing into a puff of smoke, and reappearing to try and skewer Zagreus, he felt his heart skip a beat every time.
They were about halfway there, at least. The Prince's plan seemed like it was working out, but Percy couldn't help but feel near-ill with dread. Every step closer, and he became more worried Hades would take notice of their little footprints before the snow swallowed them up. But they couldn't move fast because that might almost certainly alert Hades to their presence. If they got found out, Percy wasn't sure if he and Annabeth could bluff their way out of a spear toss.
It was then that Hades tossed out three flaming skulls. One flew towards Zagreus, whilst the other two flew in opposite directions, one landing over the small pond in the far corner, and another closer to he and Annabeth. The brief fright of trying to figure out how best to non-chalantly throw themselves out of the way, followed by a sigh of relief when it landed away from them, followed by even greater panic when it started pulsating and burning. It was almost definitely going to explode.
He exchanged a panic look with Annabeth, and they shuffled faster through the snow.
Zagreus had managed to dispatch one with his cast after avoiding being struck by the first, but Hades was keeping him occupied—an unwavering assault, blocking him even as he attempted to get closer to the remaining skull.
He watched it explode in a puff, sending out a wave of greenish heat out in all directions. There was no way to avoid it, and so his heart stopped, he grabbed Annabeth, and threw them away from the oncoming blast. And while it did not hit either of them, he could see Hades's red eyes amidst the fog make direct contact with his.
"Run!" he heard Zagreus shout.
No need to tell him twice. Annabeth helped him off the ground and they took off. Percy wasn't sure he'd run any faster in his life, even though the snow tore the tattered remnants of his shoes apart. He could feel Hades bearing down upon them. It felt like they were football fields away from the exit, even though it must not have been more than stone's throw away. Just a little farther.
He felt heat behind him and squeezed his eyes shut, expecting the worst, but realized it was Zagreus, who'd surged forward. With a well-timed swing of Stygius, he reflected the lunge from Hades's spear. Hades hissed in outrage, could hear him cursing.
Annabeth grabbed his hand, and they nearly hurled themselves across the threshold. They didn't stop there, though. Scrambling back onto his feet, heart thundering in his chest, they continued—recalling Zagreus's directions, they ran past a cliff overlooking the ocean and only slowed when Hades's curses grew distant, and then silent. His lungs burned.
Facing towards the ocean, the wine-dark sea (as it was), he thought briefly of his father, hoping whatever luck had sustained him would carry on a little further.
They hobbled the rest of the way. For a moment, it seemed like they'd taken a wrong turn—it was just more snow, more frozen trees, more wind whipping the snow into the air and sending the little ice particles making his ears and nose raw. He could feel it starting to settle in his hair.
But then—it almost seemed like a hallucination. Peering through the blue gloom was a golden painted garden, soaked in sunlight. Annabeth even paused, looking at him, then back, as if to confirm if they were both seeing the same thing.
Almost gliding forward, did they finally arrive in Persephone's garden. All sorts of plants grew, rich and ripe, not a sign of spoilage or damage from insects or disease. The air was warm and refreshing, far more so than even the sudden blast of cold had. Butterflies fluttered and bees hovered between flowers.
After taking a few more steps, he collapsed, and Annabeth soon after. Gasping for breath, back-to-back.
"We just pissed off Hades, again" he said, blinking away the snow melting off his eyebrows.
"Yeah. I'm not looking forward to when I die, I'm expecting an earful" she laughed between catching her breath.
He chuckled. "Maybe Zagreus can put in a good word before then at least."
Annabeth laughed, but then it sort of faded. Looking off towards where the fight was likely taking place (if it had not already concluded), her mouth flattened out.
It was true, then, that after the adrenaline had worn off, it did occur to him, that, well, they were safe, yes, and that perhaps Zagreus didn't think dying was a big deal, but, at the same time… Hades had been absolutely furious. There were a lot worse things than just dying, if the catalogue of myth was anything to go by. He really worried for Zagreus, which felt awfully strange.
"Do you think we'll be cursed if we eat anything here?" he said, casting his gaze towards one of the many tasty looking fruits and vegetables, just waiting for the picking.
Annabeth hummed. "Probably?"
"Damn."
She let out a weak scoff.
It was hard to tell how much time had passed. The sun was so nice and warm, the scene so peaceful, it almost didn't occur to him to be worried, and maybe just fall asleep again… Then Annabeth roused him, and he startled awake.
He saw what looked like a figure marching towards them from the gloom. He immediately scrabbled for Riptide, but wasn't exactly confident how much of a fight he could put up—especially if his worst fear was true, that it was Hades.
"Whoa there, it's just me" called the familiar voice of Zagreus. Stepping out of the blizzard and into the sunlight, he was, to put it lightly, a wreck. There was a huge two-pronged gouge in his chest like he'd been run through, amongst a smattering of burns, cuts, scrapes, including one that had half blinded him, knocking out his green eye.
"Did he run you over with a truck?!" he blurted out.
"Don't know what that is, but no" Zagreus answered, then took a seat by them. "Although he definitely wasn't happy"
Percy wanted to describe what a truck was but put that off for the mean time.
"I thought you said you couldn't stay on the surface" Annabeth said, eyebrows knitting together, tilting her head.
"Oh, I can't, I'll probably need to go soon, but first I needed to make sure you two get back to your friends safely" Zagreus said, sort of waving his hand a bit. "They should be here soon, by the way."
"That's… good. Are you gonna be alright? How are you going to get all the way back down?" Percy said, slowly.
Zagreus shrugged. "The usual way, probably. Charon only gave me a ride the once."
Percy's head hurt. He wasn't going to interrogate further. He could see the wheels spinning in Annabeth's head, though.
Sure enough, however, not long after did he catch a brief glimpse of the Argo II overhead, looking for somewhere to land. Not long after did a gaggle of demigods pop out of the woods, weapons at the ready, but were swiftly sheathed when they caught sight of their long-missing friends.
Zagreus had disappeared then, ambling off to the cabin.
At first, he was too overwhelmed as he was seized by hugs to really think of anything else. He was alive. They had made it. After so long, his heart ached horribly to see everyone again, so much it brought him to tears. It didn't matter that they were soaked in soot and poison and probably looked near-death, he found it within himself to hug everyone as tightly as he could bear.
"How did you two do it?" Leo asked, eyes darting between he and Annabeth.
"We had help—wait, where's Zagreus…?" Annabeth said, half-pulling away to look over Piper's shoulder.
"Zagreus…?" Frank said slowly.
"It's a long story—one sec" Annabeth said, then jogged off.
Percy watched as Nico, who'd been hesitating at the edge of the group, shuffled forward. "I guess the message from Nyx didn't mention your half brother…?" Percy said.
Nico didn't return his look, merely staring straight off towards Zagreus as Annabeth led him out of the cabin. "No, it hadn't. She was very brief."
Percy decided to put a pin in whatever was going on with Nico for the moment. It wasn't the right time to bring whatever it was up, evidently.
Zagreus looked a little worse for wear, hand on his side. "Pleased to meet all of you, they told me all about you" he said, with a light smile, "and it's good to see you again, Nico."
"Half brother?" Hazel asked, tilting her head to Zagreus.
"He's Hades and Persephone's son" Nico said, flatly.
Hazel's eyes got wide. "Oh, wow, so you're a god-god" she said, turning back to Zagreus.
Leo leaned over to whisper to Percy, "I've never seen a god like that. Did he get thrown in a woodchipper?"
"No, but I did just fight my father" Zagreus said, a little mirth in his tone, mischief in his eyes when Leo froze and his mouth hung open. Although it faded quick, as it looked like some of his wounds caught up to him, and Zagreus pushed harder on his side, "Well, didn't say I came through unscathed."
Jason seemed a little more skeptical. "I would think a fight between two gods would result a little more catastrophic."
Zagreus blinked, like he wasn't sure what he meant. "I'm technically a quarter mortal if that clears anything up."
"Your blood is pretty human looking" Leo mused.
"Well, some people say I am the god of blood, so maybe that's why" Zagreus shrugged. The motion seemed to pain him somewhat, and he grimaced.
"I think he meant your true form" Percy suggested.
Zagreus looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "Pretty sure I've only got the one form."
"I'm still confused—you had to fight your father so they could leave?" Jason asked, eyes a little less hardened now.
"There is no escape" Hazel said, sort of slowly, as if recalling an old memory.
"Not even me, unfortunately" Zagreus said, sounding a lot more pained. Come to think of it, the Prince seemed to actually be looking worse—somehow, despite having two holes in him. His skin was that much more grey, and that red piercing gaze had dulled.
Percy paused, "Why don't you sit for a second?"
Zagreus laughed, apparently at the irony, then knelt. "One more thing, before I go—ach" he sucked in air, "good luck and—I, promise I'll—be there!"
Before anything more could be asked or said, it was like a scene out of a horror movie. The Prince, looking on the verge of death, sort of, well, dissolved, into a pool of blood. He managed to put up a peace sign before finally fading away.
Oh. So that's what he meant.
"Well, that was horrifying" Leo stated after a long silence.