Chapter 17: Sissy Almost Gets Squashed

AN: Hi, I know I've been MIA. I've been really busy, and wanted to go through all the new books to make sure I'm up to date on the Riordanverse. To make it up to all you loyal followers, I am going to post several chapters. I hope this helps!

Inside all of the other viewers were trying to figure out how they felt about the situation. "Look," Nico decided. "It's none of our business. The Fates may be showing us a lot, but we shouldn't be prying further than we need to. I mean, I know it's kind of sucked for me and everyone else too. I wouldn't want to come back to everyone talking about me."

"What do you want to do then?" Reyna asked him. "None of us know how long we might be waiting for them to return."

The room filled back up with conversation as everyone gave their ideas, from more dueling, sparring, arts and truths or dares. There was watching another movie which was shot down very quickly, and Hearth suggested they do some arts in crafts which prompted the next idea.

"Um… I'm not very good at arts and crafts. I'd really like to know what you're saying though," Jaz asked. "I think it would be useful, especially if I ever have a deaf patient or—"

"It's a great idea," Magnus grinned. "Hearth's a really good teacher. Between him, Blitz and I we can all teach you."

Percy's eyes brightened as he watched everyone split up and say what they wanted to learn to say first.

When Thalia and Jason returned to the room, the others were learning their name signs. Each included the sign language letter of their first initial and a sign for a different descriptor of the person. The demigods were having fun putting these signs together with the first ones they'd learnt, the ASL curse words and the good ol' fashioned 'flipping the bird' to curse at one another.

Clarisse was moving her hand held horizontally, near her chin, with a feral grin as it moved a little downward and away to create an insult meaning a female dog. Before she'd added Piper's sign name, a P, two fingers held out from a fist, and apart like scissors, then the sign for feathers, pinching at the hair with an index and thumb then pulling out.

Of course, Piper responded in an equal manner, signing 'dumbass.' Jason and Thalia looked at each other confused, especially when the entire room looked at them in silence with blinding grins and waving their hands in a few motions. Later Jason would learn these were their name signs. A J, a pinky drawing the letter in the air and the sign for tall, a hand with palm down, moving up to show something getting taller.

Thalia's was silver, pointing at the earlobe, moving it away and forming the fist (thumb uncovered) letter S and shaking it, then a T, a fist with the index finger being the only one covering the thumb.

Eventually, after they learnt a few more signs and caught Thalia and Jason up, the demigods, magicians and room full of mythical people sat back down.

The scene started back up exactly where it had stopped, with Thalia snapping at Percy. She looked at him apologetically, in the same way she did in the scene in front of them as it started to play.

He apologized first for not thinking.

"When are you?" asked Alex.

"Shut up!" Samirah shushed her.

She looked at him and stopped frowning saying it was okay. They should just get this over with. As she spoke a petal fell off the flower that Percy held.

"It's going fast," commented Carter looking at Nico. "How long does it take to get in and out of your underworld?"

"Depends."

"It's not like ours," Walt explained. "There are no different houses and hours. It's more like when you pop in to visit your parents or Sunny Acres."

"So, almost like a Duat portal."

"Something like that."

Percy looked at them as they spoke and saw that most of the room looked just as confused as he did. He resolved that they needed to review what exactly went on in the lives of Sadie, Carter, the Egyptians, Magnus, Alex, Sam and their whole mess in Boston.

As they continued to walk the area got darker, which didn't seem possible. The three demigods jumped a small stream of lava and walked toward the sound of screams and bad music.

"The hell part of hell," Rachel grimaced. "Wow. What luck you guys have."

"No comment."

"Is music seriously a punishment?"

Nico shrugged. "For some people. When a person deserves the fields of punishment the furies cater a new punishment just for them. Tantalus, the guy with the food in Percy's second quest was one of them. You're gonna meet at least one other."

The flower turned toward a hill on the left. Percy directed his cousins there, all three of them were covered in ash, blending in with the surroundings. There was a bunch of curses, some thudding, and a strange noise kind of like creaking. Thalia grimaced asking if it was who she thought it was. Nico said he was afraid so, the expert on cheating death. Then he walked to the top of the hill.

Everyone turned to Nico for an explanation, except of course those who were knowledgeable in Greek mythology and the underworld and knew just who the son of Hades spoke of. The guy was Thanatos's worse nightmare. He was what Hazel was, but a lot more guilty, and with a few more deaths and lives included.

On the other side of the hill was a guy in loincloth with pot belly hanging over the side. He kicked at a boulder screaming he wouldn't do it then cursed in several languages.

Thalia reached for Jason's ear. Percy looked between Hazel and Nico. Both his young innocent little cousins. Nico had already covered Hazel's ears, so Percy reached for his. When he tried Nico looked around to glare at him, but Percy grabbed him and turned his head straight again.

"Technically he's older than you," Will reminded Percy. "And he's definitely heard and said worse."

"Shush. Little ears," Thalia scolded as Percy stuck his tongue out in response. Annabeth rolled her eyes wondering once again why the younger ones in the family were much more mature. Circumstances, she supposed.

The man marched away angrily from the boulder but was pulled back like by a bungee cord. He started to bang his head on the boulder saying all, right then cursing it more. Then he said that was the last time. Understood?

"Who is this guy and why is he talking to a rock?" asked Leo.

Walt raised an eyebrow. "That's the Moses thing. Isn't it?"

"You're thinking of something else. That was Moses hitting the rock," Apollo said. "Instead of talking to it."

"This conversation has made no sense at all," declared Sadie. "So, move on and explain who this guy is."

"Nico will in a few moments. Keep watching. It's not like I had anything but the vaguest clue about all of this either."

Nico told the other two demigods to go now while the man was in between attempts. Nico called Sisyphus's name as they walked down the hill. The man looked up and hid behind the rock saying he wasn't going to be fooled with those disguises, he knew they were the furies.

Everyone looked between the three Greek Big Three cousins and laughed. The idea of the Furies disguised like the mismatched bunch was hilarious. They shared a little resemblance, but the difference was still there, especially with how they were dressed in the scene in front of them.

Percy shivered. "Ugh. Now I'm thinking of old grumpy ladies in my body."

"Not a good feeling," Carter recalled.

"Just being around her isn't a good feeling," Sadie scowled. The three of them ignored the looks from around the room. Grover raised an eyebrow. "You're not talking about Mrs. Dodds anymore, are you?"

"There's enough similarities, but no. Not her."

Percy insisted that they weren't the furies. They just wanted to talk. The old man shrieked that it was time to go away. Flowers wouldn't help, and it was too late for apologies. Thalia tried to insist again they just wanted to talk. The man ran putting his hands over his ears and screaming la-la he wasn't listening. They chased him around the boulder until Thalia caught him by the hair.

"Who knew the Field of Punishment could be funny?" Chris snickered at the cartoonish scene.

"Because it's not," Thalia grumbled. "The guy deserved it and the place is literally hell."

"Again. Can someone please explain what's happening here," insisted Jaz. "I'm not sure I really understand your underworld."

"Really?" asked Apollo. "Because it's not that complicated. Like at all. It makes more sense than a feather of truth and a thing devouring souls. That part just sounds like Harry Potter."

"Hey," Sadie protested. She made a mock hurt face as she glared at Apollo. "Don't talk about my Poochiekins like that!"

"I really want to see what this Ammit looks like," Piper whispered to Frank. "I get the Mrs. O'Leary as a pet. But a crocodile dog thing? And she calls it Poochiekins? Is that supposed to be ironic?"

"I don't know," Frank shrugged. Every time he thought his life couldn't get any crazier it proved him wrong. Still, it wasn't like Percy's. Just being his friend was enough chaos.

The man wailed and said to stop it. He had rocks to move. Thalia offered to move his rocks if he shut up and talked to the other two demigods. Sisyphus stopped his wailing and kicking, repeating her offer. She retorted that it was better than looking at him. She told Percy and Nico to be fast.

"Quick. The Quick Brown Fox jumped over the Lazy Dog," Ella recited. "Lazy and Quick. Sisyphus and Field of Punishments."

"Ella?" Hazel asked carefully. "What are you talking about?"

"Lazy Sisyphus. Ella is quick. Too fast for Phineas. Too fast. Quick," Ella repeated.

Tyson wrapped an arm around her. After another concerned glance from Hazel the room refocused, and the scenes moved on.

Thalia pushed her shoulder against the rock, moving it slowly up the hill. Sisyphus looked between Percy and Nico and then reached out and pinched Percy's nose.

Percy rubbed his nose, conjuring water from a nearby cup to wash it. "It feels gross." He explained to the questioning looks as he scowled.

Sisyphus looked at him wide eyed. Saying they weren't furies, but then what was the flower for? Percy explained the flower was there to help them find a person they were looking for. Sisyphus scowled and cursed Persephone's name. He knew it was one of her tracking devices. He bragged that he'd fooled her once. He'd fooled them all. Percy looked at Nico and asked for a translation. Nico explained and repeated the tale of Sisyphus. He insisted on calling Sisyphus, Sissy.

"Sorry," frowned Zia. "But chained death? How can one chain death?"

Reyna shook her head in amusement. "You would be surprised."

"Just explain please," Carter asked.

Nico huffed. "I just did."

"More detail," Carter said then turned to Annabeth. "Do you mind? It seems important to the story."

She shrugged. "I'll just hit the main points. That so-called Sissy is one of Aeolus's sons. He was a king of Corinth. Homer wrote about him in the Iliad. He had the idea to chain Thanatos, the god of death."

"Isn't Hades the god of death?" asked a very confused Jaz.

"God of the Underworld," Nico said with a headshake. "It's like Osiris and Anubis, one is in charge of the logistics of running the place, the other the practices of death and ushering them into the Underworld."

"Okay," Magnus said shrugging off the reference to the Egyptians gods he didn't understand. "But why chain Thanatos?"

Annabeth quickly spoke up before anyone else could start another tangent in their conversation. "Without Death collecting souls, humans can't die. Their souls can't be brought down to the underworld. They just roam free, and even can go back to their bodies."

"So., he cheated death," Zia nodded. "Like Setne."

"Exactly like that."

"Great," Sadie said with a sarcastic eyeroll.

Sisyphus refused and said no but Nico continued. He talked about how Persephone let Sisy here go.

Everyone immediately turned to where the Big Three children "Ares eventually freed Thanatos. But Sisyphus's backup plan was in place. Merope, his wife never did the funeral rights. He was never buried. So, when he went to Persephone, she let him go back to the world to haunt his wife."

"Why?"

"Persephone can be pretty sympathetic to heroes and humans. Orpheus for one," Apollo said.

"Yeah," Percy agreed. "It's only her husband's children or those who've wronged her she doesn't like. She did try and help me once after this. Kind of."

"She was doing that to piss off her mom and my dad," Nico said with an eye roll.

"I don't think that's it. She's sympathetic. Remember?"

"She's my stepmom," Nico retorted with a snort. "I would know."

Sisyphus bragged how he'd stayed alive for thirty more years. Meanwhile, Thalia looked at them and urged them to hurry up from halfway up the hill.

Annabeth smirked at the two boys. "Either way. When Sisyphus died again it was final and he was given this punishment. Better?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Percy asked Sisyphus if rolling up the boulder was his punishment and if it was worth it. Sisyphus said it was just for a while, when he finished, he would bust out and everyone would be sorry.

"Yeah," Walt agreed. "I see the Setne thing again. Except somehow Setne is more stylish."

"That's saying something," Annabeth muttered under her breath.

Nico asked how he'd get out of the underworld while it was locked down. Sisyphus grinned and said that's what the other person asked. Percy and Nico exchanged look. Percy asked if someone else had asked for his advice. Sisyphus said that he was an angry young man. He wasn't polite and he held a sword to his throat and didn't roll the boulder at all. Nico asked what he told him and who he was? Sisyphus looked up at Thalia who was almost at the top of the hill. Sisyphus said that the guy carried a large package in a black cloth. He suggested they wait while he goes to look.

"Does he really think you're going to fall for that?" asked Clarisse. "Even Prissy's not that stupid."

"How is it that he escaped death?" Samira said at the same time.

Both of the boys shrugged.

"He did tell you the important thing, though," pointed out Calypso. "He has the thing. The sword and keys."

"Yeah."

Percy demanded to know what he told the thief. Sisyphus insisted he couldn't remember. Nico took out his sword which steamed with the cold air of stygian iron. He said Sisyphus should try harder. Sisyphus winced and asked what kind of person had a sword like that. Nico grinned ferally and said a son of Hades and demanded an answer. Sisyphus's looked deathlier than before when he answered saying that he told the thief to go to Melinoe. She always had a way out. Nico lowered his sword.

"Okay," Piper declared loudly. "Now that we've established that the two of you are terrifying, who is Melinoe?" Nico and Percy turned to her and she sighed. "Right. I'll see."

"I'm just scared to see why Nico reacted that way when she was mentioned," Juniper shivered against Grover's side. She hated the Underworld. And now she had to watch these guys go through it again.

Nico asked what this demigod looked like. Sisyphus said he had a mouth and nose.

Hazel frowned. "That's very descriptive."

"Wait for it…." Percy gestured.

Sisyphus continued saying he had one eye and –then Percy interrupted repeating the last part and asking if he had an eyepatch.

"The guy from the Labyrinth?" Hazel asked. "Nemesis's son?"

Percy nodded.

Sisyphus said maybe. He also had hair on his head. Then he gasped saying there he was. They turned and Sisyphus ran yelling he was free before he was pulled back by the invisible bungee. Nico and Percy grabbed him again and pulled him back up the hill while he cursed them and swore to never help them. Then he told them to go to Hades.

"They're already there," Thalia said with an eyeroll.

"Did he forget about that whole thing?" Alex again had to wonder how someone could be that stupid. "This guy was supposed to be some kind of trickster? Disgrace."

Nico muttered they were already there.

"Wow," Leo said.

"You must be related." He received two matching glares, and a slap on the back of the head by Calypso.

Thalia yelled incoming as the boulder bounced down the hill toward them. Percy swore a little as he and Nico jumped out of the way. Sisyphus was taken down by the boulder but managed to stop it before it fell all the way down.

"Indiana Jones," Magnus grinned. "Classic."

Leo grinned and said. "Which is your favorite?"

"Just don't say Crystal Skull," Sadie begged.

"Harrison Ford is just as cool in real life by the way," Piper explained. "I met him at one of Dad's thing once."

Another conversation was happening at the same time, confusing everyone who was part of neither and both conversations.

"How did he stop that boulder? There's no way he's that strong."

"He's been doing it for thousands of years," Nico responded. "He just can. It's his job. His eternity."

"Wow. Morbid."

"It's the Underworld. What were you expecting?"

Annabeth frowned and ignored the entire conversation looking at Percy. She leaned in to whisper to him. "Did you realize you were cursing in Latin and Greek?"

"Yeah," Percy shrugged. "But I've always learned curse words in a language first. It's just a thing people do. It's not that unusual."

Annabeth decided to put the argument away for now and watched as Magnus, Alex, Sadie, Carter, Leo and Piper discussed booby traps, movie clichés and giant boulders.

"Guys, can we just finish this scene?" Percy asked aware she was still studying him. "I want to get this all over with. I'm sure Thalia and Nico feel the same."

"Nah, I'm fine delaying the next part."

"Keep talking. What's Indiana Jones?"

Rachel looked at both of them. "First, we're having a movie night. Second, now that you guys said all of that we absolutely have to move on."

"Please don't," Thalia asked.

"You'd rather watch yourself be crushed by a boulder?" asked Grover concerned.

"It's not me getting crushed anymore," Thalia shrugged, unbothered by the idea of Sisyphus getting squashed.

"Just shut up and play the thing," Apollo shouted.

Sisyphus held the boulder and asked for them to take it again. He couldn't hold it. Thalia gasped not again. He was on his own. Sisyphus cursed and they left. Nico led them to Melinoe's cave. Percy told them that they were looking for Ethan Nakamura, the one who freed Kronos. Nico said he remembered. But if they were looking for Melinoe they had other problems.

"Again, who's Melinoe?" asked Frank.

"An underworld deity," Nico answered simply.

"That's helpful."

Behind them Sisyphus kept cursing at his rock, promising it was the last time. Thalia shivered. Percy asked if she was alright? She said she guessed. It was just scary. When she got to the top, she thought she'd done it. She thought it was easy, but then it rolled away, and she wanted to try again. Cause she thought she could do it this time. She looked back at the Hill. Percy frowned and said the sooner they left the better.

Apollo frowned then turned to Nico and Thalia. "I don't understand. That curse is Sisyphus's. How did it effect you like that?"

"I don't know, and I just want to move on. I'm not going to be stuck in the same place forever doing the same task," she argued. Percy bit the inside of his cheek on hearing that wanting to tell her that's exactly what immortality was, and what life with the Hunters sounded like. At the same time, he knew that wasn't what she meant. Life with the Hunters still offered enough variety for her, but for how long? Focusing on these thoughts he almost missed Nico's answer.

"Curses like that can suck you in. It's a punishment for interfering with underworld matters. Eventually the person would be found, and maybe taken away. Or they'd start a fight when Sisyphus remembers the only way, he can leave is completing the task. One of them would want to push and it would compel them to do it forever."

Piper frowned. "I still don't think someone like Thalia would be so susceptible to that type of thing."

"Maybe," Nico shrugged. "It depends on the person. Thalia can be rather single-minded, no offense. She's stubborn enough to keep going even when she knows she can't do something. It probably picked up on that. It played with her pride and frustration at almost being able to complete the task but never getting all the way there. It's not exactly nice but it works for the Fields of Punishment."

"Thanks for the psychoanalysis," Thalia sneered.

Nico's face fell. Percy shook his head in warning with an understanding look. At the moment it was better to just let Thalia be. There was little they could do. Their family had always had tension. This quest had changed how they viewed that but viewing this quest may change how they acted about it now. Especially when everyone else was there watching them.