You're family, aren't you?

Rescue missions gone too well

“SEPHIE!”

Nico and Bianca were standing in front of Hades, staring blankly at the spot where Iris-message with Sephie was only moments ago.

“Sephie?” Bianca asked shakily, her fists clenched, and she whirled around to face father she didn’t remember, onyx eyes blazing. “What happened to Sephie?!”

“She isn’t… you know…” Nico said, clutching Bianca’s sleeve, eyes wide.

“No, she’s not,” Hades confirmed after closing his eyes and checking on his realm, failing to sense Sephie’s soul. “She’s alive.”

“How can you be so sure?” Bianca demanded. “You just closed your eyes, and suddenly knew she’s alive? Do you have some sort of, I don’t know, telepathic connection or -”

“No, but my dear niece has visited me so many times I would know her soul signature anywhere,” Hades sighed, carding his fingers through his hair. “Wherever she is, she’s definitely not in my domain.”

“My domain?” Nico piped up, eyes filled with a mixture of wariness and curiosity. “What do you mean by that, sir?”

“And who are you?” Bianca placed her hands on her hips, unknowingly imitating her mother’s favorite pose when she was in an argumentative mood, and Hades’ breath hitched.

“What had Sephie told you about the necklaces?” the god asked instead of answering his children’s questions.

Nico and Bianca exchanged a quick look, communicating in silence, before Bianca turned to her father.

“She only said her uncle, our father made them for us and gave it to her for emergency situations, and to always keep them on ourselves, no matter what.”

Hades smiled despite the tense mood in the room. Sephie had done her work perfectly, telling her cousins just enough to count as truth and never outright lying. It seemed Sally Jackson had influenced her daughter in more than one way. “I certainly did. I hope you liked them.”

Nico blinked and Bianca tilted her head, before the implications of the phrasing registered with the siblings.

“Papa?” Nico was the first one to shake himself out of shock-induced stupor and ask the question hanging between the trio.

Hades only smiled and opened his arms. “Si, Niccolo.” Not a moment later he grunted under the combined weight of his children as they ran into his arms, sobbing and babbling in Italian.

“Dov’eri, papa?” Bianca hiccupped, clutching her father’s sleeve. “Perché non sei tornato quando è morta la mamma?” (Where were you, dad? Why didn’t you return when Mum died?)

“Mi è stato proibito, cara ragazza,” Hades whispered, threading through Bianca’s silky black locks, a trait that connected all Greek children of Big Three. “Tuo zio ti avrebbe ucciso.” (I was forbidden, darling girl. Your uncle would’ve killed you.)

“Nostro zio? Il padre di Sephie?” Nico asked, his voice muffled by the clothes he stuck his face in around Hades’ middle. (Our uncle? Sephie’s dad?)

“No,” Hades shook his head, “il mio altro fratellino.” (No, my other little brother.)

“Perché?” Bianca sniffed. “Perché nostro zio vuole ucciderci?” (Why? Why would our uncle want to kill us?)

“Because he is a paranoid brat who doesn’t trust his own family,” Hades growled, gently separating Nico from himself and gathering Bianca and Nico in a gentle hug. “And I am so, so sorry I dragged you into this, little ones. I shouldn’t have let you out of the Lotus Hotel, but with Thalia’s revival and Sephie’s emergence, I couldn’t in good conscience leave you there.”

“Why would you apologize, papa?” Nico asked in confusion. “We missed you!”

“Because I was selfish,” Hades sighed, staring into twin pairs onyx eyes, so similar to his own, “and I wanted you two to share the glory of your older cousins without thinking it through. I never thought Sephie would place herself in harm’s way to protect you, or that she would fail to contact me afterwards.” And it was the most worrying part. She was not dead, but she was not using her charm to contact either her father or Hades.

What happened to you, my dear niece? Sea was underneath you – why didn’t you use it?

“Wait a minute, you know why Sephie attacked Mr. Thorn, and why was he so… freaky?” Bianca narrowed her eyes, and Hades sighed in frustration. His little Shadow Princess was far too observant.

“Yes,” Hades admitted. “She had instructions from me to protect you from monsters and send you here the moment they closed in on you. I had no idea it would be a Manticore, of all things. Empousai, maybe, they blend in with teenagers with far more ease, but -”

Nico interrupted, eyes shining. “Manticore? Like Mythomagic? Does he have -”

“Nico!” Bianca scolded. “This is not a game!”

“Your sorellona is partly right, Niccolo,” Hades walked to his chair and sat, materializing two chairs with a flick of his wrist. “But so are you. Mythomagic, while only a silly game to the mortals, offers quite accurate descriptions of the beings in Greek mythology and their powers, which you will need to survive. Sit.”

Nico and Bianca gaped at the chairs appearing out of thin air. Bianca carefully tested it by placing her hand on the seat, and when it didn’t sink through like she expected, she sat down, Nico following her suit.

“We will need Mythomagic to survive?” Bianca asked, ever the sceptic. “It’s just a game.”

“A game based on reality only a select few can see and understand, Bianca,” Hades countered. “How do you think you got from Maine to Los Angeles in a span of a second?”

“We’re in Los Angeles?” Nico’s jaw dropped and he craned his neck, searching for the windows to check his father’s claims.

“Yes, or should I say, we’re underneath Los Angeles,” Hades smiled at his son’s enthusiasm and energy. “I don’t go to the surface world much – too much work to do here.”

“And what is here?” Bianca finally asked the question Hades was waiting for.

“Underworld,” Hades simply said leaning back into his chair. “The realm of the dead, which I govern.”

Nico’s eyes widened, and Bianca’s face lost a little of the color. “We-we’re in the Realm of Dead?” Bianca all but shrieked. “Are we dead?”

“No, not at all, mio tesoro,” Hades chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re just as alive as I am. Living can come here, but they rarely do, due to the fear of death.”

“B-but the Underworld is just a myth, right?” Nico’s lower lip trembled. “Greek version of Heaven and Hell?”

“Oh if it were a myth,” Hades was now properly amused, “I would be counted as a myth as well. Do I look like a make-believe to you?”

Bianca and Nico shook their heads, still looking rather poleaxed, so Hades decided to help them a little.“Let me show you my realm before you go to bed, if you still don’t believe me. My name is Hades, if you forgot who the Lord of the Dead is from Mythomagic,” Hades winked at Nico and stood up, gliding over to the doors and stopping there. “Well? Are you coming?”

Bianca and Nico scarpered out of their seats, sticking close to their father as he led them through the maze of the corridors lit by green torches, courtesy of Hecate. In the end, the trio found themselves on the balcony overlooking Asphodel and Elysium, with Fields of Punishment and entrance to Tartarus only a speck in the distance.

“Whoa,” Nico breathed out, and Bianca leaned as far as she safely could over the railing, watching things with an amazed look on her face.

“Welcome to the Underworld,” Hades smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

Why haven’t you called me, Sephie?

~

“Dear Fates, brother, have you heard of the concept of giving someone a call before barging into their home?” Hades groaned, seated in his throne, as Poseidon stormed through the door.

“Where is she?” Poseidon demanded, and Hades could hear Styx and Lethe gurgle, reflecting the Sea God’s fury. “Where is Sephie?!”

“Not in my domain,” Hades defended himself, rising from his throne. “Isn’t she in yours? Sea was right under the cliffs!”

“She called for the sea to help her,” Poseidon scowled, gripping his trident which was flickering like Christmas tree lights, “but she never touched it after she fell.”

A horrible feeling unfurled in Hades’ gut, his heart heavy with fear.

“And if she’s not dead – and don’t tell me I don’t know my souls, Poseidon, Sephie’s signature is unique! – then…” The two gods exchanged wide-eyed looks as the same thought entered their heads.

“Iris messages don’t connect to her, and none of the amulets I gave her work,” Poseidon whispered in horror. “You think…?”

Hades nodded, feeling his hands clench on the reflex. “There are only two places in North America where our powers don’t work as they should. Alaska – but that place is completely beyond us, so the Iris message cannot even be sent there, never mind connect – and-”

“And Mount Tamalpais,” Poseidon finished with a half-mad look in his eyes, but Hades was far too gone to care about the damage they would cause. “The place where Atlas holds the sky. Mount Othrys.”

“Father,” the two brothers hissed in unison, and the ground above them rumbled with the combined might of the Earthshaker and Lord of the Underworld.

“Papa?” A meek voice came from the farthest and the darkest corner of the room, from which Bianca and Nico emerged, shadows clinging to them like lovers before finally dissipating, their job done.

“Bianca, Niccolo,” Hades breathed out, claming down at the sight of his children looking more than little scared of their father’s and uncle’s outburst. “I’m sorry. We,” he gestured to himself and his little brother, “just realized what happened to Sephie.”

“Is she okay?” Nico asked instantly, separating himself from Bianca and rushing over to his father’s throne, followed by Bianca at much more steady pace. “Do you know where she is? Can we go after her?”

“Absolutely not!” Hades snapped a but harsher than he meant to, so he repeated his words more calmly. “Absolutely not, Niccolo. That place is vile, filled with enemies of Olympus – not even your cousin would go there, and she already has two immensely difficult quests on her tally sheet.”

“Brother?” Poseidon asked, head tilted to the side in an unknowing imitation of Sephie. “Who are they?”

“Maria’s children,” was Hades’ flat-toned answer, and Poseidon made a noise of sympathy. “Niccolo, Bianca, this is Poseidon, my younger brother and Sephie’s father.”

“So, you’re not the uncle who wants to kill us,” Nico felt the need to state, and Hades did not bother suppressing his groan. He could understand Sephie’s rants now perfectly!

Poseidon only chuckled at the question, shaking his head. “No, nephew, I do not. Your father and I have never had any terrible spats or anything similar. Besides, I’m not in habit of killing my brothers’ children. You’ll be always welcome to sail at the seas.”

“Thank you, sir,” Bianca dipped her head in an almost regal bow, and Poseidon waved it off.

“We’re family, niece, and I don’t stand on formality. Too restricting.”

“And Fates forbid Lord of the Seas feels restricted,” Hades shot a volley, but it lacked true heat of an insult.

“Fates forbid,” Poseidon smirked knowingly. “We wouldn’t want another Troy, would we?”

Hades shuddered at the reminder of that war. It had been the first war of such magnitude he had to sit through, and he could never forget the screams of both soldiers and civilians as they were forced through the veil separating the living from the dead and landing on Charon’s shores.

“Don’t even think about it,” Hades threated, motioning Nico and Bianca to come closer. “That was one headache I did not need, in any way, shape, or form.”

“No need to go ballistic on me, Hades,” Poseidon raised his hands in surrender. “I understand you perfectly. Governing two-thirds of Gaea is not all fun and games. I came to tell you something -”

“Something other than demanding Sephie’s location from me?” Hades raised his eyebrow.

“The quest has been issued to Hunters and campers, for Artemis,” Poseidon informed his older brother.

“Artemis? What happened?”

“She went missing,” a soft rumbling note entered Poseidon’s voice, and Hades bit his lip. Oh, their niece will definitely be hearing from Poseidon after the questers find her. “She was hunting something elusive, and last I heard about her from Blackjack – Sephie’s pegasus – is that her lieutenant saw her being captured, and Thalia saw her holding up the sky.”

A rather foul Greek curse escaped Hades’ mouth, which made Bianca blush and cover giggling Nico’s ears. “Tamalpais.”

“Yes,” Poseidon sighed, “and with her absent from the Winter Solstice meeting…”

“We’ll lose another year of war preparations,” Hades groaned, massaging his temples. By the Creator, he wanted to strangle Ananke and her triplets! Why did they have to pile all of the bad things on them right now? He wanted to spend at least some time with his children! “If we don’t reach an accord now, we might as well hand the keys to Olympus, Atlantis and Underworld back to the Titans without fighting at all!”

“I know,” Poseidon gripped his Trident tightly. “Oceanus has been incommunicado for the past six months, and Princess Andromeda bears sigils of Oceanus, Tethys and Aigaios. It’s only a matter of time when Atlantis will fall under the siege.”

Hades nodded. “And the truce between you and Oceanus?”

“The letter of it still upholds, but in the spirit it has been broken for over a year,” Poseidon shook his head. “Frankly, I’m itching for an excuse to attack, because once they start the siege, I’ll be at disadvantage. I’ll be defending Atlantis and trying to maintain control of the seas, while they are just attacking. I love how the Father wants to turn the tables on us.”

“Reverse of the first Titanomachy,” Hades agreed with a sneer on his face. “Too bad he chose a wrong demigoddess to abduct, don’t you think?”

That half-mad glint entered Poseidon’s eyes again, and Hades felt Nico and Bianca flinch at his sides.“You have no idea, brother.” The Sea Lord twirled his Trident idly. “The quest lacks one member at the present, and at least two more will die. ‘One shall be lost in the land without rain’ and ‘One shall perish by their parent’s hand.’”

Hades turned to Bianca and Nico, who were grinning like all of their Christmases came together early.“You might as well say it: I owe Sephie.”

“We all owe her,” Poseidon corrected his older brother. “We owe her more than we would ever be able to repay her, even if our Drama Queen of a brother doesn’t agree.”

“Pride has always been Zeus’ biggest flaw,” Hades agreed. “Very well. I will send out Nico and Bianca. Where is the quest now?”

“Washington D.C., Air and Space Museum.” Poseidon to leave. “By your leave, Brother?”

“Of course,” Hades rolled his eyes – they’d dispensed with the formalities two millennia ago, but Poseidon just liked being a contrary brat sometime. “And next time, call before you try knocking down my door!”

“As you wish, my Lord!” Poseidon threw over his shoulder, crushing a pearl similar to the one he sent to Sephie year and a half ago, and disappearing.

“So… that’s Uncle Poseidon?” Nico asked, ever the brash and innocent one.

“Yes,” Hades confirmed, seating himself back into his throne. “It seems your wish of finding Sephie will be coming true.”

“Yes!” Nico pumped his fist, and Bianca showed her support by not reprimanding her brother.

“However,” Hades fixed his gaze on both of his children. “The moment something goes wrong, or your lives are in danger, I want you two here. No exceptions.”

“Yes, Father!” Di Angelos chorused and rushed off to prepare for their first quest.

Hades looked upwards and prayed to the Fates.

Please, let me keep them. Please do not cut my children’s strings. I’ve lost so much – please, don’t make me mourn another child!

~

It was a most nerve-wrecking experience of Hades’ existence: he had had children go on quests, but they’ve been almost exclusively trained by the Camp, and the powers they inherited from him negligible. Bianca and Nico were the first ones he taught personally, with a little help from Persephone (and that was probably the biggest surprise of the century – Hades had another thing to thank Sephie for: his wife’s tolerance for her step-children), so he had faith in them.

Bianca returned about a day after the siblings set out, shaking from the electric shock she sustained in her fight against Talos, but mercifully alive. After ribbing her for not paying attentiom for five minutes straight and giving her some nectar to recover, he asked her about Nico.

“He went on,” Bianca shrugged. “I’m not needed anymore. To be honest Father, I should’ve died.”

“One shall be lost in the land with no rain,” Hades quoted the line Poseidon told him. “Well, you are lost to them. Not dead, but certainly beyond demigods’ reach – apart from your brother, of course.”

Bianca nodded, although she didn’t look too sure. “Father, I’ve seen Fates before we entered Hephaestus’ junkyard. They looked a bit… unsettled. Like something happened that shouldn’t have.”

Hades felt as if Cocytus’ waters ran through his veins. Fates unsettled?

“Did they speak to you, or look at you in any way, tesora?” Hades asked, dreading the worst.

Bianca shook her head. “They were looking westward, and occasionally glancing at Nico and Zoe, but they didn’t pull out their shears or anything. They were simply unsettled.”

Hades shook his head. “This is not good, Bianca. At midnight, the Winter Solstice meeting will begin, and if Artemis is not here…”

“I know,” Bianca sighed, unwinding her black hair from the braid. “Is Persephone free? I want to talk with her – girl things.”

Hades felt his cheeks redden, and he quickly dismissed his daughter before she could spot it – unsuccessfully, if a small smirk at the corners of her mouth as she walked out of the throne room were any indication. However, Hades could not concentrate on his child for too long. The war, his Father’s emergence, Sephie’s fate hanging in the air – it hurt his head just thinking about it, and he faced the cruel reality. None of the gods – barring maybe Athena and Poseidon, more his brother than his niece – were ready for a full-scale war between Mount Othrys and Mount Olympus, and no one beside the six elder Olympians had battled the Titans.

In other words, Father preyed on the Olympus’ complacency, and succeeded in creating an army half-bloods would struggle to defeat, whilst Zeus refused to even acknowledge the fact he was awake enough to give orders.

“Uh, Uncle H?” Hermes flew into the throne room, looking ready to bolt the moment Hades made a move. “The Solstice is starting.”

Hades nodded curtly, and Hermes ran out, leaving the eldest son of Kronos to collect his wits, his Helm of Darkness and step down from the throne.

“Alecto, please inform Persephone and Bianca I am at the meeting,” he told his Fury, who nodded and flew off. “Here we go again,” Hades sighed, and stepped into the same corner Bianca and Nico used for their shadow traveling, picturing the Throne Room on Olympus as his destination.

~

Artemis entered the Solstice meeting nearly an hour late – atypical for her, but Hades was willing to cut her some slack, considering she had been trapped under the weight of the sky for three days. Apollo had been the first one to react, jumping out of his throne and rushing over to his sister, palms glowing.

“Arty!” Apollo’s usual nickname for annoying his sister fell flat as Apollo hugged Artemis, moving his hands down her sides while not actually touching her. “Are you okay?”

Artemis extricated herself from her brother’s hug, but she didn’t insult him or try to shoot him.

“I’m good, relatively speaking,” Artemis exhaled. “My lieutenant gave her life to help me defeat her father and push him back under the sky.”

Everyone’s eyes widened and turned to Hades, who closed his eyes and felt Zoe Nightshade’s soul in the sky.

“You’ve given her more fitting reward than even Isles of Bless,” Hades smiled at his niece. “She’s happy, Artemis.”

Artemis exhaled and all but collapsed into her throne, closing her eyes and letting the silver light of her aura envelop her and replenish her energy.

“And the heroes?” Zeus asked before Poseidon could. “What of the heroes?”

“They are coming on the pegasi Persephone Jackson summoned for them,” Artemis smiled grimly. “They will be here shortly.”

And just like Artemis had said, the clatter of the hooves was heard from the outside the throne room, and the doors opened shortly after, admitting Nico, Sephie, Thalia and Annabeth Chase in. None of the them looked too bad on the first glance, but the second glance had Poseidon shooting out of his throne and Hades having to hold him back. Sephie and Nico had twin white streaks in their hair, and Sephie looked half delirious, swaying on her feet and being propped up by both of her cousins.

“Hey Sephie, are you sure you don’t want to lay down and rest?” Annabeth’s question echoed through the silence that fell on the room like a boulder.

“I’m okay Annabeth,” Sephie summoned a fragile smile for her friend and cousins. “Better get this over with as soon as possible.”

“Not even a little nectar?” Annabeth needled.

“No can do Annie,” Thalia murmured. “She’ve already had a bit more than she should have. One more drop and she’ll start burning up.”

“Thalia’s right,” Nico agreed with the daughter of Zeus. “Her body-soul connection needs to heal naturally with no supernatural intervention.”

Hades looked for the connection and sucked in a startled gasp, cursing his Father mentally to Tartarus and back. What had they done to her?!

“We should not tarry,” Artemis agreed. “The heroes deserve to rest after everything they’ve been through on this quest.”

“Sephie?” Poseidon asked softly. “Do you want to sit by my throne?”

Sephie exchanged uneasy looks with her cousins, before looking at her father.

“Can Thalia stay with me?” she asked, her voice breaking, and Poseidon quickly nodded in assent. Nico and Thalia helped Sephie up to Poseidon’s throne, where she plopped down and leaned against it, Thalia placing her arm around Sephie’s shoulders. Nico returned to Annabeth, and Zeus called for the Solstice meeting to start.

~

Poseidon whisked his daughter away the moment Zeus allowed the gods to disperse, but demigods, Artemis and Hades were a bit more persistent and followed the Sea God to his temple. Sephie was laying in Poseidon’s bed, Apollo sitting next to her with a frown on his face and Poseidon hovering at the door.

“Hey Uncle H, can you come over and tell me what do you see?” Apollo asked, completely immersed in his ‘healer’ aspect.

“What do you mean, Apollo?” Hades asked, bypassing his brother to sit on Sephie’s other side.

“I’m trying to figure out why is she so unstable - no matter that I do, she starts shaking after a short while, and I can’t find any physical injuries.”

Hades groaned and buried his face in his palms. “Poseidon, swear on the river Styx you will not allow your emotions to influence your realm when I tell what’s wrong with your daughter.”

Even with his back turned, Hades could feel his brother’s gaze boring holes into him. “I swear on the river Styx.” Thunder sealed the oath, and Hades exhaled.

“The connection between her body and soul has been… mutilated, for the lack of better word. Whatever was done to her on Mount Othrys, it was done purposefully to weaken her in body and make her more pliable in her mind and soul.”

The ground beneath rumbled, but Hades felt no sudden influx of souls in his realm, so Poseidon was keeping his word.

“So, it’s the connection…” Apollo hummed. “No wonder I couldn’t sense anything. I can see soul injuries to an extent, but not the connections.”

“Can she be cured?” Thalia, the new lieutenant of Artemis fretted.

“Yes, but it won’t be easy,” Hades sighed. “She should remain in the Camp, close to Apollo Cabin and Nico. You cannot force it, and some of the side-effects will not be pretty to witness.”

“What could cause it?” Artemis asked, not bothering to disguise her fury and disgust. “I’ve heard of soul injuries, and body injuries. To injure a connection between them…”

“I honestly don’t know,” Hades admitted. “I will probably have to consult the older death gods,” and the Egyptian ones, he added mentally. They had far more experience with the mind and soul damage.“Right now, we can only keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t repress this incident in her mind. If she does… the connection could snap.”

And Sephie will die.

The words hung unspoken in the air.

“Luke knows what happened,” Annabeth suddenly said. “Remember how guilty he looked when she collapsed after he let go of her to fight Thalia?”

Poseidon, Hades, Artemis and Apollo exchanged looks. If the traitor had not been on the top of their to hunt lists before, he certainly was now.

He will confess what had he done to their precious Sephie. After that… eternal damnation will be too kind of a punishment.