Brothers from another mother - A Hades and Percy Jackson crossover

Chapter 11 - Too close to the sun

'Elysium. It's even nicer here than I thought...'

Will murmured, in awe. 

And he wasn't wrong. It was nice, more than just nice, in fact. The first time Zagreus had stepped through the gateway that marked the border between Asphodel and this place, his breath had been taken away. The scenery was stunning, and you could actually breathe here without feeling like your lungs and throat were being clawed at by some feral animal. The shades were friendlier, too (well, some of them)- he took extra care not to disturb them whenever he was on his way through.  

'It is, isn't it? This is my favourite place. Have you been here before, Nico?'

It still felt strange calling him by his name, this brother that Zagreus hadn't even known he'd had up until... well, he didn't really know. There wasn't any way of telling the time in the Underworld. But he shook it off, waiting for his response.

'A few times. I came here looking for Bianca, once. She wasn't here, though.'

'Ah... I'm sorry. I didn't mean-'

'It's fine.'

The shock of almost losing Will had worn off, and Nico was back to being more closed off around him. That was okay, though. He'd already decided not to take it personally. 

Speaking of Will, he'd been limping a little while he walked, occasionally leaning on his boyfriend for support. Zagreus had offered to carry him if it got too bad, but he'd just smiled and insisted that he would be fine. For someone who was always taking care of others, he held himself in surprisingly low regard.

Oh well. If it got too bad, he'd just take charge of it himself. He really couldn't have either of these boys dying- partly because he knew that Father would most certainly not be pleased, and partially because he'd decided that he liked having a half brother (who would definitely not be happy if his boyfriend died) and didn't really want him to kick the bucket just yet. 

'Alright. If everyone is rested up, we should probably get going soon.'

Nico looked up from where he was sat against a particularly large vase, and Will pulled himself away from gazing out at the rolling green hills and generally beautiful scenery that made up Elysium. The son of Hades got up first, brushing some dust off of his jacket.

'I'm ready. Will?'

'Ah... yeah. Me, too.'

And so the trio headed off again. Faced with the choice between two doors, Zagreus didn't hesitate, immediately heading towards the one with a hammer as its symbol. 

'Who's that? Hephaestus, right?' 

He grinned. Nico had been right previously, but not this time.

'Nope. That's a Daedalus hammer. They're pretty rare, and I usually only ever find one or two every time I make an es- every time I go exploring.'

Damn. That was too close. 

Luckily, the demigods didn't seem to notice his slip-up, Nico merely shrugging as he shoved his hands in his pockets and Will giving a quiet hum. The door slammed shut behind them, and they were thrown into a fight once again.

Timeskip because I'm already sick of writing fight scenes

Zagreus hissed as the pink liquid splattered onto his face, landing right below his eye and on his cheek. The butterfly ball disintegrated, speared by the sharp claws of the Twin Fists, and those pesky pink insects vanished into thin air. 

'Ugh! It stings... Some of it got in my mouth...'

He muttered, repeatedly spitting into the grass and wiping the offensive liquid off of his face.  Thankfully the demigods had managed to avoid his fate, having jumped back at the last moment, although Nico did have a small welt on his cheek from one of the butterflies. 

'You both alright? Some of these things are real bastards...' 

'Mm.'

'We're fine.'

Will replied after Nico's noncommittal response, studying Zagreus as the prince rubbed at his leg. This didn't go unnoticed, and he scratched the back of his neck.

'Got hit by one of those blasted Flame Wheels. They're little, but they're fast, and they're bloody annoying... mh. It's fine. As long as you two are okay. I'm not the mortal here, after all.'

Shaking his head, he stepped forward to pick up the hammer that floated just above the ground. There was a flash of light, similar to the one that would appear when choosing a boon, and he selected Draining Cutter as his enhancement. It was especially helpful here in Elysium, seeing as he could kill all of the Exalted twice- them and then the Disarmed Souls that fled in an attempt to rearm. Plus, it meant that he didn't have to worry so much about taking damage and dying, and he could stay in front of the boys to shield them without fear when necessary. Malphon pulsed with a soft red light for a moment, and then the hammer and the glow both disappeared. Zagreus clenched his fist.

'Right. Let's keep going.'

It took a few seconds to realize that Nico and Will weren't following him. Come to think of it, his half brother had been rather quiet for a while, seeming more dejected than he had been before. Currently he was just staring off into the distance. Will, having obviously noticed this, was staying by his side. He gently shook his boyfriend's shoulder, waiting a few seconds before speaking.

'Nico? Are you okay?'

'...hm? Oh... I'm fine. Yeah. Are we going now?'

'We were going to keep going. But if you're tired, we can-'

'No. I'm fine.'

His tone was decisive, clearly showing that he wasn't going to open up any more. He shifted out of Will's grip, pushing past Zagreus and up to the next set of doors.

'Come on.'

Thank you again for taking time out of your day to read my silly little story! I'm honestly surprised that this many people even bother, considering that I definitely don't consider it one of my best works. It's more of just a small thing that I can use as a creative outlet without having to take it too seriously or hold myself to the unrealistically high standards that I usually do, and it means a lot that others actually enjoy reading it, so if you've gotten this far, thank you again. The chapter art is a piece by Joanne Tran on ArtStation! Here's the link to the original work https://www.artstation.com/artwork/9NovYa