Will's POV
Will hadn't expected a lot of things in his life: he hadn't expected to get a boyfriend, to enter hell itself with said boyfriend, or to leave hell without said boyfriend. He really should have asked his father when he was still mortal how to get a hold of some prophetic abilities because surprises sucked.
The split second before the ground itself fell under his feet, he was convinced that everything was going to end in their favor; after all, he had the son of Hades by his side, for Hades' sake! This had to be some kind of ploy on Nico's end that would save the four of them.
All that went through the window (if there are any windows in Tartarus) when he fell a couple hundred feet into the frigid, wailing waters below.
What hit him first wasn't the cold, though--it was the screams. The souls begged him to join them in their eternal agony, tugging at his body suffocatingly, submerging him in the depths with their battering waves of suffering.
Well, at least someone wanted him. He couldn't say that about Nico who had quite literally sent him falling to his death.
You were such a burden that he threw you off a cliff! Hilarious!
You were supposed to bring him back.
He'll never leave and it'll be your fault.
Those two words struck his chest so deeply Will felt he might choke to death.
Your fault.
Your fault.
Your fault.
Their echoes were so etched into his body that, when Bob pulled himself from the body of water (if it could be called water), Will stood, unmoving.
Bob, too, seemed unsure of how to continue, glancing helplessly at the clifftop, racked with a sense of powerlessness that should have been foreign to a titan; however, when the ground before them pooled in inky liquid and a figure appeared, he reached for his broom that had somehow found its way back to his side.
From the depths, a human silhouette appeared, revealing itself to be the goddess who had had remained glued to Nyx's side, but had otherwise remained rather docile. Nemesis, seeing the massive broom pointed at the bridge of her nose, raised her arms in surrender.
"I'm not here to bring you back to Mother. She has set off the balance, but I fear there is nothing I can do to amend the situation. I must warn you, though, that when she commences her search for you two, the situation will not be in your favor." Her voice was rugged and her vowels cracked: a sign that she, too, would be better off on the surface if she didn't want to be drained further by Tartarus' environment.
Nemesis tried to step towards Will, but Bob stood in her way, tense and ready to fight back if necessary. The goddess took the hint and stepped back, her head bowed in what was most likely meant to be a gesture of retreat but made her seem as though she were glowering, her gaze remaining on Will.
"Will, I understand that you want to go back but you don't belong here. Nico still has a chance to escape later, but your time here runs thin. Very thin," she muttered, her fingers tapping her leg in impatience as she glanced back.
Will didn't need to be told twice. The underworld most definitely wasn't meant for someone of his origin, and every cruel aspect of this hellhole had made that evident.
But Nico belongs with me.
"Nico doesn't belong here either, though! I can't--I won't abandon him!" Tears welled in his eyes, blurring his surroundings. Bob nervously switched his weight from foot to foot, afraid that someone might hear them.
Her body twitched repeatedly as she ignored Will and turned to face Bob. "I will use my tychokinesis to improve your luck, but take my advice and leave. When you do, never...never turn back."
This time, Bob did not hesitate as he pulled the human who was barely half his height from the soggy ground and ran for the small boat, Small Bob pursuing them only a step behind, its body glitching every few seconds, revealing its pearly white ribs. No matter how much Will embedded his nails into Bob's arm, thrashing violently, the titan did not let up, his pace constant.
"PLEASE BOB! HE NEEDS US.............. I need him..."
The sorrow of the Acheron could be heard from a mile away, but its voices were drowned by the pounding in Will's head as he kicked and struggled hopelessly.
Even though he could see nothing situated next to the Titan's armpit, he could feel Bob rock back and forth when he jumped into the Gorgyra's boat.
When the grip on his body finally relented, he understood true helplessness, surrounded by the expanse of river that would eat him alive if he dared try and exit. The figures that stood atop the cliff were almost indiscernible after a couple minutes of the boat carving through the waters, leading them further down the seemingly endless horizon.
"We need to go back," Will whimpered repeatedly as if stuck in a trance.
"Nico wants you to make it out. We don't have a choice. Otherwise, everything would have been in vain," Bob replied, sorrow in his gaze, his face pale.
Will sat at the edge of the boat opposite Bob, wrapping his arms around his shivering body. He was furious, but more ashamed of himself than anything.
He'd overexerted himself back on the cliff, using everything he had left to bring them to safety, and now, even as he tried to keep his eyelids from closing, they felt heavy so, before long, he felt himself sink into a new hell–sleep.
~
The man in front of him strode back and forth impatiently, his ebony eyes darting frantically.
"THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!" what could only be Hades' voice bellowed, causing the dreamscape to shake violently.
"Very funny," Apollo replied sarcastically but he, too, seemed on edge. "You do realize you sent two kids down into TARTARUS to rescue a TITAN. Did you expect them to have a tea party with Nyx and for her to send them on their merry way?! Gaea already awoke once; we don't need another ancient goddess crawling her way out of that hellhole!" Hades sent a menacing glare at Will's father, but restrained himself from saying anything snarky. Instead, he thrashed his hand violently, sweeping the skulls from his throne to the floor with such force that they shattered on impact, Apollo wincing at the crash.
In a hushed tone, Hades towered over Apollo and instructed, "You better shut your mouth about this, Apollo. I don't need my brothers catching wind about any of this. If Zeus does, I'll let him know you were the one that let me use your oracle to send them that prophecy, so expect repentance!"
That kept him very, very quiet.
Hands trembling, Will cut off their conversation asking, "What will become of Nico? There has to be a way for him to return. There was no promise of any war, either." His voice cracked when he pleaded, "We--I can still go back... I can't leave him there."
He wanted to yell at them, insist that it was their fault, but he was just as responsible.
Hades seemed to be contemplating something before reaching into the small pocket by his lapel and pulling out business card.
"You're joking," Will said, despite how much Nico's father scared the shit out of him.
"Take this and leave my kingdom. If anything comes up--and I mean ANYTHING--tear the card and it will open a communication array. Make sure that none of the gods finds out where you two were off to. These. Are. Orders." Apollo lowered his head and seemed as if he wanted to offer an apology, but Will glared at him, as if daring his father to utter a word of apology.
Will had struggled to come to terms with the fact that the gods weren't very present in any demigod's life.
Now he wished that they had never taken interest at all.
Will wanted to beg him, plead for help, but he felt his chest contract and his breathing stop. He didn't think it was necessary to breathe in a dream but, at that moment, he could do nothing but gasp for air.
The palace shook one last time and the mirage collapsed on top of him.
~