Chapter Text
It has been quiet for a long time, maybe two weeks? Achilles wasn’t sure how long it was or if it hadn’t been all that long in the first place. All he knew was that he hasn’t seen the prince for awhile and he hasn’t seen Hypnos in just as long. He asked Lady Nyx if she had seen either, being told Hypnos was likely taking a long sleep and perhaps Zagreus found a hiding spot between Elysium and the House to hide away for a while. He supposed that could be possible but it wasn’t like Zagreus to spend a lot of time in the realms if he wasn’t at either Sisyphus's cell, Eurydice's island, or Patroclus glade
Thanatos hadn’t seen either of them either, seeming to be annoyed as he was convinced as well that Hypnos was taking a nap but was trying to be soothing by saying Zagreus was hiding somewhere. His escape attempts were getting hard again for him for some reason lately, so perhaps he found somewhere to take a break and would return once he had some rest. Achilles wanted to believe it, but he had a feeling that that couldn’t be true, that something was wrong still. So he decided to ask the three Underworld residents to see if they knew where Zagreus, or Hypnos, had gone
Sisyphus hasn’t seen Zagreus in awhile, and has never laid eyes on Hypnos but wished Achilles luck in finding him. Eurydice said she last saw him a month ago and Hypnos was a god she was still eagerly waiting to meet. And of course, Patroclus had seen him on the very last run he had almost two or three weeks ago. Zagreus was very worn out and tired on that run, looking like he was finally ready to collapse on his feet in exhaustion.
They sat in the glade for a while, talking about where Achilles should look next as Patroclus decided he would explore Elysium and see if Zagreus was hiding in a fountain chamber or off talking with Asterius and just lost track of time to try and avoid Theseus. Achilles would go back to the house and talk with Skelly, see if he knew where he was as Achilles was sure Zagreus was not in the house. He knew that if Zagreus wanted to hide somewhere that he wouldn’t be in the House, especially if he wanted some peace and quiet. He gave Patroclus a kiss and left the chamber so he could leave
His eyes caught movement in the Lethe and he cautiously made his way over, staring when seeing a wave reach up in the vague shape of a hand to try and lead him. Normally Achilles would never listen to the Lethe, fearing it would be trying to drag him down into her murky depths and steal his very existence. But knowing that the Lethe was part of Hypnos' domain and tied to him, Achilles decided to follow the river as it led him through different chambers. He lost track of how many chambers he passed through, some he knew of, some he's never seen before, even going through Asterius empty sparring chamber but he just kept following the river
Soon he entered a chamber he had never seen before and probably was never supposed to find if not for the Lethe bringing him. It was large and open, with no walls around and just a bunch of bushes and trees. The Lethe split into two to encircle a large island that was full of poppies and a large boulder in the center of the field of flowers. It had a cave opening in the middle, and Achilles knew that it would be larger on the inside than the outside would reveal.
It took little effort for him to use his spear to vault over the river so he could get to the island and he slowly made his way to the opening of the cave. He felt a little uneasy with planning on going in without permission, able to tell that this was Hypnos personal cave and home but he had to know if Hypnos and Zagreus were okay. Once at the opening of the cave he took a calming breath and made his way inside
The tunnel in the cave he walked through was indeed longer than the boulder would suggest, it was a dark color with hardly any light but the walls seemed to be shimmering and twinkling, like it was a night sky. As he walked he noticed it was slowly changing from being cobblestones and turning into carpets that were mismatched, thrown over each other but all equally plush and soft. It was nice even if some of them were garish. He turned a bend in the tunnel and went through a curtain of gold and was surprised at what he saw as it was most definitely Hypnos’ room.
The walls were covered in tapestries of different fashion, color, style, and culture to give the room a big and warm feeling. The floor was also covered in the mismatched rugs and carpet and blanket. Through the room were chaises and seats and chairs that were overstuffed and plush so all seating options were comfortable. There were maybe four torches in the whole room to offer just enough light to see where you were going but not enough that you couldn’t fall asleep with ease.
But in the middle was what Achilles had been looking for. The bed was large, in the shape of a circle with plenty of blankets and plenty of pillows so one could sink right into it and feel cradled, like sleep himself was holding you. And Hypnos was holding Zagreus. The two where curling up together, holding each other, wrapped up in Hypnos red quilt with Hypnos covering Zagreus eyes with his hand and his sleep mask over his own
Achilles dropped his spear and rushed to the bed, trying to shake them awake, calling their names desperately. But he already knew it was useless, nothing or no one could wake up the two, only Hypnos could. He slowly stopped shaking them as tears came to his eyes once he realized it was useless, when he noticed a note beside Zagreus. With shaky fingers he picked it up and broke the wax seal
‘Dear Sir,
I know only you would be able to find us, Dusa would be too scared to leave the house without cause but I knew you would be the first to know something was wrong. I can’t take how Father treats me anymore, how I’ll never be good enough no matter what I did. How I saved our family and brought mother back, it still wasn’t good enough. And mother can’t even be with me all the time so we can make a proper relationship all because of Demeter and she doesn’t seem to even care!
Hiya Achilles!~ I can’t take the house either, it's hard to be the god of sleep and take care of the endless list of shades, it's horrible! And I’m always so tired and ignored and scorned by Than and mom. I was able to ignore it all with a smile because I was able to trick myself into believing they were doing it for me. But when Than said I wasn’t irreplaceable…well…it's hard to ignore what those words mean, ya know?
So when Hypnos said he could take us away from here, take us to a place where we would finally be free and be at peace and never have to deal with them or anyone…I accepted. I'm sorry to leave you, Dusa, and Patroclus without a goodbye but I knew you would try and tell me not to do it and I didn’t want to take that chance. I’m sorry
Don’t worry though, I’ll be able to tell as soon as you open this letter and when the time is right I’ll bring you for a visit! You won’t have to wait too long but don’t bother trying to go to sleep right away, I won’t bring you that soon!~
~Hypnos and Zagreus~
Achilles held the letter in trembling hands as he cried, looking at Hypnos and Zagreus with sad, guilt filled eyes
“Oh lad…I’m so sorry I failed you. I’m going to make this right”
He closed the letter and tucked it into his chlamys before standing so he could leave, wiping tears from his eyes as he left the cave. He left the chamber calmly and when seeing he was alone he let out a scream of rage. It didn’t take long for him to make his way back down to the House; he immediately went to Hades desk and slammed the letter down on it. Hades barely gave an effort to raise a brow
“I found Zagreus and Hypnos, Lord Hades”
“Did you, now? I should have guessed you would be the one to do so. Where are they then? They should be back here by now”
Achilles slammed his hands down roughly, silencing Hades in the surprise that Achilles would do something and causing the rest of the House to go still. Nyx looked around the corner and Thanatos came out from his perch at the River Styx. Dusa pretended to dust closer so she could listen while Meg poked her head out of the lounge. Orpheus sat his lyre down silently as Persephone came out of the garden, having just arrived from Olympus
“Stop talking! You don’t care about your son, you just care that he's gone and ‘disobeying’ you again! How dare you sit there and pretend you want to know where he is?!”
Hades bristled with rage when Achilles started yelling at him, Persephone quickly came over to try and diffuse the situation but Achilles was far too angry and upset to be soothed now. Now all he saw was red
“Watch your tongue shade or I’ll-”
“You’ll what?! You’ll do what?! You’ll do nothing but sit there and listen, that's what!”
Hades would never admit to being knocked back even the slightest by the force of Achilles yells, Achilles using the voice that would knock soldiers onto the ground when he was on the battlefield in life
“All of you will listen to me right now! Hypnos has put Zagreus and himself into an unending sleep in his home in Elysium. Neither of them have plans of ever returning or ever waking up because of all of your mistakes! Lady Nyx, Lord Thanatos, you made Hypnos feel so worthless and so replaceable and so unneeded that he was the one to come up with the idea!”
Persephone went to put a hand on Achilles shoulder to try and soothe him but he just lifted his hand quickly to say he did not want her near
“And you, Lord Hades, have abused and neglected your son to the point that he hates his life. I’m sure if Zagreus could die a final death he would in order to get away from you! And Lady Persephone you made him feel like he wasn’t important enough for you to stay in the Underworld full time with him! You bowed down to Demeters will instead of trying and finding a way to stay with your son after everything he has done for you!”
Achilles panted heavily as everyone around him stared shocked and surprised at his accusations, his yelling, and frankly…the truth he was making them aware of. The consequences of their actions against the two people that were supposed to be their family and the most important people in their lives
“In this letter Hypnos and Zagreus wrote that they have no plans on waking up and that none of us will be able to stir them either. I am disappointed and appalled by all of you for allowing this to happen. How could you tell a god he was replaceable? How could you tell your son he was worthless?”
Achilles panted softly to try and calm himself from his yelling and anger, everyone slowly coming out of their stupor. Dusa was the first to move by coming to Achilles side, leaving her ever present feather duster to the side
“A-Achilles sir? Will they be alright, are they okay?”
“Yes, Dusa, they are fine. They regret leaving you, Patroclus, and I behind. But I will not be staying in his House a moment longer”
Achilles left to go and join Patroclus in his glade so he could tell him what happened, leaving the letter behind so they could see with their own eyes what the two sleepers had written. Dusa watched him leave before slowly looking at Hades and somehow nodding
“I’m on strike”
She disappeared and Hades scowled darkly, the four pouring over the note. Nyx and Persephone were wrought with guilt, knowing they had made many mistakes and said things they shouldn’t have. Thanatos and Hades tried to rationalize their behavior, make it seem like it was warranted. But it was beginning to show that they didn’t actually believe their own words, nor did they know when they would be reunited again