history of man // percy jackson & the olympians

13 | big happy family reunion

FINALLY, THEY REACHED HADES' PALACE. the door slowly creaked up, like hades was expecting them. slowly and cautiously, they entered, and andromeda kept a stiff hand on her bow, ready to use it if needed.

as they walked in, a piece of the floor below them floated upwards, carrying them up to the top of the palace.

the palace was barren, just made of stone and gray metal, and off in the distance, an empty celestial throne. "is this our stop?" grover asked.

footsteps echoed through the palace as a man walked towards them, his arms open. "hey, fellas. lady." he said. "welcome! sorry about all the," he gestured around. "anyways, it's great to meet you. i know who you are, and you know who i am, so we can just skip right past that part." he said with a chuckle. "can i get you anything?"

andie kneaded her eyebrows together. "he's not scary." she muttered so only percy and grover could hear. "why is he not scary?"

hades looked between them all. "fresh pomegranate juice?" he asked. "a snack?"

"my mother." percy answered sternly.

hades raised his eyebrows. "boom." he said. "straight to business. i admire the cut of your jib." he said with a chuckle, only to be met with percy's blank stare. "little nautical reference for you. i see you."

"where is she?" percy asked.

hades nodded. "right. okey-doke. let's get to it." he said, pointing behind him. "your mom's just over here."

he started walking towards his throne as percy, andie, and grover shared a glance. "this has to be a trick, right?" andie whispered. "i mean, the lord of the dead does not make puns, right?"

"you've come all this way, don't be shy!" hades called after them.

they shared another glance, but knew what they had to do.

so they followed him.

they followed hades through the open palace and behind his throne, where an area rug was in the center of the room, with a brown leather couch and matching love seats stood, illuminated by two lamps. on one corner of the rug, was something tall covered in a throw blanket.

and of course, a bronze statue of a woman that bore a striking resemblance to percy.

"mom?" percy whimpered.

she was reaching out towards him, no doubt in the position she was in when she died.

"what did you do to her?" percy asked.

hades nonchalantly folded a throw blanket with a chuckle. "uh, saved her life?" he reminded the boy. "you know, typically, getting crushed by a minotaur is a terminal diagnosis." he told him. "i snagged her for you. just in the 'ta-da' nick of time, so that you would come see me. and here we are."

percy kept his eyes glued on his mother, no doubt on the anguish and pain so obvious on her face. that very anguish and pain that she had refused to let him see when she sacrificed herself for him what felt like ages ago.

"you give me what you got, and i'm giving you what i got." hades told him.

grover looked over at andie, and they both knew the quest was over.