You're family, aren't you?

Reckless heroine

Okay, I'm done. Wish me luck Uncle, and if I die, can I get a streamlined pass to the Elysium?

Yours,

Sephie Jackson

Hades took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, before exhaling and pushing the letter away so he wouldn't crumple it. Why did his niece insist on constantly putting her life in danger? Did she even factor in the elder Olympians or her father's wrath if she died? Probably not, the silly girl didn't even understand what kind of impact she left on the gods. She was more than just daughter of Poseidon; she was their little Rhea clone, girl who everyone felt either romantically or platonically drawn to. She became the lynchpin that drew the family closer with every twist and turn she made.

Her ignorance did not mean she had any right to make them worry so much. He remembered the look on Zeus' face during the Winter Solstice when her name was mentioned: that strange mix of devotion, confusion and protectiveness every child of Kronos and Rhea felt for their missing mother. If anything happened to her... Hades shuddered at the thought. He knew he himself would be one of the first to go up in the arms, letting out every monster and horror he kept locked in Tartarus to torment her killer. Poseidon's wrath he didn't even need to imagine: he had seen in Trojan war, and Zeus would be no different. He had no doubt Hera, Hestia and Demeter would join in the rampage, letting their domains go wild.

Their little Sephie needed to live, even if she would ultimately destroy them. Better to be killed by her, then by someone else.

Four days that passed between Sephie's first and second June letter Hades spent pacing around the Underworld, snapping at everyone and alternately cursing Sephie for being so reckless and Poseidon for not keeping it in his pants. Most of the Underworld dwellers avoided the Lord of Dead, with the sole exception of Thanatos and Alecto, who still did their reports and tried to wheedle out the reason of his terrible mood without much success.

All of his fury at his own impotence and impatience ended the moment he entered his study of the eve of 21st of June and found an envelope resting in the first slot of the letter stand. Scrambling for the letter opener, Hades had to stop himself before he tore the letter apart from his impatience.

Hullo Uncle,

I'm so, so sorry for worrying you. Dad and Auntie Hestia scolded me a lot about leaving you hanging like that – apparently you caused no less than three earthquakes in San Fran area – but I'm okay. I'm not coming to your place for a permanent stay anytime soon!

Hades leaned back, exhaling in relief. The letter had quite a bit written after that, but Hades took a moment to just enjoy the fact his little niece was safe and sound in the Camp Half-Blood before returning to the letter.

The quest went fine – not exactly brilliantly, but we finished it. We found the Golden Fleece! Guess where we found it? Polyphemus' Island, in the Sea of Monsters, 30 degrees and 31 second to the north, 70 degrees and 75 seconds to the west. Took me a few seconds on Clarisse's ship before I realized I had perfect bearings at the sea, and that I knew exactly where 30, 31, 70, 75 were. Now I get it why so many ships and planes go down in the Bermuda Triangle!

It was not all smooth sailing, though. Before we ran into Clarisse, who by the way saved our collective behinds from Hydra –

Hades choked at the nonchalant way Sephie wrote about being saved by Ares' child from a Hydra, of all things!

– we made a pitstop at Princess Andromeda, a cruise ship I thought would help us get down to one of the ports where we could catch up with Clarisse. Well, I thought wrong. Or right, depending on what I focus on.

We met Luke.

Hades gritted his teeth at the name of the thief, before noticing how shakily the letters lambda, upsilon, kappa and epsilon that made up the name 'Luke' were written. What happened to Sephie?

He... it wasn't a nice meeting. Annabeth, Tyson and I were listening to him talking with Agrius and Oreius, when he caught us, and captured us – temporarily, thank the gods. But even that short amount of time was far too much. Uncle, he has the golden sarcophagus on the ship, and he's using it to 'raise Kronos, bit by bit', to quote Luke.

Hades closed his eyes, took a deep breath and counted to ten. It was no use throwing a temper tantrum now; the traitor was who knows where, and Sephie was safe for now.

I have no idea how he got that sarcophagus, or how in Tartarus it works, but I'm scared, Uncle. I'm scared because I don't think we're ready for this. With Uncle Z being stubborn and forbidding any sort of godly interference, I'm not sure we can survive what's coming. Not to mention –

This part of the letter was blotted out, like Sephie wrote something down and had a change of mind at the last moment. Frowning, Hades snapped his fingers and cleared up the ink, only to push the letter away, fury rising in his chest. How dare he?!

Not to mention, he offered us all to switch sides, and for me to sit beside him as the Queen after the gods are deposed.

Ground vibrated under Hades' fury, and various precious jewels melted around the room, while the god tried to reign in his tumultuous emotions. That filthy, lecherous... Hades knew Luke Castellan was about seven years older than Sephie, and probably had no romantic interest in her, so the offer had to have come from Kronos himself.

How dare Father do this?! Offer something like that to Sephie?!

It seemed his Father had noticed just how similar Sephie and Mother looked. Hades took a deep breath, digging nails into his palms, and sat down into the chair again. He and Poseidon would need to have a little chat about Sephie's safety come this Winter Council.

The letter was not over, though.

On the more cheerful note, Thalia is alive! Yup, our resident tree-girl is no longer a tree! It's both good and bad news, but I'm sticking with the good news. The Golden Fleece did a bit too god of job, and healed Thalia to the point where she could leave her pine tree without any injuries. She's completely confused of course: she aged much more slowly – she looks around 15, and not 20-ish as she should – so she couldn't really understand why Annabeth looked so close to her age. But, it does leave us with that tiny problem of the Great Prophecy. Thalia's now older than me, and by all rights, she'll be the one Prophecy talks about. (Not that I know what does the Prophecy say, because someone is not telling me anything.)

Hades chuckled, shaking his head. He refused to tell Sephie anything about the Prophecy, and apparently Chiron decided to do so as well. Thalia's awakening, though... it was a problem. Hades could stand the thought of Sephie being the prophecy child – she was sweet and kind, and tried to help everyone – but Thalia? No. Maybe it was time to bring out Nico and Bianca out of the Lotus Hotel and Casino, and send a discreet message to Sephie to keep an eye on them. Hades knew she would treat them with respect and kindness his children deserved as children of Big Three and her cousins.

Well, I'll see you for my birthday again, Uncle! Stay safe!

Yours,

Sephie Jackson

"See you soon, Sephie Jackson," Hades smiled, folding the letter and dragging over a leftover paper and his fountain pen to write an answer.

Yes, he will send Alecto to the Lotus Hotel, get Nico and Bianca out, and send the children to school on the East Coast. Then he will signal Sephie she had cousins out there – knowing how much the girl valued family, she'll go instantly after them – and let the Fates do the rest of the work. He had full confidence in Sephie's success. She knew better than anyone else what kind of effect being a child of one of sons of Kronos was, and she will be a good role model for both Nico and Bianca.

Even with the snags and the Prophecy looming just out of the sight, Hades couldn't help but feel elated. He was not a sideline character in this conflict: with the bond he and Sephie shared, he had the guarantee he would find himself on the front lines, and maybe have the chance to prove everyone he could be a hero as well.