Child of Hades {Interactive Story} (PJO/HOO/TOA)

FOURTEEN: Choice Two

"Then I'll do it." I said quickly.

"What?" Tyler asked, for a second his guard had dropped.

"Yeah," Simon whispered harshly. "What?"

"I'll help you distract our dad."

Matt's eyes widened. After being shown the brand, Tyler had resumed a position of holding Matt's elbow and pressing the four-metal blade to his throat. I swallowed. I wasn't a fighter, but I was a talker. I had to convince him to let me take Matt's place. Simon could take Matt back to camp, and I'd figure the rest out as I went.

Tyler chuckled for a moment. "You had your chance, Y/N. But Matt's the best offer on the table right now. He can get the job done."

"You're right." I said, flinching away from Simon's side as he tried to grab my arm. He'd understand. "Hades deserves what's coming to him. Sure, Matt might - might - be able to sidetrack him for a second. So? You'd get one clean cut, not enough to do what you're planning. Me? He trusts me to stop you. If I show up at your side, if I tell him why I'm fighting against him, that'll distract him a whole lot more than Matt."

Tyler furrowed his brows. In my peripheral vision I saw Simon shift his gaze from me to him. He understood. He knew what I was trying to do, and even if he didn't like it he was going to help.

Tyler's smirk returned, like he'd thought up something clever.

"And why, pray tell, are you fighting against him, Y/N?" He asked. His eyes, pupils of two different sizes, sized me up. "Convince me."

I was a talker. I had my own grievances with my godly parent. I pushed them away to help him on this quest, I pushed them away so I could fight Tyler. But everyone hates their godly parent, and I had reasons. So I talked.

"He knew I was schizophrenic. My whole life I thought I was insane. My mom worked so many jobs, we went so far into debt, for no reason. He never cared about my mom, not even before she was," I choked. Clutching my abdomen, I continued. "Dead. The god of death, unable to bring my mom back to me, unable to save her from a horrible fate. He never loved my mom. He doesn't love me. If he did, he wouldn't have sent me to do his dirty work. And even now, as I stand before you, in pain from wounds only a god can cure, he is nowhere to be found."

I felt tears prick my eyes. Not a single word had been a lie. Not a single one.

"Do you need me to go on?" I asked.

Tyler exhaled. "Let's go, then."

I blinked. I pushed forward on my crutch, getting closer. The army was so silent behind him I wondered just hoe he demanded his respect. "Just us." I added, inching closer, holding my bandaged wound tight.

Tyler furrowed his brows.

"Just us? No."

I stopped. "Think about it. If it's just you and I, we can shadow travel directly into Hades' throne room. That's where you were headed anyway, isn't it? He's probably there right now. We get there faster, and I can control the whole Underworld, so we don't have to worry about anything except him."

"You underestimate me." He dropped the god killer from Matt's throat, and I watched Matt exhale hard, looking at me with wide eyes. "You don't think I fully believe you, do I? Of course I think you have your own score to settle with good old dad, but you just want to save your friend. Which is why both of your friends are coming with us."

I noticed that even though Matt was safe from the four-metal blade, he hadn't dared to flinch or even speak. Tyler held his elbow tight. I wanted to argue. I wanted them to go back to camp and be safe. But Tyler would just take Matt into the Underworld if I said anything like that. I rubbed my thumb and my forefinger together as I clutched my abdomen. Music. I wish I could just listen to music.

I settled for this. "I don't trust you either not to send your soldiers in after us. Spirits of the recently deceased!" I cried. "Join me in arms!"

I felt light headed, and realized very quickly that Simon had run over and his hand was there supporting me as I leaned haphazardly backwards towards him.

Suddenly, the wind picked up. But it wasn't wind, per se. It was like a dozen people had exhaled against the back of my neck, and swept my hair forward. I craned my neck, straining the wound in my abdomen enough that it hurt, but I didn't turn back yet. Appearing from thin air were people of all ages, dressed in white.

I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. There was the man in the white tracksuit, the thirty eight year old African woman in white overalls, the forty-something year old married woman with the white headband, the small girl with the big black curly hair and glasses... Every 'hallucination' I'd had since Monday, anyone and everyone who'd come to me since after the Lethe had been closed for business, all here. All ready to help. There were at least fifty, if not more. New faces blended with the ones I'd met before. They didn't have weapons, but something told me they wouldn't need them.

"I see dead people!" A kid cried from outside the barricade, met with an unbelieving mother's "I'm sure you do."

"Are they here?" Simon asked.

As I gently turned myself back to face him and Tyler's army, the opposing demigod answered for me, with some additional colourful language. "They're here."

I realized very quickly and very happily that he and I were the only demigods who could see them. With the army of the dead on my side, we could quickly subdue and incapacitate the army of the living. We wouldn't even have to hurt anyone, and they wouldn't be able to follow us. Fabia would get to the Lethe soon, very soon. With that problem fixed Hades could focus his soul attention on Tyler. I didn't question how he knew Hades would be in the throne room, and then I realized maybe I should. Crap. He probably had demigods already down there; demigods ready to stop Fabia.

I pushed the thought aside.

"Block them." I told the ghosts, who proceeded to form a wall around the living army. I figured that would do it.

We wouldn't even need the Door of Orpheus with four people. Simon helped me over to Tyler with a clenched jaw and a nervous expression. He hadn't wanted to go to the Underworld before, and he didn't now, and although reluctant I knew he wouldn't leave my side. When I got close enough Tyler grabbed my wrist with the hand with the hilt of his sword in it. Simon ducked back just in time to miss getting hit in the face by the blade.

"Watch it!"

"Don't speak. I'll kill you." Tyler replied. Simon shuffled closer next to me. I just wanted this to be over. Without warning we fell back into Tyler's albeit small shadow, and tumbled into the darkness. It was like I was moving in hyper speed, somersaulting through darkness at a million miles per hour. At times I felt like Simon's hand was falling from mine, and I gripped it tighter. In the shadows my wounds seemed to be without pain, but as soon as we rolled out onto the hard marble floor I clutched my abdomen in pain, wheezing, face scrunched up in pain. I lay there, curled up, with Simon kneeling at my side.

"Stand." Tyler said quickly. I bit my tongue.

"Give her a minute." Simon replied, looking to Matt for help. But Matt was too busy watching Tyler, as if he was waiting for the sword to turn on him.

"We don't have a minute." Tyler replied. "Y/N you get up now, or Matteo won't be so lucky to see the god of death."

Simon moved to argue. I swallowed. Heaving, I used Simon to help climb to my feet. My crutch was gone, and I needed to rely on my tall blond friend to get me to where we had to be. My face was wet with tears but I did my best to stop crying.

"Hades is in there. You go in first, and distract him. Don't forget what happens if you don't. Do you understand."

I couldn't put my headphones in at a time like this, so I relied on memory to recount the songs I listened to when I needed to do something scary. I looked at Matt, nodded at Tyler, and let Simon slowly walk me through the throne room doors.