"Uh, guys?" Percy asked unsurely as he was lifted off his feet. "I don't think they're supposed to do this!" He called as he was slowly pulled, almost tempted, though still physically moved towards the gaping black hole.
"They aren't," Grover said darkly, though Annabeth mistook it for fear.
"Percy!" Annabeth called worriedly. She was not yet too attatched to the son of Poseidon, but she could still see that he was majorly different from his ancestors.
Launching herself fowards, Annabeth managed to grab Percy's outstretched arm, Grover grabbing the other one. They were slowly pulling him back.
"Take off the shoes!" Percy screamed. Annabeth fumbled with the left shoe's lace, her hand being slapped by the ever-beating wings.
Grover fiddled with the right lace, 'accidentally' double knotting the shoe.
"Grover!" Annabeth yelled, holding the left shoe, "Sever the lace!"
"Oh! Oh, right!" Grover remembered, taking his sweet time to get his knife out.
Until the last shoe made one final tug and Percy slipped from Grover's hand.
"Grover!" Percy shouted as he was yanked towards Tartarus. At the last moment, Annabeth threw her knife in a moment of pure instinct and cut the lace, allowing Percy to throw the shoe off, allowing it to finally fly into Tartarus.
All three panted, tired from the ordeal.
"Tartarus must have tried to abduct you," Grover concluded.
Percy nodded his head in thanks.
Grover grumbled, "Let's just go."
Annabeth sighed in agreement, "Come on let's keep moving."
The trio started to continue their way to Hades palace still a bit shaken up from the ordeal.
As they made their way to the palace, they started discussing what the prophecy meant.
"Well it's clear what the beginning means but the thing that scares me is the line you shall be betrayed by the one you call friend." Annabeth worriedly said.
"Well it could be Medusa or Echidna, they pretended to be our friend or even the Loris Casino. They were all friendly to us but soon betrayed us in the end." Percy shared. "What do you think Grover?"
"Uhh, wait look, that's Hades' palace!" Grover pointed to a huge form ahead of them as he tried to change the subject.
The trio looked ahead and smiled- their quest was almost finished. They could finally return to their family and friends.
Suddenly, a figure dropped from the sky, revealed to be Alecto one of the furies.
"Three demigods come to die!" Alecto snarled, baring her fangs in a threatening manner as the three demigods flinched.
"Take us to your master!" Annabeth ordered. "There he can judge us to live or die!" She bargained.
"Very well, Athena spawn!" Alecto hissed and encircled them, using her talons to pick up a whimpering Grover, an apprehensive Annbeth, and a determined Percy.
Alecto soared through the air, her wings cutting through the polluted air of the Underworld, searing the winds.
It would have almost looked majestic if she was not holding three children in her talons.
When she finally arrived at Hades' palace, she wasted no time, landing directly in front of Hades' throne.
"These three demigods wish to be judged," Alecto snarled, shoving them in front of Hades, who looked interested.
"Well, technically, we didn't-" Percy started, before Annabeth elbowed him and he groaned, "-but here we are, so we might as well." He saved. Hades scowled at him. Although a tiny fraction of Hades' brain commended the boy on not flinching.
"I'll make this simple, shall I?" Hades said softly, which was never a good thing with the Lord of the Dead, "Give me my Helm, and you shall be let free."
"Your helmet?" Percy asked, confused, "We're looking for the bolt- oof- my lord." Percy added hastily after being elbowed again by Annabeth.
"Looking for it?" Hades cackled suddenly, sending shivers down everyone's spines. Except Alecto, she cackled with him. But a quick glare ended that trend before it started. "Why would you look for it when you already possess it?"
The group of demigods looked confused. Horrifyingly, Percy felt the backpack he was carrying suddenly double in weight. Hoping not to see what he knew he would, Percy slowly unzipped the pack.
And there sat the Master Bolt, crackling and spitting out tiny jolts of lightning. Two demigods stared at it, feeling the effect of being duped. One felt triumph. Their plan was coming into action.
"That means Ares must have the helm!" Percy realised, forgetting that he was on the potential hit list of Hades' Stygian Iron sword. Now Hades was confused.
"Ares? What are you talking about, nephew?" He asked in disdain.
"Ares gave us this backpack himself." Annabeth ventured. "At a bar in Santa Monica."
It was true, Hades knew. He could sense Ares' godly signature. It would also explain why he was being so hostile towards Alecto.
"Alecto, take the Furies. Check if Ares is still there and has my helm," Hades ordered. Alecto nodded, taking off with a birdlike screech, which alerted the other furies to her location.
"I believe my brother left you three pearls," Hades skipped the part where he explains why he believes them. Getting over their shock, the demigods nodded, "But there are four of you that need to leave."
"Four of us?" Grover questioned, terrified. He was not getting left behind, that's for sure.
"Or are you forgetting about your mother," Hades waved his hand and Sally appeared.
"Mom!" Percy hugged her tightly, almost refusing to let her go after what he had been through to get her back.
"But there are only three pearls..." Annabeth murmured. Percy set a determined look onto his face and took the pearls out of his pocket.
"You three take these to Santa Monica. I'll stay here." Percy told them. "This was my quest, I came here to rescue my mom, and that's what I'm gonna do."
"He's right." Grover agreed, "You shall fail to save what matters most in the end. Percy's the child of the prophecy, he matters most," He said sombrely. Sally looked scandalised.
"B-but we can't just leave you here!" She protested.
"You have to," Percy took Sally's hands, "Mom, I'll be fine, I promise."
"You better be," Sally sent a glare at Hades.
The Lord of the Dead was not proud to say that he shivered.
"My baby boy," Sally sobbed, hugging Percy tightly, who looked severely embarrassed. Grover fought a snigger. Annabeth, surprisingly, looked very sad.
As soon as they had crushed the pearls and been carried away in a green mist, Percy turned to Hades.
"What do I do now, Uncle?" He asked, his voice sounding defeated. Shockingly, Hades was not wearing a contemptuous sneer after being called Uncle- instead, his expression remained impassive.
"What you did was very commendable, Jackson," Hades admitted. "And you have shown me nothing but respect- therefore, I shall not strike you where you stand.
"Lucky me," Percy thought, knowing better than to interrupt a god.
"It also helps your case that I have received word that my furies have retrieved my helmet and are bringing it back as we speak." Hades closed his eyes as he was hearing said message.
When the Furies returned, each with surprising grace, Hades took the helm and placed it on his head. A cold and dark invisible wave passed through Percy's body as Hades' symbol of power was returned to him.
"Now let us get down to business," Hades waved his hands and the furies bowed their heads in respect before flying away, "You have earned my respect Jackson, furthermore as a result, the underworld respects you."
"Uncle, what do you mean by the Underworld respects me?" Percy tilted his head in confusion.
"The Underworld is... almost identical to the sea, its own embodiment. From your sacrifice, from how you gave up your freedom for the sake of your friends and family, the underworld has its full respect to you." Hades explained with a small grin spread across his face.
"Now you have a choice Jackson, the underworld for far too long does not have a master beside me. It is very unpredictable, it needs a master that is not a god. The question is- will you accept the underworlds respect and become its champion?"
"Uncle, I accept. But don't you have any other demigod children? I'm not exactly qualified for this." Percy proudly accepted (and thankfully).
"I have two demigod children. Their names are Bianca and Nico Di Angelo. Unfortunately, they have been in the Lotus Casino since the pact of the Big Three was made. Their mother was... killed by Zeus due to his inane arrogance, I had no choice but to hide the siblings in the Lotus Casino, wishing for them to come out when the prophecy is over," Hades had a wistful look on his face.
"What prophecy?" Percy questioned. He had not heard any prophecies besides the one he had received.
This time round Hades was furious.
"Do you mean that blasted camp did not tell you the prophecy, the very one where it decides the fate of Olympus and whether you live or die!" Hades boomed as he gripped his armrest so tightly that small cracks were starting form.
"Uh, no." Percy whispered, now unsure whether he was making it out alive.
"The prophecy Jackson," Hades cleared his throat and begin, "7 half bloods shall answer the call, oh wait that's the wrong one," Hades cleared his throat once more, looking slightly sheepish. "A half blood of the eldest gods, shall reach sixteen against all odds, and see the world in endless sleep, the hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap, A single choice shall end his days, Olympus to preserve or raze."
"No, no, no!" Percy screamed after figuring it out, this time round it was his turn to be angry, "They betrayed me! They lied to me! Chiron, Annabeth, Dad! They all lied to me!"
"I am sorry, Percy," Hades sincerely said. "I have an idea, Percy. Now this may seem ridiculously stupid, like your second uncle, but your best option for survival is to go into Tartarus and train there for 2 years."
Percy was taken aback but he knew that Hades was telling the truth if he could survive Tartarus, he would be strong enough to protect Olympus and all of humanity. "I will do it, Uncle," Percy said with new found determination.
"Very well Percy but before you leave I would like to give you a gift. Uncap Riptide." Percy uncapped riptide and passed it to Hades. Soon enough, black veins started to appear on riptide.
"What are you doing, Uncle," Percy asked out of curiosity.
"You sword is made out of celestial bronze right?" Hades questioned.
Percy nodded his head.
"Right now i am enchanting it with Stygian iron. Now normally, only a child of Hades can wield Stygian iron, but since you are the first champion of the underworld, that rule is now void specifically for you only. As such, you have the same powers of a child of Hades just stronger. Now, when you go into Tartarus, your best chance of survival is to stay in the shadows. Do not, in any circumstances, stand out."
"Yes, Lord Hades. I'll make the house of Hades mighty again." Percy said with new found determination. "Also, I'm fantastic at not standing out, thanks to high school."
Hades snapped his fingers and a giant hole opened in the ground. Percy, with one final nod to his most recent favourite of the Big Three, jumped into the hole.
As soon as he was about to make contact with the hard, rocky ground of Tartarus, he faded into the shadows and disappeared before he could.