[Percy's POV]
Suddenly I was home. Nico and I were sitting on the couch in my mom's apartment on the Upper East Side. That was the good news. The bad news was that the rest of the living room was occupied by Mrs. O'Leary.
I heard a muffled yell from the bedroom. Paul's voice said, "Who put this wall of fur in the doorway?"
"Percy?" my mom called out. "Are you here? Are you all right?"
"I'm here!" I shouted back. "WOOF!" Mrs. O'Leary tried to turn in a circle to find my mom, knocking all the pictures off the walls. She's only met my mom once before (long story), but she loves her.
It took a few minutes, but we finally got things worked out. After destroying most of the furniture in the living room and probably making our neighbors really mad, we got my parents out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, where we sat around the kitchen table.
Mrs. O'Leary still took up the entire living room, but she'd settled her head in the kitchen doorway so she could see us, which made her happy. My mom tossed her a ten-pound family-size tube of ground beef, which disappeared down her gullet. Paul poured lemonade for the rest of us while I explained about our visit to Connecticut.
"So it's true." Paul stared at me like he'd never seen me before. He was wearing his white bathrobe, now covered in hellhound fur, and his salt-and-pepper hair was sticking up in every direction. "All the talk about monsters, and being a demigod... it's really true."
I nodded. Last fall Y/N and I had explained to Paul who we were. My mom had backed us up. But until this moment, I don't really think he believed us.
"Sorry about Mrs. O'Leary," I said, "destroying the living room and all." Paul laughed like he was delighted. "Are you kidding? This is awesome! I mean, when I saw the hoofprints on the Prius, I thought maybe. But this!"
He patted Mrs. O'Leary's snout. The living room shook, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, which either meant a SWAT team was breaking down the door or Mrs. O'Leary was wagging her tail. I couldn't help but smile. Paul was a pretty cool guy, even if he was my English teacher as well as my stepdad.
"Thanks for not freaking out," I said.
"Oh, I'm freaking out," he promised, his eyes wide. "I just think it's awesome!"
"Yeah, well," I said, "you may not be so excited when you hear what's happening." I told Paul and my mom about Typhon, and the gods, and the battle that was sure to come. Then I told them Nico's plan.
My mom laced her fingers around her lemonade glass. She was wearing her old blue flannel bathrobe, and her hair was tied back.
Recently she'd started writing a novel, like she'd wanted to do for years, and I could tell she'd been working on it late into the night, because the circles under her eyes were darker than usual.
Behind her at the kitchen window, silvery moon lace glowed in the flower box. Y/N had previously explained to me that a magic girl named Calypso from a magic island named Ogygia had asked him to plant a garden for her in Manhattan. With my mom's green thumb, the plant had flourished alongside the entire garden.
I knew he was dead in love with Annabeth, but the way he described Calypso and the island, I'd be hard pressed to imagine he wouldn't have just stayed if Annabeth didn't love him back just as much. (I'd almost say more.)
Y/N made her sound like something out of a fairy tale. And I mean extra emphasis on fairy tale. A cursed princess waiting for her knight in shining armor.
Anyway, my mom took a deep breath, like she was thinking how to tell me no. "Percy, it's dangerous," she said. "Even for you."
"Mom, I know. I could die. Nico explained that. But if we don't try-"
"We'll all die," Nico said. He hadn't touched his lemonade. "Ms. Jackson, we don't stand a chance against an invasion. And there will be an invasion."
"An invasion of New York?" Paul said. "Is that even possible? How could we not see the... the monsters?" He said the word like he still couldn't believe this was real.
"I don't know," I admitted. "I don't see how Kronos could just march into Manhattan, but the Mist is strong. Typhon is trampling across the country right now, and mortals think he's a storm system."
"Ms. Jackson," Nico said, "Percy needs your blessing. The process has to start that way. I wasn't sure until we met Luke's mom, but now I'm positive. This has only been done successfully twice before. Both times, the mother had to give her blessing. She had to be willing to let her son take the risk."
"You want me to bless this?" She shook her head. "It's crazy. Percy, please-"
"Mom, I can't do it without you."
"And if you survive this... this process?"
"Then I go to war," I said. "Me against Kronos. And only one of us will survive." I didn't tell her the whole prophecy, about the soul reaping and the end of my days. She didn't need to know that I was probably doomed. I could only hope I'd stop Kronos and save the rest of the world before I died.
"You're my son," she said miserably. "I can't just..."
I could tell I'd have to push her harder if I wanted her to agree, but I didn't want to. I remembered poor Ms. Castellan in her kitchen, waiting for her son to come home. And I realized how lucky I was. My mom had always been there for me, always tried to make things normal for me, even with the gods and monsters and stuff.
She put up with me going off on adventures, but now I was asking her blessing to do something that would probably get me killed. I locked eyes with Paul, and some kind of understanding passed between us.
"Sally." He put his hand over my mother's hands. "I can't claim to know what you, Y/N, and Percy have been going through all these years. But it sounds to me... it sounds like Percy is doing something noble. I wish I had that much courage."
I got a lump in my throat. I didn't get compliments like that too much.
My mom stared at her lemonade. She looked like she was trying not to cry. I thought about what Hestia had said, about how hard it was to yield, and I figured maybe my mom was finding that out.
"Percy," she said, "I give you my blessing." I didn't feel any different. No magic glow lit the kitchen or anything. I glanced at Nico.
He looked more anxious than ever, but he nodded. "It's time."
"Percy," my mom said. "One last thing. If you and Y/N... if you guys survive this fight with Kronos, send me a sign." She rummaged through her purse and handed me her cell phone. "Mom," I said, "you know demigods and phones-"
"I know," she said. "But just in case. If you're not able to call... maybe a sign that I could see from anywhere in Manhattan. To let me know you're okay."
"Like Theseus," Paul suggested. "He was supposed to raise white sails when he came home to Athens."
"Except he forgot," Nico muttered. "And his father jumped off the palace roof in despair. But other than that, it was a great idea."
"What about a flag or a flare?" my mom said. "From Olympus, the Empire State Building."
"Something blue," I said. We'd had a running joke for years about blue food. It was my favorite color, and my mom went out of her way to humor me. Every year my birthday cake, my Easter basket, my Christmas candy canes always had to be blue.
"Yes," my mom agreed. "I'll watch for a blue signal. And I'll try to avoid jumping off palace roofs." She gave me one last hug. I tried not to feel like I was saying good-bye. I shook hands with Paul.
Then Nico and I walked to the kitchen doorway and looked at Mrs. O'Leary.
"Sorry, girl," I said. "Shadow travel time again."
She whimpered and crossed her paws over her snout.
"Where now?" I asked Nico. "Los Angeles?"
"No need," he said. "There's a closer entrance to the Underworld."
[Y/N's POV]
When I looked around at the surrounding wilderness, it felt surreal. A moment ago I was drowned in the darkness, and the very next moment I was in the middle of New York in the evening. Way away from camp, which didn't make any sense, but it was also a primordial god screwing with me, so I wasn't going to ask too many questions.
"Y/N!" a voice asked in surprise. I turned in an instant to see Percy and Nico pushing through the shrubbery right behind me. "What are you doing here?" Nico wondered out loud. "How did you even get here?" Percy asked.
"Uh... just got lost in the woods..." I muttered. "How did the trip go?" I wondered. Percy shrugged. "It's not over yet."
"Well where are we going?" I asked. "It's 'we' now?" Nico raised an eyebrow. I shrugged, "I mean I'm here. I might as well, now."
A minute later, the tree next to us shivered. Grover fell out of the branches, right on his head. "Grover?!" I yelled. Of all places at any time, he decided to drop in here???
"Woof!" Mrs. O'Leary looked up, probably wondering if we were going to play fetch with the satyr. "Blah-haa-haa!" Grover bleated. "You okay, man?" Percy asked.
"Oh, I'm fine." He rubbed his head. His horns had grown so much they poked an inch above his curly hair. "I was at the other end of the park. The dryads had this great idea of passing me through the trees to get me here. They don't understand height very well."
He grinned and got to his feet, well, his hooves, actually. Since last summer, Grover had stopped trying to disguise himself as human. He never wore a cap or fake feet anymore. He didn't even wear jeans, since he had furry goat legs from the waist down. His T-shirt had a picture from that book Where the Wild Things Are.
It was covered with dirt and tree sap. His goatee looked fuller, almost manly (or goatly?), and he was as tall as me now. "Good to see you, G-man," Percy said. "You remember Nico."
Grover nodded at Nico, then he gave me a big hug. We did our handshake like always. He smelled like fresh-mown lawns. Then he went and all but tackled Percy.
"Perrrrcy!" he bleated. "I missed you! I miss camp. They don't serve very good enchiladas in the wilderness."
"So my theory was wrong." Percy mumbled, remembering he jokingly suggested that Grover had passed out from eating too many enchiladas. "What's been going on with you, dude? We were worried!" I gave him a half-shove.
"Where've you been the last two months?" Percy shouted. "The last two-" Grover's smile faded. "The last two months? What are you talking about?"
"Grover, you've been radio silent all summer." I said. "Juniper's worried. We sent Iris-messages, but-"
"Hold on." He looked up at the stars like he was trying to calculate his position. "What month is this?"
"August." The color drained from his face. "That's impossible. It's June. I just lay down to take a nap and..." He grabbed my arms. "I remember now! He knocked me out. Guys, we have to stop him!"
"Whoa," I said. "Slow down. Tell us what happened."
He took a deep breath. "I was... I was walking in the woods up by Harlem Meer. And I felt this tremble in the ground, like something powerful was close by."
"You can sense stuff like that?" Nico asked. Grover nodded. "Since Pan's death, I can feel when something is wrong in nature. It's like my ears and eyes are sharper when I'm in the Wild. Anyway, I started following the scent. This man in a long black coat was walking through the park, and I noticed he didn't cast a shadow. Middle of a sunny day, and he cast no shadow. He kind of shimmered as he moved."
"Like a mirage?" Nico asked. "Yes," Grover said. "And whenever he passed humans-"
"The humans would pass out," Nico said. "Curl up and go to sleep."
"That's right! Then after he was gone, they'd get up and go about their business like nothing happened." I stared at Nico. "You know this guy in black?"
"Afraid so," Nico said. "Grover, what happened?"
"I followed the guy. He kept looking up at the buildings around the park like he was making estimates or something. This lady jogger ran by, and she curled up on the sidewalk and started snoring. The guy in black put his hand on her forehead like he was checking her temperature. Then he kept walking. By this time, I knew he was a monster or something even worse. I followed him into this grove, to the base of a big elm tree. I was about to summon some dryads to help me capture him when he turned and..."
Grover swallowed. "His face. I couldn't make out his face because it kept shifting. Just looking at him made me sleepy. I said, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'Just having a look around. You should always scout a battlefield before the battle.' I said something really smart like, 'This forest is under my protection. You won't start any battles here!' And he laughed. He said, 'You're lucky I'm saving my energy for the main event, little satyr. I'll just grant you a short nap. Pleasant dreams.' And that's the last thing I remember."
Nico exhaled. "Grover, you met Morpheus, the God of Dreams. You're lucky you ever woke up."
"Two months," Grover moaned. "He put me to sleep for two months!" Now it made sense why no one had been able to find Grover since June.
"Why didn't the nymphs try to wake you up?" I asked. Grover shrugged. "Most nymphs aren't good with time. Two months for a tree, that's nothing. They probably didn't think anything was wrong."
"We need to figure out why Morpheus was here at all," I said. "Whatever this 'main event' thing he mentioned is, it isn't going to be good."
"He's working for Kronos," Nico said. "We know that already. A lot of the minor gods are. This just proves there's going to be an invasion. Percy, we have to get on with our plan."
"Wait," Grover said. "What plan?" I was also curious. So, they gave us the rundown.
***
Yeah. That's not what I was expecting to hear. After I screamed, "WHAT?!" in a bit of shock, and then calmed myself down, I took a weak breath and just resigned that I had no control over the situation.
Grover started tugging at his leg fur. "You're not serious," he said. "Not the Underworld again."
"I'm not asking you to come, man," Percy promised. "I know you just woke up. But we need some music to open the door. Can you do it?"
Grover took out his reed pipes. "I guess I could try. I know a few Nirvana tunes that can split rocks. But, Percy, are you sure you want to do this?"
"Please, man," he said. "It would mean a lot. For old times' sake?" Grover whimpered. "As I recall, in the old times we almost died a lot. But okay, here goes nothing." He put his pipes to his lips and played a shrill, lively tune. The boulders trembled. A few more stanzas, and they cracked open, revealing a triangular crevice.
I peered inside. Steps led down into the darkness. The air smelled of mildew and death. It brought back bad memories of my time lost in the Labyrinth last year, but this tunnel felt even more dangerous. It led straight to the land of Hades, and that was almost always a one-way trip.
Last time I was in the underworld, (not counting my death) I almost fell into the pits of Tartarus. How exciting is it to go back somewhere you've nearly died, and actually went when you died? Well, for me. Not so much. For someone reading about this, they're probably having a blast.
We turned to Grover. "Thanks... I think." Percy said. "Guys, is Kronos really going to invade?" I sighed, and swallowed a dry lump in my neck. "As much as I want to tell you otherwise, he's coming. We tried to delay him, but it didn't help."
I thought Grover might chew up his reed pipes in anxiety, but he straightened up and brushed off his T-shirt. I couldn't help thinking how different he looked from fat old Leneus. "I've got to rally the nature spirits, then. Maybe we can help. I'll see if we can find this Morpheus.'"
"Better tell Juniper you're okay, too." His eyes widened. "Juniper! Oh, she's going to kill me!"
He started to run off, then scrambled back and gave me and Percy another hug. "Be careful down there! Come back alive!"
[Percy's POV]
Once he was gone, Nico and Y/N roused Mrs. O'Leary from her nap. When she smelled the tunnel, she got excited and led the way down the steps. It was a pretty tight fit. I hoped she wouldn't get stuck. I couldn't imagine how much Drano we'd need to un-stick a hellhound wedged halfway down a tunnel to the Underworld.
"Ready?" Nico asked me. "It'll be fine. Don't worry." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself. "Nico, don't jinx it." Y/N reprimanded. I glanced up at the moon, wondering if I would ever see it again. Then we plunged into darkness.
The stairs went on forever, narrow, steep, and slippery. It was completely dark except for the light of Riptide and Moonlight. I tried to go slow, but Mrs. O'Leary had other ideas. She bounded ahead, barking happily. The sound echoed through the tunnel like cannon shots, and I figured we would not be catching anybody by surprise once we reached the bottom.
Nico lagged behind, which I thought was strange.
"You okay?" I asked him.
"Fine." What was that expression on his face... doubt? "Just keep moving," he said. I didn't have much choice. I followed Mrs. O'Leary into the depths. After another hour, I started to hear the roar of a river. "Come on, Nico!" Y/N shouted, starting to pick up his pace.
Now, Y/N also looked suspicious. He looked abnormally nonchalant, but I could tell he was struggling with something he wasn't telling us. I wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that he was randomly waiting for us in the woods.
We emerged at the base of a cliff, on a plain of black volcanic sand. To our right, the River Styx gushed from the rocks and roared off in a cascade of rapids. To our left, far away in the gloom, fires burned on the ramparts of Erebos, the great black walls of Hades's kingdom.
I shuddered. I'd first been here when I was twelve, and only Annabeth, Y/N, and Grover's company had given me the courage to keep going. Nico wasn't going to be quite as helpful with the "courage" thing. He looked pale and worried himself.
Only Mrs. O'Leary acted happy. She ran along the beach, picked up a random human leg bone, and romped back toward me. She dropped the bone at my feet and waited for me to throw it. "Um, maybe later, girl." I stared at the dark waters, trying to get up my nerve. "So, Nico... how do we do this?"
"We have to go inside the gates first," he said.
"But the river's right here." Y/N reasoned. "I have to get something for it to work," he said. "It's the only way." He marched off without waiting. I frowned and looked at my friend. He shook his head. Nico hadn't mentioned anything about going inside the gates. But now that we were here, I didn't know what else to do.
Reluctantly, we followed him down the beach toward the big black gates. Lines of the dead stood outside waiting to get in. It must've been a heavy day for funerals, because even the EZ-DEATH line was backed up.
"Y/N, honestly, if you want to, you can turn around and head back. We're all good from here." Nico said. Y/N cocked a brow and stared at him like he'd gone weird. "I'm already in Hell, dude. I'm not turning back without doing what we came for." he replied. Nico let out a sigh that shook his body.
"Woof!" Mrs. O'Leary said. Before I could stop her she bounded toward the security checkpoint. Cerberus, the guard dog of Hades, appeared out of the gloom, a three-headed rottweiler so big he made Mrs. O'Leary look like a toy poodle.
Cerberus was half transparent, so he's really hard to see until he's close enough to kill you, but he acted like he didn't care about us. He was too busy saying hello to Mrs. O'Leary.
"Mrs. O'Leary, no!" I shouted at her. "Don't sniff... Oh, man." Nico smiled. Then he looked at me and his expression turned all serious again, like he'd remembered something unpleasant. "Come on. They won't give us any trouble in the line. You're with me."
"How reassuring." Y/N said, rubbing a look of worry off of his face. I didn't like it, but we slipped through the security ghouls and into the Fields of Asphodel. I had to whistle for Mrs. O'Leary three times before she left Cerberus alone and ran after us.
We hiked over black fields of grass dotted with black poplar trees. If I really died in a few days like the prophecy said, I might end up here forever, but I tried not to think about that. Nico trudged ahead, bringing us closer and closer to the palace of Hades.
"Hey," I said, "we're inside the gates already. Where are we-"
Mrs. O'Leary growled. A shadow appeared overhead, something dark, cold, and stinking of death. It swooped down and landed in the top of a poplar tree. "What the-" Y/N shouted, drawing his swords.
Unfortunately, I recognized her. She had a shriveled face, a horrible blue knit hat, and a crumpled velvet dress. Leathery bat wings sprang from her back. Her feet had sharp talons, and in her brass-clawed hands she held a flaming whip and a paisley handbag.
"Mrs. Dodds," I said.
She bared her fangs. "Welcome back, honey." Her two sisters, the other Furies, swooped down and settled next to her in the branches of the poplar.
"You know Alecto?" Nico asked me. "If you mean the hag in the middle, yeah," I said. "She was my math teacher."
"He cut her in half, and I'm pretty sure I did too." Y/N said. "Or maybe that was another one." Nico nodded, like this didn't surprise him. He looked up at the Furies and took a deep breath. "I've done what my father asked. Take us to the palace."
I tensed. "Wait a second, Nico. What do you-"
"I'm afraid this is my new lead, Percy. My father promised me information about my family, but he wants to see you before we try the river. I'm sorry."
"You tricked me?" I was so mad I couldn't think. I lunged at him, but the Furies were fast. Two of them swooped down and plucked me up by the arms. My sword fell out of my hand, and before I knew it, I was dangling sixty feet in the air.
"Oh, don't struggle, honey," my old math teacher cackled in my ear. "I'd hate to drop you." Mrs. O'Leary barked angrily and jumped, trying to reach me, but we were too high.
"Tell Mrs. O'Leary to behave," Nico warned. He was hovering near me in the clutches of the third Fury. "I don't want her to get hurt, Percy. My father is waiting. He just wants to talk."
I wanted to tell Mrs. O'Leary to attack Nico, but it wouldn't have done any good, and Nico was right about one thing: my dog could get hurt if she tried to pick a fight with the Furies.
I gritted my teeth. "Mrs. O'Leary, down! It's okay, girl." She whimpered and turned in circles, looking up at me. Nico turned to look at Y/N.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't counting on you being here." Y/N looked silently enraged. He got really good at doing that. He could choose to be incredibly terrifying when he wanted. And right now he chose to send daggers at the son of Hades.
"All right, traitor," I growled at Nico. "You've got your prize. Take us to the stupid palace."
Alecto dropped me like a sack of turnips in the middle of the palace garden. It was beautiful in a creepy way. Skeletal white trees grew from marble basins. Flower beds overflowed with golden plants and gemstones. A pair of thrones, one bone and one silver, sat on the balcony with a view of the Fields of Asphodel.
It would've been a nice place to spend a Saturday morning except for the sulfurous smell and the cries of tortured souls in the distance. Skeletal warriors guarded the only exit. They wore tattered U.S. Army desert combat fatigues and carried M16s.
The second fury dropped Y/N on top of me. He grunted and fell hard, rolling off of me, gripping his elbow as I massaged my ribs. He glared harder somehow as the third Fury deposited Nico next to me. Then all three of them settled on the top of the skeletal throne.
I resisted the urge to strangle Nico. They'd only stop me. I'd have to wait for my revenge. When I shared an expression with my friend, I realized I'd have to wait my turn even longer.
I stared at the empty thrones, waiting for something to happen. Then the air shimmered. Three figures appeared, Hades and Persephone on their thrones, and an older woman standing between them. They seemed to be in the middle of an argument.
"-told you he was a bum!" the older woman said.
"Mother!" Persephone replied.
(Emilia Clarke as Persephone)
"We have visitors!" Hades barked. "Please!" Hades, one of my least favorite gods, smoothed his black robes, which were covered with the terrified faces of the damned. He had pale skin and the intense eyes of a madman.
"Percy Jackson," he said with satisfaction. "At last." He turned to look at Y/N with a sneer. He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "What is he doing here?" Hades turned to Nico who went to answer, but the his went "Pah" and rambled on.
Queen Persephone studied me curiously. I'd seen her once before in the winter, but now in the summer she looked like a totally different goddess.
She had lustrous black hair and warm brown eyes. Her dress shimmered with colors. Flower patterns in the fabric changed and bloomed, roses, tulips, honeysuckle.
The woman standing between them was obviously Persephone's mother. She had the same hair and eyes, but looked older and sterner. Her dress was golden, the color of a wheat field.
Her hair was woven with dried grasses so it reminded me of a wicker basket. I figured if somebody lit a match next to her, she'd be in serious trouble.
"Hmmph," the older woman said. "Demigods. Just what we need."
(Sandra Bullock as Demeter)
Next to me, Nico knelt. I wished I had my sword so I could cut his stupid head off. Unfortunately, Riptide was still out in the fields somewhere. "Father," Nico said. "I have done as you asked."
"Took you long enough," Hades grumbled. "Your sister would've done a better job. And she would've brought me the correct amount of mortals." Nico lowered his head.
If I hadn't been so mad at the little creep, I might've felt sorry for him. I glared up at the god of the dead. "What do you want, Hades?"
"To talk, of course." The god twisted his mouth in a cruel smile. "Didn't Nico tell you?"
"So this whole quest was a lie. Nico brought me down here to get me killed."
"Oh, no," Hades said. "I'm afraid Nico was quite sincere about wanting to help you. The boy is as honest as he is dense. I simply convinced him to take a small detour and bring you here first."
"Father," Nico said, "you promised that Percy would not be harmed. You said if I brought him, you would tell me about my past, about my mother." Queen Persephone sighed dramatically. "Can we please not talk about that woman in my presence?"
"I'm sorry, my dove," Hades said. "I had to promise the boy something."
The older lady harrumphed. "I warned you, daughter. This scoundrel Hades is no good. You could've married the god of doctors or the god of lawyers, but noooo. You had to eat the pomegranate."
"Mother-"
"And get stuck in the Underworld!"
"Mother, please-"
"And here it is August, and do you come home like you're supposed to? Do you ever think about your poor lonely mother?"
"DEMETER!" Hades shouted. "That is enough. You are a guest in my house."
"Oh, a house is it?" she said. "You call this dump a house? Make my daughter live in this dark, damp-"
"I told you," Hades said, grinding his teeth, "there's a war in the world above. You and Persephone are better off here with me."
"Excuse me," Y/N broke in. "If you're going to kill us, can you make it go quicker? I really don't want to be argued to death." All three gods looked at him.
"Well, this one has an attitude," Demeter observed. Persephone smirked. "Just like his mother." she rattled.
"I would love to kill them both." Hades said. "Father!" Nico said. "You promised!"
"I promised nothing about your other friend here. He's fair game, is he not?" Suddenly, Persephone leaned over and whispered into the god's ear. He took a deep breath and groaned.
"Husband, we talked about this," Persephone chided. "You can't go around incinerating every hero. Besides, he's brave. I like that."
Hades rolled his eyes. "You liked that Orpheus fellow too. Look how well that turned out. Let me kill them, just a little bit."
"Father, you promised!" Nico said. "You said you only wanted to talk to him. You said if I brought him, you'd explain." Hades glowered, smoothing the folds of his robes. "I promised to talk to Jackson. Not the other one. I shall make my decision after I give you what you desire. Your mother, what can I tell you? She was a wonderful woman." He glanced uncomfortably at Persephone.
"Forgive me, my dear. I mean for a mortal, of course. Her name was Maria di Angelo. She was from Venice, but her father was a diplomat in Washington, D.C. That's where I met her. When you and your sister were young, it was a bad time to be children of Hades. World War II was brewing. A few of my, ah, other children were among the losing side. I thought it best to put you two out of harm's way."
"That's why you hid us in the Lotus Casino?" Hades shrugged. "You didn't age. You didn't realize time was passing. I waited for the right time to bring you out."
"But what happened to our mother? Why don't I remember her?"
"Not important," Hades snapped. "What? Of course it's important. And you had other children, why were we the only ones who were sent away? And who was the lawyer who got us out?"
Hades grit his teeth. "You would do well to listen more and talk less, boy. As for the lawyer..." Hades snapped his fingers. On top of his throne, the Fury Alecto began to change until she was a middle-aged man in a pinstriped suit with a briefcase. She? He? It looked strange crouching at Hades's shoulder.
"You!" Nico said. The Fury cackled. "I do lawyers and teachers very well!" Nico was trembling. "But why did you free us from the casino?"
"You know why," Hades said. "This idiot son of Poseidon cannot be allowed to be the child of the prophecy." I plucked a ruby off the nearest plant and threw it at Hades. It sank harmlessly into his robe. "You should be helping Olympus!" I said. "All the other gods are fighting Typhon, and you're just sitting here-"
"Waiting things out," Hades finished. "Yes, that's correct. When's the last time Olympus ever helped me, half-blood? When's the last time a child of mine was ever welcomed as a hero? Bah! Why should I rush out and help them? I'll stay here with my forces intact."
"And when Kronos comes after you?" Y/N asked. "Let him try. He'll be weakened. And my son here, Nico-" Hades looked at him with distaste.
"Well, he's not much now, I'll grant you. It would've been better if Bianca had lived. But give him four more years of training. We can hold out that long, surely. Nico will turn sixteen, as the prophecy says, and then he will make the decision that will save the world. And I will be king of the gods."
"You're crazy," I said. "Kronos will crush you, right after he finishes pulverizing Olympus." Hades spread his hands. "Well, you'll get a chance to find out, half-blood. Because you'll both be waiting out this war in my dungeons."
"No!" Nico said. "Father, that wasn't our agreement. And you haven't told me everything!"
"I've told you all you need to know," Hades said. "As for our agreement, I spoke with Jackson. I did not harm him. You got your information. If you had wanted a better deal, you should've made me swear on the Styx. Now, go to your room!" He waved his hand, and Nico vanished.
"That boy needs to eat more," Demeter grumbled. "He's too skinny. He needs more cereal." Persephone rolled her eyes. "Mother, enough with the cereal. My lord Hades, are you sure we can't let these little heroes go? They're awfully brave."
"No, my dear. I've spared their lives. That's enough." I was sure she was going to stand up for me. The brave, beautiful Persephone was going to get me out of this. She shrugged indifferently. "Fine. What's for breakfast? I'm starving."
"Cereal," Demeter said. "Mother!" The two women disappeared in a swirl of flowers and wheat. "Don't feel too bad, Percy Jackson," Hades said. "My ghosts keep me well informed of Kronos's plans. I can assure you that you had no chance to stop him in time. By tonight, it will be too late for your precious Mount Olympus. The trap will be sprung."
"What trap?" I demanded. "If you know about it, do something! At least let me tell the other gods!" Hades smiled. "You are spirited. I'll give you credit for that. Have fun in my dungeon. We'll check on you again in, oh, fifty or sixty years."