Guarding the gates to Hades wasn't nearly as exciting as some people thought, as the only thing that you had to do was stand around, look intimidating, occasionally eat upstart heroes, and make sure no souls tried to cut in line.

Cerberus had been the guard dog of Hades as long as any of his heads could remember, and considering how old he was, that was a really long time, but he had been content with his job. He got to eat any heroes (with several notable exceptions) who came along trying to rescue people from the Underworld, and he got to terrify any souls who could actually see him. He did get tired of always standing, however, but there wasn't much he could do about that.

The years sort of ran together after a while, with occasional breaks in the monotony caused by heroes who managed to get past him, and all three of his heads got irritated at how boring it all was. Still, he hadn't really thought much about actually doing something…or at least, he hadn't until those two young demigods and one satyr visited the Underworld. All three of his heads had been all set to eat the one who had tried to get him to run after a stick, of all things, but the female demigod had gotten his attention.

Being a dog, albeit a three-headed, highly intelligent monster dog, he had a natural love of round things, and the red rubber ball the girl demigod had given him was an incredibly fun toy, even if it didn't last very long. He had been more than happy to do what the girl said, even sit, as long as she had played with him. None of his heads could remember the last time anyone had stopped and played with him, if anyone had ever done that, and he had enjoyed it. He had been sad when the girl had left, even though she promised to see him soon and bring more red rubber balls. He hadn't held his breath, as very few people ever made it out of the Underworld, be they alive or dead, but he had sensed the two demigods and the one satyr leaving, and he had sensed Lord Hades's anger, so all of his heads were relieved and happy that the girl had escaped safely.

He couldn't really bring himself to care one way or the other about the boy demigod and the satyr.

After that, Cerberus had been struck by how lonely his job actually was, especially since he hardly ever did anything. None of the souls who routinely walked under him or around him were able to understand him, although that didn't really matter much, since most of them couldn't see him and those that could tended to start screaming.

Hey, it wasn't his fault that most of his words sounded like snarls or barks. They just came out that way.

The spirits of dead demigods tended to either cower from him or ignore him, nothing in between, except for that rather memorable incident with Hercules.

He had only left the Underworld once, once, since taking the job of Guardian of the Gates of Hades, and that had been to take care of a hellhound named Mrs. O'Leary. All three of his heads thought that that was a rather unusual name for a hellhound, but he didn't dwell on it.

The glimpses he'd had of the world above, he did dwell on. He remembered vividly the sights and smells, so very different from the Underworld, and yet so exciting. He hadn't had the chance to really see much, as the gods had been at war with the forces of the Lord of Titans, Kronos the Lord of Time. He had wanted to join in the battle, but he had had his orders, and he had followed them, no matter how much he had wanted to disobey. He recalled the smell of blood, belonging to demigod, monster, and god alike, and all three of his heads had longed to tear into the flesh of the monsters that had sided with Kronos, yet he had stayed where he had been ordered to and waited until the battle had finished before returning to his post in the Underworld.

Now Cerberus itched to go to the world above and take in all the sights, sounds, and smells that he had missed. The urge had started as a niggling little thought in the back of his minds, until finally he could ignore it no longer and the urge turned into a plan that gradually took shape. It took some time, about four years in the world above, and he had gradually grew more and more annoyed at the monotony of his job, and angrier and angrier at Lord Hades, but now he had a plan not only to escape to the world of humans but to make his boss squirm as well.

All three of his heads grinned savagely, his plan finally fully formed and ready to be implemented. Now all he had to do was wait for just the right moment…

And then he made his move.


Author's Note: Sorry about the cliffhanger, but I figured that this was as good a place as any to end the first chapter. I also feel it should be noted that I haven't yet read The Last Olympian. I'm actually surprised that no one has had an idea like this, but I'm happy that I'm the one who thought of it.

Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter.