I stood there staring with my mouth open for a minute. Annabeth, who was already looking pretty smug, took the opportunity to laugh and roll her eyes. "Close your mouth, Percy," she said, folding her arms over her chest. "And before you ask, yes, I heard the whole thing. And no, I'm not going to try to stop you."

I clutched at the towel and pomegranate in my arms, eyeing Annabeth and turning what she'd just said over in my mind. My first reaction was panic that she'd heard everything, but confusion came right behind that. "You're not?" But just yesterday, she hadn't sounded at all thrilled to let me go haring off into the Underworld, with or without her. "But yesterday…"

She shook her head, ponytail whipping from side to side. "I thought about it. A lot, actually." She sighed. "I was up almost all night. I wrote down everything the Oracle said, and I went over and over it. It… kind of sounded like she wanted you to do it." She glanced off to the side, biting her lip for a moment. "And I guess I kind of do, too."

Okay, now I was really confused. "What?" Why would Annabeth actually want me to do this? Well, I mean, aside from the fact that she's really not a bad person. It wasn't like she hated Nico or anything, I reasoned. But it was just such a major change from how she'd been acting before that I was still having trouble believing it.

She sighed again, looking a bit impatient as she looked back at me. "Look, Percy…" Her cheeks started turning red, and I fought the urge to take a step back. I mean, whenever a girl starts to blush, it's never a good sign. Never. "I liked you. A lot, you know? I guess I was just kind of… you know, jealous." She glanced off to the side again, like studying the cabins off in the distance was much more interesting than looking at me. "But I guess I just had to get over it. I can tell you really like Nico." She looked back again, and there was determination in her grey eyes. I'd seen that kind of determination before. It wasn't something you wanted to contradict. "So if you like him so much," she said, "then I don't think I should be stopping you from going and getting him back if you really stand a chance."

She paused. "Percy," she asked quietly, and her gaze became even more intense, "you do stand a chance. Don't you?"

I admit that for a minute there I was struck speechless. I mean, having Annabeth confess that she liked me and that she was jealous, and then go right on to say that she thought I should go get Nico back was a little much to take in all at once. I could feel my own face turning kind of red – I mean, before Nico had confessed to me, I admit that I'd kind of thought Annabeth was pretty cute. A heck of a lot of trouble, sure, but pretty cute too. That time she kissed me underneath the volcano had been pretty intense, even if it was just a quick peck on the lips. And it wasn't like I didn't still think she was cute… She just wasn't Nico. So what did that make me?

I shook my head a little to clear it. I might still think Annabeth was cute, but somewhere in the pit of my stomach I knew that I thought Nico was beautiful. I mean, not in some cheesy sort of guy model sort of way. It was different. He was special in a way that made me feel lightheaded and warm every time I spent time with him. It was kind of like drinking too much nectar too fast. He just made things… better.

But that didn't mean Annabeth wasn't my friend, and it didn't mean that I could ignore her help. Finally bringing myself back to the here and now, I swallowed and looked at the pomegranate in my hand. The Oracle had said I needed to do this. Bianca had asked for my help. And now Persephone had given me a way in. Add on top of that Annabeth's sudden support, and… "Yeah," I said, my voice almost cracking. I coughed a little and nodded, trying again. "Yeah, I really think I do."

That seemed to be enough for Annabeth. She nodded, her grey eyes still determined, and pointed to the bathrooms. "Then go get cleaned up. Meet me back at your cabin when you're done." And then she turned around and strode off in the other direction, heading back towards the U of cabins where no one else was stirring yet.

I walked the rest of the way to the showers without thinking much. I wrapped the pomegranate in my t-shirt and set it to the side with my towel and the rest of my clothes so they wouldn't get wet. It wasn't until I stepped under the shower spray that my brain seemed to start up again, at a million miles an hour.

So much had happened in the past twelve hours that I barely knew where to start. I placed my hands against the cold tile of the shower stall and let the water run down my back, energizing me and washing away the grime of the past couple days. So much had changed.

It looked like Persephone was the god who had come to my side. I felt relieved to know that someone thought I was doing the right thing. And I was a lot closer to being able to reach Nico than I had been even last night. If there really was an entrance to the Underworld that was accessible from the ocean, it was a nearly perfect opportunity. I knew what I had to do, and now it looked like I had the means to do it. There wasn't anything holding me back.

But I had to admit that part of me almost felt a little disappointed, too. I'd kind of hoped it would be my dad who would come over to my side. I mean, his support would've meant a lot right about now. I still didn't even know how he felt about me and Nico. Maybe he didn't even know. Or maybe he didn't care. Not caring was better than being angry about it, right? I didn't know what would happen if he was angry about it. If Chiron was right and the gods weren't going to like this, I didn't know what I was going to do without my father's support. But I would think of something, I told myself. I wouldn't let them keep us apart.

And then there was Annabeth. I didn't know what she was planning, but something told me that she wasn't going to go to Chiron with this. I didn't know what she could be thinking, but I guessed I was about to find out pretty soon. The water was starting to run cold, and although it didn't bother me I took that as a sign that I couldn't hide out in the shower anymore. It was time to go see what Annabeth was going to do to help.

I dried off and got changed pretty quickly, gathering up my old clothes and the towel and the pomegranate in my arms. The fruit was room-temperature, not freezing like it had been last night in my dream. It smelled ripe and sweet.

As I approached the cabins, I saw Annabeth perched on the step that led up to the door of the Poseidon cabin. There was a backpack at her feet and she had Daedelus' laptop open on her lap, the blue D symbol bright against the sleek silver lid. She looked up as I approached and stood, shutting the laptop and holding it under one arm. She picked up the backpack by one strap with the other hand and waited for me to open the cabin door so she could follow me in. She sat down on my bed, setting the laptop down beside her and looked up at me.

"Okay, I got you some supplies," she indicated the backpack she'd leaned at the foot of the bed, "and I've been doing some research. Daedelus didn't have much on the Underworld that we don't already know, though. We can't be sure if there really is an entrance in the Puerto Rico Trench or not."

I blinked, staring at first the backpack, then Annabeth. She looked up, frowning. "What?"

I shook my head quickly. "Nothing! I guess I just didn't know how, uh, committed you were to helping me." I felt bad as soon as I'd said it. "I mean, thanks, though. Thanks for getting me supplies and… you know."

She rolled her eyes, sighing, like she couldn't believe I hadn't figured it out. "I'm your friend, Seaweed Brain. Just because I think you're going on one of the least intelligent quests of the millennium doesn't mean I'm going to let you go unprepared."

"… So you're not coming with me, then," I said slowly. I mean, I'd kind of assumed I would be going it alone from the beginning. I didn't know whether I was relieved or disappointed that I might actually be doing just that.

She shook her head. "I can't, Percy. I think this is something you have to do alone." She paused, then smirked. "Besides, someone's going to have to keep things under control here until you get back. Chiron won't be too happy when he finds out you left, and Grover – "

"Grover isn't as dumb as he looks," came a voice from the doorway; we both turned to see that Grover had managed to open the door a crack and was peering through it at the two of us, silhouetted in the early morning light. "I figured something was probably up." He stepped quickly into the cabin, shutting the door behind him. He looked over at me. "So you're going?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Then take this," Grover said, holding out small and flat – his reed pipes. He pressed them into my hands before I could protest.

I stared at the instrument in my hand, speechless. Finally I got my voice working again. "Thanks, man… but I can't play these." I looked up.

Grover shrugged. "Neither can I," he admitted ruefully – which was only partly true. He could play them, just not… well. He only knew a couple of songs: YMCA, some Barry Manilow songs, and Hilary Duff's So Yesterday. But I didn't know any songs. I didn't know exactly what I was supposed to do with them, but he kept talking like he knew I was going to argue. "Look, I don't know, I just… I have this feeling. Like you should have them. So just hang onto them for me for a while, okay? It's not like I'll need them to help spread the word about Pan."

I looked at him for a good long minute, then swallowed and nodded, putting the pipes safely in my pocket. "Yeah, man. Sure." I really didn't know if they were going to do me any good at all, but I guessed if Grover felt like they were, it would probably be better not to argue. Maybe he thought they'd bring me good luck or something. I could use all the good luck I could get.

Grover started to nod back, but then he paused, sniffing the air. "Do you smell pomegranates in here?" He looked around, sniffing again. "They're just barely in season – "

Annabeth and I exchanged looks, and then she dug the fruit out of the cocoon of my clothing on the bed, holding it up for him to see. "Persephone gave it to him."

Grover looked from the fruit in Annabeth's hand to me. "Persephone? The Queen of the Dead? Percy –"

"She said it would help me," I explained, even though the look on Grover's face had suddenly started to worry me. "What? You don't look all that thrilled."

Grover's mouth had tugged down into a deep frown. "You do know why she has to go to the Underworld six months out of every year, don't you?"

"Yeah, because she ate…" I trailed off. That was right – Persephone was bound to live half the year in the Underworld with Hades because while she was there, she'd eaten six pomegranate seeds. So she now had to spend one month there every year for each seed she'd eaten. I looked over at the fruit in Annabeth's hand too, my stomach suddenly roiling. "But then why would she… you don't think she wants me to be trapped down there too, do you?" I caught Annabeth's eyes. "You heard her too, didn't it sound like she wanted to help me?"

She nodded slowly, glancing over at Grover. "It did sound like she was sincere." She paused. "But we do know that the gods certainly aren't above deception."

I frowned, shaking my head. "No," I said, as much to convince my friends as to convince myself. "She wanted to help, I'm sure of it."

Annabeth bit her lip, still looking at the pomegranate in her hand. "She said… she said that 'some supplies are best used before the journey begins.' What if… " She looked back up at me, understanding suddenly dawning on her face. "Percy, I think she wanted you to eat it before you left."

"Before I left? But why…?"

"That's definitely it – I'm sure of it now!" Annabeth exclaimed, jumping up off the bed. Grover and I glanced at each other, waiting for her to explain. "Think about it," she said. "If eating the fruit of the Underworld when you're in the Underworld keeps you there, then maybe eating the fruit of the living world before you go will keep you… I don't know, rooted to here somehow. That must be it!" She offered me the pomegranate. I guessed it made a certain amount of sense. Well, as much as anything like this could make sense. The idea of something keeping me tethered to the living world did make me feel a whole lot better about this quest.

Grover didn't look fully convinced, but he didn't look quite as skeptical as he had before, either. He reached over and took the fruit, sniffing it carefully. "It smells all right…" he muttered, turning it over in his hands. Finally he gave it back to me, turning to Annabeth. "You really think that's it?"

Annabeth nodded excitedly. "It must be! I'm with Percy on this one – I think she was genuinely trying to help. And as long as he eats it here, and doesn't eat anything in the Underworld –" she glanced at me meaningfully, "then it should work like I said." She paused, then repeated, "Nothing, Percy. You can't eat anything while you're down there, no matter how hungry you get. I mean it."

I nodded, staring at the bright red sphere resting in my palm. I understood – I definitely had no desire to be trapped in the Underworld the way Persephone had been. Not for a couple of pomegranate seeds, not for ten Big Mac meals with super-sized cokes. I was going to get Nico and get out of there.

Annabeth pulled something out of her pocket – her celestial bronze knife, and handed it to me hilt first. "Then go ahead and eat it. Then we'll go over what we know, and you can be out of here before breakfast."