Hades La, what are you doing updating on a Wednesday night? Well, dear peoples, my family's laptop is being sent in for repair on our disk drive, either tomorrow or Friday, so I had to update tonight. That is also why the chapter is unusually short. I had to leave you all with a cliff-hanger, I'm sorry. So I shall speak-to/write-for you all again in two to three weeks! All the more reason you should review ;) Hehe hope you enjoy! Sorry again at the shortness of the chapter and the length of the Author's Note.
Disclaimer: Me no own PJO/HoO or any of the Harry Potter references.
Note #2: Check out HecateA's fanfictions if you haven't yet. I worship her as much as I do Burdge-Bug. That's a lot.

XI

Percy

A figure stepped out of the shadows into the slightly lighter space where Percy and Annabeth stood. At first, Percy had to do a double take. The man standing before them resembled Hades in a way that was almost frightening. After closer examination, though, he could see that they did not look as alike as he had initially thought. This man looked more like one of the Shades in Hades' realm – with skin as pale and grey as an old man's hair. The bags under his eyes were bruised purple and blue, and the eyes themselves were a coppery red. His hair was lank, hanging in a greasy veil down past his shoulders. On his body, he wore an almost comically long trench coat over a navy blue shirt and black pants. Strangely, he reminded Percy of that Professor Snape man from the Harry Potter movies his mother made him watch with her. The only difference was that this man was more pale and lanky. Beside him, he heard Annabeth draw in a shocked breath and was tempted to ask her what this man was.

"Demigods," the creature hissed in the same gravelly voice as before. It was like hearing a bag of sand and gravel getting run-over by a pick-up truck. Even under the unpleasantness, there was something almost seductive about the voice. It made Percy feel like he would do anything the man requested; even allow him to drain his blood. Wait; drain his blood? Where in Tartarus had that come from?

Annabeth kicked him in the shin, and he snapped out of it. Together, they moved so that they were back-to-back, yet still facing the unwanted company. "You're Mormo, aren't you?" Annabeth asked, though it sounded more like a statement. Percy tried wracking his brain for where the man appeared in mythology, but failed.

"Very smart, aren't you?" said the man in his scratchy voice. "Daughter of Athena, I suppose? Yes of course, you have the same grey eyes and superior posture. I never liked that particular goddess. Now if you were Hecate's spawn…"

"But we aren't," Annabeth countered. Percy saw how tensed she was and grabbed hold of Riptide, in his pocket.

"No, of course not, and what a shame that is, too," stated Mormo, sounding almost bored. "I have orders to take you to Gaea, you realize that don't you? I would prefer to not help her, either, but I side with the winners and there isn't a hope in this universe of you demigods prevailing. Now, you can come easily or we can do this the hard way. It is your choice."

"We'll come with you when the forges of Hephaestus freeze over," Percy growled, pulling out his pen. Normally he would have said Tartarus, but by recent discovery, he knew that the pit was actually quite chilly already.

The pale man looked thoughtful, "I could probably arrange that, but I understood your meaning. The hard way, then. What a shame; the mistress had hoped for you to be in top condition."

Then, he lunged at them, baring what Percy could now see as fangs. In a moment, Anaklusmos transformed into its full glory and lay prepared for battle in Percy's hand. In his peripheral vision, he saw Annabeth brandishing her dagger unsteadily, her balance off due to her bad foot. All it would take is an extra inch forward and she would go tumbling to the crinkling ground under their feet. All this happened in the second it took for Mormo to reach them. He headed for Percy first, probably assuming that turning his back on a weak girl would be a smarter idea than the opposite. Of course, he was wrong. Percy swung out blindly with Riptide while Annabeth spun out and lunged towards his unprotected back.

Mormo must have seen it coming, though, for he spun out and grabbed Annabeth by the neck, picking her up and flinging her away. Percy saw her land painfully, and despair threatened to cloud his thoughts when she did not so much as lift a limb.

"I am the mighty Mormo, terror of the night and father of vampires. I am a servant of Gaea, Hecate, and Queen Laestrygonian herself! You cannot win against me, foolish son of Poseidon, for I am more powerful than even you. Surrender now, or both you and your pretty little girlfriend will suffer the consequences. I may not be able to kill you, but I can torture you beyond sanity. All my mistress needs is your blood, after all."

Anger flared up in Percy's vision, tinting it a deep red. No one threatened Annabeth like that without having to deal with the consequences. No one. With that thought, he lunged at the vampire-man with renewed force, striking straight through his stomach. Mormo gave an agonized shriek, but it soon faded into a chuckle. Percy went to draw his sword out, but to no avail. It was stuck fast, lodged in the vampire's gut with seemingly no damage done. "How...?" he muttered, confused.

The creature before him grinned malevolently, "I cannot be harmed, demigod, for I am immortal and have the protection of both my master and my mistress. Together, they cannot be harmed, and neither can I."

He flicked a hand, and the ground underneath Percy's feet began to develop a hole that was swallowing him. "No!" Percy yelled, thinking only of Annabeth. She was hurt – possibly even dying – he could not just leave her behind, even if it wasn't something he necessarily could help.

Then, against his will, the crinkling floor fell out from under him completely, sending him hurtling downwards into seemingly endless darkness. The last thing he saw before his head went under was Annabeth sitting up dazedly behind Mormo's preying smile.

Dear guest-user Mariah, sorry it has taken so long for me to write this! Thank you so much for the reviews and for sticking with the story! Hope you keep it up! I'm glad you love it so much!