"What the hell was that about?" Hazel turned on me as we journeyed farther down into the tunnel. "Do you know how dangerous dipping in the Styx is? Do you know what it does, what happens if you fail?"

I stared at the ground, which was steadily crawling with permafrost as Demeter began her grieving (seriously Demeter, your daughter is a grown ass woman. Get your shit together).

"I know enough," I said snappishly. "Surviving a swim means you have impenetrable skin. If you don't survive it, your soul gets stripped away from your body and incinerated, carried away with the river."

"Cheery," Will mumbled uneasily, fingering his medical bag as he walked.

"Should we rest a while?" I said quickly before Hazel could badger me more. "I mean, you just fought the war god, Will. So did Hazel. And since we got moving pretty quickly, you guys didn't get the proper time to recover. We can stop if you want."

Will spared me a glance over his shoulder. "Nico used to change the subject too when he didn't want to talk about something."

"Who said I was trying to-"

"And he also got defensive when someone called him out on it." Hazel said without looking up. "Look, we all know you're as shaken up by Ares coming in and trying to kill us all, then telling you you look like your mother and saying you hold a lot of rage in your eyes, then telling you to take a possibly fatal dip in one of the most dangerous rivers of the Underworld. I get it. But you can't not be open about it."

"Fucking watch me."

Will stared at me in open surveillance. "It just occurred that you are way too young to swear as much as you do."

"Does it look like I give a shit?" I deadpanned.

"You should." Hazel commented. "Swearing shows lack of vocabulary."

"Annabeth swears." I countered, and took pride in the fact that she couldn't form a response.

"That isn't the point! The point is that you need to talk with us. How are you going to do this? You need an anchor to the mortal world unless you want your soul incinerated!" Will said swiftly. When Hazel and I stared at him in slight shock- it was strange that a son of Apollo would know this- he rolled his eyes. "Percy never stopped bragging to Annabeth about how she kept him from dying in the river."

"O-kaaaay… back to making sure I stay alive long enough to smack Nico a good one when we bring him back to life." I said awkwardly.

"Right, so you'll have to think of something powerful, something that keeps you mortal in your entir- whoa!"

Hazel yelped as she walked straight into a wall of black. I backtracked several feet, sword poised to attack. Will downright shrieked as three large, drooling dog heads bent down to his eye level and started barking like a fire alarm.

"Cerberus, sit down!" Hazel shouted above the raucous barking. "For the love of Dad, they aren't dead! There's no need to start scaring the ever-loving shit out of them!"

The guardian of the Underworld cowered and shrank back, whimpering pitifully. Hazel softened and sighed a little.

"Thatta boy, maybe I can talk Percy into bringing Mrs O' Leary over for a playdate soon!" The large dog visibly brightened and woofed loudly.

Will was now clutching his shotgun so hard his tan knuckles were white. He closed his eyes, no doubt composing himself, and warily stepped around Cerberus, making sure to keep his distance.

I worried about him.

But before I could voice my concerns, a distant, whispery wailing caught my attention. Slowly, very slowly, I turned my head and was greeted with a sight that made my gut churn.

How did I not notice this? A huge river, miles wide, littered with all sorts of dreams that people gave up on. I vaguely wondered if mine were in there somewhere. The current was rushing so fiercely that water was being splattered on the bank of the river. But the worst part was the groaning, the wailing of the spirits that apparently were laid to rest in the river. I had gotten used to the weird auras I had been seeing everywhere, but this one startled me. It was glitchy yet solid at the same time, and it seemed to reach out and strangle me, trying to drag me in. To what, I have no idea.

I would have to do it anyway, but I didn't want to do it under the influence of whatever this river was doing to me. There was a scream echoing in the distance, and all our heads snapped up. Even Hazel looked troubled, not even bothering to mask it.

"We- we should hurry." I said shakily, surprised at hearing the tremble in my voice. Will's eyes widened and he weakly pointed behind me. I turned and there was a warrior in Greek battle armor. He looked so much like a god it was scary, but I knew better.

This was Achilles, son of Zeus. Invulnerable save for his heel. And with the luck heroes have, he got struck in that one weak spot. My gaze skittered downwards for a second and my breath caught in my throat at the bloody arrow that speared his ankle.

"Another one…" he shook his head ruefully, and I could tell he meant it. "I will tell you what I told the rest of them- heed my plea, half-blood, turn back! You will be better off not bearing the curse upon your shoulders… half-bloods are not meant to take on the role of Atlas!"

"I- I can't. I have to do this."

"All of them say they must, and I watch as they burn. All except the last two… I see the first one sometimes in Elysium. The second one… you know where he went. I am warning you, niece, turn back!"

"Niece?" I was confused. "Aphrodite is no child of Zeus. She is no child of any Olympian. She is nobody's kin but her own."

His face contorted, then he half-snorted, half-sighed. "You do not know, then. Let the gods know that I have tried… hero, you must keep one part of your body mortal. That point shall anchor your soul to your mortality. Lose sight of it and perish."

"Wait! Don't know what?" I squeaked, panicking.

He gave me a pitying look. Another scream sounded in the background and as if on cue, he vanished.

Now or never, I thought. You have to do this. Nico is counting on you. I wracked my mind for a place that would be next to impossible to reach. I decided it didn't matter if the spot was dignified or not, and concentrated on the arch of the bottom of my left foot. It would be next to impossible to reach.

I breathed deeply, dropping my sword onto the sand, and made a running leap into the river, just as Hazel shrieked, "WAIT! I forgot! You have to-"

Styx water filled my ears and her voice was blocked out. I hugged my knees, floating in the murky water. Swimming had never been my strong suit, so I was doing my best not to flail wildly and drown.

It was like stepping into a pit of acid-induced lava. I was pretty sure I could feel my skin being peeled away. I didn't dare open my eyes in case they were going to be burned away too. I held my breath in the darkness, letting the pain wash over me like tidal waves on a shore, eyes shut so hard I could see colours and images swirling together behind my eyelids.

I saw Brynn, who was wiping blood from her face and fixing me with an annoyed glare. "When I said look before you leap because only the good die young I didn't mean this!"

"For the love of-" Keith growled, frustrated. "You're a child! Take the world off your shoulders for once in your life, damn it!" She sputtered for a moment, as if she was trying to figure out what to say. Finally, her tone softened, and she said almost defeatedly, "Children shouldn't have to fight to be young."

Her image faded like Brynn's had and I wanted to reach out to someone who wasn't there. I was a kid again, not knowing who the people around me were but knowing that I didn't want to be left alone again.

I was floating in emptiness. My pain was anything but numb. I focused everything in me on the arch of my foot, because I knew if I didn't I would die. A faint whisper rang out in my ears.

"Hey. Hey- kid- you alright?"

I hesitated, cracking open one eye a bit. I expected my vision to be burned away, but instead I found that the Styx wasn't on my mind at all. I was sitting in the ruins of what was once a building. A house. I was clinging to someone- they weren't moving. Why weren't they moving? Why weren't they waking up?

"HEY! Hey, Nico! There's a kid over here- Pan's pipes, there's a kid over here!"

I heard pounding footsteps. Someone in black approached me cautiously. My face felt hot and splotchy. My cheeks were wet. The person still wasn't moving.

"Hi," the person whispered, crouching down. "I'm Nico. Can you tell me what your name is?"

I sniffled, shaking my head. I felt so small. Scared. "Can you wake her up?" I choked out, looking up at Nico.

He looked taken aback, and glanced back at the other guy, who was wearing a beanie and had a wispy beard. I recognized them as the men who had helped when the monsters came.

"Can you wake her up? Please?" I repeated, more tears spilling down my cheeks.

He shook his head slowly. "I'm- I'm sorry. I'm not a healer and- even if I were, I couldn't help her."

Nico and the other man glanced at other, talking with their eyes. The other man looked at me. "I'm Grover. Grover Underwood. You need to come with us. We'll take you somewhere safe."

"I don't want to go somewhere safe!" I burst out thickly. "I want her to wake up!"

"I understand. I know what that feels like, but those things- the monsters- they're going to come back for you if you don't come with us. We're going to take you somewhere safe. Somewhere for special people, like me… and Grover… and you."

"B- but, my family… I don't have a family anymore. Who's going to take care of me? What if the people at the place don't want me? And I'm not supposed to go anywhere with strangers, Brynn and K-Keith told me that-"

"Listen. If we'd wanted to hurt you, we'd have done it already. Like those monsters were trying to," Grover said in a hushed tone, looking over his shoulder worriedly.

"Grover. Be quiet. You're scaring her even more," Nico said firmly. Then he turned back to me. "How about this. You take my sword, hold onto it for me. If anything happens, you can use it. I won't have anything to attack you with and nothing to defend myself with." He took a black sword off his belt and offered it to me. With shaky hands, I accepted it. It seemed like a rite of passage, a peace offering. I stood up, doing my best to look not as scared as I felt.

"We'll take you somewhere safe. We'll be your new family, alright?" he promised as he looked at me with soft eyes and held out his hand.

I took his hand and burst into even harsher sobs as dark enveloped the three of us and the destroyed house vanished.

I curled up on my side as I flopped onto the bank of the river. I could literally smell the smoke from the singed edges of my clothing curling in the dank air of the Underworld.

Will lunged forward, arm extended, but I refused.

"No- no, I can do this. I'm fine, Will, get the 'doctor' look off your face," I insisted, hauling myself to my feet. I was swaying on the spot and my skin was raw and red but other than that I was fine. "Let's keep going."

I finally noticed Hazel gaping at me. "What?" I asked, kind of annoyed.

"You shouldn't have been able to survive that, " she said, surprised. "You- you should be dead right now."

"What?"

"Nico and I did some research on the invulnerability blessing," she explained. "You know, before he died. And we figured out that you didn't need exclusively your mother's blessing to attempt the swim- you could have had either parent's blessing."

"But Aphrodite never told me I could do this," I said, starting to panic. "And I don't have a father, I never did-"

"We know," Will said soothingly, putting a hand on my shoulder. I relaxed a little bit, enough to untense my shoulders. "That's why we're trying to figure this out. But the important thing is that you're alive, okay?"

"Did… did it work?" I asked dazedly. My head was starting to spin. I thought only old people got migraines.

"Do you mind if I test that theory?" Hazel asked carefully. "I'm not gonna stab you hard or anything, just prick your finger with a needle. Will, I'm assuming you have a needle on hand?"

"Never leave camp without one," he said, drawing a syringe out of his fanny pack.

I shifted on my feet, muscles tensing almost immediately. The weird colourful auras behind them felt kind. Worried, but kind. They wouldn't try to hurt me. They wouldn't.

Even as I tried telling myself this, when Hazel took my clammy, still raw arm and attempted to probe it with the needle part of the syringe, not injecting empty air into my system for obvious reasons, I still yanked my arm out of her gentle grip and took a few steps back.

There was a pained expression in her eyes. Will's gaze seemed to pierce through my skull. It was making me dizzy.

"Do you want to do it yourself?" Hazel prompted gently. I nodded, relieved, and took the needle from her with fingers I didn't realize were trembling. I pressed it against my arm. There would have been enough pressure to break, but instead it shuddered and made no imprint upon the skin.

"Guess it worked, then," Will mumbled, more to himself than any of us.

Hazel was standing in front of a now dozing guardian of the Underworld, beckoning us forward.

"We should get going. It's better to finish the quest as quickly as possible. We don't have any time to waste, and I don't think Nico will be an easy one to convince." Hazel pressed her lips together, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I picked my sword up. "We have to convince him?"

"Well, we can't drag him out of here kicking and screaming, now, can we?" Will spoke up, smiling. "Imagine- the three of us, dragging Nico di Angelo- only living son of Hades, Ghost King, hero of Olympus, war veteran of the Second Titan War and Gaea- out of the Underworld by his ear while he shouts profanity and several Italian 'pleasantries' at us."

The image it conjured up made me smile in spite of myself. "How will we get his consent?" I questioned as the three of us continued down the path.

"I'm not really sure," Hazel admitted. "It's been so long since we spoke… I tried summoning him at least twice a day for the first couple of weeks or so after he died, and finally Dad told me to stop. Nico didn't want to be summoned, he told me. He wanted me to let him be."

"If only I had charmspeak…" I sighed. "Piper gets all the good powers from Mom. I'm stuck with the ability to manipulate makeup."

"But you're a really good fighter. You've gotta give Aphrodite points for that," Will shrugged.

"Or my dad, bless his deadbeat ass. Hell, I'm not discriminating. It could have even been a woman. Either way, I'm just saying I feel like I should at least remember them a little bit, but I just… can't. They had me up until I was about a year and a half old, and then some woman gave me to my foster family. Well, I shouldn't call Brynn and Keith that. They were better family than my biological ones ever were," I said bitterly.

"Well, normally I would deny that, but it's actually pretty true," Hazel said. "I mean, my mom wasn't the best parent, but she did try. She was willing to die if I could live. It wasn't her fault she got possessed by Gaea."

"My mom was a good parent," Will added on thoughtfully. "She had a stable household, remarried after a few years, had some kids… I was never any different, even though I was half Greek god. In fact, we embraced it."

"I wonder what my other parent was like," I mused, swinging my sword as I walked along. "The godly part of me is all Aphrodite, and she tried, I guess, but the mortal part of me is all them. Did I have a mom or a dad? Did they want me? Did they choose to give me up? Are they alive? Dead? Who knows, certainly not me."

"Maybe Dad could tell you that," Hazel said. "I don't think he'd refuse. Oh look, we're here."

I looked up and saw a huge castle, one that no one less than a king would dare to lay eyes upon. There was about a hundred yards between us and the structure. I recognized the grounds as Persephone's garden, the most beautiful garden on Earth. Hazel moved confidently through the shimmering flowers and swaying grasses like this was a path she had walked many times. Oh, wait, it probably was.

"My little brothers and sisters thought my being half god was the coolest thing- hey Will- can you do your thing with the sunlight? Can you heal my scrape? Course, the Mist would obstruct most of their vision, but they enjoyed it nonetheless," Will smiled, speaking mostly to himself at this point.

"Will," I said, "when was the last time you visited your family?"

"It's been a while, actually. I don't know how exactly I'm going to explain this sudden absence to my professors at college- you know, since I randomly disappeared a few days before winter break- but hopefully I can work something out."

"I could pull a few strings with the Mist," Hazel offered. "If I don't, we'll probably never hear the end of your complaining about getting kicked out of med school because of this quest."

"Hazel Levesque, you are a fucking godsend."

"I try," she smiled back.

The castle was so close. Everything we'd worked for over the past few weeks was within arm's reach.

A third scream echoed through the air, closer than the other two that we had heard near the Styx had been. It sounded frustrated and defiant and pained all at once. It sent chills down my spine.

"Who's screaming?" I whispered, mouth dry. "This is, like, the third one we've heard- screams in the Underworld are a normal thing, aren't they?"

"Not usually," Hazel answered. "Punishment is farther from here. You'd have to be extremely close to hear the screams. Recently Dad decided he doesn't like the screams of the damned to bother him while he's eating or whatever."

We stopped right in front of the castle's open doors. Like she had done before, she moved forward first. She seemed to be the new leader for now, which both kind of irked me and kind of relieved me. This quest was my responsibility, but at the same time the thought of not having to lead all the time was extremely appealing.

A shiver went down my back. For some reason, I felt as if I'd been here before. The land felt familiar. The thing was, nothing was compelling me to- in fact, it was quite the opposite. Fight or flight were warring in my head, and for one of the first times in my life, flight was winning.

The castle was made of black obsidian and polished marble, with glimmering bronze floors. Every side door was guarded by skeletons, armed with weapons and in tattered war uniforms. This place was definitely fit for the God of Wealth, that was for sure.

"Where is Hades's throne room?" I asked Hazel with a newfound determination. "This is the realm of the Dead. It would be proper to pay our respects before going further. Maybe he won't blast us upon first sight, then. Maybe he'll even help us."

"Why would he blast us?" Hazel asked, confused. "If Dad didn't want us to find the palace in the first place, we'd be wandering around for eternity."

"Oh." I blanked, then shrugged. "Welp, I guess I should have read up on the Underworld before we decided to go questing, then."

"We came to a door guarded by two skeletons in Marine uniforms. They glanced at Hazel, then Will, and then me. They shared a look, stepped aside, and the door swung open.

Personally, I felt kind of offended. I'd built up an image of Hades as this glowering deity who radiated death and gloom and anarchy. Instead?

The Lord of the Dead was laughing. Not an evil cackle, but a beautiful, genuine laugh that sounded so much like Nico's used to. He was hugging a smaller figure- literally picking them up off the ground in an embrace- and they were laughing together, spinning around and stumbling a little bit as they did so.

"Didn't you say it was the winter solstice?" I whispered to Hazel, who nodded while suppressing laughter.

"So… is that Persephone?" Will asked.

She nodded once more before absolutely losing it. And by losing it, I mean downright losing it.

Hades's pale face flushed, eyes widening comically as he and his wife both whipped around at the exact same moment. He nearly dropped Persephone in his surprise, scrambling backwards towards his throne.

"S-sorry, dad- but- gods, get a room-" Hazel managed to choke out.

"This is my room, Hazel! This is literally my throne room- why do you never knock?" He buried his face in his hands, groaning.

"I just wanted to pay my fucking respects," I grumbled under my breath.

Persephone was not smiling. For one brief moment of pure terror, I thought that if Hades wasn't going to blast us to bits then his wife certainly would.

She seemed to be staring right at me. "Daughter of Aphrodite," she inclined her head in my direction. "Son of Apollo, and stepdaughter. You really should come visit more, Hazel, just because you're a war hero now and have a boyfriend- absolutely adorable, by the way, the sweetest thing- I've missed your company.

"I've been a little busy, Seph, sorry about that. Maybe next week, Friday? You just got here, remember?"

"It's a date," she agreed, though she was still looking at me. Did I know her? She had a knowing look in her eyes, almost like pity. I moved my sword from hand to hand, trying to distract myself from just about everything.

Hades sighed, pulling himself into a sitting position on his throne. He, too, stared straight at me.

"I've been expecting you, child of the gods. I have been tracking your progress- admittedly, you worried me a few times, but you seemed to pull through well enough. We were not prepared for your detour at the Waystation, however. Nonetheless, I would have hated to have to send a Fury in after you- Alecto has been remarkably bitter about carrying out my orders after Jackson and Yancy Academy. But I am digressing. The point is that you are in my realm now, and as long as you remain here you will be safe. My realm has kept you safe once… just barely, and I was punished severely for it by Zeus… but it had worked." There was an urgency to his voice that made my muscles tense.

"What do you mean by 'child of the gods,' and why were you watching me?" I asked, tightening my grip on Reaper. "What did any of that mean?!"

"I am glad to see you haven't lost any of your spunk, even after all these years. I mean none of you any harm. But it is the winter solstice, Zeus suspects me enough as it is. This is the first winter in eleven years that I have seen my wife, and I risk everything again to take you under my protection. Demeter has kept the seasons changing for sake of not raising any suspicion, but in Olympus there is a war brewing. And you, my child, are at very the center of it all."

"Could you… elaborate, maybe?" Will asked, voice rising a few octaves. "I doubt any of us know what you mean by that. All due respect, Lord Hades, but we came to complete our quest."

"Your quest will be completed. Everything will be explained. You must come with me, now." Hades stood from his throne and moved to the back of the throne room.

"But-" Will began to protest, only to be cut off.

"Has your hearing failed you, son of Apollo? The most powerful healer since Asclepius, and yet you cannot see that your failure to obey my husband's commands will result in the death of you and your companions. Is that your wish?" Persephone growled. Will shook his head quickly. "Then I suggest you go."

"Thank you, darling," Hades smiled at her before turning his attention back to us. "You don't have much time. Here is a secret passage that Zeus should not be able to detect. It will lead you somewhere where no one will find you unless you wish to be found by them."

I studied Hades and Persephone carefully. Their auras didn't seem to be particularly malicious, and this weird power had been spot-on so far. Could I trust it completely?

Will tugged me along to the back of the room, where, behind the thrones, there was what seemed like a plain wall. Hades knelt and felt the wall. He stopped at a certain point, tapped it three times with his index finger, and an opening grew in the wall.

Only Hazel had not moved. "Dad, I want to stay and help. You never told me that Persephone was prohibited from the Underworld for the past decade! You told me not to summon Nico because he didn't want to be summoned. You told me not to do so many things for the sake of not doing them. I'm done not being told, Dad, and I'm done running."

"If Zeus sees you here," Hades rumbled, "he will not be kind to either of us. He did not hesitate to kill Maria di Angelo, he had tried to murder Nico and Bianca many times. I refuse to lose my only living child to-"

The ground literally started quaking as something thundered down the hallways. Or, rather, someone.

"HADES!" the voice bellowed. "WHERE ARE YOU HIDING? THIS MAY BE YOUR REALM, BUT I RULE OVER YOU. I AM THE KING OF THE GODS, AND YOU CANNOT HIDE THE CHILD FOREVER!"

Hades paled. "In the entrance. Now."

Hazel glanced at the entrance and back at the doors, which were shaking on their hinges as Zeus assaulted them like they were a mortal he thought was hot. Alright, maybe that's going a little too far, but you get my point.

Will and I scurried inside. At the last second, Hazel scrambled inside and we watched as the opening was knit itself back closed.

I heard the doors break down and froze up. The pounding of my heart seemed too loud.

"Where is she?" I heard Zeus growl.

"The child is not here," Hades answered suavely. "I would not dare to take her again after what happened the first time."

"I doubt that."

"I have seen my wife for the first time in eleven years. Do you really think I would do anything so foolish to lose her again?"

"You would," he countered. "You, the eldest of us all, have such a bold sense of morality that you would do this because you seek justice for the dead and peace for the living, and the only times you are truly violent are when you feel as if you have been wronged greatly. You would hide the godling in your realm even if it meant being punished, even if it meant losing something dear for you. "

"People will always believe in death," Hades whispered so quietly I wouldn't have heard him if I wasn't holding my breath. "Even if they do not believe in us, they believe in the afterlife- the eternal. Someday, I will finally have beaten you at something. My land is the land where families are reunited, where sinners are put to justice and heroes rewarded. The ironic thing is that justice is your job, not mine. But I guess we all saw how doomed that job occupation was right from the start."

"The girl was not meant to live! Your son defied Fate for her. They both should have died in the end," Zeus sneered. "No mortal has ever turned Fate around!"

"You will not speak about my stepson that way! He died honourably, a hero's death. And you wanted the girl dead because she was powerful. She could have overthrown you if she had stayed. She is the child of two gods, with the essence of the rest of them woven into her being. London Maxwell was a threat to you, and you attempted to dispose of her because of it. You would have succeeded if Hades and I had not stepped in and taken her in the Underworld." Persephone had stepped up, her voice echoing in the chamber. My head seemed to be spinning.

Child of two gods? Essence of the rest woven into her being?

"She poses a threat to all of us! Do you not realize how dangerous she is?"

"She was known as the the Bringer of Anarchy to unrepentant sinners and the Protector of the Innocent to mortals! She wields a sword made of Stygian iron and the blood of ancient warriors! Of course she is dangerous, and maybe if you weren't such a coward you could accept that and help her channel that power in a healthy way!" Hades bellowed, seeming to lose his cool.

Shaking and without a word, I got to my feet and started moving slowly down the tunnel-like passage. I heard the footsteps that I recognized as my friends' behind me. The silence between us all was stunned. None of us wanted to address what we had just heard.

Maybe it was better that way.