I feel like i apologize to u guys a lot (is that a good thing or a bad thing?) but im sorry about all of the confusion about this chapter. i tried to post it last Sunday, but i guess there's no post on Sundays! (HP reference hehe :P) all u guys got was weird computer coding, so i'm so, so sorry x100000 i meant to repost it right away, but i got distracted then i just didn't get around to it

i want to thank PinkFan-Gurl for being amazhang. u made this chapter into perfection :)

also, thnx for the review spam MagicWriterK :P

i feel like i'm forgetting to say something...

i need to stop the long A/N's

pjo is not and will never be mine

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

)))Lucas Charles Jackson(((

THE UNDERWORLD

I was never a fan of heights, or Leo for that matter. And now I'm stuck with both of them on a giant bronze dragon.

After Leo erupted into flames on the train, an alarm went off out of nowhere, and people started freaking out. The doors opened as we reached a station, and everyone in the car poured out.

Leo's fire immediately distinguished down to where he was just smoking. Nico (who towered over him by the way) came up behind and smacked him on the back of the head really hard.

"Schist!" Leo cried, rubbing the back of his head. "What the Hades is wrong with you?"

Nico glared at him. "What the Hades is wrong with you, Valdez? Get ahold of yourself." He stomped to the far end of the car, dark waves of anger rolling off of him.

I honestly didn't get why he was so mad. I get that Leo was not very careful, but nobody got hurt, so I didn't understand what the problem was.

Ella still had her headphones on, but was watching the scene with wide eyes. She exchanged a look with Hunter before taking her headphones out and walking over to Nico. She spoke to him in hushed whispers for a while. Then I remembered that Nico was actually her uncle, like by blood (or ichor or something).

My mind started swirling instantaneously. If she's so comfortable around Nico, does that mean that he lives in California, too? As nice as Nico was, I just couldn't picture him lying on the beach to tan. It was funny just thinking about it.

We ended up getting off at the next stop. No one else but our small group exited the car, which kind of surprised me. I'd have assumed at least a few people would get off at the same stop. When we finally exited the building, I realized why we had been the only ones to get off the train.

We were literally, in the middle of nowhere. Leo, who'd still been staying as far away from Nico as possible, had looked around excitedly. For a moment, there was nothing. Then a huge, bronze, creaking dragon dropped from the clouds.

Festus.

I backed up uncertainly at the sight of it, but Leo was completely comfortable, and climbed on. Ella followed him fearlessly, slipping into a crook on Festus's back directly behind Leo. I felt a spark of respect for her boldness. Hunter hesitated uneasily for a second before scrambling on after Ella.

I glanced at Nico, who looked at it and then the sky, as if he wasn't sure if he was allowed. I realized that I probably wasn't either, before remembering that Zeus himself gave me this quest, so he probably wouldn't shoot me, or the son of Hades, out of the sky.

I looked up at Hunter, who had quickly gotten over his fear of the enormous dragon. His face was bright red from laughing at something Ella said. The moment was sweet, and I felt a pang of sorrow shoot through me as an image of Aubrey flashed across my vision.

Gritting my teeth and pushing down guilt, I pulled myself onto Festus. I flashed Nico a blank, lifeless look and it was barely a minute before he was sitting behind me. I hadn't expected him to understand what I was going through, but when it hit me, it had struck like a freight train; Nico had lost a sister too.

So now here I am, flying through the clouds on a giant dragon.

The wind is cold and sharp, and the high altitude drenches us in water. I'm shivering, even though I'm the only one who's not soaking wet, being a descendent of Poseidon and all. Every once in a while I'll hear Leo singing the SpongeBob Squarepants theme song. It takes a lot to put a damper on his good mood.

Festus radiates enough heat so that my overall body temperature is normal, but the tips of my fingers and toes feel like they're going to freeze solid and fall off.

I know Leo made modifications to Festus, so the flight to California shouldn't take that long. But we've been flying for over an hour already and I'm feeling restless. When we finally land, all of us but Leo pretty much fall off the dragon. Apparently we need to earn our land legs again.

My legs are stiff and void of feeling. Leo, on the other hand, pats Festus affectionately on flank before sliding to the ground. "Great job, bud. I'll see you later," he says with a broad grin.

Once Festus is gone, Nico starts walking towards a door that looks like it leads to a closet. Looking around, I realize that we're standing on a sort of platform. Curiously, I creep to the side and cautiously look directly over the brink. With a gasp, I stumble back from the edge. We're up higher than I thought.

I cry out as I lose my balance and tip over the edge and I grasp the air for something to hold onto, only to find nothing. I tumble forward over the side, and just before I fall beyond no return, I feel a hand grab onto the back of my shirt.

I twist just enough so that my hands grasp onto the other person's hands. I hold on with all my might, groaning as I swing to the side and my shoulder crashes into the concrete wall of the building.

I'm pulled up, and suddenly I'm staring into Ella's intense gold gaze.

"Um, thanks," I say, still recovering from shock, my heart still beating rapidly.

For a moment she is silent, searching my eyes, before she looks away, her cheeks flushing. "Yeah, no problem."

I feel my own cheeks heat up and I turn away.

"Watch out, Lucas!" calls Leo from over by the door. "There's an edge, there!"

"Shut up!" I mutter. I try to shift away from the edge of the building, but something feels off. I hiss through my teeth as a sharp pain bites through my shoulder, momentarily bringing tears to my eyes.

"Are you alright?" Ella asks.

"Yeah," I say, my voice strained. I reach up and touch my shoulder, biting my lip to keep from screaming as I find a long scrape. I try to rotate my shoulder slightly and pain again shoots down my back.

"Here." Ella digs around in her backpack for a minute, then hands me a zip-lock bag of ambrosia.

"Thanks," I say through a tight-lipped smile. She grins in reply, though I can see the concern in her eyes.

I pop a square into my mouth, immediately tasting burned brownies. Of course, now you're probably wondering why burned brownies would be tied to a good memory, but believe it or not, it's tied to one of my best.

Mom and Dad had left Aubrey and me at home for the weekend. We had attempted to make brownies, but had forgotten them in the oven. By the time they came out, they were almost inedible.

We just ended up drowning them in ice cream and chocolate sauce, then bedded down to watch movies for the rest of the night.

I smile, remembering, as I eat the ambrosia. I don't notice until the memory fades, but when I rotate my shoulder, it only aches.

"You guys okay?" Hunter walks over, followed by Nico, both who'd been focused on the door that undoubtedly led down into the building below.

"Lucas hurt his shoulder," Ella explains, gesturing to me.

"Aw," Leo teases, also coming over. "Did wittle Lukey-pookey hurt his wittle shoulder?"

"Shut it," I say, pulling up my sleeve to reveal the scrape, which hadn't been healed by the ambrosia, apparently. It wasn't bleeding, but blood surrounded the scrape, and it ran from halfway up my forearm up onto the tops of my shoulders.

"Oh," Leo says, the smirk vanishing from his face.

Nico tosses me something, and when I catch it, I see it's a bandage.

"Thanks," I mutter, attempting to put it on with one hand.

After watching me struggle for a few seconds, Ella takes the bandage. "Let me help you." She begins to carefully wrap my arm. Where her fingertips touch me, my skin almost seems to tingle.

"Thank you," I tell her when she ties it off. My face feels so heated up, I'm sure it's a deep crimson.

"It's nothing." At least her face is as red as mine.

I look up, hoping to keep myself from squeaking in embarrassment. Nico is pretending to inspect the door carefully, Leo winks at me, and Hunter has a grossed-out expression on his face, sticking out his tongue.

I shoot them all a look (well, not Nico) and get up, forgetting in my embarrassment to help up Ella. She gets up herself, of course, but it would've been nice to offer her a hand.

"Anyway," Nico says, breaking the momentary tension. "Follow me." He opens the door and leads us down.

I gesture for Ella to go first, trying to be polite. She blushes and hurries down after her brother. I'm last.

Nico walks quickly through the nearly deserted building and out onto the much-more-crowded street. I don't really pay attention to where we're going, because suddenly I'm sweating and wishing I was cold again. Summer in California equals getting fried alive.

We come to a sudden halt, and I spot a sign reading: Valencia Boulevard.

Directly in front of us, I see gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS. Glass doors that lead into the room beyond say: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.

"That's pleasant," Leo comments.

Nico pushes open the door and walks in with full confidence.

We all follow with far less certainty.

The lobby is brightly lit and full of people. Behind the security desk sits a tough-looking guard with sunglasses and an earpiece.

Muzak plays softly through hidden speakers. The carpet and walls are steel gray. Pencil cactuses grow in the corners like skeleton hands. The furniture is black leather and all the seats are taken. In fact, there are people everywhere. Nobody talks or moves, or really does much of anything.

I shiver. If I look directly at any of them, they become transparent. They're ghosts.

When Nico walks through, they all get up and bow for him, though he doesn't seem to notice them. He walks up to the security guard and the man sits up straight in his seat.

"Uh, Mr. Nico," he says, gulping.

"We need to go to the Underworld, Charon," Nico gets straight to business.

"Uh," Charon looks at us. Ella clamps a shaking hand on Hunter's shoulder, both looking uneasily at the ghosts. Leo tries to poke a ghost, only for it to dissipate and reappear in a different part of the room. I try to keep a straight face as I stand next to Nico, though whether I'd laugh or scream, I'm not entirely sure. Charon seems to shrink. "Sir, I–"

"You heard me," Nico orders. His eyes narrow, and everything about him becomes dangerous. He's radiating power. It sends shivers down my spine, and I'm here with him.

Charon immediately scrambles to his feet and leads the way.

We follow Charon through the multitude, which parts for Nico. He leads us to a half-full elevator, and we crowd on. The doors shut and Charon puts a key card into a slot and we begin to descend.

As we go down, I realize that I'm actually going to the Land of the Dead. All at once, I realize that these people aren't alive. And then Dad's warning, his fear, comes back to me.

What happens if I run into Aubrey in the Underworld? What will I do then?

We aren't going down anymore, but forward. The air's turning misty, and the spirits of the dead surrounding me suddenly are wearing gray hooded robes. The elevator floor begins to sway. I blink hard and the elevator suddenly isn't an elevator. It's a wooden barge, heading across a dark, oily river swirling with bones, dead fish, and other creepy things.

Nico moves toward me and points to the river. "Do you know what that is?"

"I'm guessing…" I begin, staring at it. "The River Styx?"

"Yup," he says, looking at it as if lost in memories. "Your dad once went in there." Then he points to the shore near the River. "I was right there when he did it."

My eyes widen. I knew that my dad had the Achilles's Curse for a while, but I didn't know Nico was there. "Really?"

"Yeah," Nico says with admiration. "Then he defeated a whole army of the Dead by himself."

I try to imagine my dad as a teen fighting on the riverbank, but I can't picture it.

Mist swirls off the filthy water as I continue to stare, so I tear my eyes away. Above us, I spot a ceiling covered in stalactites, almost lost in the gloom. The shore ahead of us glimmers with greenish light, the color of poison.

Yet another realization hits me. I don't belong here. What am I doing here? Nico is the son of Hades, and Hunter and Ella are grandchildren of Pluto. But me? I'll be lucky if Hades doesn't strike me down. And that's if I make past Cerberus safely.

Nico heads towards the front of the boat, followed by Hunter and Ella.

Leo edges back towards me. "Dude this place is creepy." For once, he's not joking. His voice is serious, trembling slightly.

"You ever been here before?" I ask him.

"Only in my nightmares," he responds, shivering slightly.

The shoreline comes into view, all craggy rocks and black volcanic sand. This stretches inland about a hundred yards to the base of a high stone wall, which extends in both directions as far as the eye can see.

A howl echoes from nearby. I know this to be the three-headed beast, Cerberus. The dead get off the boat silently as the barge hits the sand. Nico tosses a small bag of what I assume to be drachmas to Charon and follows the dead off the boat.

Leo and I glance at each other uneasily. Leo climbs out of the boat, keeping after Nico. Hunter jumps out of the boat directly behind Leo, making sure to stick close. I stumble after them for a few steps before I realize that Ella is missing.

I turn around to see the poor girl standing on the edge of the water, staring at her feet. Tears glisten in her eyes. Naturally, I rest a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Ella?" I say gently.

She doesn't look up at me. Instead, she slips her hand into mine and gives it a tight squeeze without saying a word. I squeeze back, but I stay quiet too. I give her hand a tug, and we start after Nico and the others.

We walk after the dead on a well-worn path.

After a few minutes, we reach a place with three separate archways underneath a giant black archway, which reads: YOU ARE NOW ENTERING EREBUS.

Each archway has a pass-through metal detector with a camera on top, like in airports. Cerberus's howling is really loud now, but I glance at Nico, who seems nonchalant as always, and am comforted slightly.

Two of the archways were marked: ATTENDANT ON DUTY and the last marked: EZ DEATH.

The last line is moving steadily, but the other two are much slower. Nico walks ahead, turning right. My eyes widen as a doorway shimmers to existence in the wall, off to the side. Ella must've noticed too because her grip tightens again.

Nico opens the door, gestures for us to follow him, then marches right on through. We walk down a hallway (pitch-black by the way) and come out an open doorway right before a black-tented pavilion.

JUDGEMENTS FOR ELYSIUM AND ETERNAL DAMNATION.

Eternal damnation? Sounds fun.

A line leads into it, and two smaller lines lead out the back.

To the left, security ghouls march spirits towards a glowing and smoking place in the distance, which I'm assuming is the Fields of Punishment. The line on the right leads down towards a small valley surrounded by walls.

Beyond the walls are neighborhoods with beautiful houses from every period of time. Silver and gold flowers bloom on the lawns and the grass ripples in rainbow colors. Faintly I can hear laughter and smell barbecue. In the middle of the valley is a glittering blue lake, with three small islands that look like a vacation resort in the Bahamas.

The Isles of the Blest.

As I look around at the Fields of Punishment and Asphodel, I'm suddenly glad that we're going to Elysium.

Nico walks down towards the walls of Elysium, and we all are quick to follow him. Hunter trips once, but Leo catches him by the collar. It feels like an eternity that we walk towards the gates, but by the time we get there, it's probably been ten minutes maximum.

Nico barely looks at the guards, but they don't protest as he walks by, the dead jumping out of the way for him. The rest of us are about to follow when security ghouls cut us off. The rotten flesh on their faces peels off to reveal decaying bones.

"Nico!" I call out reflexively, panic seeping into my voice.

He turns and immediately the ghouls let go of us.

Leo gives a haughty huff as we pass the guards. "That's right, bone-zo. We're with the Ghost King."

"Leo," Hunter hisses. Leo raises an eyebrow. "Shut up."

I stumble after Nico, Hunter, and Leo with Ella still in tow. We walk down a short hallway, and suddenly, we are hit by sunlight. We stand on the soft grass of Elysium that we saw from the outside.

"Wow," Leo murmurs in awe. I agree.

The first thing ahead of us is a large, open pavilion. A long table filled with food stretches the length of it on the right side, and the whole platform is covered with tables. People come and go as they please, socializing and eating. All look content and have a slight glow to them, similar to the Hunters of Artemis.

"What's that place?" I walk up behind Nico. His eyes search the crowd with purpose, almost making me wish I hadn't asked anything if it were to distract him.

"I haven't been here in a while," Nico says. "But, uh, I think it's called the Waiting Pavilion."

"What's that for?" Ella asks, stepping to stand by her brother. Her hand slips out of mine, making my stomach drop in disappointment.

Nico shrugs. "It's intended for people who die before their loved one does. This is where they wait for them."

"What do you mean 'intended'?" I say.

"Some people come here all the time. For good food, to see friends, et cetera."

"Do we know where Luke is?" I've only seen pictures of Luke and I have no idea if he still looks the same.

Nico ignores me and walks down towards the pavilion. We quickly follow.

The crowd doesn't part for him as dutifully as it did earlier, but people do recognize we're living and let us through.

"Nico?" a voice calls out over the pleasant noise of chatter.

We all turn to see a tall beautiful girl, with long brown hair and kaleidoscope eyes that are currently blue. She reminds me of Aunt Piper to a certain extent.

Nico's widen. "Silena?"

The name sounds familiar, but I'm not sure why.

"Whoa," she says, looking him up and down. "You're taller."

"How'd you recognize me?" he asks. "Do I really look the same as you remember?"

She laughs. "No, you look different. You're just the only son of Hades I know." Silena's eyes land on us. "And who are you guys?"

"I'm Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus." Leo holds out his hand, smirking.

"Oh!" She laughs, taking his hand. "You're one of Charlie's brothers!"

Leo looks confused. "Charlie?"

"Most people know him as 'Beckendorf'." Silena holds up finger quotes, giggling.

"Oh," Leo says. He (and I, for that matter) never knew Beckendorf, but at least now he understands who she's talking about.

"These are my niece and nephew, Ella and Hunter," Nico says, gesturing to Ella and Hunter. Hunter offers a weak wave, his eyes slightly glazed over. Ella just smiles. I wait awkwardly for Nico to introduce me.

"Niece and nephew?" she asks, eyeing Nico with a smirk, clearly questioning him.

"My half-sister's children," he explains.

"Ah," Silena nods, before looking at me. She fixes on my eyes, then looks me up and down. Then her eyes go wide with excitement and she lets out a squeal.

"Don't tell me!" she shrieks happily, wringing her hands together. "Percabeth children!" she cries, jumping in circles. "Oh my gods, oh my gods! I can't wait to tell Charlie!" She turns and calls over her shoulder as she literally skips away. "Follow me!"

Something tells me that it is going to take us a while to find Luke.

~~~Aubrey Sally Jackson~~~

I DON'T LIKE SPIDERS.

I stare at Annabeth, my mouth falling open. My eyes go wide. Please tell me she didn't just say that.

"Um, what?" I ask, convinced I heard her wrong.

She sighs, "I knew it was stupid. Can you–"

"No, no, no," I say. "I just…"

Her eyes go as wide as mine. "Wait, I was right?"

I drop my head into my heads. "Unfortunately."

There's silence for a while as I wait for a reaction, staring into my hands. I look up and see her looking at me, studying me. "Um, are you okay?" I ask cautiously.

"In a way, I'm comforted," she says, her voice shaking. "The fact you're here is proof that I'll live through this. Can I just ask one question?"

"Uh, sure," I say, slowly, watching her for the explosion.

"I'm married to Percy, right? Not some random mortal?" She sounds like she's joking, but her stormy grey eyes reveal that she's serious.

I smirk, finding it way too funny. "Yeah. Percy's my dad."

Annabeth gives a weak smile. "That's a relief, though I kind of figured." She's most likely referring to my eating habits.

"So, you're not…" I say slowly, "going to… freak out?"

"Trust me," she says, her voice quivering even more. "I'm freaking out."

"Sorry," I apologize after a moment. "I shouldn't even be here." I pause before adding, "At least you're taking it alright. Like, you haven't fainted or anything."

"It's just… kind of a lot to take in," Annabeth says. She inhales deeply, like she's calculating a tough plan. I don't rush her. "And now I feel like I should treat you a certain way…" she trails off indecisively.

"No, no," I say quickly. "Of course you don't. Just forget about this all."

"It's kind of a hard thing to forget," she says sardonically. After a second, her expression turns mortified. "Oh gods. What about telling Percy?" Her head falls into her hands, similar to the way I did minutes ago.

"Maybe we won't have to?" I suggest, my voice uncertain.

"He'll figure it out eventually," she says.

"No he won't," I say. "He's a Seaweed Brain."

I immediately figure out that's the wrong thing to say.

She whips her head to look at me, gray eyes calculating. I hold my breath for a moment before she sighs. "This is so weird."

"Tell me about it," I groan, rubbing my temples. We sit in silence for a minute. "We should get going," I suggest, standing.

"Can't," she gestures to her ankle, and I bite my lip, looking around for something to wrap her foot in.

"Can you get my knife?" She points to where the small blade had skittered across the floor

I scramble to retrieve it for her, and stand still while she thinks.

Lucas has always been the best thinker of us two. While my mind is blank, his would be swirling, formulating some way for us to get out, to heal Annabeth's foot or put it in a splint.

Luckily, Annabeth is doing the same thing. If I was here with Percy, we'd be staring at each other blankly, both willing each other to figure something out.

I imagine the conversation would go something like this:

"So, um got any ideas?" He'd ask.

"No, you?" I would reply.

"No."

Silence.

"What about now?" He'd ask again.

"Nope."

Another silence.

"What about now?"

"No!"

But Annabeth is here instead of Percy, so I don't have to do much thinking.

"Search through those boxes," she orders me, before dragging herself over to a small trench that I hadn't noticed before.

I walk over to the boxes, but Annabeth's knife (which is still in her hand) isn't bright enough to let me see what they say. Leather straps lock the boxes in place, tight enough that I can't curl my fingers around the cord. I call to Annabeth, "Can I see your knife?"

After a moment, I hear her say suspiciously, "Why?"

"I need to cut these boxes open," I reply.

A moment later, she sighs. "Sure, I guess."

I walk over to her, where she is washing her cuts and scrapes with the water from the trench.

"I'll be right back," I promise, sprinting over to the boxes.

I spot the words: HERMES EXPRESS.

I slice through the leather straps, and open them to find… bubble wrap.

I used to love bubble wrap. When it came in packages, I'd set it on the ground and jump on it. Or sit down and try to poke the bubbles so they'd make the "pop" sound. I smile sadly. Only another reminder of the life I may never get back to.

"Aubrey?" Annabeth calls, snapping me out of my stupor. "What're you doing? What's in there?"

"Bubble wrap!" I call, my voice getting choked up despite myself. I cough to clear my throat.

I hear her curse in Ancient Greek.

Quickly, I pull out the sheets of bubble wrap and bring them back over to her.

Spotting them, I can see her eyes widen. "Oh! I get it!" Annabeth exclaims, eyes lighting up.

Well I don't.

"Can you go to the stairs wreckage and get stuff for a splint?" she asks me. I can see her reluctance to act so helpless. I can tell that she hates relying on me this much, trusting me with her life, even if I am supposed to be her daughter.

I walk over to the place she pointed to and find two planks that are good enough for a splint (I think) and a narrow board of about four feet that'd be good for a crutch. I cross back over to her and crouch down by her side, setting the knife down as well.

"Um, I don't exactly… know how to do this," I say bashfully.

She sighs. "Of course not."

"Well you never taught me," I snap. "So it's not my fault."

Annabeth looks at me, then grimaces. "Ugh. That's going to take some getting used to."

"Yeah," I agree. "But hopefully I'll be getting home soon."

Annabeth gives me a quick summary on how to make the splint, and so I set to work. Every once in a while, Annabeth gasps in pain. I can sympathize, in a way. My last twenty-four hours haven't been the best of my life, either.

"Wait a sec," Annabeth says, while I continue to wrap her foot. "Is Zach Jason and Piper's kid?"

"Yup." I don't even look up as I work.

"This is, by far, the oddest experience I've had a demigod so far," she mutters indignantly. "Which is saying something."

"This is my first and the oddest," I shrug.

"Wait… Percy and I didn't tell you?" She sounds surprised, but once again, I don't bother looking at her.

"No," I grit my teeth, but my frustration and anger seeps into my voice. "No you didn't. I was stupidly in the dark." I look around at the dark room. "No pun intended."

She gives a terse chuckle. "I'm sorry," she says after a moment, then winces as I finish off the splint.

"Not your fault," I say instinctively, before I realize it sort of is. "Well, sort of, but… never mind."

She smiles slightly.

I hold out my hand to the daughter of Athena. She takes it and I struggle to pull her up.

My problem is that I'm extremely weak from Chrysaor, so when she leans heavily on me, I sway violently and black dots dance before my eyes.

"Sorry," she gasps, but I hear the pain in her voice. Determined to help her, I keep my feet planted until we both get better balance. Then I reach down and pick up the wood I intended for her to use a crutch. "Here."

"Thanks," she stutters.

As soon as she stands up straight again, something blazes to life in front of a dark archway. It's a fiery red owl, seeming to glare at both of us as if saying: About time. Oh, you want monsters? Right this way!

Annabeth glances at me, apparently impressed that it appeared for me. Then she determinedly begins to hobble towards the archway.

I walk behind her. I can tell she's ticked off by the fact that I'm there to make sure she doesn't fall and hurt herself even more.

She leads the way down the corridor, walking slowly, leaning against the wall for support, and tapping the floor with her crutch for traps.

I notice a sickly sweet smell that grows stronger as we get farther into the tunnel. The sound of running water fades and gives way to a dry chorus of whispers like a million tiny voices. It sends shivers down my back.

The voices seem to be coming from inside the walls and are getting louder. I'm extremely thankful for the presence of Annabeth. Without her, I probably would've gone insane by now.

The voices are massing together, getting closer.

"Annabeth," my voice cracks with fear.

"I'm trying!" she sounds exasperated.

I hear her yelp and I immediately jerk towards her.

"Annabeth!"

"Shh!" she snaps. "I'm fine."

"Okay," I say. And before I can stop it, I say in Ancient Greek (which I do when I say stuff I don't want people to hear), "I just can't lose you."

Annabeth pauses. "I'm sorry," she apologizes in Greek. She switches back to English. "I keep forgetting that…you know…"

I realize that she understood me (which I'm not used to). "It's okay. Let's just keep going."

"Yeah," Annabeth is about to start moving again when she freezes. "Aubrey?" her voice is shaking. "Do you know what's in front of us?"

"Um," I pause to think. What are we doing? What was Annabeth doing down here alone, again? "No, I guess not."

"Are you… do you have… arachnophobia?" she almost whispers.

It takes a moment before a cold chill of terror shudders down my spine. "Yes," I squeak.

Annabeth turns to look at me, her eyes flash a warning in the dim light. "Maybe you should… stay here?"

I look around, listening to the voices and shake my head violently. "No, please no."

"Come on, let's go, then," her voice is suddenly rushed, and she begins to hobble faster.

The noises are getting louder, the voices becoming like millions of dried leaves swirling in the wind. When we hit the cobwebs, I let out I strangled gasp that borders on a shriek. As we continue, I resist the urge to take off running in any direction just to get away from this place.

Ahead, I can barely see Annabeth, but I can hear her stumbling more recklessly than before, also desperate to get out of here. An eternity later, the corridor ends in a doorway filled waist-high in old lumber. It looks as if someone tried to barricade the opening.

Annabeth was already slashing through it the best she could. I try to walk forward and help her, but she spits out in Greek:

"This is my quest, not yours."

Pushing away hurt, biting back a remark, I step back silently.

After about a minute I ask, "Annabeth?"

"Fine!" she snaps, taking a step back.

I come forward and give the weakened barricade a few well-aimed kicks. Part of it crumbles away, and I step back yet again, to let Annabeth through.

We enter a chamber around the size of a basketball court. The floor is covered in Roman mosaics, and the remains of tapestries hang on the walls. Two unlit torches sit in wall scones on either side of the doorway, covered in cobwebs.

At the far end of the room, the fiery owl blazes over another doorway.

Between us and the doorway, there's unfortunately a chasm fifty feet across. Leading across the pit are two parallel wooden beams, too far apart for both feet, and each too narrow to walk on. The hallway we came from fills with hissing noises. Cobwebs tremble as the first of the spiders appear. They're no larger than gumdrops, plump and black, skittering over the walls and floors.

A scream gets stuck in my throat, similar to the way it did when I was with Chrysaor.

With that, I stumble backwards, desperate to get away from the spiders. I find myself falling over the edge and scream as I fall down into the chasm. I yell for Annabeth to keep going. To do whatever the hell she needed to do in the place. To forget about me.

-_-_Zachary Jason Grace_-_-

DROWNING AND OTHER PLEASANT THINGS.

I've never really liked running. So naturally, what am I doing?

Running! Oh, joy!

Percy leads us to an abandoned stretch of hillside, overlooking the Forum. There's a padlock on the gate, but Jason easily slices through the lock with his sword. Before us, stone steps spiral down into the gloom.

"I'll go first," Jason offers, taking a half step forward.

"No!" Piper yelps. She sounds desperate and scared, which surprises me.

We all turn to look at her.

"Pipes, what is it?" Jason asks. "That image in the blade… you've seen it before, haven't you?"

She nods, and I see tears shine in her eyes. "I didn't know how to tell you. I saw the room down there filling with water. I saw the four of us drowning."

"Wait a sec," I interrupt. "You saw me, too?"

She nods again. Jason and Percy are frowning.

"I can't drown," Percy says, though he sounds as if he's asking a question.

Jason starts to reassure Piper, and I sort of faze out for a sec. Then Percy disappears down the staircase and I gasp.

"No, wait!" I say.

"What's the matter?" Piper asks.

"What's down there, anyway? He can't go down there!" I protest. "What if he dies?"

That dude, whether I wanted him to be or not, was the key to Aubrey's existence. If he died now, Aubrey probably would too. Or worse, vanish forever.

"Zach, he'll be okay," Jason comforts, and I'm slightly surprised, but I can see he's worried, too. "He knows what he's doing."

I wish I could believe him. I let out an audible breath when Percy reappears.

"Good news: no water." That is something I'd never thought a son of Poseidon would say. "Bad news, I don't see any exits down here. And, uh, weird news: well, you should see this…"

Percy leads the way cautiously down, followed by Piper, then me, then Jason bringing up the rear. The staircase is a cramped corkscrew of masonry, no more than six feet in diameter. Percy and Jason have their swords drawn, and I can get to mine easily if I need too. After a few minutes of the same scenery, we reach the bottom.

"Watch this last step," Percy says, turning. He jumps to the floor, five feet lower than the stairwell.

Piper hesitates for a second, before jumping down. Jason and I follow.

The room is white with flecks of color, the domed ceiling fifty feet above. Around the backside of the room, nine alcoves are carved into the wall. Each niche is about five feet off the floor and big enough for a human-sized statue, but each is empty.

I don't pay any attention to what the demigods are doing, completely ignoring them and looking around the room at the niches.

Something doesn't feel right. I just want to get out of here.

Jason and Piper are examining the niches, but I'm not paying attention. Something my dad once told me while teaching me Greek Mythology springs into my head:

"Nymphs' attitudes reflect the state of their water source. If you find yourself in a crappy, old fountain, get the heck out of there."

I look around. Schist! This is a crappy old fountain.

But before I can say a word, the sea green and blue glow of the room that I hadn't noticed before shifts to purple and sickly lime. A chorus of hissing echoes in the room, like ghostly snakes.

We're dead.

The nine niches glow above us. My heart nearly stops when I realize that they're no longer empty. Standing in each is a withered old women, all looking quite like mummies, except they move. Lucky us.

They have tattered clothes and freaky purple eyes, and hair that resembles the dryness of straw.

"What would happen to the nymphs?" the ugliest of them all says. She stands in the middle niche.

"What an interesting question, my dear," she continues, fixing her gaze on Piper. "Perhaps the nymphs would still be here, suffering, waiting for revenge."

I notice the stairs and doorway have disappeared.

Why do we always get the best luck? I mean, seriously, I really wanted to spend my day in Rome having dance parties with prune-ladies who are seeking revenge.

And yes, that was sarcasm.

Percy and Jason stand on either side of Piper, and nobody glances my way. Not even the nymphs.

I realize: because I'm not supposed to be here. This isn't my life. This is theirs. My parents.

I back up, away from them, willing myself to disappear, reappear next to Aubrey, grab her, and then go home. I back against the wall now, the words exchanged between the demigods and nymphs not even reaching my ears.

Finally, I come back in to listen as the nymph says, "I will make you a deal, godlings." Her cackles sound like stones grinding on glass. "I will spare your lives and give you safe passage, if you give me that one."

I feel horror settle in my bones as her gnarled finger is lifted up and pointed at me.

"What?" I squeak.

"Zachary," she coos, sending a horrible chill down my spine. "You are the most powerful out of all of us here, for… obvious reasons…"

She knows that I'm Jason and Piper's son. She knows I have charmspeak and can control the skies. She wants both.

I look at my friends, and I can actually see them debating in their heads. I try my hardest not to feel hurt, but it's not working that well.

To my surprise, the person I expect to want to get me killed most turns back to the nymphs. "I'm sorry," Jason says. "We can't do that."

The nymph smiles. "Very well. Then from all four of you, we shall drink!"

The nine niches glow, and the nymphs disappear. Water begins to pour from their alcoves– sickly dark water, like oil.

I stare in horror at the water, which isn't really water, I think. Otherwise the nymphs would've just drunk it and wouldn't be drowning us with it. Piper, Jason, and Percy search desperately for an exit, but I'm still.

I feel the hot tears pour down my cheeks. What will happen when I die? Will I go to the Underworld? Will I go home?

The three climb into niches to get extra height, but I don't even try to move when the water comes up to my chest, pushing and pulling my feet.

"Zach!" Piper screams. "Get over here."

I look at her, and she sees the tears in my eyes, on my cheeks, dripping down to my chin. She doesn't know she's my mother, but she is, and that only makes it worse. I just want to drown. Maybe Aubrey's already dead. Maybe I'll see her there.

I shake my head at Piper and I say, loud enough for her to hear, "I'm not supposed to be here. I don't belong here at all."

The water closes over my head. My eyes are closed and so is my mouth. I wait for death.

As my chest begins to burn, I wonder: if Piper and Jason are supposed to die here, then why am I even here in the first place? Also: why the hell is life so complicated?

With a new and sudden purpose, I try to swim upwards to the surface, but I can't figure out which way is up and which way is down. I'm swimming urgently now, resisting the urge to suck in a breath, because I wouldn't get air, I'd get water, and then I'd drown.

Without warning, my head cracks into stone, earning a scream from me. With this, the oil-water is in my mouth and there's no getting it out.

',',Piper McLean,','

DROWNING

I spot Zach in the water. No! What the Hades is he doing?

"Zach! Get over here!" I scream in panic.

He turns and looks at me and, even with the distance, I see he's crying. He shakes his head at me, and unexplained dread settles in my chest.

What he says next makes my blood run cold and my heart leap into my throat. "I'm not supposed to be here. I don't belong here at all."

I scream as the water covers his head and he doesn't attempt to stop it. I want to dive in after him. Protect him. He's just a little kid…

Percy, who had jumped into the water to look for a drain, reappears, gasping and flailing. I offer him a hand, but he nearly pulls me in before I get him out. "Can't breathe," he chokes. "The water… not normal. Hardly made it back."

"Well," I gasp, between sobs, "Zach didn't make it back at all."

Percy's eyes go wide. "No!" he yells. "Aubrey'll kill me if he dies."

I almost point out that we'll probably be dead also, and there's a good chance Aubrey's already dead, but it doesn't matter, because Percy dives back into the water.

Percy reappears a moment later, gasping again, and climbing weakly back up. "I can't see…" he yells. "Can't control it…"

I pray to whatever god cares that Zach is alive.

I'm a meanie becuz this chapter was originally supposed to be longer, but i split it up into two chapters...

I NEED A SHIP NAME FOR LUCAS/ELLA. DOES ANYBODY SHIP IT?

ily all. thnx for reading my stories!

i will be updating my other story today or tomorrow for anyone who reads that one :)