Next Deadline: October 19
He couldn't say how long it took to reach Hades' palace, walking along the winding trail and up the summit into darkness. It hadn't been easy to get there, their too-alive souls sticking out amongst the dead, and Percy supposed he should have been grateful they had made it this far.
The three came to a stop at the mansion's door. It was quite a large entrance to an even bigger structure, architecture haggard and precise. A thicker cloud of fog hung over the top than the rest of the Underworld, and Percy found that he couldn't even imagine the brightness of the sun in a place as horrid as this.
He stepped forward, ready to enter, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Percy glanced behind him, seeing Luke's bright blue eyes.
"Perce," the son of Hermes said, and it was a mere whisper that drifted to his ears.
"Yeah?" He asked. Grover fidgeted beside him, anxiety written all over his features.
Luke came in closer, shattering his personal space. Percy blushed as the hand came up to his cheek, not daring to move away. "I don't know if we're going to make it," the older admitted. "So I might as well do this now." He didn't have time to think as Luke pulled him in, their lips meeting.
It was a rough kiss, sloppy and incredibly soft, sending tingles of electricity down his spine. Percy gasped against Luke's mouth, eyelashes brushing the blonde's cheek as his eyes slipped close. It lasted longer than it felt but before Percy knew it the pressure on his mouth was gone, replaced by the smell of smoke.
He blinked owlishly at Luke, who didn't meet his gaze. Grover had long since looked away, face as red as a tomato, but Percy didn't quite care as much as he should. His head was whizzing, thoughts going by in a blur, unable to make an intelligible sentence.
It was him who finally turned away, heading for the entrance once more. Heaving a pack on his back that felt heavier than before and hiding a smile to himself that made his irises shine with glee, Percy pushed open the doors.
The palace of Hades wasn't a palace of the tradition sort.
The ceiling reached higher than his eyes could see, the whole interior another sloping mass of stairs. The trail lead to a large walkway over a pool of bright green hellfire, and in the center of the walkway, two thrones.
Rotting skeletons and decaying corpses dressed in police uniforms and various armor served as guards, launching at them as soon as they entered. He didn't bother to struggle against their unbreakable hold, instead allowing himself and his friends to be escorted down the path. As they approached, he could make out a form darker than the rest of the Underworld, only able to truly see it's shape when they were released directly in front of its seat.
Hades was a true Olympian god, and Percy could tell just by catching the immortal in his vision. He wore elegant black robes made of fine silk, detailed in bronze of many different deaths, all gruesome. His skin was paler than the petals of a white rose, blood-red lips twisted into a smile that fell apart at the ends. Curls of raven hair licked at a thin and elegant face, eyes the color of an empty soul staring straight through his.
The throne next to his own was made of the same obsidian, but blooming flowers held together by luscious growing vines wrapped around the seat. Percy guessed that it belonged to Persephone, above with Demeter as they tended to Spring.
"You are brave to come here," Hades spoke, and his voice was deep and soft coming out of his throat. "After what you have done to me."
The guards were scattered along the edges of the platform, keeping their distance. Percy stepped ahead of his friends, kneeling at the god's feet in a show of respect.
"Lord and uncle," he replied, head bowed. He didn't know what Hades was talking about, didn't care to dwell. "I come to you with two requests."
"Foolish child," Hades seethed. "As if you had not already taken enough, now you would ask for more? Speak, then, while I ponder in what manner I wish for you to die."
Percy raised his head, expression open and pleading. "There can't be a war among the gods, uncle. It would be kind of-" he faltered, searching for the right words. "Bad." He sighed a little sigh to himself, pressing on. "Let me return the master bolt to Olympus, and I'll end this. There must be other ways to grow your kingdom."
Teeth misshapen and rotten yellow were revealed behind upturned lips, and the grin wasn't truly much of a grin at all. "Why would I want war, godling?" He questioned, and Percy was at lost at that. "The dead will come to me without intervention. Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel fields?"
He recalled the glimmering planes of wheat against a darkened landscape, and the spirits that wandered along its length for eternity. "It is I who has been wronged, Perseus."
"But," he spluttered. "But you stole Zeus' master bolt-"
When the ruler of the Underworld stood, he towered above their heads, a form of pure fury. "Lies!" Hades exclaimed. "You may try to fool me, but I am not so stupid as to be blinded by your plan."
"Uncle?" He glanced back, spotting Luke and Grover, but couldn't read their expressions in the flickering lights of Hell's flames.
"It was you who pilfered the bolt, as well as my Helm of darkness," Hades accused, and Percy's eyes widened with disbelief. "Had I not sent my furies to intercept your path, you might have actually succeeded in your scheme to start a war. But no," he hissed. "I will have my Helm back!"
"Wait," Percy breathed, holding his hands out in surrender. "Your, uh, helmet is missing, too? There must be some mistake-"
"A mistake?" He roared. "Open your pack, then, and we will see who is mistaken."
His brain managed to scramble up and catch onto the conversation, shoulders shrugging off his bag. It hit the ground with a thud that shouldn't have echoed but nonetheless did, and he reached down to unzip its contents.
"You know," he murmured. "I'm really getting tired of people calling me a thief." Whatever else he has planned to say died on the tip of his tongue, eyebrows furrowed as he stared inside the bag.
The master bolt sparked within the fabric of his pack, cackling with untamed power. He gaped, trying to comprehend. It hadn't been there when he had checked before, back when Ares had given them the supplies. The weapon had just appeared out of thin air, shrunken down to fit the limits of his sack.
"I don't understand," Percy swore, looking back up at Hades' eyes. There was a glimmer of triumph in those empty sockets, and that scared him even more.
"Do not attempt to disguise your purpose," the god spat, and he could hear as Grover whined nervously. "I knew that if I was patient, you would come to bargain with me."
"Bargain for what?" Percy hugged the back to his chest, backing up slowly.
"For her." He held out a single hand clenched into a fist, fingers long and thin. It slowly came unfurled, golden mist rising from pale flesh and shaping into the form of the one he held dear. Sally Jackson's sightless eyes stared down at him, body frozen in time, and his heart lurched in his chest.
"Mom!" He yelled, wanting to run forward, but he held himself back. She shimmered out of existence, and Hades lowered his arm.
"She is not dead," he informed the other. "Not yet. I will release her if you return my Helm. You can also leave the bolt as payment for the insult that has been done to me."
Percy shook his head, glaring. His hand reached into the bag, pulling out three spheres that were cold against his palm. He slung the backpack over his shoulders, holding the gifts close to his heart.
Hades watched his movements with interest. "Ah, yes," he muttered. "The pearls." Percy backed up until he was at level with his friends, still scowling. "But there are only three." The image appeared again, whooshing into existence just a few feet away. "Which of you friends will you trade for you mother? Or will you trade yourself?"
His voice quivered as he looked at her face, beauty written into every inch of her features. "I'm sorry, mom."
Hades' gaze turned sinister. "Perseus Jackson, you will not defy me."
He didn't tear his eyes away from his mother as the pearls dropped to the floor. They smashed at the impact, bubbles enveloping their forms and taking the three to the surface.
New chapter! Next one will be longer, promise. :) Also, I will be responding to any reviews in my A/N, so if you have any questions or such, be sure to leave a comment on your way out. Thank you to all of the people who have already reviewed, and as always, info on my Bio.