I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING! I've been so busy and I could never find time to write. I promise I'll try my absolute hardest to update more often. I swear I will!

To all my American readers, happy Thanksgiving! :)

Annabeth's POV

The blinding white light began to fade. I opened my eyes to see a man step towards us.

"Are you a god?" Percy asked, his eyebrows raised in confusion.

The man turned to him with a stony look in his black eyes. "Yes, I am."

Percy and I waited for him to explain, or at least introduce himself. Once he realized the man wasn't going to say anything, he added, "I thought gods never come down here. Who are you? I've never seen you on Olympus before. Are you some minor god?"

The unfeeling look in his eyes disappeared. "A minor god? You think I would be a minor god?!" he shrieked, fire burning in his eyes. Then, as if that rage had never happened, he calmed down and his stony gaze returned. "I am Tartarus, ruler of the dark abyss of eternal punishment."

I leaned back against a rocky pillar and grasped onto a loose rock. Tartarus may be immortal, but if we had to escape from him, I figured a rock in the head wouldn't feel all that good.

Percy still looked confused. "Dark abyss of eternal punishment?" he asked. "You know, you can just call it Tartarus, instead of going with the whole 'dark abyss' thing."

I winced. Tartarus didn't seem like the best person to mess with, especially since we're trapped in his domain. But he merely smiled. "You amuse me, little demigod. Nothing wrong with being a little dramatic."

I realized then that I hadn't said anything yet. "Why are you here?" I asked him, glaring suspiciously. "What do you want with us?

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Daughter of Athena? Yes, your eyes give it away. Are all her children this annoying? This isn't all that wise at all, talking so rudely at a god this powerful."

I breathed in and out, trying and failing to contain my anger. But before I could do anything, Tartarus continued. "Well fine, we might as well get straight to the point. I'm here because I rule this place." He gestured with his arms the vast network of caves and passages around him.

"And I don't want much from you." His eyes glanced over us. "You two, are you strong? Brave? Everything a good demigod should be?"

Percy and I eyed each other, wondering what he wanted. "Uh, I guess so," Percy said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Percy defeated the Titan, Kronos. He retrieved Zeus's lightning bolt when it got stolen. He sailed into the Sea of Monsters and faced the Cyclops Polyphemus. And-"

"Annabeth helped!" Percy shouted, interrupting me. "I couldn't have done any of those things without her." I glared at him, but despite the situation, his words filled me with a proud feeling.

"So you two are powerful," Tartarus mused. "I don't know much about the affairs above ground. Doesn't matter whether I know what happens or not." In a surprisingly bitter tone, he added, "I'm just the jail keeper, who keeps all the monsters that scare the gods' trapped."

Percy noticed the bitterness in his voice too. "Isn't it cool, ruling over this place?"

Tartarus smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile. "You make me sound like a king, with a kingdom, a throne, and all the wealth in the world."

"So what do you do down here then?" Percy asked.

"I'll tell you more after. If you pass my test, that is."

"Test?" Percy asked. He slumped back against the rock wall, relaxed. "Don't worry, Annabeth can do this."

Tartarus glared, and both of us shrank back, at least a bit. "No. Both of you have to prove your strength. Your bravery. Show me the hero within you. If not…" he snapped his fingers. Suddenly, we were surrounded by every monster we've ever fought, and more that I've never seen before in my life.

A deafening roar filled my ear. I turned to see the Minotaur in full battle armour. I guess he saw us too, since he charged.

Percy whipped out Riptide and slashed. Riptide transformed from a mere pen to a bronze arc of pure destruction. Meanwhile, I stood off to the side, throwing rocks at monsters, defenseless.

Tartarus snapped his fingers again. Every single monster that had filled the room just a second ago disappeared. "I can destroy you quite easily."

I scanned around the room, looking for an escape. My eyes stopped at the entrance that I had just come through. If Tartarus was distracted, Percy and I could run off.

Tartarus followed my gaze around the room. He clapped his hands and the entrance disappeared.

"Either you agree to take this test, or I leave you two here to die!" he snarled. Facing me, he added, "There is no escape, daughter of wisdom." Before Percy or I could say anything, he vanished.

I know, they meet Tartarus in pretty much every single House of Hades fanfic. But it wouldn't make sense for them not to meet him, so might as well get that meeting over with :)