Behold, the next chapter! It is in Annabeth's point of view. Sorry if I updated late today, but I read Artemis Fowl I, Maximum Ride I, and like sixty pages of another book today. Therefore, this chapter may seem slightly rushed. Enjoy!

I woke up to find all the gods, excepting Hades, sitting on their thrones. They were whispering to each other worryingly. As soon as they saw my eyes open, my mom rushed over to me. "When you went out, how did you feel?"

I remembered when I had collapsed. I had felt drained. Percy was using some sort of power against Oceanus. I told them this. Athena narrowed her eyes.

I remembered something else. Where the heck was Percy? I asked them so. Poseidon's face was grim. "He's dead."

I was so surprised that I forgot to turn into a puddle of tears. "What happened?"

"He was drained of all his energy," my mom said, "Don't let it bother you. Hades would have taken him back anyway."

Oh yeah. I had forgotten about that. Still, I was confused. And a bit depressed. "Why? What happened?"

"I don't know," Athena said, surprising me. There weren't a lot of things she didn't know. "My best guess is that it had something to do with sacrificing the Ophiotaurus."

"Huh?" Percy had told me about sacrificing the Ophiotaurus. He regretted it.

"The power was originally intended to destroy Olympus. Being killed and resurrected must have reversed it."

Ah. The obscure laws of death never cease to confuse me. "What happened to the Titans?"

"We don't know. They cannot be dead, but they have been dispelled. By my estimation, for some several thousands of years." My mother said. What a relief.

There was a crack and Hades appeared. He looked heartily confused. Not something you see every day. He ran up to Poseidon and whispered something in his ear. Poseidon's eyes widened. "Are you sure?" I took him to say.

Hades nodded. Poseidon whispered something back, and Hades' face turned red with rage. "HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A MIDGET? JUST BECAUSE I AM YOUNGER THAN YOU DOESN'T MEAN I AM A MIDGET! THIS ASPECT OF DEATH HAS ESCAPED ME, FOR THE TITANS' SAKE!"

Okay…

I would leave this to the gods to argue it out. They didn't even notice me leaving. As soon as I left the hall of the gods, the tears came. I had lost Percy, again. And from what Hades said, I wouldn't be getting him back.

Wait a minute.

He said that 'this aspect of death had escaped him'. Apparently, something was with Percy, something that was blocking him from living again. Besides the normal tendency. Even Hades seemed unable to bring Percy back.

My curiosity got the better of me. I peeked through the door, unnoticed. Hades was still yelling at Poseidon, who had apparently called him a midget again. "FOR THE TITANS' SAKES! I AM NOT A MIDGET!"

I was about to give up hope of hearing anything interesting, when my mother interrupted. "I have…a possible answer."

All heads turned toward her. She was impassive. "I think…sacrificing the Ophiotaurus has taken its toll. Someone who had done such an evil deed is bound to the Underworld. He was able to escape when you brought him back before the battle, because the power resided in him. Now that the power has been used up, he will be trapped in your kingdom-" she motioned to Hades. "Forever."

What? Impossible!

Hades had seemingly the same reaction. Zeus whispered something into his ear, and he turned an angry red. "WHAT IN TARTARUS IS WRONG WITH YOU? I AM NOT A MIDGET!"

Athena said, "You should know about this. You are the Lord of the Dead."

Hades turned to her. "WHAT IS WITH YOU PEOPLE?"

She didn't even flinch. "Think about it, Lord Hades."

He was about to make another angry comment, I'm sure, when she interrupted him. "Just do it!" she said harshly.

Hades closed his eyes and appeared to be deep in thought. They abruptly opened. "Athena is right," he said, glaring at her. "As usual."

Her face twitched, and I could tell she was struggling not to give Hades a smug look. "Can he be brought back?"

"Um…." All eyes turned on Hades. "I think…if the Ophiotaurus was resurrected…he would be able to come back. And that's not going to happen in the next two or three millennia."

I shut the crack in the door that I had opened, tears streaming. I would never, ever see him again. Even Hades couldn't get him back. It was hopeless.

And there you are. This is NOT the end of the story. If it were, I would be breaking my promise. I keep promises, trust me. There is a happy ending. However, Verop doesn't like happy endings, so I decided to have a poll: Who wants to have an alternate unhappy ending after I write the happy one? Put in your vote with your reviews. Best of five wins!