Apollo: Everybody sing with me!
Apollo is the best!
Readers *in a bored voice: May the souls of his audience rest ( in peace)!
Apollo: His songs are always on the top!
Me: I am begging you to stop!
Apollo *frowns: Apollo frowned
Me : His brain just drowned
Apollo *shaking his head: Rick Riordan is a troll!
(Audience: * jeers and throws shoes and tomatoes at Apollo)
Me *pushes Apollo aside and whoops* : So let us ROCK AND ROLL!
(audience: *cheers for me*)
Apollo: Hey! What's this?! This is MY show!!!
(*gets hit on the head by shoe*)
OW! HEY! Getting hit on the head is Jason's job!
(Artemis: drags Apollo backstage as he grumbles and curses and another tomato lands on his face)
Me: bows and thanks the audience, then walks away.
The Truth Is Not Always Good. Sometimes It Hurts.
"Chapter 19 - WE FIND OUT THE TRUTH, SORT OF" Luke read.
"Well, finally! Now we get the answers!" Athena exclaimed. She leaned forward with interest.
Imagine the largest concert ... packed with a million fans.
"Ah, the fun." Apollo said, his eyes turning dreamy.
Now imagine a field a million times that big, ... tragic has happened backstage. Whispering masses of people are just milling around in the shadows, waiting for a concert that will never start.
"What?! No! My concert! What happened ?!" Apollo yelled. Artemis smacked him on the head and he blinked.
If you can picture that, you have a pretty good idea what the Fields of Asphodel looked like. ... Black trees-Grover told me they were poplars-grew in clumps here and there.
Everyone grew paler as the room darkened even more, reflecting the Fields of Asphodel. Hazel shuddered as she remembered the place and Nico patted her shoulder.
The cavern ceiling was so high above us it might've been a bank of storm clouds, ... The dead aren't scary. They're just sad.
"Obviously." Nico muttered.
"I don't believe them not being scary. Seemed pretty frightening to me." Grover shuddered.
Nico shook his head.
We crept along, following the line of new arrivals that snaked from the main gates ... Even from far away, I could see people being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches or listen to opera music. ... And I saw worse tortures, too-things I don't want to describe.
"Yep." Leo nodded. "They are definitely scary."
The line coming from the right side of the judgment pavilion was much better. ... The Isles of the Blest, for people who had chosen to be reborn three times, and three times achieved Elysium. ... "That's what it's all about," Annabeth said, like she was reading my thoughts. "That's the place for heroes."
"Heroes like you." Annabeth smiled at Percy.
Percy shook his head. "And like you. But I am not a hero. I havent done anything worth it."
"Not yet. But you will."
But I thought of how few people there were in Elysium, how tiny it was compared to the Fields of Asphodel or even the Fields of Punishment. ... The colors faded from our clothes. The crowds of chattering spirits began to thin.
The room darkened even more. Now the only properly visible light in the room was coming from Hestia's hearth, and Apollo, because he was the sun god. The forms of other gods shimmered slightly with faint light.
After a few miles of walking, we began to hear a familiar screech in the distance. ... Grover yelped. His sneakers sprouted wings and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from Annabeth.
"Oh, no" Luke groaned. He immediately regretted taking the book for reading. The others eyed him skeptically.
Hermes had a pained look on his face.
"What? What's wrong?" Athena asked.
He landed flat on his back in the grass. ... "Maia!" he yelled, but the magic word seemed to have no effect. "Maia, already! Nine-one-one! Help!"
"The shoes are malfunctioning?" Athena asked.
"This is magic. Magic doesn't malfunction like machines and automatons." Poseidon pointed.
They turned to look at Hermes.
"The magic has been tempered with." Hermes said in a quiet voice.
Suddenly a few things started making sense.
The shoes were for Percy, and they shoes were supposed to carry him to Hades, or even worse- to the monster Percy had dreamed about.
The way Annabeth, Thalia and other demigods had beaten Luke when he came here. Luke had gifted the shoes to Percy.
The line of the prophecy, 'You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.'
Everyone turned to look at Luke, who shrunk deeper into his couch.
"Y-you didn't!" Annie croaked, her heart in her throat with grief.
Luke just hung his head lower. "I-I'm sorry." He muttered.
Annie's cheeks were now wet, rolling with tears. She had forgiven Luke for the mistakes he had made, but she hadn't known the mistakes would be this bad. Luke was her hero. He had taken care of her since she was seven. Okay, maybe her crush on him was stupid. But Luke had always seen her as a younger sister atleast. But here he was, betraying her trust. Even Luke had left her. Annabeth was right. But if she couldn't trust Luke, she couldn't trust anybody in this world. No, this was all wrong. Luke must've been under the monster's control.
"N-no. This is wrong! Y-you didn't do it Luke, did you? Tell me! Y-you were under someone's c-control, weren't y-you?!" Annie asked him weakly.
Luke shook his head. "I was the one who did it. Nobody was controlling me. I-I made the mistakes."
"BUT WHYYY??!" Annie yelled.
Luke winced and stayed silent. Annie's face contorted into intense hurt and grief. No. She wouldn't let this happen in her universe. She would confront Luke and convince him not to do this. Annabeth pulled her into her lap as she cried. She buried her face into Annabeth's chest and her cries became muffled.
Percy too had a look of hurt on his face. Percy had looked upto Luke as a good friend, a trainer, a teacher, a mentor. And this is how Luke had returned it. No. He wouldn't let this happen. He didn't care what it would mean for his future with Annie, but he wouldn't let Luke hurt her so much. He would convince Luke not to do this in his universe.
Annabeth shook her head.
"Don't." She told Annie. "Don't think about changing it. It might worsen what is going to happen."
"B-but how c-can I let it happen? If I can't trust him, there's nobody in this world I can trust. He was t-the only family I had! Everyone leaves me!" Annie said with a muffled crying voice.
Annabeth leaned forward and whispered in Annie's ear, so that no one could hear her. "You're right. There's no one you can trust in this world. Except for one person." "Oh, don't!" Annie cried loudly. "Don't do that! Don't give me hope!" ( Find the super-famous movie name from the dialogue. Hint: Of course it's from Marvel.)
"Whether you like it or not, you will always end up with him. However much annoying you find him, you will always need his support. And with time, you will grow fond of his annoying qualities."
Annie realized Annabeth wasn't talking about Luke. She was talking about Percy. She looked up at Percy. He had his own hurt look on his face. But then his face turned from hurt and grief to determination. He would get her through this, no matter how much it would hurt him or her. He would be there for her. From the beginning, Annie had hated Percy and his annoying qualities. And yet he was the only person who stood at her side. She was now feeling guilty for the way she had hated him and doubted him in the beginning.
Hermes had his own look of pain. He had known the fate of his poor son. And yet he couldn't do anything about it. This was horrible. Before all the pain and misery could develop more, Luke started reading.
I got over being stunned and made a grab for Grover's hand, ...Annabeth shouted, "Untie the shoes!"
It was a smart idea, but I guess it's not so easy when your shoes are pulling you along feetfirst at full speed. ... his shoes veered sharply to the right and dragged him in the opposite direction.
Nico gasped. "No." He muttered. "Not that place."
Everyone leaned forward, tense and worried, or excited (excited as in Ares' case).
The slope got steeper. Grover picked up speed. Annabeth and I had to sprint to keep up. ... The tunnel widened into a huge dark cavern, and in the middle was a chasm the size of a city block.
Nico turned paler as unwelcome memories and images rushed into his mind. Will pulled him inti another reassuring hug. Annie turned pale and grabbed Percy's hand again. If she was going to go to that place in the future, she wanted the reassurance that someone would be there for her. Someone permanent.
Grover was sliding straight ... "But that's-"
"That's Tartarus!" Athena gasped in horror.
"I know!" she shouted. ... What saved him were his hooves.
Grover smiled slightly and patted his hooves.
"Thank Pan for goat hooves." Percy mumbled.
The flying sneakers had always been a loose fit on him, ... Grover was able to slow himself down by grabbing on to the big rock and using it like an anchor.
He was ten feet from the edge of the pit when we caught him and hauled him back up the slope. ... "I don't know how ..." he panted. "I didn't..."
"Wait," I said. ... I heard something-a deep whisper in the darkness.
"Get out of there! He will curse you and pull you into the pit!" Poseidon wailed.
He had been silent for a long time, wanting the reading to end quickly. But he couldn't hold it anymore.
"Run!" He yelled.
Another few seconds, ... Grover sat up. "Wh-what's that noise?"
Annabeth heard it too, now. ... I could almost make out words now, ancient, ancient words, older even than Greek. As if ...
"Magic," I said.
"We have to get out of here," ... A cold blast of wind pulled at our backs, as if the entire pit were inhaling. For a terrifying moment, I lost ground, my feet slipping in the gravel. If we'd been any closer to the edge, we would've been sucked in.
Nico gasped loudly and started panting. Will comforted him and motioned Luke to continue reading.
We kept struggling forward, and finally reached the top of the tunnel, ... "What was that?" Grover panted, when we'd collapsed in the relative safety of a black poplar grove.
"One of Hades's pets?"
Hades groaned.
Annabeth and I looked at each other. I could tell she was nursing an idea, probably the same one she'd gotten during the taxi ride to L.A., but she was too scared to share it. That was enough to terrify me.
"No! No, no, no." Zeus groaned. "It has to be one of Hades' minions!"
"And why would I willingly send my minion to pull them into that place, when I can easily capture them in my kingdom ?" Hades argued.
Zeus shook his head. "It has to be one of your minions... Or maybe some monster..."
"We very well know what monster was pulling them in..." Poseidon muttered in a grave tone.
I capped my sword, put the pen back in my pocket. "Let's keep going." ... Whatever was in that pit was nobody's pet. It was unspeakably old and powerful. Even Echidna hadn't given me that feeling.
"No..." Zeus groaned and whimpered.
I was almost relieved to ... head toward the palace of Hades.
"Better Hades' palace than Tartarus." Poseidon muttered.
Almost.
The Furies circled the parapets, high in the gloom. ... I saw that the engravings on the gates were scenes of death. Some were from modern times-an atomic bomb exploding over a city, a trench filled with gas mask-wearing soldiers, ... but all of them looked as if they'd been etched into the bronze thousands of years ago. I wondered if I was looking at prophecies that had come true.
"Yes, you were." Apollo said.
Inside the courtyard was the strangest garden I'd ever seen. ... Standing here and there like frozen party guests were Medusa's garden statues- petrified children, satyrs, and centaurs-all smiling grotesquely.
Everyone turned to glare at Hades.
"I can't stop Persephone from decorating her garden the way she wants to." Hades shrugged.
In the center of the garden was an orchard of pomegranate trees, their orange blooms neon bright in the dark. ... Two U.S. Marine skeletons guarded the doors. They grinned down at us, rocket-propelled grenade launchers held across their chests.
"Creepy." Grover shuddered.
Annie held Percy's hand tighter.
He gave her a reassuring smile.
"You know," Grover mumbled, "I bet Hades doesn't have trouble with door-to-door salesmen."
"Well, I gotta agree with the satyr." Hades grinned.
My backpack weighed a ton now. I couldn't figure out why. I wanted to open it, check to see if I had somehow picked up a stray bowling ball, but this wasn't the time.
"Yeah, because stray bowling balls are so common in the Underworld." Leo snorted.
Hades thoughtfully stroked his beard, the idea wasn't bad. He was thinking along the lines of bowling balls and using the souls of criminals as bowling pins. It would be a fun game to play. He made a note in his notebook.
"Why would the backpack be getting heavier?" Athena asked to no one in particular. She was really starting to hate all these riddles. She wanted answers.
"Maybe it felt heavier because he was really tired...?" Jason suggested, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Demigods wouldn't get tired that easily." Chris shook his head.
"What if-"
"You'll get all your answers in this chapter. Just a bit more patience." Annabeth said.
"Well, guys," I said. "I suppose we should ... knock?"
A hot wind blew down the corridor, and the doors swung open. The guards stepped aside.
"I guess that means entrezvous," Annabeth said.
The room inside looked just like in my dream, ... He was the third god I'd met, but the first who really struck me as godlike.
"Why, thank you." Hades mused. Dionysus and Ares scowled.
He was at least ten feet tall, ... I immediately felt like he should be giving the orders. He knew more than I did. He should be my master.
"His godly aura is affecting you." Poseidon grumbled.
Hades smirked.
Then I told myself to snap out of it.
Poseidon smirked.
Hades scowled.
Hades's aura was affecting me, ... kind of mesmerizing, evil charisma.
"Yes. And you, young godlings, should get ready to face your deaths." Hades said in a grave scary voice.
"Stop being so dramatic about death. It is Zeus and Apollo's job." Demeter said.
Hades shrugged. "But it's fun."
Zeus and Apollo didn't know whether to be proud or offended, so they decided to glare at Hades, along with Demeter.
"Fine." Hades pouted.
"You are brave to come here, Son of Poseidon," he said in an oily voice. "After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply very foolish."
"Oh, what have you done?" Piper asked in a singsong.
"I don't know what I have dome, but I know that I am being blamed for something I didn't do... And I hate that." Percy grumbled.
Numbness crept into my joints, tempting me to lie down and just take a little nap at Hades's feet. Curl up here and sleep forever.
Several demigods shuddered.
They had fought along with Hades' army in the second Titan War. It had been a good thing that Hades had been on their side.
I fought the feeling and stepped forward.
"He's stronger and braver than most demigods. I don't think most demigods would have been able to resist Hades' aura." Hermes said.
I knew what I had to say. "Lord and Uncle, I come with two requests."
"Oh. My. Gods. Percy using respect to adress people. This is a nightmare." Thalia said in horror.
Percy poked his tongue out at her.
Hades raised an eyebrow. ... The ADHD part of me wondered, off-task, whether the rest of his clothes were made the same way. What horrible things would you have to do in your life to get woven into Hades's underwear?
The room's mood lightened as everyone laughed at Hades' indignant expression.
"UGH! I will never be able to get that image out of my mind!" Aphrodite yelled.
Now Hades felt amused.
"Only two requests?" ... This was going about as well as I'd feared.
I glanced at the empty, smaller throne next to Hades's. ... she could calm her husband's moods.
"She can't save you for your crimes." Hades snarled.
"What are my crimes, again?" Percy asked.
"Trespassing in my domain!" Hades yelled.
"Well, I was trying to prevent WWIII and get my mom back. What did you expect me to do?"
"Do not argue with me, godling!"
"Why, did I say anything wrong ?" Percy asked.
Hades opened his mouth to argue, but nothing came out. He grunted.
But it was summer. ... Her visits, not the tilt of the planet, create the seasons.
"Actually both the things." Demeter said.
Annabeth cleared her throat. Her finger prodded me in the back. ..."Return Zeus's master bolt to me," I said. "Please, sir. Let me carry it to Olympus."
"BUT I DON'T HAVE THE STUPID BOLT!" Hades yelled.
Waves of fear and darkness started rolling from him.
"Brother, I am sure we will get the answers in this chapter. Have patience." Hestia said.
Hades's eyes grew dangerously bright. "You dare keep up this pretense, after what you have done?"
I glanced back at my friends. They looked as confused as I was.
"Um ... Uncle," I said. "You keep saying 'after what you've done.' What exactly have I done?"
"Exactly." Percy said. "What have I even done to offend you."
"Then he is accusing you of something he believes you did..." Athena frowned.
The throne room shook with a tremor so strong, they probably felt it upstairs in Los Angeles. ... Hades bellowed, "Do you think I want war, godling?"
I wanted to say, Well, these guys don't look like peace activists.
"Dude, I am loving your sarcasm!" Leo exclaimed.
Percy gave him a sheepish grin.
Hades grumbled something about modern teenagers and kids not having respect for elders and deties.
But I thought that might be a dangerous answer.
"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock." Thalia muttered.
"You are the Lord of the Dead," I said carefully. "A war would expand your kingdom, right?"
"Exactly!" Zeus yelled.
"A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects? ... ."Charon wants a pay raise," I blurted, just remembering the fact.
"You need a mouth filter, boy!" Athena scolded. "Try to learn how to think before you speak!"
Poseidon groaned and put his head in his hands.
"But I was just keeping my promise..." Percy muttered.
Annie sighed and shook her head. Keeping Percy out of danger was certainly going to be a full-time job.
As soon as I said it, I wished I could sew up my mouth.
... "Your father may fool Zeus, boy, but I am not so stupid. I see his plan."
"MY PLAN?!" Poseidon yelled. "WHY WOULD I WANT WAR? I AM VERY MUCH SATISFIED WITH MY OWN KINGDOM!"
"His plan?"
"You were the thief on the winter solstice," he said. ... You will be exposed as Poseidon's thief, and I will have my helm back!"
"My helm?" Hades gasped. "So the second item was my helm? HOW DARE YOU TAKE MY HELM ?!" Hades yelled with fury.
Luke started trembling with fear, even though he knew he Hades wasn't adressing him. Hades could still blast him into oblivion.
"But the boy didn't take the Helm...so the thief was..." Athena turned to Luke.
"HOW DARE YOU?!" Zeus and Hades started getting up from their thrones, but Hermes stood up and flew in front of Luke.
"No one touches my son." Hemres said in a steely calm voice. "He made mistakes. He corrected them. He died. I am sure his fate rests in the hands of the other universe's Underworld Justice."
"He's right." Hestia added.
Zeus and Hades grunted and growled and scowled and yelled, but they didn't hurt Luke.
"Thank you, father. I am sorry." Luke whispered in a hoarse voice.
"It's alright my son. Don't blame yourself."
"But ..." Annabeth spoke. I could tell her mind was going a million miles an hour. ... Does Poseidon think I can be blackmailed into supporting him?"
Poseidon growled. He hated being accused of something he didn't do.
"No!" I said. "Poseidon didn't-I didn't-"
"I have said nothing of the helm's disappearance," Hades snarled, "because I had no illusions that
anyone on Olympus would offer me the slightest justice, the slightest help.
All the gods turned their heads down.
"You could've approached me." Zeus said in a small voice.
"Oh, please. Don't even try to do that." Hades said angrily.
I can ill afford for word to get out that my most powerful weapon of fear is missing. ... The skeletal soldiers all took one step forward, making their weapons ready.
"No..." Annie murmured and grabbed Percy's hand. "You're not dying."
At that point, I probably should have been terrified. The strange thing was, I felt offended.
"Demigods!" Hades spat. "So arrogant and selfish!"
"Yeah right." Leo snorted. "I forgot that saving the world and the butts of all the gods is a selfish act." He argued.
"Watch your words, boy." Zeus growled.
Before Leo could say anything, Thalia groaned. "Oh, no." Thalia put her head into her hands. "Percy's going to do something impulsive very soon. He's going to rub somebody's nose real bad."
Nothing gets me angrier than being accused of something I didn't do. I've had a lot of experience with that.
"You're as bad as Zeus," I said.
"And why, do you think me bad?!" Zeus asked angrily. "ALL OF YOU,
SHUT UP!" Percy yelled angrily, raising his hands. "THE BOOK IS BEING READ FROM MY PERSPECTIVE! YOU DON'T NEED TO ASK ME THE REASONS FOR MY ACTIONS! THEY ARE CLEARLY OBVIOUS FROM THE BOOK."
Zeus stared at him wide eyed. Before Zeus could do anything to him, Luke started reading.
"You think I stole from you? ... The weight in my backpack, like a bowling ball. It couldn't be...
I slung it off my shoulder and unzipped it. Inside was a two-foot-long metal cylinder, spiked on both ends, humming with energy.
The air started smelling of ozone.
Thunder rolled across the sky. "Now, how would you explain that?" Zeus asked in a steely calm voice.
Percy thought for a moment. Then he gasped. "The backpack. It was given to me by Ares!"
Everyone turned to look at Ares. "What? The backpack had the bolt! So what? It doesn't prove I put the bolt in their!"
"Luke, please continue reading. I want this mystery to end now." Hestia spoke up.
"Percy," Annabeth said. "How-"
"I-I don't know. I don't understand."
"You heroes are always the same," Hades said. ... I did not ask for Zeus's master bolt, but since it is here, you will yield it to me.
"Don't you dare" Zeus growled.
I am sure it will make an excellent bargaining tool. ... "I know why you have come-I know the real reason you brought the bolt. You came to bargain for her."
Hades loosed a ball of gold fire from his palm. ... my mother, frozen in a shower of gold, just as she was at the moment when the Minotaur began to squeeze her to death.
I couldn't speak. ... Return my helm, and perhaps I will let her go. She is not dead, you know. Not yet. But if you displease me, that will change."
"Oh, no" Percy whimpered.
I thought about the pearls in my pocket. Maybe they could get me out of this. If I could just get my mom free ...
"And that's where his fatal flaw comes into place." Athena spoke with disapproval. " He will sacrifice himself to free his mother. But that will start World War III and destroy the world. He will let the world be destroyed for his mother."
Percy turned to look at Annabeth. Would he really let the world be destroyed to save his mom. He wanted his mom back really, but having the world pay the price for it... Percy's eyes started tearing up. He was trembling with the effort of not bursting right now. Annie tried to soothe him.
"Ah, the pearls," ... "Leave me here," he said. "Use the third pearl on your mom."
"Thank you." Percy sniffled and told Grover. Grover smiled.
"You're a brave satyr. Pan chose you well." Artemis said. Grover bowed, though he seemed a bit dreamy.
"No!"
"I'm a satyr," Grover said. "We don't have souls like humans do. ... "No." Annabeth drew her bronze knife. "You two go on. Grover, you have to protect Percy. ... I'll cover you. I plan to go down fighting."
"No! Why are you doing this for him?" Athena asked Annabeth.
"You won't understand. You are a godess. It's not something immortals can understand." Annabeth said.
The other demigods nodded, while all the gods and godesses looked confused.
"No way," Grover said. "I'm staying behind." ... Stop it, both of you!" I felt like my heart was being ripped in two. ... I thought about the prophecy made at Half-Blood Hill, what seemed like a million years ago. You will fail to save what
matters most in the end.
"WHAT?!" Athena asked. "But your fatal flaw!"
Annabeth smiled. "This is why we almost always trust his instincts. He overcame his fatal flaw."
"But that's... That's impossible!"
"Percy has achieved many things that everyone thought were impossible." Nico said, and everyone nodded in agreement.
"I'm sorry," I told her. "I'll be back. I'll find a way." ... "And it wouldn't hurt to play with Cerberus once in a while. He likes red rubber balls."
Everyone shook their heads in exasperation. Percy grinned sheepishly.
"Percy Jackson, you will not-"
... We smashed the pearls at our feet.
"Oh, finally!" Poseidon let out a sigh of relief. Though he still seemed a bit worried about Sally.
For a scary moment, nothing happened. ..."Look up.'" Grover yelled. "We're going to crash!"
Sure enough, we were racing right toward the stalactites, ... "How do you control these things?" Annabeth shouted.
"You don't." Poseidon smiled, his eyes twinkling. "What belongs to the sea, returns to the sea."
"I don't think you do!" I shouted back. ... We exploded on the surface, in the middle of the Santa Monica Bay, knocking a surfer off his board with an indignant, "Dude!"
Several snickers. The darkness of the room subsided as it returned to it's normal state.
I grabbed Grover and hauled him over to a life buoy. ... The surfer screamed something about bad mushrooms
"What's it with stupid people and magic mushrooms?" Thalia mused.
Several people snickered. Travis leaned forward and started whispering something about pranks related to magic mushrooms in Connor's ears. Connor developed an evil grin.
Katie smacked the Stolls on top of their heads and they pouted.
and paddled away from us as fast as he could. ...But at the moment, the Underworld wasn't my biggest problem.
I had to get to shore. ... I had to have a serious conversation with the god who'd tricked me.
"End of chapter." Luke said. "I know all of you are excited to know what happens next, but I suggest that we have some dinner and sleep first." Hestia said.