A/N: I hate Minos, me my homies all HATE Minos.

'Did you bless the Jacksons' house when I was there last time?'

Dionysus looked up. 'I did. Sally Jackson runs a sanctuary. We can't have monsters coming in.'

'Very good.'

'Now tell me the real reason why you came here. You can't be here just to ask something you already knew.'

'I mean, no.'

'Spill.'

'Don't you trust...'

'Nico!'

'I want to go talk to king Minos. I want to know why he chose me.'

Dionysus took a moment to think about that. 'Isn't it clear why Minos chose you?'

I shrugged. 'It might be. Because, you know, I was going around raising the dead and opposing Percy, which was very convenient for him. Still, I…' I shrugged. 'I want to talk to him. I want to know how he thinks.'

Dionysus thought for a second. 'Minos is dangerous.'

'So I can't go?'

He thought for a second. 'I can't control you. You'll go anyway, no matter what I say. Yet, I have a requirement.'

'Being?'

'Someone must be there with you. I am not letting you talk to a psychopath like Minos on your own.'

I sighed. 'Who must it be?'

'I'll ask Persephone and Hades first. You'll hear the answer tomorrow.'

'Alright.'

The next morning, early as all hell, I heard a knock on my door. 'Nico. Come.'

I scrambeld out of bed. 'Eh, I will.' Whoever you are. 'Can I put on some actual clothes instead of my pajamas first?'

'Five minutes.'

'Okay, okay!'

Within five minutes, I was done and I stepped out of my cabin. I raised my eyebrows. 'Ariadne?'

'The very one. Persephone will come too. She's waiting for us near Elysium.'

'I mean... cool.' I tried to shrug, but half-way through we were already teleporting into the underworld. My shoulders hurt when I got there.

I disliked standing in front of the gates of Elysium again. It was soul-crushing to see all of the spirits, some of them hopeful, some of them sure they wouldn't get in.

I noticed Persephone standing near the judges. She was looking up at them, with her hands on her hips. She looked around when Ariadne called her name. 'Still okay?' She asked to the other goddess.

'As okay as it can get.'

'Good.' Persephone straightened her back. 'We'll let him do the talking.' She pointed at me.

'And we'll keep an eye on everything.' Ariadne confirmed.

Persephone nodded. 'Come,' she told (mostly) me. I nodded. We walked past the lines, to the three judges. The spirits didn't seem to mind.

Ariadne held up her hand. 'Minos.' All three of kings turned around. Minos mouth fell open. 'Go on,' Persephone commanded the judges. 'Except for Minos. He comes with us.'

Minos got up, with a suspicious look in his eyes.

'What is it, my queen?' he asked Persephone as soon as we were away from the line. His eyes ran past Ariadne without adressing her. His eyebrows raised when he saw me. 'You brought me your own stepson? Unbelievable! Now why would that be?'

'He has questions for you. We would like to see you answer them.'

'And that's all?'

'That's all.' She gently laid her hand on my shoulder for a second.

'Terrible to see you again,' I began.

'You are the one bothering me.'

'Still.' I tilted my head. 'I have my suspicions, but I wanted to know why you chose me. Why you had to haunt me instead of somebody else.'

'You're the son of Hades.'

'I am.'

'Doesn't that seem like reason enough?'

'Maybe. Yet, it would have been way easier for you to get a random scared kid to raise the dead for you. All the things you taught me are things you could have taught most other people. Raising the dead with Happy meals? You don't need me for that. Don't get at me with wanting to help Luke. You are way too selfish for that.'

Persephone and Ariadne gave each other a look when they heard me mention raising the dead with happy meals. Minos went on: 'My goal might not have been to aid him, but perhaps what he had in mind spoke to me.' Persephone crossed her arms. Minos smiled sinisterly. 'My queen, don't act like you didn't know, even if I would never confess it.'

I pointed at him. 'Didn't you just…'

'Let it go, Nico.' I looked up at Ariadne, who nodded towards Minos. He still had not aknowledged she was there.

'I was easy to manipulate, but still on no-one's side,' I continued. 'Any other demigod might have gotten dependent on you. They would have been your string puppet.'

'But they would have had less power. Why have a string puppet when they aren't useful for all sorts of things? Also, di Angelo, you can't act like you weren't dependent on me. You were so wrapped up in your silly hate and grief you didn't see what was going on.'

'Perhaps.' Ariadne and Persephone tensed up. Maybe I had been more of a string puppet to Minos than I liked to think I was. Still… 'Still, I did manage to break out. I listened to Percy after he showed me the truth. An agent of Luke wouldn't have done that. They would have turned a blind eye and kept following you.'

'The Jackson kid cared for you.'

'He would have cared for any other demigod as well. You could have told them to play apologetic and then you would've had a spy. It would have been easier, it would have lead you to bigger things...'

'What is it that you want? I picked you because you were powerful. That's it. Every strategy has holes in it. It was a gamble to pick you over some nobody and…' Minos bit his lip and did not say more.

'And you gambled wrong,' Persephone finished the sentence.

Minos shrugged. 'You win some, you lose some, my queen.'

Ariadne gave him a disgusted look. 'Perhaps.'

'You were a powermaniac,' I concluded. 'It would have been safer, be it a little harder, to use a minion from Luke's army. Yet, I had power, and you fell for it.'

Minos shot me a disintegrating look. 'Watch your words, demonspawn.'

'Sounds like a weakness to me.'

'Nico.' Persephone slowly shook her head.

'I think I have what I wanted,' I told Minos.

'Leave, then. I've got a job to do.'

'Playing judge, jury and executioner even in death,' Ariadne stated.

'It comes naturally.' It was the first time he acknowledged her existence. 'I'd watch your mouth if I were you. Some of us might be power hungry, but we aren't reckless traitors. Each their own.' He grinned, before looking at Persephone. 'If you don't mind, I'll get back now, my queen.'

'I wish you wouldn't.'

He curtsied, before turning around and walking away. I had to bite my tongue to not yell after him that he was a terrible person, a terrible king, a terrible father, a terrible husband and a terrible judge.

'He is terrible.'

'He is manipulative,' Ariadne stated. 'The gamble analogy is apt. He gambled he could take control of the kingdom by banning his brothers. He gambled that he could contain the Minotaur and make Athens pay for it, and he won that bet twice, until…' she sighed, 'Until someone messed with his stack of cards. Every gambler misses now and then, and so did he. Terribly, a few times…'

Persephone clenched her fists. 'And then he still didn't, because my father had to give him the power he desired in death as well.'

I slowly nodded. Persephone sighed and pushed something into my hand. It was a can of Pomegranate sweet tea. I left it in the underworld a little while ago.

'Did you learn anything?' Ariadne asked. It sounded as if she was somewhere else with her thoughts.

'What I thought about king Minos was proven. And I once again realised that maybe I should not always go through with my strange ideas.'

'At least someone was here this time. I can't tell what that man would have done we hadn't been there,' Persephone mused. A little smile appeared on her face. 'I wanted to come too. Honestly, I wanted to see if it would be better to kick him out. And well, that is more than proven. As soon as I can get rid of him, I will.'

Ariadne looked just as surprised as I felt. 'They needed to be sons of Zeus, right? The judges?' I asked.

'Yes. But that friend of yours is here now, too.'

'Jason.'

'The very one. I think we might have a job for him.'

'Coming with you was my own idea,' Ariadne told me when we were back in Camp half-blood.

'Ah,' I said, while I nodded.

'I mean Dio didn't ask me to come. I wanted it. I wanted to see how Minos would react to you, to see if he was really still like that.'

I nodded. 'Well, so did I. Thanks for coming anyway.'

She nodded, although she didn't smile. 'I think it will be lunch soon.'

'Eh... yeah. I think Dionysus is in the big house.'

'Then I'll go there.'

It was clear we were both too busy with our own thoughts. I said goodbye and went to the dining pavilion. Will would want to hear my story. I assumed Dionysus would already have heard it next time I saw him, which was, if I can be honest, a relief.

A/N: I was originally going to do this with just one of the ladies but then I thought of this and it was good.

Finals are over today which is good now on to results haha help