A/N: I don't own the rights to any of the Percy Jackson series or it's characters. That right goes to Rick Riordan. I also don't own the rights to Animorph including it's title.

I am, however, the person who posted 'The Tales of...' series.

This is not a crossover of the Percy Jackson series with the book/tv series Animorph, despite what you might think from the title. I just thought it be a proper name for the ability to turn into animals since that's why the tv/book series 'Animorph' was called that in the first place.

If you haven't read this yet, read:

Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters
Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse
Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth
Animorph Percy jackson and the Olympians: The Stolen Chariot

Animorph Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sword of Hades

Christmas in the Underworld was NOT my idea.

If I'd known what was coming, I would've called in sick. I could've avoided an army of demons, a fight with a Titan, and a trick that almost got my friends and me cast into eternal darkness.

But no, I had to take my stupid English exam. So there I as, the last day of the winter semester at Goode High School, sitting in the auditorium with all the other freshmen trying to finish my I-didn't-read-it-but-I'm-pretending-like-I-did essay on A Tale of Two Cities, when Mrs. O'Leary burst onto the stage, barking like crazy.

Mrs. O'Leary is my pet hellhound. She's a shaggy black monster the size of a Hummer, with razor fangs, steel-sharp claws, and glowing red eyes. She's really sweet, but usually she stays at Camp Half-Blood, our demigod training camp. I was a little surprised to see her on stage, trampling over the Christmas trees and Santa's elves and the rest of the Winter Wonderland set.

Everyone looked up. I was sure, the other kids were going to panic and started running for the exits, but they just started snickering and laughing. A couple of girls said. "Aww, cute!"

Our English teacher, Dr. Boring (I'm not kidding; that's his real name), adjusted his glasses and frowned.

"All right," he said. "Whose St. Benard?"

I sighed in relief. Thank gods for the Mist-the magical veil that keeps humans from seeing things the way they really are. I'd seen it bend reality plenty of times, so Mrs. O'Leary as a St. Benard wasn't shocking.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare who is a mortal that can see through the mist and is a freshmen at Goode too, looked at me and mouth, and mouthed: "St. Benard?"

I shrugged as I can't explain how the Mist works completely.

"My St. Benard, sir," I spoke up. "Sorry! It must've followed me."

"Percy Jackson, this is a final exam." Dr. Boring snapped. "I can't have St. Benards-"

"WOOF!" Mrs. O'Leary's bark shook the auditorium. She wagged her tail, knocking over a few more elves. Then she crouched on her front paws and stared at me like she wanted me to follow.

"I'll get her out of here, Mr. Boring," I promised. "I'm finished anyway."

I closed my test booklet and ran toward the stage. Mrs. O'Leary bounded for the exit and I followed.

Mrs. O'Leary ran down East Eighty-first Street toward the river.

I dropped down on all four and morphed into a pronghorn since I don't know how far she was planning to go to keep up with her. I got some strange looks from pedestrians, but believe me, a pronghorn chasing a St. Benard isn't the strangest thing they'd ever seen.

Mrs. O'Leary kept well ahead of me as though leading me somewhere. She ran three blocks north, straight into Carl Schurz Park. She leaped over an iron fence and disappeared into a huge topiary wall of snow-covered bushes.

"Oh come on!" I thought. Normally I would turn into a gecko and climb the wall but it was freezing and there was no way a gecko would be any use. I morphed into a spider monkey instead and climbed over the fence and jumped over.

Fortunately the chase seemed to be over from there.

On the other side was a clearing-a half acre of icy grass ringed with bare trees. Mrs. O'Leary was sniffing around, wagging her tail like crazy. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. In front of me, the steel colored East River flowed sluggishly. White plumes billowed from the rooftops in Queens. Behind me, the Upper East Side loomed cold and silent.

I wasn't sure why, but the back of my neck started to tingle. I took out my ballpoint pen and uncapped it. Immediately it grew into my bronze sword, Riptide, its blade glowing faintly in the winter light.

Mrs. O'Leary lifted her head. Her nose quivered.

"What is it, girl?"

The bushes rustled and a golden deer burst through. When I say gold, I don't mean yellow. This thing had metallic fur and horns that looked like genuine fourteen-karat. It shimmered with an aura of golden light, making it almost too bright to look at. It was probably the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen-and I seen it before. It was the same species of deer Artemis uses to pull her chariot. I'm guessing this one is a wild one though since it was still daytime so I doubt the chariot would be here.

Mrs. O'Leary licked her lips like she was thinking deer burgers! Then the bushes rustled again and two figures in a hooded parkas leaped into the clearing, two arrows notched in her bow.

I hit my stopwatch button of my shield-watch and my shield spiraled out to defend but the girls froze.

"Percy?" One of them said. They pushed back the silvery hoods of their parkas. Both had black hair, but one was messy while the other was silky and I recognize one's bright blue eyes and the other's green cap.

"Thalia! Bianca!" I said. "What are you two doing here?"

"We're following the deer," Thalia said. "It's the sacred animal of Artemis. We thought it was some sort of sign."

"What is Mrs. O'Leary doing here?" Bianca asked.

"I have no clue. She showed up at my school and-Mrs. O'Leary, no!"

Mrs. O'Leary was sniffing the deer and basically not respecting its personal space. The deer butted the hellhound in the nose. Pretty soon, the two of them were playing a strange game of keep-away around the clearing. As funny as it looked, I know the gods are protective over their sacred animals, and I don't want to find out what Artemis would do if my pet hellhound try to eat one of her deers.

"Percy..." Thalia frowned. "This can't be a coincidence. Bianca, you, and me ending up in the same place at the same time?"

She was right. Demigods didn't have coincidences. I haven't seen Bianca since last summer, and it been a year since I'd seen Thalia, and each of us are a child of one of the Big Three: Bianca daughter of Hades, Thalia daughter of Zeus, and me being son of Poseidon.

"Some god is messing with us," I guessed.

"Probably," Bianca agreed.

"Good to see you guys, though," I told them.

Thalia gave me a grudging smile. "Yeah. We get out of this in one piece, I'll treat us to a cheeseburger. How's Annabeth?"

Before I could answer a cloud passed over the sun. The golden deer shimmered and disappeared, leaving Mrs. O'Leary barking at a pile of leaves.

I readied my sword and shield as Thalia and Bianca drew their bows. Instinctively we shoulder to shoulder in a triangle. A patch of darkness passed over the clearing and a boy tumbled out of it like he'd been tossed, landing in the grass at our feet.

"Ow," he muttered. He brushed off his aviator's jacket. He was about Bianca's age at twelve years old, with dark hair, jeans, and black t-shirt, and a silver skull ring on his right hand. A sword hung at his side.

"Nico?" Bianca responded-surprised to see her brother.

Nico scowled as if he were interrupted by something. "Why'd you bring me here sis?" Nico grumbled. "One minute I'm in New Orleans graveyard. The next minute-is this New York? What in Hades' name am I doing in New York?"

"Nico, language!" Bianca chided, which actually sounded weird now that they were the same age. "I didn't bring you here. None of us did. We were-" She stopped as if realizing something. "We were brought together. All four of us."

"What are you talking about?" NIco demanded.

"We're all half-blood children of the Big Three," I said. "Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades."

Thalia took a sharp breath. "The prophecy. You don't think Kronos..."

She didn't finish the thought. We all knew about the big prophecy. Last summer a second Titan War had started when Kronos' army attacked the camp in what came to be known as the Battle of the Labyrinth, and we know it was just a matter of time before the Titans take it to Olympus. During which, it is believed the next child of the three major gods who turned sixteen would make a decision that saved or destroyed the world. That meant one of us. Over the last few years, the Titan Lord Kronos had tried to manipulate Thalia Nico and me, and I wouldn't be surprise Bianca had a bit of trouble from him too. Now... could he be plotting something by bringing us all together?

The ground rumbled. Nico drew his own sword-a black blade of Stygian iron. Mrs. O'Leary leaped backward and barked in alarm.

Too late, I realized she was trying to warn me.

The ground opened up under Thalia, Nico, Bianca, and me and we fell into darkness.

I expected to keep falling forever, or maybe squashed into a demigod pancake when we hit the bottom. But the next thing I knew, Thalia, Nico, Bianca, and I were standing in a garden, all three of us still screaming in terror, which made me feel pretty silly.

"What-where are we?" Thalia asked.

The garden was dark. Ros of silver flowers glowed faintly, reflecting off huge gemstones that lined the planting beds-diamonds, sapphires, and rubies the size of footballs. Tree arched over us, their branches covered with orange blooms and sweet-smelling fruit. The air was cool and damp-but not like a New York winter. More like a cave.

"I've been here before," I said.

Nico plucked a pomegranate off a tree. "Bianca's and my stepmother Persephone's garden." He made a sour face and dropped the fruit.

"Don't eat anything," Bianca warned.

They didn't need to tell me twice. One taste of Underwood food, and we'd never be able to leave.

"Heads up," Thalia warned.

I turned and found her aiming her bow at a tall woman in a white dress.

At first I thought the woman was a ghost. Her dress billowed around her like smoke. Her long dark hair floated and curled as if it were weightless. Her face was beautiful but deathly pale.

Then I realized her dress wasn't white. It was made of all sorts of changing colors-red, blue, and yellow flowers blooming in the fabric-but it was strangely faded. Her eyes were the same way, multicolored but washed out, like the Underworld had sapped her life force. I had a feeling that in the world above she would be beautiful, even brilliant.

"I am Persephone," she said, her voice thin and papery. "Welcome, demigods."

Nico squashed a pomegranate under his boot. "Welcome? After last time, you've got the nerve to welcome me?"

I shifted uneasily, because taling that way to a god can get you blasted into dust bunnies.

"Nico!" Bianca chided.

"It's alright, Bianca," Persephone said coldly. "Sometime after you left, your brother and I had a little family spat."

That was one way to say Bianca escaped the Underworld. Hades had kidnapped Bianca and held her in the underworld.

"Family spat?" Nico cried. "You turned me into a dandelion!"

Persephone ignored her stepson. "As I was saying, demigods, I welcome you to my garden."

Thalia lowered her bow. 'You sent the golden deer?"

"And the hellhound," the goddess admitted and the shadow that collected Nico. It was necessary to bring you four together."

"Why?" I asked.

Persephone regarded me, and I felt like cold little flowers were blooming in my stomach.

"Lord Hades has a problem," she said. "And if you know what's good for you, you will help him."

We sat on a dark veranda overlooking the garden. Persephone's hand-maidens brought food and drink, which none of us touched. The hand-maidens would've been pretty except for the fact that they were dead. They wore yellow dresses, with daisy and hemlock wreaths on their heads. Their eyes were hollow, and they spoke in the chittering batlike voices of shades,

Persephone sat on a silver throne and studied us. "If this were spring, I would be able to greet you properly in the world above. Alas, in winter this is the best I can do."

She sounded bitter. After all these millennia, I guess she still resented living with Hades half the year. She looked so bleached and out of place, like an old photograph of springtime.

She turned toward me as if reading my thoughts. "Hades is my husband and master, young one. I would do anything for him. But in this case I need your help, and quickly. It concerns Lord Hades' sword."

Both di Angelo kids frowned. "But father doesn't have a sword," Bianca said.

"He uses a staff in battle," Nico added, "and his helm of darkness."

"He didn't have a sword," Persephone corrected her stepchildren.

Thalia sat up. "He's forging a new symbol of power? Without Zeus' permission?"

The goddess of springtime pointed. Above the table, an image flickered to life: skeletal weapon smiths worked over a forge of black flames, using hammers fashioned like metal skulls to beat a length of iron into a blade.

"War with the Titans has started," Persephone said. "My lord Hades must be ready if it reaches here."

"But Zeus and Poseidon would never allow Hades to forge a new weapon!" Thalia protested. "It would unbalance their power sharing agreement."

Persephone shook her head. "You mean it would make Hades their equal? Believe me, daughter of Zeus, the Lord of the Dead has no designs against his brothers. He knew they would never understand, which is why he forged the blade in secret."

The image over the table shimmered. A zombie weapon smith raised the blade, still glowing hot. Something strange was set in the base-not a gem. More like...

"Is that a key?" I asked.

Nico made a gagging sound. "The keys of Hades?"

"I thought that was just a legend," Bianca said.

"It is true,' Persephone told them.

"Wait," Thalia said. "What are the keys of Hades?"

Nico and Bianca both stared at each other, paler than their step mom, challenging each other to answer. Bianca must have won because Nico answered, "Hades has a set of golden keys that can lock or unlock death."

"How do you lock and unlock death?" I asked.

"The keys have the power to imprison a soul in the Underworld," Persephone said. "Or released it."

Bianca spoke next. "If one of those keys had been set in the sword-"

"The wielder can raise the dead," Persephone said, "or slay any living thing and send its soul to the Underworld with a mere touch of the blade."

We were all silent. The shadowy fountain gurgled in the corner. Hand-maidens floated around us, offering trays of fruit and candy that would keep us in the Underworld forever.

:"That's a wicked sword," I said.

"It would make Hades unstoppable," Thalia agreed.

"So you see," Persephone said, "why you must help get it back."

I stared at her. "Did you say get it back?"

Persephone's eyes were beautiful and deadly serious, like poisonous blooms. "The blade was stolen when it was almost finished. I do not know how, but I suspect a demigod, some servant of Kronos. If the blade fall into the Titan lord's hands-"

Thalia shot to her feet. "You allowed the blade to be stolen! How stupid was that? Kronos probably has it now!"

Thalia's arrows sprouted into long stemmed roses. Her bow melted into honeysuckle vine dotted with white and golden flowers.

"Take care, huntress," Persephone warned. "Your father may be Zeus, and you may be the lieutenant of Artemis, but you do not speak to me with disrespect in my own palace? Just ask my stepdaughter here what happened when she did it after my lord brought her here."

Bianca gripped her bow. "You turned me into a violet and convince father to leave me as I was to calm down. I was almost wilted to nothing by time I was returned back to normal."

Thalia grounded her teeth with anger. "Give... me... back... my,,, bow."

Persephone waved her hand. The bow and arrows changed back to normal. "Now, sit and listen. The sword could not have left the Underworld yet. Lord Hades used his remaining keys to shut the realm. Nothing gets in or out until he finds the sword, and he using all his power. But the search cannot be common knowledge. We have locked the realm, but we have not announced why, nor can Hades servants can be used for the search. They cannot know the blade exists until it is finished. Certainly they can't know it is missing."

"If they thought Hades was in trouble, the might desert him," Nico guessed. "And joined the Titans."

Persephone didn't answer, but if a goddess can look nervous, she did. "The thief must be a demigod. No immortal can steal another immortal's weapon directly. Even Kronos must abide by that Ancient Law. He has a champion down here somewhere. We need demigods to catch a demigod."

"Why us?" I said

"You are the children of the three major gods," Persephone said. "Children of Zeus and Poseidon had worked together in time of crisis in the past, and from my understanding, both of you have grown a friendship with my stepchildren. That should make you four a powerful force to be reckoned with and if you succeed, you will send a message to Olympus. Zeus and Poseidon will not protest Hades' new weapon if it is given to him by their own children. It will show you trust Hades."

"But I don't trust Hades," Thalia said.

"Ditto," I said. "Just because we are friends with Nico and Bianca doesn't mean we will help Hades."

"Guys, I don't trust my father anymore than you, but if we don't do something, Kronos would get his hands on it." Bianca said. "Percy, you saw Kronos' power first hand. Do you really want him to have power over life and death too?"

"I want to do this," Nico admitted.

"But it's lock up down here," I protested.

"No prison is airtight, not even the Underworld. Souls are always finding new ways out faster than Hades can close them. The thief will be looking for one himself," Persephone said. "You must retrieve the sword before it leaves our realm, or all is lost."

"Even if we wanted to," Thalia said, "how would we find this thief?"

A potted plant appeared on the table: a sickly yellow carnation with a few green leaves. The flower listed sideways, as if it were trying to find the sun.

"This will guide you," the goddess said. "The flower always faces the thief. As your prey gets closer to escaping, the petals will fall off."

Right on cue, a yellow petal turned gray and fluttered into the dirt.

"If all the petals fall off," Persephone said, "the flower dies. This means the thief has reached an exit and you have failed."

I glanced at Thalia. She didn't seem enthusiastic about the whole track-a-thief-with-a-flower thing. Then I looked at Bianca who looked as though she was in an internal struggle between despising her father and wanting to help him-most likely due to what Hades pulled on her last year. Then I looked at Nico. Unfortunately I recognized the expression on his face. I knew what it was like wanting to make your father proud, eve if your dad was hard to love. In this case, really hard to love.

Nico was going to do this, with or without us-including Bianca. I couldn't let him go alone, and I doubt Bianca would if she can help it.

"One condition," I told Persephone. "Hades will have to swear on the River Styx that he will never used the sword against the gods."

The goddess shrugged. "I am not Lord Hades, but I am confident he would do this-as payment for your help."

Another petal fell off the carnation.

I turned to Thalia. "Just like FDR and Churchill." I told her, which became our way of reminding each other we can accomplish great things if we worked together as FDR-son of Zeus-and Churchill-son of Poseidon-have during World War II.

She sighed. "Fine. Let's go catch this jerk."

...

The Underworld didn't get into the Christmas spirit. As we made our way down the palace road into the Fields of Asphodel, it looked pretty much like it had on my previous visit-seriously depressing. Yellow grass and stunted black poplar trees rolled on forever. Shades drifted aimlessly across the hills, coming from nowhere, chattering to each other and trying to remember who they were in life. High above us, the cavern ceiling glistened darkly.

I carried the carnation, which made me feel pretty stupid. Nico led the way since his blade could clear a path through any crowd of the undead. Thalia mostly grumbled that she and Bianca should've known better than to go on a quest with a couple of boys.

"Did Persephone seem kind of uptight?" I asked.

"She's like that around children of Hades," Bianca said. "She hates us because we remind her of the fact Hades cheated on her."

"Then why did she include both of you in this quest?" I asked.

"Probably our dad's idea," Nico said as he waded through a mob of ghost, dividing them back with Stygian iron. He sounded like he wanted that to be true, but I wasn't so sure.

It seemed strange to me that Hades hadn't given us the quest himself. If this sword was so important to him, why had he let Persephone explain things? Usually Hades liked to threaten demigods in person. Then there's the fact he invited Thalia and me, whom our fathers sired after making the oath-unlike Bianca and Nico who were at the Lotus Casino since before the oath was made.

Nico forged ahead. No matter how crowded the fields were-and if you ever seen Time Square on New Year's Eve, you have a pretty good idea-the spirits parted for him.

"He's handy with zombie crowds," Thalia admitted.

"He's gotten better in commanding the dead," Bianca explained. "I don't know if that's a good thing or not."

I know what she meant. Nico left camp to settle his own issues while searching for answers, but by doing so, he had shut himself from human contact.

Thalia gripped her bow tight, like she was afraid it would turn into a honey suckle vine again. She didn't look any older than she had last year, and it suddenly occurred to me that like Bianca, she would never age. That meant I was older than she was. Weird.

"So," I said, "How you two been doing since Bianca rejoined the hunt?"

"If you're asking if Bianca is having a hard time because of her father, then no," Thalia said. "It was weird at first, I'll admit, but hunters don't judge each other based on parentage."

"Oh, right," I remember Zoë Nightshade-Thalia's predecessor as lieutenant-saying something like that once.

"It helped when I told the Hunters Pan's last words," Bianca said.

"Lady Artemis even gave her full support in carrying on Pan's last word," Thalia said.

"Artemis got along with Lord Pan?" I asked.

Thalia nodded. "He gave Lady Artemis the first pack of hunting wolves as a gift and we hunted with those wolves ever since. Hearing Pan's death had a great impact on us but we did not question Bianca's words."

"Unlike those old goats," Bianca scuffed, referring to the Council of Cloven Elders, who not only denied the idea of Pan's death but used Bianca's parentage against her to decline her claim.

Thalia looked around, and I realized she was scanning the faces of the dead. I guess she was looking for her mother. Thalia told me she died in a car crash years ago. They'd never been close, but Thalia had never gotten to say good-bye.

Another petal fell off the carnation as we marched on.

I wasn't happy when the flower pointed us toward the Fields of Punishment. I was hoping we'd veer into Elysium so we could hang out with the beautiful people and party, but no. The flower seemed to like the harshest, evilest part of the Underworld. We jumped over a lava stream and picked our way past scenes of horrible torture. I won't describe them because you'd completely lose your appetite, but I wished I had cotton balls in my ears to shut out the screaming and the 1980s music.

The carnation tilted its face toward a hill on our left.

"Up there," I said.

Thalia, Bianca, and Nico stopped. They were covered with soot from trudging through Punishment. I probably didn't look much better.

A loud grinding noise came from the other side of the hill, like somebody was dragging a washing machine. Then the hill shook with a BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! And a man yelled curses.

"Of course our thief gone to him," Bianca muttered.

Thalia looked at Nico and Bianca. "Is that who I think it is?"

"Afraid so," Nico said. "The number one expert on cheating death."

Before I could ask what he meant, he led us to the top of the hill.

The dude on the other side was not pretty, and he was not happy. He looked like one of those troll dolls with orange skin, a pot belly, scrawny legs and arms, and a big loincloth/diaper thing around his waist. His ratty hair stuck up like a torch. He was hopping around, cursing and kicking a boulder that was twice as big as he was.

"I won't!" he screamed. "No, no, no!" Then he launched into a string of curse words in several different languages. If I'd had one of those jars where you put a quarter in for each bad word, I would've made around five hundred dollars.

He started walking away from the boulder, but after ten feet he lurched backward, like some invisible force had pulled him. He staggered back to the boulder and started banging his head against it.

"All right!" he screamed. "All right, curse you!"

He rubbed his head and muttered some more curse words. "But this is the last time. Do you hear me?"

Nico looked at us. "Come on. While he's between attempts."

We scrambled down the hill.

"Sisyphus!" Nico called.

The troll guy looked up in surpris. Then he scrambled behind his rock. "Go away!"

"We just want to talk," I said.

"Flowers won't make it better," the man argued. "It's too late to apologize!"

"Look," Thalia said, "we just want to-"

"La-la-la!" he yelled. "I'm not listening!"

We played tag with him around the boulder until finally Thalia, who was quickest, caught the old man by his hair.

"Stop it!" he wailed. "I have rocks to move. Rocks to move!"

"I'll move your rock!" Thalia offered. "Just shut up and talk to my friends."

Sisyphus stopped fighting. "You'll-you'll move my rock?"

"I'll go with you," Bianca said. "We can't spend too much time here, and it will be quicker if two of us do it than one."

Thalia nodded and glanced at me. "Be quick about it." Then she shoved Sisyphus toward us.

Then both Thalia and Biacha put their shoulders against the rock and started pushing it uphill.

Sisyphus scowled at me distrustfully. He pinched my nose.

"Ow!" I said.

"So you're not an illusion to set me up," he said in amazement. "What's the flower for?"

"We're looking for someone," I said. "The flower is helping us find him."

"Persephone!" He spit in the dust. "That's one of her tracking devices, isn't it?" He leaned forward, and I caught an unpleasant whiff of old-guy-who's-been-rolling-a-rock-for-eternity. "I fooled her once, you know. I fooled them all."

I looked at Nico. "Translation?"

"Sisyphus cheated death," Nico explained. "He first chained up Thanatos, a reaper of souls, so no one could die. Then when Thanatos got free and was about to kill him, Sisyphus told his wife to do incorrect funeral rites so he wouldn't rest in peace. Sisy here-May I call you Sisy?"

"No!"

"Sisy tricked Persephone into letting him go back to the world to haunt his wife. And he didn't come back."

The old man cackled. "I stayed alive another thirty years before they finally track me down!"

"So for punishment, you have to roll a boulder up a hill forever. Was it worth it?"

"A temporary setback!" Sisyphus cried. "I'll bust out of here soon, and when I do, they'll all be sorry!"

"How would you get out of the Underworld?" Nico asked. "It's locked down, you know."

Sisyphus grinned wickedly. "That's what the other one asked."

My stomach tightened. "Someone else asked you advice?"

"An angry young man," Sisyphus recalled. "Not very polite. Held a sword to my throat. Didn't even offer to roll my boulder at all."

"What did you tell him?" Nico said. "Who was he?"

Sisyphus massaged his shoulders. He glanced up at Thalia and Bianca who was almost to the top of the hill, now pushing with their backs. Their face was bright red and drenched in sweat.

"Oh... it's hard to say," Sisyphus said. "Never seen him before. He carried a long package all wrapped up in black cloth. Maybe if you wait here, I could look for him..."

"What did you tell him?" I demanded.

"Can't remember."

Nico drew his sword. The Stygian iron was so cold it steamed in the hot air of Punishment. "Try harder."

The old man winced. "What kind of person carrie a sword like tht?"

"A son of Hades," Nico said. "Now answer me!"

The color drained from Sisyphus' face. "I told him to talk to Melinoe! She always has a way out!"

Nico lowered his sword. I could tell the name Melinoe bothered him.

"Are you crazy?" he said. "That's suicide!"

The old man shrugged. "I've cheated death before. I could do it again."

"What did this demigod look like?"

"Um... he had a nose," Sisyphus said. "A mouth. And one eye and-"

"One eye?" I interrupted. "Did he have an eye patch?"

"Oh... maybe," Sisyphus said. "He had hair on his head. And-"

"Incoming!" Thalia shouted.

I looked up as a boulder was bouncing straight toward us. Nico and I jump away from it. Sisyphus yelled, "NOOOOOOO!" as the thing plowed into him. Somehow he braced himself and stopped it before it could run him over. I guess he'd had a lot of practice.

"Told you it wouldn't reach the top," Bianca told Thalia as they came down. "The hill is designed to keep him from succeeding."

"Take it again!" he wailed. "Please. I can't hold it."

"Not again," Thalia gasped. "You're on your own."

He treated us to a lot more colorful language in Ancient Greek, Latín, English, French, and several other languages I didn't recognize. Either way, I got an idea who our thief was as we left Sisyphus to his punishment.

"Melinoe's cave is this way," Nico said.

"The thief has to be Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis," I said. "He's the one who freed Kronos."

"I remember," Nico said darkly. "But if we're dealing with Melinoe, we've got bigger problems."

As we walk away, Sisyphus was yelling, "All right, but this is the last time. Do you hear me? The last time!"

Thalia shudder.

"You guys okay?"

"Yeah," Bianca said. "It's just-when we got to the top, she thought she can get it to the top and have the rock stay."

"When it rolled down, I was almost tempted to try again, thinking I can get it the second time," Thalia admitted.

"I told you it was design to do that," Bianca said.

"I know," Thalia admitted.

"Come on," I told them. "The sooner we're out of here the better."

We walked for what seemed like eternity. Three more petals withered from the carnation, which meant it was now officially half dead. The flower pointed toward a range of jagged gray hills that looked like teeth, so we trudged in that direction over a plain of volcanic rock.

"Nice day for a stroll," Bianca admitted.

"Yeah, the hunters are probably feasting in some forest glade right about now," Thalia agreed.

"Maybe I should spend time with Nico before I return to the Hunters," Bianca said.

Thalia nodded. "I'm sure Lady Artemis understands. After all, no one should celebrate the holidays by themselves."

I wondered what my family was doing. My mom and step-dad Paul would be worried when I didn't come home from school, but it wasn't the first time this had happened. Few months ago, I came home late after skipping two classes to help Clarisse take back Ares War Chariot from her twin immortal brothers Deimos and Phobos. Mom and Paul probably figured out pretty quickly that I was on some quest. My mom would be pacing back and forth in the living room, wondering if I was going to make it back to unwrap my presents.

"So who is this Melinoe?" I asked, trying to take my mind off home.

"Long story," Nico said. "Long, very scary story."

I was about to ask what he meant when Thalia dropped to a crouch. "Weapons!"

I drew Riptide and put the potted carnation down. Nico drew his sword and Bianca her bow. We stood shoulder to shoulder in box formation around the carnation. Thalia notched an arrow.

"What is it?" I whispered.

She seemed to be listening. Then her eyes widened. A ring of a dozen daimones materialized around us.

They were part humanoid female, part bat. Their faces were pug-nosed and furry, with fangs and bulging eyes. Matted gray fur and piecemeal armor covered their bodies. They have shivered arms with claws for hands, leathery wings that sprouted from their backs, and stubby bowed legs. They would've looked funny except for the murderous glow in their eyes.

"Keres," Nico said.

"What?" I asked.

"Battlefield spirits. They feed on violent death."

"Oh, wonderful," Thalia said.

"Get back!" Nico ordered the daimones. "The son of Hades commands you!"

The Keres hissed. Their mouths foamed. They glanced apprehensively at our weapons, but I got the feeling the Keres weren't impressed by Nico's command.

"You hear him! Get back!" Bianca hollered. "I'm daughter of Hades and I command you as well."

Again, they seemed unimpressed as one of them snarled. "Soon Hades will be defeated. Our new master shall give us free rein!"

Nico and Bianca blinked. "New master?" they asked.

The lead daimon lunged. Nico was so surprised it might have slashed him to bits but Bianca quickly snapped out of her shock and shot an arrow point blank into its ugly bat face, and the creature disintegrated.

The rest of them charged. Bianca and Thalia switched their bows for hunting knives. I ducked as Nico's sword whistled over my head, cutting a daimon in half. I got on all four and grew as my k9 grew into saber teeth as I was a saber tooth tiger. I pounced at a daimon and tore it into bits but more just kept coming.

"Iapetus shall crush you!" one shouted.

I pounced at it and tore it and sunk my saber teeth into it.

Nico was also cutting an arc through the Keres. His black sword absorbed their essence like a vacuum cleaner, and the more he destroy\ede, the colder the air became around him. Thalia flipped a daimon on its back, stabbed it, and impaled another one with her second knife without even turning around.

"Look out Percy!" Bianca hollered.

"Die in pain mortal!"

I quickly morphed into a tortoise as I felt another daimon's claw raked my shell. I heard it screech in pain and popped out to see Bianca over me.

The sound of the battle died as the Keres left, for now.

I morphed back to human form. "Thanks, Bianca."

"No problem," Bianca responded.

"One of the daimones mentioned Iapetus," I remembered. "If I remember correctly, that's a Titan, right?"

Thalia nodded uneasily. "The brother of Kronos, father of Atlas. He was known as the Titan of the west. His name means 'the Piercer' because that's what he likes to do to his enemies. He was cast into Tartarus along with his brothers. He's supposed to still be down there."

"But if the sword of Hades can unlock death?" I asked.

"Then maybe," Nico said, "it can also summon the d- out of Tartarus."

"Not only that, but if the thief is recruiting some of Hades' minions to take his side-like the Keres. If Kronos wins the war, they'll get to cause more chaos and evil," Bianca said.

"Who is this thief?" Thalia asked.

"Ethan Nakamura, son of Hades," I explained to Thalia what happened last summer and how Ethan freed Kronos.

"Ethan probably can convince Melinoe to join the Titans as he did with the Keros." Nico said. "She loves chaos and evil as much as them. It's only because my father tries to keep a balance and rein in the more violent spirits that prevents them from succeeding."

"You still haven't told us who Melinoe is," I responded.

Nico chewed his lip. "She's the goddess of ghost-one of my father's servants. She oversees the restless dead that walks the earth. Every night she rises from the Underworld to terrify mortals."

"She has her own path into the upperworld?"

Nico nodded. "I doubt it would be blocked. Normally. No one would even think about trespassing in her cave. But if Ethan is brave enough to make a deal with her-"

"He could get back to the world," Thalia supplied, "And bring the sword to Kronos."

"Who would use it to raise his brothers from Tartarus," I guessed. "And we'd be in big trouble."

I look at the carnation plant, which now have five petals left. "We need to stop him."

...

We walked until we heard the sound of roaring water and Nico said, "Uh-oh."

About fifty feet ahead of us, a dark river churned through a gorge of volcanic rock. I'd seen the Styx, and this didn't look like the same river. It was narrow and fast. The water was black as ink. Even the foam churned black. The far bank was only thirty feet across, but that was too far to jump, and there was no bridge.

"The River Lethe." Nico cursed in Ancient Greek. "We'll never make it across."

The flower was pointing to the other side-toward a gloomy mountain and a path leading up to a cave. Beyond the mountain, the walls of the Underworld loomed like a dark granite sky. I hadn't considered that the Underworld might have an outer rim, but this appeared to be it.

Thalia knelt next to the river.

"Careful, Thalia," Bianca said. "This is the River of Forgetfulness. If one drop hits you, you'll start to forget who you are."

Thalia backed up. "I know this place. Luke told me about it once. Souls come here if they choose to reborn, so they totally forget their former lives."

Nico nodded. "Swim in that water and your mind will be wiped clean. You'll be like a newborn baby."

"There's got to be away to cross it," I said. "It's water, right? Maybe I can redirect the flow long enough to get us across."

"It's worth the try," Bianca said.

I handed Thalia the carnation and walked to the edge of the water. Truth be told, I don't know if I can do this. I was a child of Poseidon, so controlling salt water was no problem. Regular rivers... maybe, if the river spirits were feeling cooperative. But I had no idea about magical Underworld rivers.

"Stand back," I told my friends.

I concentrated on the current-the raging black water rushing past. I imagined it was part of my own body. I could control the flow, make it respond to my will.

I wasn't sure, but I thought the water churned and bubbled more violently, as if it could sense my presence. I knew I couldn't stop the river altogether. The current would back up and flood the whole valley, exploding all over us as soon as I let it go. Hades might not mind that with Thalia and me as he might take us as payment for damages, but Bianca and Nico is another story, But there was another solution.

"Here goes nothing," I muttered.

I raised my arms like I was lifting something over my head.

The river rose. It surged out of its banks, flowing up and then down again in a great arc-a raging black rainbow of water twenty feet high. The riverbed in front of us turned to drying mud, a tunnel under the river just wide enough for two people to walk side by side.

Thalia Nico and Bianca stared at me in amazement.

"Two of you go first, one of you will have to go with me!" I said.

"I'll go with Nico," I heard Thalia said. "Bianca stay here with Percy. That way there are archers on either side if something happens!"

Both agreed and Thalia and Nico scrambled into the riverbed nad made their way across the sticky mud.

Not a single drop. I can't let a single drop of water touch them.

The River Lethe fought me. It didn't want to be forced out of its banks. It wanted to crash down on my friends, wipe their minds clean, and drown them. But I held the arc.

Thalia climbed the opposite side and turned to help Nico.

"Come on, guys!" she said.

With Bianca's help I managed to climb down into the riverbed. Then one step after another we cross the river bed and Bianca helped me up the other end. We backed away as I release. The River Lethe crashed down back into the riverbed.

I Nico Thalia and Bianca gave me nectar to drink. I drink it carefully.

"Thanks," I said. "Holding up the Lethe took a lot out of me."

"Lets just hope we don't have to do that again," Bianca said.

The mountain loomed over us. A dusty trail snaked up a few hundred feet to the mouth of a cave. The path was lined with human bones for that extra cozy feel.

"I don't like this," Thalia murmured. She cradled the carnation, which was pointing toward the cave. The flower now had two petals left, like very sad bunny ears. Crossing the Lethe took longer than I hoped.

Just then, a hissing sound echoed down the mountain. White mist billowed from the cave like someone had turned on a dry ice machine.

In the fog an image appeared-a tall woman with disheveled blond hair. She wore a pink bathrobe and had a wine glass in her hand. Her face was stern and disapproving. I could see right through her, so I knew she was a spirit of some kind, but her voice sounded real enough.

"Now you come back." she growled. "Well. it's too late!"

I looked at Nico and Bianca and whispered. "Melinoe?"

Bianca nodded but Nico stood frozen, staring at the spirit.

Thalia lowered her bow. "Mother?" Her eyes teared up. Suddenly she looked about seven years old.

The spirit threw down her wine-glass. It shattered and dissolved into the fog. "That's right, girl. Doomed to walk the earth, and its your fault! Where were you when I died? Why did you run away when I needed you?"

"I-I-"

"Thalia, snap out of it. This is Melinoe's power." Bianca said.

The spirit turned to her and the image flickered, and I saw the goddess of ghost. You think after a while I would stop getting freaked out by the appearance of Greek ghoulies, but Melinoe caught me by surprise. Her right half was pale chalky white, like she'd been drained of blood. Her left half was pitch-black and hardened, like mummy skin. She wore a golden dress and a golden shawl. Her eyes were half empty black voids, and when I looked into them, I felt as if I were seeing my own death."

"Where are your ghost girl?" she demanded infrustration.

"I made peace with them when I was held captive," Bianca said.

"Oh, then what of your brother," the goddess said

Bianca frowned. "You wouldn't..."

Melinoe turned to Nico and her form changed. This time she was harder to see. She was a woman in old-fashioned black velvet dress with a matching hat. She wore a string of pearls and white gloves, and her dark hair was tied back.

Bianca's face turned to shock and sadness. "Oh, Nico..."

"What?" I asked

"My son," the ghost said. "I died when you and Bianca were so young. I haunt the world in grief, wondering about you two."

"Mama?" Nico cried/

"No, it's my mother," Thalia murmured as if she still saw the first image.

Nico and Thalia were helpless. The fog began thickening around their feet, twining around their legs like vines. The colors seemed to fade from their clothes and faces, as if they too were becoming shades.

Now I realize what Bianca and Melinoe was talking about. Melinoe appears in the form of ghost of those who died in your past that you grieve for. Bianca overcame her ghost when Hades held her captive, but Nico and Thalia haven't and that's why they see their mothers.

I thought back to Zoë Nightshade, Lee Fletcher, and Daedalus and realized I was the same as Bianca as I moved on with them.

I stepped up to Melinoe, "That's enough Melinoe!" I shouted.

Melinoe turned to me and she returned to her original form. "Not you too! Where are your ghost?"

"I've made my peace with them, just as Bianca has," I said. "Now let my friends go!"

I raised my sword and slashed at Melinoe. She backed quickly growling in frustration. Then Bianca appeared behind her and held a hunters knife at her throat.

"You heard Percy. Let my brother and Thalia go!" Bianca threatened/

With that the fog dissipated around Nico and Thalia. They stood blinking at the goddess as if they were just seeing how hideous she was.

"What is that?" Thalia said. "Where-"

"It was a trick," Nico said. "She fooled us."

"You are too late, demigods," Melinoe said. Another petal fell off my carnation, leaving only one. "The deal has been struck."

"What deal?" I demanded.

Melinoe made a hissing sound, and I realized it was her way of laughing. "So many ghost, my young demigod. They long to be unleashed. When Kronos rules the world, I shall be free to walk among mortals both night and day, sowing terror as they deserve."

"Where's the sword of Hades?" Bianca held her knife closer. "Where is Ethan?"

"Close," Melinoe promised. I will not stop you. I will not need to. Soon, Percy Jackson, you will have many ghost. And you will remember me."

She dissolved into fog, leaving nothing but the hiss of her laughter.

"She got away," Bianca said in frustration.

Thalia and Nico were really shaken up. Both had red rim in the eyes and their hands trembled.

"Come on guys, snap out of it. We still have to stop the thief." Bianca said.

Just then the last petal fell off the carnation. The flower turned black and wilted.

"Too late," I said.

A man's laughter echoed down the mountain.

"You're right about that," a voice boomed. At the mouth of the cave stood two people-a boy with an eye patch and a ten-foot-tall man in a tattered prison jumpsuit. The boy I recognized: Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis. In his hands was an unfinished sword-a double-edged blade of black Stygian iron with skeletal designs etched in silver. I had no hilt, but set in the base of the blade was a golden key, just like I'd seen in Persephone's image.

The giant man next to him had eyes of pure face was covered with a scraggly beard and his gray hair stuck out wildly. He looked thin and haggard in his ripped prison clothes, as though he spent the last few thousand years at the bottom of a pit, but even in this weakened state he looked plenty scary. He held out his hand and a giant spear appeared. I remembered what Thalia had said about Iapetus: His name means "the Piercer' because that's what he likes to do to his enemies.

The Titan smiled cruelly. "And now I will destroy you."

"Master!" Ethan interrupted. "He was dressed in combat fatigues with a black sack slung over his shoulder. His eye patch was crooked, his face was smeared with soot and sweat. "We have the sword. We should-"

"Yes, yes," the Titan said impatiently. "You've done well, Nawaka."

"It's Nakamura, master."

"Whatever. I'm sure my brother Kronos will reward you. But now we have killing to attend to."

"My lord," Ethan persisted. "You're not at full power. We should ascend and summon your brothers from the upper world. Our orders were to flee."

The Titan whirled on him. "FLEE? Did I you say FLEE?"

The ground rumbled. Ethan fell on his butt and scrambled backward. The unfinished sword of Hades clattered to the rocks/ "M-m-master, please-"

"IAPETUS DOES NOT FLEE! I have waited three eons to be summoned from the pit. I want revenge, and I will start by killing these weaklings!"

He leveled his spear at me and charged.

If he'd been at full strength, I have no doubt he would've pierced me right through the middle. Even weakened and just out of the pit, the guy was fast. I morphed into a cheetah and sprinted out of there as Iapetus moved like a tornado, impaling the rock where I was standing.

Iapetus yanked the spear out of the ground, but he turned to face me. Thalia and Bianca shot from either side, filling him with arrows. He roared and turned on them, looking more angry than wounded. Ethan Nakamura tried to draw his sword, but Nico yelled. "I don't think so!"

The ground erupted in front of Ethan. Three armored skeletons climbed out and engaged him, pushing him back, leaving the Sword of Hades laying on the rocks.

Iapetus slashed with his spear and Thalia leaped out of the way. Thalia dropped her bow so she could use her knives where as Bianca stuck to her bow/ I drop on all four and grow and expanded as I turned into an Afreican Elephant and charged at Iapetus. Iapetus must have heard me coming and turned and blocked me as I pushed him back several feet before he stopped me. But as we did Nico came from behind and stabbed Iapetus in the calf.

"AHHHH!" golden ichor gushed from the wound. Iapetus whirled the shaft of his spear and slammed into Nico, sending him flying Then he turned to me but I already morphed into a cheetah and dashed out of there. Thalia fired an arc of electricity, which might as well be a mosquito to him.

"I'll kill you all and cast your souls into the eternal darkness of Tartarus!"

I saw the Lethe and got an idea. I ran to the river and stopped at it's edge before morphing back to human.

As loud as I can yell, I shout. "You're even uglier than your son. I can see where Atlas gets his stupidity from."

Iapetus snarled. He limped forward, raising his appear. I morphed into a skunk and sprayed juices right into his face. Iapetus roared and stumbled back. In his daze I circled around him and morphed into an Elephant once more and slammed into Iapetus pushing him right to the edge of the Lethe. Iapetus lost his footing and fell into the river. I morphed back to human form.

But before I could relax, Iapetus rose from the river bank edge, dripping wet. His pure silver eyes were as big as moons.

Thalia Nico and Bianca raced toward me in amazement. Up by the cave, Ethan Nakjamura was just cutting down the last skeleton. He turned and froze when he saw his Titan Ally dripping wet.

"My-my lord?" he called.

Iapetus stared at him then he looked at me and smiled.

"Hello," he said. "Who am I?"\

"You're my friend," I blurted out. "Your name is... Bob."

That seemed to please him greatly. "I am your friend Bob!"

Clearly Ethan could tell things were not going his way.

He glanced at the sword only to see Bianca had it cradled in his arms. "Too late Nakamura. I'm returning this to my father," Bianca said.

Ethan ran straight into the cave of Melinoe. None of us stopped him, mostly because we were too exhausted from fighting.

...

Somehow, I'm not surprise the furies showed up after the battle to take us back to Hades' palace. They always seem to show up when you least expect it, whether its before or after a battle.

The furies weren't too thrilled to lug Bob the Titan back to the palace, but we convince them as he was no longer a threat with no memory.

\Anyway, we arrived in the throne room of Hades. The lord of the dead sat on his throne of bones, glowering at us and stroking his black beard like he was contemplating the best way to torture us. Persephone sat next to him, not saying a word. Thalia and I decided to let Nico and Bianca tell them of our adventure.

Before we gave the sword back to Hades, Bianca had Hades swear not to use the sword against the gods as I suggested earlier. He didn't like it, but he said it in clench teeth. Then Bianca laid the sword at her father's feet and bowed before stepping back.

Hades looked at his wife. "You defied my direct orders."

I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but Persephone didn't react, even under his withering gaze.

Hades turned to his children, and his gaze softened just a little, like rock soft rather than steel. "You will not speak of this to no one."

"Yes, lord," Nico agreed.

"That includes the other hunters if you insist of returning to them," Hades told Bianca.

"Yes, father," Bianca responded.

Then he glared at me and Thalia. "You two better hold your tongues too if you know what's best for you."

Thalia elbowed me before I could respond.

Hades stared at the sword. His eyes were filled with anger and something else-something like hunger. He snapped his fingers. The Furies fluttered down from the top of his throne.

"Return the blade to the forges," he told them. "Stay with the smiths until it is finished, and then return it to me."\The furies swirled into the air with the weapon, and I wonder how soon I would be regretting this day. There were ways around oaths, and I imagine Hades would be looking for one.

"You are wise, my lord," Persephone said.

"If I were wise," he growled. "I would lock you in your chambers. If you ever disobey me again-"

He let the threat hang in the air. Then he snapped his fingers and vanished into darkness.

Persephone looked even paler than usual. She took a moment to smooth her dress, then turned toward us. "You have done well, demigods." She waved her hand and four roses appeared at our feet. "Crunch these, and they will return you to the world of the living. You have my lord's thanks."

"I could tell," Thalia muttered.

"Making the sword was your idea," I realized. "That's why Hades wasn't there when you gave us the mission. Hades didn't know the sword was missing. He didn't even know it existed."

"Nonsense," the goddess said.

Nico clenched his fist. "Percy's right. You wanted Hades to make a sword. He told you know. He knew it was too dangerous. The other gods would never trust him. It would undo the balance of power."

"Then it got stolen," Thalia said. "You shut down the Underworld, not Hades. You couldn't tell him what had happened. Abd you needed us to get the sword back before Hades found out. You used us."

Persephone moistened her lips. "The important thing is that Hades has now accepted the sword. He will have if finished, and my husband will become as powerful as Zeus or Poseidon. Our realm will be protected against Kronos... or any others who try to threaten us."

"And we're responsible," Bianca responded.

"You've been very helpful," Persephone agreed. "Perhaps a reward for your silence-"

"Get lost," I said. "Before I ask Bob here to take you down to the Lethe and throw you in. Bob will help me. Won't you, Bob?"

"Bob will help you!" Iapetus agreed cheerfully.

Persephone's eyes widened and she disappeared in a shower of daisies.

Nico, Thalia, Bianca and I said our goodbyes on a balcony overlooking Asphodel. Bob the Titan sat inside building toy houses out of bones and laughing every time it collapsed.

"I'll watch him," Nico said. "He's harmless now. Maybe... I don't know. Maybe we can retrain him to do something good."

"You sure you don't want me to stay with you?" Bianca asked. "Persephone will make things miserable for you."

"I'm sure. I can celebrate the holidays with Bob while I try to get close to my dad. He needs a better advisor."

I couldn't argue with that.

"Okay little brother, you be careful," Bianca hugged Nico. "If you need anything-"

"I'll Iris message you guys." Nico said.

"Persephone was right about one thing," I said. "I think the four of us started a new age for the children of the Big Three. One where future children of the Big Three can work together instead of being be divided like our fathers."

Thalia Bianca and Nico nodded in shook Thalia's and my hands. He turned to leave, but he looked at me one more time. "Percy, you haven't forgotten my offer?"

A shiver went down my spine. "I'm still thinking about it."

Nico nodded. "Well whenever you're ready."

After he was gone, Thalia asked. "What offer?"

"Something he told me during my fifteenth birthday," I said. "He thinks it's connected to how Luke is able to host Kronos and I can use it as well. But It's dangerous, and I had enough danger for one day."

Thalia nodded. "In that case you two still up for dinner?"

"Oh yeah, I'm starving!" Bianca said.

"Where should we go?" I asked;.

"I'm thinking cheeseburgers at McHale's." Thalia said.

"Sounds good." i agreed.

And together the three of us crushed the roses that would return us to the world.

A/N: Sorry for anyone that was hoping for the return of the wooley mamoth, but I thought it be easier for Percy to use an elephant to avoid overheating due to Wooley Mamoths being, well wooley. I thought of having Percy have Iapetus stand on the Lethe like in The Tales of version of sword of Hades but then I remember Percy doesn't have the advantage of Mist Manipulation.

Oh well. That's it for the Sword of Hades. Next up is Bronze Dragon where our favorite automaton dragon and Apollo's later to be surrogant siblings makes their first appearance.